The Deal by Elle Kennedy

Rating: 5/5 ★

Read: 1/13/2021

This is the first book in the OFF CAMPUS series. Hannah Wells has a huge crush on Briar U’s football star, but can’t seem to get him to notice her. She then meets Garrett Graham, Briar U’s hockey star, and tutors him in exchange to get Justin to notice her. How can she get his attention? By fake dating Garrett Graham.

I picked this book up on a whim after finishing up another book, just wanting to read for an hour before I go to bed. I ended up finishing the book in one sitting and went to bed at 8 in the morning. I LOVED this book so much. I think what was so fun about this book was how cliche and simple it was. The ‘average’ girl gets the popular, sports superstar. Hannah is a music major at Briar U, gets good grades, has a nice friend group, works at a diner. She comes from a small town and experienced something so heartbreaking and traumatizing (look up TW: SA). Garrett is son to a hockey legend. He’s captain of the Briar U hockey team and needs to pass his ethics class in order to keep playing for the team. He notices Hannah got a grade on one of their tests and gets her to agree to tutor him. Being his tutor, they start to spend a lot of time together.

I really loved the progression of their relationship. As they continue to fake date and their tutoring sessions, they spend more time together. Garrett takes Hannah to parties, they hang out and watch Breaking Bad, and start bringing each other around their friends. I think they had a really great friendship. I enjoyed their vulnerable moments and I just think they are the perfect couple. I could feel their chemistry fly off the pages! I know that this is now a ‘popular BookTok book’ so there is going to be some hate, but when I read this I genuinely enjoyed it. I felt like this book was so fun to read. Part of the reason was definitely the friend group. I felt like I knew Garrett, Logan, Dean, and Tucker. I loved how they treated Hannah and was happy they supported Garrett in pursuit of her!

The Deal has the feeling of your perfect cheesy romcom that you want to watch over and over again because it feels cozy. If you’re in a reading slump or need a fast and easy read, I recommend picking this up!

Read this if you like:

– fake dating

– college sports romance

– friends to lovers

– jock x tutor girl

– opposites attract