Ever since I’ve seen the first Off Campus trailer, I’ve been itching to reread The Deal by Elle Kennedy, yet again. I’ve reread it a bunch of times since I first read Garrett Graham and Hannah Wells’s story a few years ago, the deal, the first book to kick off the Off-Campus universe.
I just went through The Deal again, and I must admit: even after seeing the show, this is still one of my favorite hockey romance and fake dating stories. Hannah Wells, the tutor who is going through a healing journey, and Garrett Graham, the cocky hockey captain who falls first and hard, continue to be one of my favorite fictional couples.
Hannah and Garrett’s friends to lovers is tender, their banter makes you giddy, and the way they slowly open up to one another is wholesome and raw. You can’t stop reading it.
Read our complete summary and review of The Deal by Elle Kennedy. This post contains spoilers.
The Deal
Description
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.
Tropes
- Hockey Romance
- Fake Dating
- New Adult
- Friends to Lovers
Review
Do you prefer Off Campus show or Briar U books?
Do you prefer Off Campus show or Briar U books?
Overall Impressions 😊
Every time I read The Deal, I’m just as giddy and enchanted. I swear my face hurts from grinning. I love a dual POV, especially when we get to hear the MMC fall so hard.
While I loved the show, it made me appreciate the book even more. I’m always partial to the book before the adaptation, but there are so many precious moments in the book that didn’t quite make it to the screen. I actually appreciated the two of them being different. It’s like getting two separate experiences.
You don’t really realize this if you’re deep into Briar U, but The Deal sets the tone for this universe. We get funny banter. We get bromance. We get great girl friendships. We get a bit of every character: soft, sassy, recovering, arrogant, reformed, you name it. It’s a great introduction to something really special, full of not just amazing love stories but also a found family arc where each character grows book by book.
Perfect For Fans Of… 🌟
First things first, you might be checking out this book because you watched the show and are wondering if it’s worth the time. The answer is: while the show is amazing and a great time, the books are excellent. You’re going to get a lot more banter, a giddier Garrett (not that I didn’t love broody Garrett from the show), more bromance, just everything the show didn’t have the minutes to put on screen.
As far as hockey romances go, The Deal is as staple as any in the genre. It’s got cute guys running on ice, a great FMC with her own troubles and personality, amazing banter, and a dash of trauma. It’s a great palette cleanser or an entertaining interconnected universe depending on your preference.
It’s easy to pick up in the sense that while every book is connected, you don’t have to read them all (cough cough, I know some of you want to run straight to The Score to read Dean and Allie’s story). So if you don’t want to commit to the whole series, although I strongly recommend some of the later installments as well, you can pick and choose what you want to read.
This is a cute hockey romance, so while there is trauma you shouldn’t expect literary fiction heaviness. It’s meant to be uplifting. If you’re looking for a serious, heavy read this is not it. Not that this doesn’t have its own share of hard topics, The Deal just deals with them differently. Always check your triggers.
Characters 👥
Every time I make a top N book boyfriends list, Garrett Graham makes it to the top. He’s smart (he’s a history major for god’s sake), he’s talented, and he’s strong. He has a strong, aloof exterior and a great sense of humor, but when Hannah needs him he is there. I love every time Garrett’s on the page, whether it’s The Deal or Love Song (Elle Kennedy’s latest book). He is a steady, charming character who will always be dear to me, and I’m so glad I’ve seen him grow over the pages.
The Deal also does “he falls first” and “he falls unexpectedly” so well. Reading about Garrett “I don’t have time for girlfriends” Graham sort out his feelings is one of my favorite past times.
I love Hannah Wells. In the face of trauma, she is a soft, steady FMC. She doesn’t take any of Garrett’s bullshit, matches his freak when she wants to, and puts him in his place. She’s talented, according to Garrett, more talented than he is (he is such a wife guy, I love him). She’s feminine in a way that doesn’t get stereotyped, and I love her so much.
Together the two of them are the Briar U couple. They’re the definition of making each other better. Hannah is more confident and free with Garrett, while Garrett is more mature and anchored. True hockey romance royalty.
But this series is nothing without its found family and side characters. Elle Kennedy writes such rootable characters that I don’t even feel sad when one book ends and we get to see a different couple’s book. Logan, Dean, and Tucker, the original Briar U boys, are all very dear. I love their bromance, especially Logan and Garrett’s friendship, and Dean’s golden retriever vibes. Allie is always a superstar with the way she fights for who she is and shows up as a great friend, not just to Hannah but to the whole group.
