This was a fabulous book, and just the antidote I needed to cleanse my palate after a 'romance' book without an HEA and with a coercive relationship. Great, compelling characters whom I cared about, nice cast of supporting characters whose stories I assume are on the way (please!), and just a really enjoyable read.

I was super hyped about this new release because I’m a huge fan of the queen herself, Elle Kennedy. This time around, we get to follow Gigi Graham, who happens to be the daughter of Hannah and Garrett - how cool is that?

The narrative revolves around Gigi and Luke Ryder, both college hockey players. Gigi's dream is to join Team USA and she would do anything to achieve her dreams.

I really enjoyed the book. It was a total blast catching up with the Off-Campus crew. The pace was lightning-fast, and I gobbled it up in just a day. Seriously, I couldn’t put it down. It’s that addictive and just so darn fun.

One thing I really dig about Elle Kennedy, and this book in particular, is how she dives into the daily lives and struggles of hockey players. It’s a fascinating world, and she brings it to life beautifully.

I also noticed some characters in this new story that gave me déjà vu from the Off-Campus series. Even though the plot took a different direction, I was kind of hoping for more of a departure. There were moments where things got a bit repetitive, especially as the romance angle played out.

Loved this book the friendships were amazing and gigi and ryders are such a cute couple I can’t wait to see who’s book is next and who’s ends up together

*Disclaimer: I was kindly provided with an advanced copy of this book by NetGalley.*

Who doesn’t love a good hockey romance? As it turns out, a double hockey romance, where both characters are hockey players, is even better. Gigi Graham, daughter of Garret Graham and Hannah from “The Deal”, is now an ice hockey player at Briar who broke up with her ice hockey playing boyfriend a couple months ago when the Briar and Eastwood hockey teams are merged. With the Eastwood team comes Luke Ryder, a grumpy but lovable man. Him and Gigi are supposed to not like each other, but that turns out to be wrong.

I’m a huge Elle Kennedy fan. “The Deal” we amt first hockey romance and is still up in my top 3 favourite romance books of all time. I’ve read it several times by now and my heart will always hold a special place for Garret and Wellsy. I’ve also read most of (if not all) of the other Briar U books. If you are a huge Briar fan like me, you will love this book from the start. The cameos of all of our beloved characters are incredible and cozy. There’s something about reading about your favourite couples 20 years down the line that’s just highly enjoyable. Besonders the cameos, this book still delivered. It was funny, especially the start. The opening is written super well and structured so engagingly that you’re immediately pulled along for the ride. Gigi and Ryder are both amazing characters. You can’t read this book and not fall in love with them and their relationship. I also enjoyed that there is not a third act breakup. Like they tell each other, you just know. Everyone knows, the reader knows, Hannah knows, and the two of them know that they’re just it for each other. I truly enjoyed this book and I’m excited to see what comes next for the rest of the Briar players, seeing as another bonus of this book is that there’s a whole lot of side characters you can’t help but fall in love with (looking at you Shane and Beckett).

Note: The review will be additionally published on amazon on the release day.

4.5⭐️ - thank you so so much to the little brown book group for making me one of the lucky ones who to receive a copy of this book early!

Prom King & Gisele

This story follows Ryder & Gigi, Gigi being the one and only Garratt Grahams daughter (if you haven’t read the deal by Elle Kennedy go and read that before devouring this book). And of course the daughter of our Wellsy. I was a huge fan of the deal and just when I thought I couldn’t love Garratt and hannah anymore this book happened and I kind of fell in love with them all over again. Although this book links directly to the off campus series I loved that it wasn’t solely based off of that and had its own story, but still mentioned characters from the previous series and had direct links whilst being subtle.

Gigi is looking to be in the hockey olympics and
Ryder wants to be Garratt’s number one and coach his summer programme. They both need each other, Ryder needs Gigis praise to Garratt and Gigi needs ryders hockey skills and help to progress her game
Ryder doesn’t want a relationship hockey is his life.
Gigi has just come out of a relationship hockey is her life.

The banter between Ryder & Gigi had similarities to hannah & Garratt from the first book in the off campus series. Some parts of this book had me laughing out loud.

