Book Title: The Deal (Series: Off-Campus # 1)
Author: Elle Kennedy
Year Published: 2015
Genre: Contemporary M/F Romance, College Romance
Trope/s: Forced Proximity, Fake Dating, Enemies-to-friends-to-FWB-to lovers
Narrative type: First-person alternating PoVs, linear narrative
Triggers: Rape, domestic violence, child abuse, PTSD, violence
Maturity Rating: Adult (for sexual and other adult themes)
Personal Rating: 4.25
Synopsis: (I like writing my own synopses though the book blurb also exists if you want to read that instead 😳)
Hannah Wells is a music major and has aced her Philosophy Ethics exam with an A, something only 10% of the class has managed with the rest getting Cs. That hasn't gone unnoticed by Garrett Graham, captain of Briar's Ice Hockey team, whose glaring C-minus has made it imperative that he needs to up his grades in the redo if he wants to keep playing hockey. Ergo, he chases - nope, literally stalks - Hannah to get her to be his tutor. Hannah thinks Garrett is an ass, but is slowly won over by his persuasive skills, or rather more by the fact that appearing socially with him as his 'date' gives her an improved social status at Briar and definitely makes her more interesting to Justin Kohl, the football player she's crushing on. Reluctantly, she agrees to tutor Garrett for this one exam. As they get to know each other, they progress to being friends and then friends-with-benefits, as they continue to navigate the complex & demanding world of Ivy League university education. They both have emotional baggage they're carrying though, and the key to their relationship surviving is if they can overcome their own and accept the other's baggage.
Review: *Huge exhale*. I found this book on a rec list somewhere and didn't think much - just picked it up. I was hooked in by the writing from Page 1. The author has a very quirky engaging style and what was refreshing for me is that the leads are college juniors, both about 20 years old. Different from the more mature leads I've been reading lately. And good because some of the immature things they say or do can be explained away by their age (unlike older leads who still behave immaturely 😆).
A good bit of this book read like a teen rom-com. In fact, the initial chapters reminded me so much of this teen movie, D.U.F.F that I'd watched and quite enjoyed. The girl is crushing on another guy, is forced to tutor a jock who offers to date her so she will be more appealing to the other guy, the two have platonic interest in each other. The guy is a hot, popular commitment-phobe and the girl is an academic nerd. Typical right?
“Hey, if you want to get Kohl’s attention, you’ve gotta do something drastic.” He pauses. “So yes, I’m reoffering to go out with you.”
But these two leads are so much more. I think I can say I liked these leads more than I liked the book, and there's rarely a time I feel like this because after all, the book presents the leads right? But here I feel like the writing (in some places) failed these two. They deserved more. Not that the writing was bad - god, I'm explaining myself badly, aren't I? 😒
They are both victims of abuse in different ways and my heart aches so much for these two young people really. They've had to deal with so much! 😭
Hannah: Oh God! Hannah. I love her so much. She's a rape survivor (& that's not a spoiler, it literally says that on Page 1 of the book). In fact, I almost put the book down because it was a huge trigger for me. This book, in fact, had a lot of triggers that I normally avoid and there were times while reading, that I had to put it down because I couldn't take it. It's not that anything is described in graphic detail or anything, but it's just triggering for me. But Hannah, despite everything she's faced is such a positive girl. She is not bitter and she understands that she isn't to blame & never ever holds pity parties for herself. She's evolved and empowered and completely admirable. It's horrible how much her life - and by extension, her family's suffered because of what happened to her & it was agonizing to read. She goes through therapy and comes out stronger, but still has scars and that's understandable. There were several times when I just wanted to wrap her in a blanket and protect her from the world and just do something drastic to the people that hurt her. She deserves all the love and care, and Garrett gave it to her. My God and how!
The only thing I found annoying about her was her insistence on pursuing her stupid crush on Justin. But she's forgiven because once she's with Garrett, she's all in.
“I never expected her. Sometimes people sneak up on you and suddenly you don’t know how you ever lived without them. How you went about your day and hung out with your friends and f*cked other people without having this one important person in your life.”
Garrett: I love him! 😭 L.O.V.E. He starts off being an entitled, stubborn ass, stalking Hannah- oops Wellsy as he calls her 😆 & hounding her to tutor him and eventually wears her down - and I found this bratty and annoying but God, he shows up for her in so many ways afterwards that everything he did initially was forgotten. And anyways, Hannah herself did not mind it and was more than happy to burn him & hand him is ass on a platter, so i guess I have no cause to be offended on her behalf. She could more than handle him. And lbr, their bantering was sooo cute.
He baits her all too often and she cannot resist.
“Fear is a fact of life,” he says solemnly. “Don’t let it get you down, Wellsy. Everyone experiences it.” He leans back on his elbows like a bigshot. “Tell you what, I’ll give you a free pass. If you’re too scared to kiss me, I won’t make you.”
And God, how he reacts to her rape and how he treats her afterwards? He allows himself to be used by her, to empower her and never, ever makes it about himself.
“There’s no one better than him. Garrett is the best man I’ve ever known. And not just because he’s smart and sexy and funny and so much sweeter than I ever gave him credit for. He makes me feel alive. Yeah, we bicker, and sure, his cockiness drives me crazy sometimes, but when I’m with him, I feel whole. I feel like I can drop my guard completely and not have to worry about getting hurt or taken advantage of or being afraid, because Garrett Graham will always be there to love and protect me.”
He's been dealing with his asshole father all his life, so yes, he's had his share of abuse too. The thing to remember is - neither of these two are broken and yet they make each other whole.
I loved this book. I can tell you it made me emotional more than once, and it made me angry many times, so much so that I wanted to throw my phone against the wall and break something. I was crying actual tears but it also made me smile and laugh and cheer and just simply wallow in the bliss that these two were finally together. The author did deal with the rape and abuse sensitively but I wish there had been more resolution for both of them. I understand that this is how it is in real life and very often victims (no- survivors) don't get that closure and have to go through life nevertheless without ever getting it. But this is fiction, & sometimes I want fiction to depict the opposite of reality. Because although I love the relatability of reality, I also need the hope that fiction can bring.
Anyways, TL;DR this has been the best first-person PoV romance I've read so far. Eager to read the rest of the series: Logan, Tuck and Dean's I'm guessing. I've already borrowed the next one: The Mistake which is Logan's story - I'm hoping it will be interesting and I want to see how he gets over his feelings for Hannah. And of course, I want to read more Hannah and Garrett!
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Cricket
