The Deal
Elle Kennedy, 2015
A hockey star and a wary tutor make a fake-dating deal, then find the chemistry refuses to stay on script. Witty banter and warm, charged scenes keep the fake-dating setup moving, with tenderness underneath the hockey-star swagger.
Feels like humor, passion and tenderness. About love, identity and ambition.
Who it’s for
You may enjoy this if you like college sports romances built on sharp banter, a wary tutor, and a deal that keeps slipping into real feeling. The fake-dating premise and hockey-star lead are familiar territory, so the story may feel predictable if you want a romance that avoids those setups.
Why read it
It gives you quick wit, physical spark, and two people testing who they are together, which makes the familiar deal feel worth following.
A page from the book
What it feels like when a casual goodbye stops being casual.
She tries to take a step down the hall, but I tug on her hand and kiss her again, and this time it’s not a peck. I kiss her hard, losing myself in her taste and her heat and every damn thing about her. I never expected her. Sometimes people sneak up on you and suddenly you don’t know you ever lived without them. Elle Kennedy.Elle Kennedy is Canadian; The Deal launched her Off-Campus series, set at the fictional Briar University.
Books that feel like this
More by Elle Kennedy
The Chase
Elle Kennedy, 2018
A hockey star and a sharp-tongued freshman collide in a romance of banter, bad timing, and the terrifying work of being fully known.
The Mistake
Elle Kennedy, 2015
A college hockey player and the girl who won’t be a convenient mistake: loud banter, real apology, and the messy work of being lovable.
The Score
Elle Kennedy, 2016
A college hockey star who never does relationships meets a girl who isn't impressed—and the banter turns into something neither planned.
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Questions readers ask
- Is The Deal for me?
- You may enjoy this if you like college sports romances built on sharp banter, a wary tutor, and a deal that keeps slipping into real feeling. The fake-dating premise and hockey-star lead are familiar territory, so the story may feel predictable if you want a romance that avoids those setups.
- What is The Deal like?
- Witty banter and warm, charged scenes keep the fake-dating setup moving, with tenderness underneath the hockey-star swagger. Feels like humor, passion and tenderness. About love, identity and ambition.
- What should I read after The Deal?
- If you liked The Deal, try When He Was Wicked (Julia Quinn), The Spanish Love Deception (Elena Armas) and Bride (Ali Hazelwood).
A taste of the feed
The exact moment unspoken feelings become too powerful to contain.
Why?Why? Why?” He gave each one a different tenor, as if he were testing out the word, asking it to different people. “Why?” he asked again, this time with increased volume as he turned around to face her. “Why? It’s because I love you, damn me to hell. Because I’ve always loved you. Because I loved you when you were with John, and I loved you when I was in India, and God only knows I don’t deserve you, but I love you, anyway.” Francesca sagged against the door. “How’s that for a witty little joke?” he mocked. “I loveyou. I loveyou, my cousin’s wife. I loveyou, the one woman I can never have. I loveyou, Francesca Bridger-ton Stirling.
When He Was Wicked · Julia Quinn
What it means to stop pretending and simply claim what you want.
Because when I finally take those lips in mine, it will be the furthest thing from pretending. I will not be showing you what it would be like if you were mine. I’ll show you what it is. And I sure as hell won’t be showing how good I could make you feel if you called me yours. You’ll already know that I am.
The Spanish Love Deception · Elena Armas
A house built around the one thing that could kill you.
The first things I notice are the two walls of windows, which is exactly what Father wants. Every Human I’ve talked with assumes that Vampyres hate light and relish darkness, but they couldn’t be more wrong. The sun may be forbidden to us, toxic always and deathly in large quantities, but that’s precisely why we covet it with such intensity. Windows are a luxury, because they need to be treated with absurdly expensive materials that filter everything that might harm us. And windows this large are the most bombastic of status symbols, in a full display of dynastic power and obscene wealth.
Bride · Ali Hazelwood
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