Plot 🗺️
Every time I read The Deal, I eat it up in a day. There’s some magic in the pages, not to be corny. It’s just short enough to keep me wanting while long enough that the story feels satisfied. Maybe I romanticize The Deal because it was my first Elle Kennedy, but I have no notes for the plot and the beats. It all feels perfectly balanced to me.
We get an awesome love story. Both Garrett and Hannah have their own worlds: Garrett’s hockey arc and his relationship with his dad, and Hannah recovering from her trauma and trying to win the winter showcase. They’re both interesting, and the interconnection of their stories is seamless and organic.
We also get bits and pieces of side story introductions: Logan’s family background, Allie and Hannah’s friendship, and other cast members we’ll see over and over again. Personally I love when future main characters make cameos earlier on.
That being said, the Briar U books’ formula is pretty common: couple meets, they don’t want to end up together, they end up together, dash of trauma, and then a third act break up. If you binge the whole series, the dash of trauma in the formula starts to feel like a checkbox. But The Deal earns it.
My Favorite Quote 📣
“Sometimes people sneak up on you and suddenly you don’t know how you ever lived without them.”
Elle Kennedy, The Deal
Synopsis
Who's your favorite original Off Campus couple?
Who's your favorite original Off Campus couple?
Hannah Wells and Garrett Graham Meet in Philosophical Ethics
Hannah Wells and Garrett Graham share a Philosophical Ethics class. The class used to be an easy A until Professor Tolbert took it over.
After the midterm, seventy percent of the class fails, including Garrett. He’s the captain of the hockey team and a junior planning to go pro, so if he can’t pass the retake, he’s suspended. Hannah, a junior music major, is the only one who aces it.
Garrett wants Hannah to tutor him. Hannah refuses. She’s busy preparing for the winter showcase, where first prize is a five thousand dollar scholarship, and she’s immune to the hockey player charm. But Garrett is persistent. He corners her on campus, shows up at Della’s diner where she waitresses, gets her number off a study group sign-up sheet and texts her.
When he figures out Hannah has a crush on Justin Kohl, the football team’s new wide receiver, he pitches a deal. She tutors him for the Philosophical Ethics retake. He fake dates her to make Justin jealous. Hannah agrees.
Neither of them is looking for anything real. Garrett doesn’t have time for girlfriends. Hannah was drugged and sexually assaulted at a party when she was fifteen, and although she had years of therapy, dating is still complicated.
Hannah Starts Coming to the Hockey House
Hannah starts coming to the hockey house for tutoring sessions. Garrett lives there with John Logan, Dean Di Laurentis, and John Tucker. Logan has a crush on Hannah from the start.
Hannah is juggling tutoring with rehearsals for the winter showcase, where her duet partner Cass is a diva who makes practice impossible. In between sessions, Hannah and Garrett start getting to know each other. He tells her his mom died, and that he and his dad don’t have a good relationship. His father is Phil Graham, a famous hockey player. Every game, Phil shows up. A nod if Garrett wins. Nothing if he loses.
The First Kiss and the Party Plan
Justin starts noticing Hannah, especially once he sees her with Garrett. Garrett convinces Hannah to come to a party with him because Justin will be there.
Before the party, Garrett taunts Hannah that he bets she’s kind of a prude and a bad kisser. To prove a point, Hannah kisses him. Garrett is into it, but they’re interrupted by Dean, who walks in and asks if this is what happens during tutoring sessions. To make her point clear, Hannah kisses Dean too.
At the party, Justin doesn’t show up at first, which Garrett is secretly relieved about because he’s starting to like Hannah for real. Then Justin arrives and pulls Hannah away. Garrett gets jealous. Hannah tells him they’re just friends.
The next day, Hannah is at a coffee shop with her music friends when she runs into Justin, who asks her out. Garrett calls her while she’s there and keeps asking what’s going on between them. Hannah says they’re just hanging out and invites him to Dean’s birthday party at Malone’s.
Garrett Aces the Retake and the Night at Malone’s
Garrett aces the makeup exam, pulling an A-minus, and invites Hannah out to celebrate with the boys. Hannah doesn’t drink in public after the incident. She lies to Garrett and tells him a friend of hers was roofied at a party. Garrett promises to watch her like a hawk. Hannah agrees to go.
At Malone’s, Hannah is having a great time. She runs into her ex, Devin, who she never had sexual chemistry with. Since the assault, Hannah hasn’t been able to come with a partner. She’s fine alone, but anytime she’s with someone, she shuts down and feels like someone is on top of her.
Hannah gets drunk on piña coladas and starts belting karaoke. When it’s time to go home, she doesn’t want to go back to her dorm, so she goes back to Garrett’s. She strips down to her bra and tries to hook up with him, saying things about her past that Garrett can’t quite parse in the moment. He’s a gentleman about it. He tells her she’s too drunk and puts her to bed.
