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britwalsh16's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I have new obsession with hockey romance! How have I only recently discovered the joy of hockey romance?! I love hockey, I love romance, & ofcourse I love books, so why have I only recently started reading hockey romance books?
I loved this book!!! It brought together the joys and confusion of finding love, the fun of hockey, with the trauma of the past, & the healing journey to move on. The author wonderfully mixed all these aspects together, in such an incredible way!
And Hannah & Garret have such an amazing story; both healing from their own separate traumas, but coming together to support eachother in their journeys! They are #relationshipgoals 💜💜💜
I loved this book!!! It brought together the joys and confusion of finding love, the fun of hockey, with the trauma of the past, & the healing journey to move on. The author wonderfully mixed all these aspects together, in such an incredible way!
And Hannah & Garret have such an amazing story; both healing from their own separate traumas, but coming together to support eachother in their journeys! They are #relationshipgoals 💜💜💜
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Alcohol, Sexual content, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual violence, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing and Drug use
Minor: Stalking
codicheyenne's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I read these books entirely out of order and in hindsight, I wish I'd stuck to the order the author intended, but I originally skipped this one because of the fake dating trope. Somehow, Elle Kennedy can make me, not just read even my most hated trope, but enjoy it immensely. I can't decide if I like this one or The Goal better.
I really enjoyed Hannah as a FMC. Her journey is relatable and she's so easy to like and feel for. She's also pretty badass and so strong. I don't know that I would be as capable of being a good person as she is after what she went through. I appreciate that while she was "Not Like Other Girls", it wasn't written in a way that put other women down for being "Like Other Girls," it was only used as a means in which to describe how Hannah just didn't fall for Garrett's charms. I also liked how Hannah had a whole journey outside of Garrett & her past - the upcoming showcase, her parents' money struggles, etc.
I also love how Elle can write men and be so true to who they are in essence. None of these boys feel "too good to be true" because they're all written like... well... boys. They're hockey players. They're horny. They're cocky and full of themselves. There's locker room talk and suppressed emotions and tempers and messiness and too much testosterone at times. But they're still so lovable. As the reader, you can almost feel yourself falling for their dimpled grins in the same way the FMCs eventually do (despite the fights they put up.)
I'm excited to finish the series - I literally only have The Legacy left - and then revisit the world with the Briar U series and The Graham Effect
I really enjoyed Hannah as a FMC. Her journey is relatable and she's so easy to like and feel for. She's also pretty badass and so strong. I don't know that I would be as capable of being a good person as she is after what she went through. I appreciate that while she was "Not Like Other Girls", it wasn't written in a way that put other women down for being "Like Other Girls," it was only used as a means in which to describe how Hannah just didn't fall for Garrett's charms. I also liked how Hannah had a whole journey outside of Garrett & her past - the upcoming showcase, her parents' money struggles, etc.
I also love how Elle can write men and be so true to who they are in essence. None of these boys feel "too good to be true" because they're all written like... well... boys. They're hockey players. They're horny. They're cocky and full of themselves. There's locker room talk and suppressed emotions and tempers and messiness and too much testosterone at times. But they're still so lovable. As the reader, you can almost feel yourself falling for their dimpled grins in the same way the FMCs eventually do (despite the fights they put up.)
I'm excited to finish the series - I literally only have The Legacy left - and then revisit the world with the Briar U series and The Graham Effect
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
Moderate: Classism, Sexual assault, Violence, Rape, Child abuse, Alcohol, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood, Body shaming, and Panic attacks/disorders
junieburns's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Rape, and Sexual assault
alex514's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Violence, Drug use, and Sexual assault
natalieseyko's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Drug use, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse
annica_fourie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I love this book so much.
The characters were fun to read about, even though I didn't love all of them equally the whole time. The banter between the two MCs was so fun to read.
The story itself was pretty good. As with most books, there were some problematic parts but it did not subtract too much from the reading experience as a whole.
10/10 would recommend.
The characters were fun to read about, even though I didn't love all of them equally the whole time. The banter between the two MCs was so fun to read.
The story itself was pretty good. As with most books, there were some problematic parts but it did not subtract too much from the reading experience as a whole.
