The Deal (Off-Campus #1)

November 13, 2018 Simplistic ReaderLeave a comment

The Deal

Elle Kennedy

Publisher: Independent Publishing.

Date Released: The Kindle version was released February 24th 2018

Date Read: October 31st

Genre: New Adult, Erotica, Contemporary, Romance, College

Grade: 3.8 Stars/ C+

“Sometimes people sneak up on you and suddenly you don’t know how you ever lived without them.”

― Elle Kennedy

Everyone but Hannah practically fails the classes midterm, including Garrett Graham, captain of the Briar University’s hockey team. Scared that he won’t be able to play anymore, he tries to convince Hannah to tutor him after he sees the A on her paper. Hannah wants nothing to do with Garrett, but she can’t resist his offer when he tells her he will help her win her crush over. Tutor sessions turn into a strange friendship and leaves them possibly wanting more.

I didn’t think I was going to pick this series up after reading the first book of it’s new spin off series, The Chase. But as I was looking through my library’s catalog I couldn’t help but wonder if they had the off-campus books. Surprisingly they did, and I couldn’t help myself. Something about these books had me wanting more, which really surprised me considering I thought I thought the Chase was a tinge cringy. Nether less, I couldn’t stop myself from getting The Deal. Now it’s safe to say the writing isn’t any better, which I assumed it wouldn’t be considering the Off-Campus series came first, but it wasn’t cringy, at least not what they were saying. They both talked normal and while the writing did take me a minute to get used to, when I finally got into it, I didn’t want to stop. I loved Garrett and Hannah’s story way more than I did Summer and Fitzy’s. From the first time these characters meet they have chemistry going for them. They work so well together. They were cute and i’m not sure how the rest of the series will top Garrett and Hannah.

Pros

Hannah is very relatable, and maybe that’s just because I act like Hannah. Hannah likes loyalty, even if she doesn’t outright say it. When a girl goes behind Hannah’s back and helps to screw her over, Hannah tells the girl that she will not be friends with her, at least not any time soon. Hannah is somewhat on the anti-social side, but she refuses to let anyone walk over her, which makes a great match for Garrett. Hannah was willing to challenge him and others when she feels she is right. I liked reading Hannah’s character a lot.
Garrett is incredibly charming and I loved every second he was in the story. Garrett has a big ego, basically every girl at school wants him and he knows it, but he’s an not asshole. He doesn’t want to hurt people. He is never really mean to Hannah and just wants her to enjoy herself. He is also very flirty, but in a good way. It didn’t seem like he was trying to hard, it was natural for him. I also liked reading his reactions to Hannah. How quickly he is ok with her just being in his company. Garrett had all the means to be a douchey asshole, but wasn’t. Instead the author took the guy with a big ego, and made him sweet and charming, which worked out amazingly well. I thought Fitzy was the dream boat, but Garrett kinda stole the thunder there. There’s also the fact that Garrett was the incredibly nice to Hannah when Hannah was out of it, I was scared something was going to happen to make me hate him, but it just made me love him more.
The book takes serious issues such as rape and abuse and doesn’t make a mess of it. They explore both of them and show that neither of them are your fault, and that can be something you can overcome. I really liked how Hannah’s issue with rape was handled. Hannah is ok with men and doesn’t blame herself, but she does struggle with a different side effect of rape that therapy can’t exactly help her with. And no, it’s not a story of a girl falls in love with a guy and they’re cured of all of their problems. Hannah was already getting help for it all before she even meet Garrett, and had mostly come to terms with all of it and accepted that she was a survivor and she wouldn’t let it cripple her anymore. The abuse isn’t explored as much as Hannah’s past is, but I do like the way it is handled still. The author also doesn’t make it to heavy with the past trauma’s, so the story is more heart warming, instead of heart breaking. It’s a cute fun read that is realistic, not a sad read that takes a lot out of you.

Cons

This book is nowhere near as cringy with the wording as it’s spin off was, but there was still a few things that made me cringe inside a little. I kept questioning how old the author was when I kept reading about how her characters love Selena Gomez, One Direction, and Justin Bieber, but then I remembered that I know girls who are in college right now and still cry when Justin Bieber is coming to our city, so I guess I can’t full on fault her for it, but it’s still something I personally find cringy, but at least this time I don’t feel like the character needs to be wearing Ugg boots and carrying a pumpkin spice latte. There is still some wording though that makes it hard to read at times. The author likes to abbreviate some words, and as someone who isn’t really into texting, and when I do I don’t tend to use a lot of abbreviations, it gets annoying having to stop and google what they mean. If she had wrote the abbreviations when it was characters texting, there would of been nothing I could complain about since people do text like that, but in the actually writing, having to stop mid paragraph to look up what a abbreviation means does make it harder for me to read. Luckily she doesn’t put to many in this book. I think there was only two I had to google.
It once again had info dumping. Within the first page of the first chapter, the author tells you out of nowhere that Hannah was raped. There was no building to it, she just threw it out there that she was raped. It is literally the starting sentence of the third or so paragraph, She was talking about her crush and then just dropped the bomb that she has only loved two people since she was raped. It was literally just a bomb that was thrown on you, and I can tell author the knows how to not info dump, because she doesn’t do it with Garrett. She lets it unfold. Know, I can tell why she info dumped about Hannah’s rape. It plays a big part in Hannah’s story. She doesn’t like to go to parties, drink, or be around people in that situation because of what happened to her, it’s just the way it was thrown out there. It was basically Hannah going, “I have a crush on this football player. He’s really cute. Oh and i’ve been raped.” It is very important from the beginning of the story to know what happened to Hannah, it was just the way it was presented maybe messed it up.