Hannah Tells Garrett the Truth
The next morning, Hannah wakes up cuddled up against Garrett. She asks him to have sex with her. Garrett is baffled. When Hannah asks why a girl can’t have a one-night stand, Garrett says girls can and should, but she’s not one of those girls. She’s a relationship girl.
Hannah trusts him enough to tell him what happened to her. Garrett is devastated. Eventually he agrees to help her, but he goes and talks to Birdie first. Birdie is the old goalie of the team, and Garrett asks him for advice on how to make sure a girl who’s a virgin has a good first time. He doesn’t tell Birdie it’s Hannah, and he doesn’t tell him the real reason he’s asking. Birdie tells him it’s all about trust.
The First Hookup Doesn’t Go to Plan
Hannah and Garrett set up what’s basically a scheduled sex date. Garrett sets the mood. Things are going well, but Hannah can’t cross the finish line. They try and try. She’s into it, but she can’t let go.
Garrett suggests they just masturbate in front of each other. Hannah agrees, and she’s finally able to come with a man in the room. After that, Garrett realizes he’s actually into Hannah. He doesn’t know what to do with it, because he doesn’t have time for girlfriends, but he really likes her.
Halloween and Garrett’s Real Backstory
It’s Halloween. Hannah ditches her own Halloween party and comes over to Garrett’s. He’s depressed because Halloween was when Phil used to be at his worst. He tells Hannah his father used to hit him, until he got big enough to fight back.
They have sex, and for the first time, Hannah has a fully positive experience with a man. Garrett invites her to his next hockey game and kisses her in front of everyone.
On the bus ride home, Logan tells Garrett he doesn’t want him to get embarrassed because he knows Hannah still has a date with Justin coming up. Garrett confronts Hannah about it. He’s hurt. He tells her he wants to date her for real. Hannah agrees. They officially start dating.
The Showcase Spot and Thanksgiving with Phil
Cass finally dumps Hannah from the duet, and Hannah is relieved. She gets permission to perform an original song at the winter showcase instead.
Phil tells Garrett he’ll cut him off financially if Garrett and Hannah don’t come to Thanksgiving and meet his new girlfriend, Cindy. They go. At dinner, Garrett notices a bruise on Cindy’s arm and realizes Phil is abusing her too.
After dinner, Phil tells Garrett to break up with Hannah. He says she’s a distraction. Garrett ignores him, and he and Hannah keep dating.
Hannah Runs Into Someone From Her Past
One day Hannah runs into a guy who is friends with the classmate who assaulted her. Garrett finds out and attacks the guy. Hannah gives Garrett permission to tell Coach Jensen what happened to her. Once Jensen knows, Garrett’s punishment is much softer than it could have been.
The next day, Phil comes to Della’s, where Hannah works. He threatens to cut Garrett off completely if she doesn’t break up with him. Hannah agrees. She tells Garrett she wants to see other people, that it’s too fast. Garrett is heartbroken. He doesn’t believe her. He knows something is wrong.
The Winter Showcase and the New Year’s Call
Hannah performs at the winter showcase and does really well. She goes home for the holidays missing Garrett and missing their friendship. On New Year’s Eve, she calls him because it’s his birthday.
When Hannah gets back to campus, she tries to date other people. It turns out Garrett has put a campus-wide hands-off rule on Hannah, so nobody will even talk to her.
The Deal Ending Explained
Hannah storms into the locker room and confronts Garrett. She tells him the truth: Phil forced her to break up with him. Garrett is amused and annoyed at the same time.
He explains what Hannah didn’t know. When he turned twenty-one, he got access to a trust fund his maternal grandparents left him. He used it to pay back everything he owed Phil. He’s free of him. They get back together.
In the epilogue, Garrett and Hannah are still happily together. Garrett’s team is competing at the Frozen Four. Hannah is rehearsing for the spring showcase. Garrett’s team wins the championship. Phil shows up to the game, but Garrett’s hockey teammates know now what Phil did to him, and they freeze him out completely.
Spicy Chapters
How Spicy is The Deal by Elle Kennedy (Off Campus Book 1): 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Whether you want to get to the heat or want closed-door modifications here’s the list of spicy chapters below.
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 24
- Chapter 25
- Chapter 27
- Chapter 29
- Chapter 36
- Chapter 37
I reread The Deal a bunch of times and will probably reread it every time I look for a story to escape to. I might even make this a yearly occasion every time a new season of Off Campus drops.
What did you think of The Deal? Do you prefer the book or the show? If you want us to continue covering Off Campus books, let us know in the comments.
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