THE DEAL

The Deal by Elle Kennedy was my introduction to not only her as an author, but the popular romance sub-genre of hockey romance, which has taken TikTok by storm. The Deal introduces us to the hockey team at Briar U, all of which appear further in the series and in the spin-offs.

Garrett Graham is struggling in school, which threatens his chances of playing hockey, and searches for tutoring help in fellow classmate Hannah Wells. Hannah adamantly refuses until he offers her something she can't resists: the attention of the boy she really wants.

After suffering past trauma, Hannah struggles to put herself out there and date. While helping to get her out of her shell, Hannah and Garrett end up falling together...repeatedly. Garrett is Hannah's perfect match, but now he has to convince her that he can be a changed man for her.

I didn't think I'd so into hockey romance, but I loved it so much that I spent the month of April reading the entire series. Elle Kennedy manages to make you fall for all of her characters, and writes their steamy romances well, without focusing on toxic characters and instead focusing on characters that learn and grow.