The writing is still awkward at times. It does take a few chapters to get used to it, especially if you were reading a very thorough boo before coming to this one, but once Garrett and Hannah start talking to each other, the story flows a lot better. It happened in The Chase. The books just seem to have a little bit of a rocky start, but once they get the flow on it is smooth sailing from there. In both of the books of these I have read so far, I have stopped taking notes half way through the story about any weird writing. It’s possible it was there, I was just so in the story that I wouldn’t have noticed. You get so caught up in the characters and then trying to figure out their feelings, that you ignore how the story is written.

“What is wrong with you? Why aren’t you freaking out right now? Garrett Graham is sitting in your booth. He talked to you.”

“Holy shit, he did? I mean, his lips were moving, but I didn’t realize he was talking.”

― Elle Kennedy,

I loved reading how comfortable Garrett and Hannah were together. Before they even started to have feelings for each other you could see how they just enjoyed being in each other’s company. Just chilling out and watching movies together, even laying in the same bed without touching each other or trying to have sex with each other. They were content in just being there. They worked together very well. I enjoyed The Deal a lot. It satisfies my contemporary need, but I still plan on reading the rest. This book is still very sexual. It is classified as an erotica, but it’s also not the most descriptive or erotic book I’ve read and I tend to stay away from erotica’s. I think the most sexual book I’ve read is the Sookie Stackhouse series, and this isn’t as bad as that, at least not to me. They also did have sex a lot, like almost every time they saw each other after they had sex the first time, but it didn’t take over the story, so it wasn’t a con for me. I do plan on reading the rest, and I hope they can beat Garrett and Hannah, but I really loved them so I don’t know.

‘ “Don’t worry, I’m beating him up in my head, baby. That counts, right?”

She laughs. “Sure. I’ll allow it.” ‘

-Elle Kennedy

Also while reading I was scared that Garrett was going to be like Fitzy and Hannah was going to be like Summer. They were not from the very start. Garrett was nothing like Fitzy, and Hannah is nothing like Summer. I was scared that the author was going to have a hard time making her characters different but as soon as I started reading through Garrett’s point of view I knew instantly that was not the case. Garrett was most definitely his own character.

Contemporary · New Adult · Romance · Sports

The Chase (Briar U #1)

October 29, 2018October 29, 2018 Simplistic ReaderLeave a comment

The Chase

Elle Kennedy

34851664

Publisher: Elle Kennedy Inc

Date Released: The Kindle Version was released on August 4th, 2018 and the paperback was released on the 26th.

Date Read: August 29, 2018

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult

Grade: 3.5 Stars/ C+

“What do you have against colors, Colin? Did red bully you as a child? Did green steal your girlfriend?”

-Elle Kennedy

When Summer’s housing plans don’t work out, Summer is stuck finding a place to live. Luckily for Summer, her brother knows a few friends from hockey that are in need of a roommate. Unluckily for Summer, one of them is Colin Fitzgerald, an artist who programs video games and prefers to sit at home watching movies. Summer had a crush on him, but he made it very clear he thinks of her as some shallow girl. Fitzy isn’t her only problem though, along with starting at a new school, she has a biased dean watching over her, a touchy professor, and essays to write.

When I first start reading this book I wanted to stop. I had a bunch of notes already written about how awful the character’s inner and outer dialogue was, but we’ll touch up on that later. Reading it at first was not the easiest. It was cringy, but i decided to give it a chance and continue and I’m honestly glad I did. If you are looking for a serious book with a serious plot, I would look somewhere else. If you want a funny, romance book to read just for fun then I would recommend this one. After I got a few chapters in I started to like it. After reading some of the main character talk more and actually interact with each other, I got past the cringy way the main character talks at times and started to enjoy the book. I wanted an easy fun read and this book accomplished that.