10/10 would recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Death of parent, Grief, Cancer, Alcohol, Drug use, and Cursing
carlapastor's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
So three main points:
1) I didn't know this was so smutty. If I had know I would have not read this, probably. But like, that's totally on me because why would this have that kind of cover if it wasn't smutty and why did I not read if it had spice.
2) She's so petite small but busty shy but sarcastic smart and funny but no one likes her omg. Such a Y/N character honestly, lacks sooo much depth. Literally the main points of this was that she had big tits and was sarcastic (and she wasn't even that sarcastic).
3) Literally it's so funny how it tried to fill the diverse cast part because it was made very clear that the Jae guy was Korean if you couldn't tell by his name (yay! he appeared more than once, so good for you author) and the black friend who of course was huge and black (did you know he was black?).
The .25 stars come from getting me out of not reading s lot, because it did well its job, and the 1 point comes from the multiple mentions to Ryan Gosling, which I approve (of course the main character doesn't like him because she's soooo different)
1) I didn't know this was so smutty. If I had know I would have not read this, probably. But like, that's totally on me because why would this have that kind of cover if it wasn't smutty and why did I not read if it had spice.
2) She's so petite small but busty shy but sarcastic smart and funny but no one likes her omg. Such a Y/N character honestly, lacks sooo much depth. Literally the main points of this was that she had big tits and was sarcastic (and she wasn't even that sarcastic).
3) Literally it's so funny how it tried to fill the diverse cast part because it was made very clear that the Jae guy was Korean if you couldn't tell by his name (yay! he appeared more than once, so good for you author) and the black friend who of course was huge and black (did you know he was black?).
The .25 stars come from getting me out of not reading s lot, because it did well its job, and the 1 point comes from the multiple mentions to Ryan Gosling, which I approve (of course the main character doesn't like him because she's soooo different)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Sexual harassment, and Domestic abuse
aleclghtwood's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Why would an author take such heavy themes like rape and domestic abuse and simply decide not to deepen the subject or raise awareness, but to use as a tool to character development, like they need to have that experience to be who they are today? And even that is made poorly. And talking about character development: the only two characters in the book that she gave a personality are the main ones, the other ones are just shallow as this book as a whole - Justin, who is the main catalyst for everything in the beginning, is totally forgotten at some point, even with all the hints about his shady personality and potential he had for the overral plot. Hannah is the worst, she spends most of the first half of the book claiming that she's soooo not like other girls (istg she actually says the words at some point) because she's not interested in many guys and thinking that other girls are whores for it. Garret is actually a nice guy if you excuse the way he thinks how men and women relationships work in the first chapters, but Hannah and the narrative treats him like some sort of savior and I think it's disturbing when we are talking about a rape victim. She's not a strong female character when she needs to degrade other women to feel better about herself and needs the help of a man to overcome a trauma. And about the domestic violence, it was written a little better, but when Garret sees that Cindy is a victim, he tells that "it's not his place to intervene"??? WHAT THE FUCK??? It felt so ooc after everything his mother and him went through. I understand why we would like this book when it was released in 2015, but right now? I thought we're over the pick me trope, disappointed to see we aren't. The only thing I hope could be good were the smut scenes, but not even that, they're just a few and not satisfying. I started this book with low expectations, but it was worse than I thought, hope I never read Elle Kennedy again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Blood, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Stalking, and Terminal illness
Minor: Grief
vj_thompson's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Cursing, Misogyny, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Sexism
Moderate: Violence, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, Drug use, Bullying, Mental illness, and Blood
diana_raquel's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“Sometimes people sneak up on you and suddenly you don’t know how you ever lived without them.”
The Deal is the first book in the Off-Campus series, a series that follows the love lives of four hockey players. This is the story of Garrett and Hannah.
Although this is the first book, this is the book that sold me on the series. Its a light, funny story, perfect for summer days. I truly recommend this story and the whole series!
The Deal is the first book in the Off-Campus series, a series that follows the love lives of four hockey players. This is the story of Garrett and Hannah.
Although this is the first book, this is the book that sold me on the series. Its a light, funny story, perfect for summer days. I truly recommend this story and the whole series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, and Rape
Minor: Drug use