A review by ghostiegail
The Deal by Elle Kennedy

emotional funny 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

2.0

 

It’s messed up how much I’m enjoying this. Just hanging out with a girl without worrying about how I’m going to get rid of her or that she’s going to start making demands on me.

Garret, that is like the least messed up part of this whole book.

I wanted to try my first hockey romance this year, and for some reason I chose The Deal by Elle Kennedy. I can’t remember what or who initially drew me into this book, but I ended up loving the way the author incorporated so many fun tropes — bad boy with a soft spot, forced to share a bed, fake dating, etc. The bickering between characters and the melodrama of the plot made this the perfectly quick read to get me out of my latest reading slump and I devoured it in a day or two.

That being said, this book was also kind of terrible. In fact, I’d like to give a bombastic side-eye to the following:

✦ The part where Garret or Gavin or Graham calls her playlist “wicked eclectic” and it’s literally Etta James, Adele, Queen, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha, and the Beatles. I love those musicians, but I wouldn’t call that an eclectic range.

✦ The part where Garret flashes a boyish grin and Hannah thinks to herself,

He really has mastered that little boy look. Except he’s not a little boy. He’s a man with a big, strong body and a chin that lifts in determination.

✦ The part where Hannah hangs out with her friends and one of them asks why she’s been so absent and if it’s because she was abducted by aliens. The friend then continues,

I hope the answer to that is yes and that they anal-probed you for ten hours straight, because you deserve it for ignoring me for more than a week

Hannah laughs, like this is a normal and appropriate thing to say, and not extremely triggering for a victim of assault to hear. 

✦ Any of the parts where a character was slut shamed, including the main characters’ own friends.

Maybe because I know what a slut Logan can be. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve seen a chick do a walk of shame out of his bedroom.

I love the story that Elle Kennedy is trying to tell— the journey of a sexual assault victim finally finding a safe space for herself to explore pleasure and sexuality and self acceptance. But the author makes so many strange and problematic choices that what should be a beautiful story of healing and liberation instead became a vehicle for slut-shaming. Background women are described as mindless sluts that don’t even know why they’re so interested in the gorgeous hockey men. The men are slut-shamed as well, but I think their behaviors are seen as more “guys being dudes being horny” whereas the women are seen as vapid airheads.

Reading The Deal felt like watching one of those addictive TV dramas — it’s low-key a hate watch, but something makes you keep clicking “Next Episode.” Definitely a fun and fast-paced read, but I don’t think I can read the rest of the series and just ignore all the weird stuff.