Pros

The dialogue and the characters could be funny. It wasn’t written like someone trying to replicate friends talking, but seemed like how actual friends talk. They would pick on each other and would all laugh at it. A lot of their dialogue had me laughing even. Brenna, Summer’s friend and the coaches daughter, especially had me laughing. As soon as Brenna popped up in the first few chapters I decided I would keep reading. The characters interacted very well together and had a good bond with each other before the story even started.
One of the problems that Summer has to deal with in the book is her ADHD. She can’t stay focused at times, and has problems with writing. Because of this she sees herself as stupid and hates on herself for it. The way the author writes Summer’s struggle with ADHD is done well. I have seen a lot of my friends with it struggle and think the same way. It is nice to watch her start to come to terms with it and accept the fact that she isn’t stupid. She is good at knowing things she loves like the fashion industry, she just isn’t a good writer. The author also kept Summer’s ADHD consistent. Summer would lose her focus a lot in the middle of conversations and go on tangents about something else if something caught her eye. The author didn’t just say that Summer has ADHD and then do nothing with it. Even if the author hadn’t made Summer state she has ADHD, it would of been easy to notice based on how she acted.
The characters were done well. I liked Hollis, one of the other roommates that people in the story deemed annoying. He is the chatty goofy friend that I always adore. Hunter didn’t have much going on for him other then he liked Summer and was flirty with her. Brenna has funny and very outgoing. Summer was a party girl, but other then some of the stupid things she says, she isn’t a annoying party girl, and then there’s Fitzy. Fitzy is honestly the man of my dreams. A hot, nerdy, tatted, artist gamer who is also very nice and doesn’t like fighting and wants to stay at home watching Netflix He is a dream. I liked Fitzy, though he did talk about his dick a lot, and I mean a lot, to the point where I feel like his brain is being taken over by his dick.

Cons

Like I have been mentioned, there is some cringy dialogue. Summer says things like, “Jee-zus”, “get her Prada on”, “that’s so not my scene”, “groucho”, “I propose we make up”, and “I can’t even”. It was like reading a badly written sitcom. I guess the author was going for a millennium vibe, but it was over doing it. It made Summer seem ‘basic’, and I don’t blame Fitzy for seeing her as shallow when she talks like that. She also mentions things like Snapchat and Uber. Might as well put her in Uggs and give her a pumpkin spice latte. It’s ok to like and say some of those things, but it’s literally like the author took the basic white girl meme and give it a character. Fitzy says some cringy things to, it’s not just Summer. Though his is usually about his penis, he does say things like “Drama-llama.” I think the most cringy part was when Summer referred to Fitzy as a Unicorn. Out of all things, a Unicorn. I glad that doesn’t last long. That line alone made me want to stop reading the book.
The writing wasn’t the greatest. Summer would say that Fitzy isn’t very talkative, and then have a lengthy conversation with him about things they like. Yes, it would be small talk at times, but that’s still very talkative. There was also a little bit of info dumping and they kept referring to Fitzy’s tattoos for a while as if they were a problem, like tattoos on a college student is unheard of. There was also some awkward sentences that should made the pacing go off track. I would have to stop and try to read the sentence again because my brain didn’t want to comprehend it. What the author had written wouldn’t be bad towards the story’s plot, but it was awkwardly phrased which hurt it’s writing. Also the author would abbreviate certain words like “W” for I think win, and “D” for defense. I’m not into sports so if I hadn’t read The Foxhole Court, and watched some sports anime, it would of probably took me a few minutes to think that D stood for defense. When I think of defense I don’t think of sports. I know it’s written that way to come off as relatable, and people who play sports might talk like to say something faster, I don’t know. To me though, it hurt the story more than it made it relatable.

Summer’s cringy way of talking at times did get annoying, but overall I will give her a pass for it. She’s not a bad character. I actually liked her, and I don’t usually like the preppy girl characters. She was very friendly and there was scenes that I commended her for. She would slut shame a girl for talking to Fitzy and immediately retract that and say that, no that girl isn’t a slut, i’m just being jealous. She would also help other girls when they needed it. Summer was nice and she proved that she is not just some shallow preppy girl who loves fashion. She had her faults, and she knew it. Now there is the other note of, this book is very sexual. I don’t know if I would label it erotica because no sex happens till way into the book, but they do reference to it a lot. They also reference Summer’s boobs and legs and Fitzy dick a lot and what they would want to do with said parts. It’s a new adult book and isn’t for younger people, though that’s really up to your parents I guess if you’re under eighteen. Just putting it as a warning that this book is very sexual and sex is mentioned A LOT. It’s that’s not your taste, then isn’t for you. I will say, i’m not someone for erotica, I think it’s too much, but I was fine with this book. I did think it was over done, but I also knew it was before I read it so I can’t fault it for that.

If you want a good, easy, mature, romance to read I would recommend this one. It’s not something you would want to read if you’re looking for something that is more serious like a John Green book. There is some serious topics in this book, but it’s not talked about a lot so it’s not something that is too important to the book or gives it a more serious tone. The book does feature drugs and inappropriate touching of other people, though the drugs are only mentioned a few times, it’s nowhere near a major topic of the story.

Also this book is a spin off of another serious that deals with Summer’s brother Dean, and some of his friends on the hockey team. I have not read those books, but I would check them out to see if they are written in the same way and have similar cringe dialogue moments. I personally wouldn’t buy the books myself, but if I would check them out from the library if I saw it on the shelf. They are the type of books series that I don’t like, which are when each book follows a new couple set in the same world, and same place. I don’t tend to like those book, but it’s also something I knew before I read this book, so once again, I can’t fault it for that, plus it’s set up to where I don’t need to read the next book in the series. The way this one ended I can just leave it there if I want. I really did enjoy it and might read the first serious when I need a break again from serious heavier books.

“What’s the charity?”

“Oh” Bianca looks sheepish. “We’re raising money to renovate the basement here in the mansion.”

Oh my God. They’re the charity?

-Elle Kennedy