Review: The Deal (Off-Campus #1) by Elle Kennedy

The Deal (Off-Campus #1) by Elle Kennedy

Blurb from Goodreads:

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.  

My Review:
Wow, wow, wow.  I think by now some of us are sick of NA and the formulaic NA, specifically.  And maybe not every little detail of The Deal was unique but it was such a great read with real and likable characters!!  In reading the first few chapters, I felt like there was no way I could ever like or relate to Garrett -- he seemed like a typical chauvinistic athlete.  But then he needs Hannah --  and we see this whole other side of him.  Hannah is strong but still feels broken because of her past and although she might not know it when the book begins, she needs Garrett just as much as he needs her.  I loved their banter and their bickering because they truly did become friends and confidants before ever becoming something more.  However, when they did become more, their intimacy was so explosive that it jumped off the page.  This book was seriously a perfect mix of comedy, friendship, passion and love.  I had a huge smile the whole time I was reading this book and I couldn't put it down.

I would HIGHLY recommend this to all NA fans and, especially, to fans of The Hook Up by Kristin Callihan and Easy by Tammara Webber, two of my all time favorite NAs.  This is an absolutely excellent NA that is not only steamy but funny and tender.  I loved it!!!

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.