“You like hockey, right?” “You like to read?” “You like romance, too?”
These are the questions I was asked right before The Deal was brought up in conversation. "It's about hockey and you like reading, so you'll like it."
As I finished Elle Kennedy’s tale of an unlikely college couple, I thought back to the preceding remarks made by my best friend’s sister who recommended the book and let me borrow it (turns out I’d overlook the physical copy until I was asked to return it weeks later). That's where e-books come in handy.
The story did have hockey in it though, that’s for sure, but it might not have been about hockey. Be that as it may, I did enjoy this read and the many hockey references it threw in. I’m pleased to say they were all coherent and accurate to my knowledge of the game.
What really got me hooked was the connection and incredible tension between the two main characters Garret and Hannah. I started reading this book on my phone during work one Monday morning and by the time I clocked out on Friday afternoon I had finished and was craving more. With wavering time to consume the story, I inhaled it as fast as I could, often times getting to extremely steamy points as I sat at my station waiting for customers to come in.
I’m glad my friends knew me well enough to understand my love for reading and hockey along with my sensitivity to love stories and coming of age tales. While I did enjoy college in my own right, I wasn’t the biggest social butterfly as I commuted to campus four days a week and went out with school friends only once, making this read a fantasy of sorts that had me reevaluating my years in higher education. Fitting in with and talking to the ladies has been one of my favorite past times, so If I must admit that I love sappy love stories and enjoy good smutty writing I don’t give a toot.
An adventure book for the hopeless romantic.
The Deal started off, in my eyes, as a normal college tale about woebegotten coeds interested in all the young adult aspects of life. It quickly morphed into a will-they-wont-they situation that had me on the edge of my seat eager to find out what happened next.
Without giving any pertinent information away I’ll say that I was pleasantly surprised by most of the occurrences but welcomed them as Kennedy melded each aspect perfectly with the overarching storyline. A wonderful piece of writing devoid of choppy sentences or ideas that effectively guides you through different perspectives with seamless transitions. A testament to a good read and a good writer is the ability to finish a book in under a week. While there are much quicker readers out there, I like to acknowledge a good achievement on my own part.
Whether you are a fan of hockey and not romance or a fan of romance but not hockey I suggest giving this title a try. I’d like to think most readers would enjoy The Deal because it focuses on one of the core aspects of life – love rules all and drives us to do things we never thought we were capable of. Capturing a true romance, one with tasteful and exciting sexy passages, is a difficult task without being cheesy. Elle Kennedy passes with flying colors and a hat-trick of good writing. The ease of this read coupled with a fantastic storyline and great dialogue makes this one of my favorite reads of the year.
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