Review: When it comes to sports romance books, “The Deal” is absolute perfection! 

 

“The Deal” alternates between the perspectives of Hannah Wells and Garrett Graham. Hannah is a straight A student and talented singer, but when it comes to the art of seduction, she is out of her comfort zone. When an opportunity arises for her to tutor Garrett— the cocky, captain of the hockey team—in exchange for a pretend date, she takes it hoping to learn how to win over her crush. Garrett doesn’t mind, so long as she helps him raise his GPA and secure his position on the hockey team. But when one wild night ignites real feelings, Garrett is determined to convince Hannah that what they have is far from pretend. 

 

The dual points-of-view in this book are SO good! I don’t know how Kennedy did it, but she made Hannah and Garrett’s voices so distinct and unique to their characters that I felt like they were real people I had gotten to know.  

 

I really love how Kennedy incorporated the fake relationship trope into her storyline. Oftentimes, I feel like the two characters that agree to fake date in romance books are either strangers, mere acquaintances, or rivals. While Hannah and Garrett start out as strangers to each other, they actually become great friends before they pretend to date, which eliminated feelings of awkwardness and discomfort between them and made their transition from friends to lovers more natural and realistic. 

 

I also really love Garrett and Hannah’s chemistry. The banter in this novel is fantastic, especially when the two first begin to interact, and their drastically different dynamics compliment each other well. 

 

I will definitely be reading the other books in the off-campus series, but I have a feeling this book will forever remain my favorite!