The Deal

Description

The explosive global bestseller and TikTok sensation that started it all! From New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author Elle Kennedy comes The Deal, the iconic first book in the smash-hit Off-Campus series. Perfectly blending sharp wit, deep emotional growth, and sizzling tension, this beloved college sports romance sets the ultimate benchmark for the genre and can be read as a standalone.

She’s about to make a high-stakes deal with the campus bad boy…

Hannah Wells has finally found a guy who completely turns her on. But while she might be confident, smart, and successful in every other area of her life, she’s carting around a heavy set of emotional baggage when it comes to sex and seduction due to her past. If she wants to get her high-profile crush’s attention, she knows she will have to step way out of her comfort zone and make him take notice—even if it means tutoring the incredibly annoying, childish, and cocky captain of the varsity hockey team in exchange for a high-profile pretend date.

But all Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, and his plummeting GPA is currently threatening to destroy everything he’s worked so hard to achieve. If helping a sarcastic, sharp-witted brunette make another guy jealous is what it takes to secure his position on the team, he’s absolutely all for it.

What neither of them counted on, however, was chemistry that threatens to burn down the campus. When one unexpected, earth-shattering kiss leads to the wildest encounters of both their lives, it doesn’t take long for Garrett to realize that playing pretend isn’t going to cut it anymore. Now, the unbothered hockey star has to deploy his best plays to convince Hannah that the exact man she truly wants and needs looks a whole lot like him.

Masterfully executing the beloved fake dating, grumpy x sunshine, forced proximity, and tutor/athlete tropes, The Deal delivers a beautiful, slow-burn “he falls first and protects her” dynamic packed with Elle Kennedy’s signature laugh-out-loud humor, deep healing, and unmatched romantic chemistry.