The Deal
by Elle Kennedy
She’s about to make a deal with the college bad boy…
Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she’s carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush’s attention, she’ll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice…even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date.
...and it’s going to be oh so good
All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he’s worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he’s all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn’t take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn’t going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.
Spice Level: 4/6 | Story Score: 7/10 | Rating: 5/5 |
I feel like this series is almost a “classic” of the genre at this point. I’ve seen it everywhere and it seems to be one of those tried-and-true winners for most. I also got it on an Audible sale, so double win. Honestly? I absolutely understand the hype now. This book was worth reading.
College hockey player needs help in a class, so he badgers the girl he knows did well on the last exam. He figures out that she has a crush on a football player and says he’ll help her get that guy’s attention in return. Insert some fake dating which never stays fake. We also find out that the FMC has some intimacy issues and he so graciously helps her through them.
These characters were genuine. They were relatable and kind enough that you wanted to root for them. The story was good. The spice was delicious. The male narrator’s voice was also enjoyable. Lol. I didn’t like hers as much, but she was ok. This book was fucking hilarious at times.
Trigger warning for anyone with issues of a FMC being a rape victim. Off-page and not remembered super graphically, but it is a main plot point to the story.
-SPOILERS-
So I have a lot of trouble in books where I have to read about the MMC having relationships with other women during the timeline of the book (meaning previous to book doesn’t bother me). This one was weird for me because I feel like the characters are so genuinely not together, have no intention of being together, and then form a friendship worthy of a song. I was friends with a whole group of guys in school and them having sex with other women never even crossed my mind to bother me. So, this one shouldn’t have bothered me and therefore, I tried to not let it. And because of their non-relationship/awesome friendship, when the MMC figured out that he liked the FMC, he had nothing to apologize for. It was a bit of a mindfuck when I normally stand so heavily on the other side. Also, the MMC was a genuinely decent guy. The whole time.
I adored that he figured out his feelings for her long before she noticed hers. It made me love him a million times more.
The way the FMC ignored her gut so many times in this book did leave me something to get angry about. How many times can you have uncomfortable, queasy feelings about a guy and still keep plowing down the “I want to date him” lane? Especially a girl that has been the victim of a rape. I feel like when you’re head starts setting off alarm bells, you should listen to them pretty clearly.
I appreciated that she thought she was entirely over the rape and later had to admit to herself that maybe it broke more things that just her body at the time. I liked her having to work through different hurdles. I feel like it’s a true response. Our minds do whatever they have to in order to get past something and get to a stable place, and then slowly, they force us to face the details once we’ve caught our breath. I really, really liked this.
Garrett…I loved that he had something traumatic in his past. So often it’s only the girl. I LOVED that Garrett also had things that sprung up for him to fight through as well. Being scared that being violent is genetic wasn’t something that I saw coming from the character in the beginning of the book, but it made so much sense as it all came out. I’m so mad that his dad had zero consequences really. I wanted more punishment in here, at the same time, this story really tried to preach the theme that people that hurt us do not deserve the space in our head that it takes to be mad at them forever. And I think that’s true in real life. In book world, I like the punishment though. Lol
I don’t remember what it was, but I feel like there was another unresolved issue for me once they were trying to work it out at the end. Or may I just felt it was really anticlimactic.
Standalone | 342 Pages | Trope Challenge: -Not on Challenge- |
“She tries to take a step down the hall, but I tug on her hand and kiss her again, and this time it's not a peck. I kiss her hard, losing myself in her taste and her heat and every damn thing about her. I never expected her. Sometimes people sneak up on you and suddenly you don't know you ever lived without them.”
- Garrett, The Deal by Elle Kennedy
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