The Goal (Off-Campus, #4) by Elle Kennedy Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of The Deal (Off-Campus, #1), The Mistake (Off-Campus, #2), The Score (Off-Campus, #3), and The Chase (Briar U, #1) on my blog, now!

Maybe because I mentally blocked The Score from my memory, but I could not for the life of me remember if Sabrina was ever mentioned in any of the other books - I definitely remembered Tucker, but I was in a state of confusion if I was supposed to remember this girl. i had a sick feeling that one of my least favorite tropes of all time was going to pop up in this book and it did. Sick to my stomach!! Unfortunately this immediately made my 50/50 opinion of this book take a nose dive and frankly will not recover - I understand that it was a trope that had not been utilized in this series yet, but for it to happen to Sabrina of all people - it really ticked me off.

Forever grateful I did not have to be bombarded with the constant presence of the previous couples of the series in this book. Too often you see authors shove the other relationships back into the series, whereas Kennedy was able to trickle them in throughout this book - considering they all go to university together, I knew they would have to show face once in a while, but I am grateful it did not overtake Tucker and Sabrina's story. In The Score, it felt like a constant revolving door of the Dean and Allie show, so much so it felt like a second installment for their relationship. With this fourth installment, the focus clearly was with Tucker and Sabrina, and the presence of the previous couples did not hinder their development.

Sabrina's story is full of struggle, dedication, and self-reflecting. She is very strong-willed and determined to get what she knows she deserves, no matter the time or cost to herself. We watch her juggle two jobs, classes, and helping out with her Nana - who is no peach, I might say - in order to continue pushing forward. With Harvard Law well within her reach, she has no time for friends beyond a handful, and certainly no time for Tucker barging into her life and consuming her thoughts. Tucker's life mildly mirrors Sabrina's in the sense that he also has a bit of a torrid background and continues to struggle in a higher capacity compared to the lives of his more privileged teammates. He definitely understands Sabrina's work ethic and admires the way she approaches her road to success, but he does make a good point when it comes to Sabrina needing to let loose and enjoy her life.

With only one book left to see this series through to the end, I will eventually make my way over that final hurdle. I honestly am only seeing this series to the end because I want the full picture before the tv series is released. For now, I need to abandon the new adult college romances and find something a little more my speed. If you need a filler series to get you in between lengthier reads, Off-Campus could be the series to satisfy those needs.

You can add The Goal on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

The Score (Off-Campus, #3) by Elle Kennedy Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of The Deal (Off-Campus, #1), The Mistake (Off-Campus, #2), and The Chase (Briar U, #1) on my blog, now! You do not have to read the Off-Campus series before the Briar U series, but it does include characters and relationships that may be spoiled for you.

With pictures flying around online of the filming of The Off-Campus television series for Amazon Prime, I wanted to continue on with this series and see where Kennedy took readers next with Allie and Dean. Considering everyone on BookTok raves about this couple, it was only a matter of time before I fell victim to this book. I remember enjoying Dean in the previous two books, but he somehow became unbearable at times in his own book? I understand that his past relationship caused a lot of emotional turmoil for him and that is why he is upfront about only hooking up, but good grief he feels so misogynistic at times it is insane. It always felt as though he spoke about girls like they were objects, and it does not help him that the author seems to love to incorporate that behavior in every single one of her male leads.

Allie and Dean have a crazy amount of chemistry, I will give them that. To no surprise of anyone, the friends with benefits turning into feelings for one another trope in this book is quick to develop for both parties, and we spend the remaining 75% of the book watching painfully as they dance around one another. They would speak to each other for about two minutes and then would climb each other like the monkey bars for hours on end and chapters on end - there were moments where I never thought it would end. Sure, that was their arrangement, but it got old after the first five times. The plot felt as though it was in a standstill when it actually came to their relationship - we saw them development in their own separate plots, but when they were together, it took a much longer time for their combined development to take shape.

