The Deal: 1 (Off-Campus, 1)

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How do you feel about Lynyrd Skynyrd? Or do you only like bands where the guys coordinate their outfits?” So when the very “popular”, very sexy, and very flirty lady’s man, Garret, offers to help Hannah gain the attention of her crush in exchange for some Ethics tutoring, “The Deal” is born… That is, up until the moment her longest romance of three weeks ends and she plans to break into a posh hotel to host the year’s biggest pool party.

It is so cute watching the guy who everyone swooned over know what it was like to have the shoe on the other foot. I'm recommending this to romance readers who like me hate TSTLness, cheating heroes, slut shamming and "adult" characters acting like teens. It's been a while since a contemporary romance impressed but The Deal surprised me in a good way, just when I was about to give up on the erotic romance genre. Hannah is the girl on campus that kind of keeps to herself with her group of friends. She knows where she stands in the social world and is fine where she is at. It has been a year since her last relationship and finally has a crush on a new football transfer student. Hannah is rehearsing for the winter show. She’s meant to be doing a duet with Cass, who is a nightmare to work with, for a song written by MJ. Cass keeps trying to change the plan, and eventually talks MJ into making changes that cause Hannah to drop out of the duet. Which means I have not had ANY caffeine in my system for over 24 hours for the first time since junior high school.

Goodreads Summary:

Piper has whatever she wants without needing to work for it because she was raised wealthy due to a Hollywood mogul for a stepdad. The Deal follows Hannah Wells, a college student who is battling inner turmoil after an incident that happened in high school. As the reader, we get to see how she navigates a new setting after trauma and whether she can move on with her life.

The Deal” was not my first book by Elle Kennedy, but for sure was the one that I loved the most. It was such an enjoyable read and from the start I couldn’t put it down. It was sweet, sexy and funny and even a little emotional at times and it just made me smile. Despite repeated refusals from Hannah, Garrett is eventually successful in his quest to have Hannah tutor him. They make a deal – she will help him pass the midterm make up test and he will take her out to a party where Kohl will be, thus improving her social cred and making her seem unattainable – something Garrett assures Hannah is necessary if she wants a date with “loverboy”. The narrated version is not at all what I expected -Ms. Avalon has a very deep and nasal-toned voice and does not fit for a 20 year-old woman OR a 20 year-old man (she is playing both characters -even though the books chapters are split between the male and female POV); her intonation is off and does not do the story justice. I found myself annoyed when really common phrases were narrated in a way that stressed words in an oddly -I have no idea how old Ms. Avalon is, but based on the narration, I am guessing she is significantly older than the characters and has never uttered similar dialogue in her everyday life. I’ll be honest, I’ve wanted to read some of Elle’s books since I found out that Erin Watt was a pseudonym for two authors, and recently on Booktok, Elle’s Off-Campus/Briar U series started to show up on my FYP all the time ranking the guys and showing mood boards, so I gave in (not that it took much) and bought an ecopy then I finished it today and ended up buying a physical copy because I love Garrett and Hannah’s story so much.Horror slams into me as I register what I’m seeing. Oh God. I’ve stumbled onto a penis convention. Big penises and small penises and fat penises and penis-shaped penises. It doesn’t matter which direction I move my head because everywhere I look I see penises. Themes: Love, relationships, power struggles, friendships, self-worth, and trauma. The Spanish Love Deception – Elena Armas There are other things I could say (really, I could gush for so much longer) but they are probably too spoilerish and I want readers to experience the joy of unexpected turns in the story without me getting in the way. Well, Ms. Kennedy has written one of the best New Adult "college" stories I have read. She has taken all of the normal conflicts...and then raised the bar. Because her characters are two complete, fully formed adults. They have purpose; they have attainable goals. They have experienced individually horrible situations and through their inner strength worked to be as Whole as they can. They do not whine; they do not play "the woe is me card"... and they would have every single reason to. No... they confronted their demons, worked to "get over" them, and are ready to get on with life.

The Deal was another one of those unexpected reads. Unexpected because despite its simple plot, this book succeeded in taking over my heart and my mind. Always a good sign for a reader. That gets her attention. She straightens up like someone shoved a metal rod up her spine, then swivels her head in astonishment. “What?” The make up is next Friday, which gives us a week and a half to study. I’ll write the exam, and then on Saturday night we’ll go to Maxwell’s party and show Loverboy how sexy and desirable you are. He won’t be able to resist, trust me.”When Garrett noticed that Hannah got an A on the same subject, he needled her into agreeing to his tutor. Hannah initially refused but Garrett was persistent. When Garrett found out about her dilemma, he offered a solution: he'll help her land the guy in exchange for a tutoring session. And thus begin their unlikely friendship. I adored the fake dating element, especially because it starts out as her needing it to make another guy notice her, which Garrett is fine with in the beginning because he has his own reasons for needing Hannah. Themes: Love, mental health, trust issues, family bonds, friendships, and trauma. Falling For The Groomsman – Diane Alberts