The Deal
2000
- college students
- fiction
- hockey players
- fake dating
- friends to lovers
- enemies to lovers
- hockey
- sports romance
- swoonworthy hero
- strong heroine
The story
The international bestseller! A standalone novel* from New York Times and international bestselling author Elle Kennedy! 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.
What it’s like
Bright, chatty campus romance: study-hall fluorescents, late-night library tables, cold rink air and locker-room swagger, with the sheen of a glossy contemporary paperback. The prose is quick and sharp, driven by snappy back-and-forth dialogue and a steady stream of teasing. Its vibe is playful, flirtatious and warm, the kind of read that suits a lazy weekend, a long commute, or a comfort reread when you want to laugh out loud and blush at once. The arc follows two stubborn people who think they're only pretending, slowly admitting they want more. Sex is frequent and explicit, written in detail and with heat, though the emotional beats stay light and the stakes are mostly personal rather than dark. Violence is minimal, limited to hockey checks and sporting rivalry, with no gore or cruelty. Language is frank and profane. This is for readers who want swoony, funny, steamy romance with a strong-willed heroine and a hero who's cocky on the surface and softer underneath.
More books like The Deal
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved The Dealand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