The recurring characters from the prior books are fun, but honestly it felt as though they were having the same conversations over and over again. Allie's friends would warn Dean not to go near her, and Dean's friends would tell Dean not to go near her - I fear would could tell what kind of guy Dean was just from that fact alone. It was nice to see the relationships continuing on, but I felt as though I saw Hannah and Garrett more than I was seeing Allie and Dean at one point - they were everywhere. I did think that Dean's little side plot was much more interesting than Allie's side plot - Dean's engagement with the kids hockey team kept my attention longer than Allie's internal dilemma of auditioning for acting roles. We could actually see Dean go through a personality change, whereas with Allie, she was just going back and forth between theatre and silver screen.

I was really hoping this series was going to turn itself around for me, considering how I felt about The Mistake along with the fact that everyone and their mother seems to be obsessed with Allie and Dean's relationship. Most people are probably not reading these books for the plot, especially this installment, but boy oh boy I wish there was a more solid story going along with Allie and Dean's relationship as a whole. Dean did have some solid character development, but it took a long time and lots of mistakes on his part to turn himself around. If you are in search for a hockey romance that goes by quickly and is easy to read, the Off-Campus series could be calling to you.

You can add The Score on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date with releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

The Mistake (Off-Campus, #2) by Elle Kennedy Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of The Deal (Off-Campus, #1) and The Chase (Briar U, #1) on my blog, now! You do not have to read the Off-Campus series before the Briar U series, but it does include characters and relationships that may be spoiled for you.

With hockey season in full swing, I figured now was as good as time as any to dive back into this series after a few years break. This series is more of a filler read for me than anything else - I am not attached to the characters, and really only think about returning to the series when I need something quick and light to read in between longer reads. That being said, if that is something you are on the hunt for, this series may be just the thing for you.

After a disastrous encounter that leaves Grace and Logan on bad terms during Grace's freshman year, Logan is determined to win her back if it is the last thing he does - no matter the cost. As Grace navigates her sophomore year with Logan seemingly at every corner attempting to woo her and get back in her good graces - no pun intended - she also needs to reevaluate some of her friendships and her own insecurities that come with possibly dating a guy who has ran through half of the female student body.

Logan truly does do a 180 change after he realizes the massive mistake he made with Grace, and while I can appreciate the fact that he took it upon himself to change and try to win her back, he was low-key kind of stalking her around campus. Obviously, this was nowhere near the extent of being crazy obsessed with her, but he certainly made it his mission to be everywhere she was and was not taking no for an answer every time she turned him down. The man is certainly determined, I will give him that.

Ramona is probably one of the most annoying friends I have seen in a book in some time - she is insecure, needy, and just straight up annoying. I understand that she explains some of her actions in the book, but to me, it came across as her somehow ending up blaming Grace for her own insecurities, when she should have been doing some self-reflecting of her own. I am glad that Grace was not willing to forgive her easily and decided that they needed to have some distance, even after being friends for years. This makes some room for Grace to become friends with Hannah and the other guys in Logan's friend group, which are an improvement compared to only having Ramona as a friend.

The plot moves incredibly fast and is full of dual perspective realizations that, to the surprise of no one, Grace and Logan cannot stop thinking about one another. The each have their fair share of moments of jealousy, and the development of their relationship after Logan's error in judgement moved faster than I expected it to - he groveled, but he should have groveled more. I found the focus of their relationship was a little off-center, as Grace kept wanting to take things to the next level when they were still figuring things out, whereas Logan was looking to be a relationship man.

I have to say this book is nothing memorable in my opinion - it is a quick, feel good read that you can read in a couple of hours and forget about. I would have loved to see a more epic form of romance between Grace and Logan, but it read more like they were thrown together and just kept moving after realizing that seeing other people either would not work out or was sabotaged before it could get any further. I express the same sentiment towards The Deal - they are fun books, but nothing I would write home about. I am sure I will probably return to this series when I need a light refresher in the future, but my overall opinion is that the writing could immensely improve, and the characterization needs some serious work.

You can add The Mistake on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!