Title: The Deal (Off Campus #1)
Author: Elle Kennedy
Genre: NA, Romance
Edition/Pages: Ebook, 342 pages
Goodreads page

Synopsis

This follows the two main characters, Hannah and Garrett, as they try to navigate the end of their college semester. Garrett is a hockey superstar and Hannah is a quiet, music major. Garrett seeks out Hannah and convinces her to tutor him in Ethics. In return he will boost her popularity so the guy she has been crushing on will finally notice her. But what starts out as a begrudging agreement, quickly morphs into something much more.

My Review

Overview

This is told in alternating perspectives between Hannah and Garrett. And it was so dang precious that I couldn’t shake my cheesy grin every time I picked this up. It’s a non-angsty, adorable, smutty romance.

What I Liked:
1. Hannah is the female lead the world needs. She was so multi faceted. She was strong but feminine. Sweet but witty. Smart but shy. And she had goals and dreams she worked hard for and didn’t give up on for a guy. It was so refreshing to read a female lead who felt realistic and three dimensional.
2. I couldn’t help but fall for Garrett. He was so dang sweet and I was swooning for most of this book.
3. Garrett and Hannah’s relationship and pasts were handled with such care. This covers some tough topics, which I wasn’t expecting. And the way it was handled felt respectful and well done.
4. The angst was really kept to a minimum. This a personal preference thing, but I’m not big on super angsty romance. And this really didn’t have any of that! It was just a fun, sweet, slow-burn romance.

What I Didn’t Like:
1. Right at the very end this had a small thing I really dislike it books – when conflict is created purely from lack of communication. And it just didn’t feel necessary. The whole conflict was introduced and wrapped up in like a dozen pages and I felt like a similar wrap up could have happened without it. This is my half start deduction.

Overall this was the perfect start to Smutathon! If you’re looking for a cute, new adult romance, I definitely recommend picking this up!

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