Its enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and the slow burn and smut in this was PERFECTION!! I wasn’t sure if I was going to love this but I did I loved nearly everything about it!

One of the only negatives for me was that I didn’t feel it needed to be as long as it was parts of it could have been condensed.

*SPOILER AHEAD*

I didn’t like that they got married, it was a bit too out there in the story for me but the plot and story as a whole was written perfectly

3.75 ⭐

“I’m not a spiritual man, but I suddenly wonder if somewhere, somehow, maybe someone designed us to fit this well together.”

I was so excited to read this book! I love second generations series, it's always a pleasure to see characters I've loved in the past as parents and I find sooo interesting the stories of their children! In this case, I would have preferred if in this book I could've seen a bit more Gigi's aunts/uncles and her cousins.

I enjoyed Gigi and Ryder's a lot: it's adorable that they can share their love for hockey and I think that their love story was perfect, except for a “tiny” detail at the end of the book. However, I found them cute and sweet (but also 🔥🔥🔥).

I LOVED Hannah and Ryder's relationship. It was probably my fav thing in the entire book!

I can't wait to read the other books of the series 😍

This is the first book from Elle Kennedy that I've read but I have all the others on my TBR list and I absolutely loved it. I couldn't put it down and I can't wait to get stuck into her other books!

This is a next-gen story from the Briar U series and focuses on Garrett and Hannah's daughter, Gigi and the bad-boy newcomer, Luke Ryder. Gigi and Ryder had met previously when they were teenagers but didn't have any contact again until the college Ryder was attending closed down and merged with Briar U, effectively combining the men's hockey team.

Their reunion is a frosty one but there is one thing you can count on Ryder to be, and that is honest. So when he gives Gigi some feedback on the way she plays, she asks him to help her fix it. Soon they start spending some time together and Gigi finds herself starting to open to up to Ryder and she tells him how "frustrated" she is and how she needs a stress release. Ryder offers himself up to be used as she sees fit. They quickly realise that they've found something in the other that they never realised they needed.

There is no third act break up which I love and while they have one or two arguments they are able to work through it. They are under no illusions that life is going to be easy for them but they want to face the world together which I think is really sweet. I would have liked to have had an epilogue of them a few years down the road, but maybe Elle Kennedy will decide to write a next-next-gen and we'll get to see where they've ended up!

Thanks to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK, and Piatkus for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Elle Kennedy has done it again! I was so excited to read this one as soon as I seen it, Initially I was worried about the second generation idea but really wanted to get back into the Briar U and Off-campus world. The story follows GiGi Graham (Garrett Graham's Daughter) and Luke Ryder thorough their initial meeting of getting off on a bad foot to their developing relationship through a friends with benefits situation. I loved the cameos and the family interactions as well as the personal development we see through the characters. It did really feel like an extension of the previous series, excited to see where Kennedy will go from here.
thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

5 ⭐️

Let me start by saying that I loved “The Deal” by Elle Kennedy and Garret Graham is, to this very day, my favourite sport MMC in a romance book. His and Hannah’s story has a very special place in my heart and they’ll always be my favourites.

That said, I bloody loved “The Graham Effect.” It follows Gigi, whose daughter of Hannah and Garrett, who’s now attending Briar U, following her parents footsteps. She’s a hockey player, she’s fun, ambitious and takes absolutely no bullshit, just like her parents taught her too.

We’re then introduced to the grumpy, six foot five hockey player, who does not give a fuck. Ryder was everything you want from your grumpy MMC. He had the grumpy exterior which with time, shows us his considerate, sweet side. I need to say, I’m not usually a fan of grumpy characters mainly because the lack of dialogue irritates me. But don’t let this grumpy guy fool you. There’s been plenty of dialogue between him and Gigi. And that dialogue is…. steamy 🤭

I had enjoyed this book so much. The banter between the characters and side characters is always what makes Elle Kennedy’s books one of my favourite. What I also love is that aside of the romance, we see the characters doing their own thing and overcoming their own obstacles. For example, how the Eastwood guys are finding themselves in Briar U after their university has merged and how they had to find the dynamic in a new team.

It was also great to see how (and without any spoilers here) Gigi overcomes something that did not go her way.

If you’ve felt a hangover after the Off-Campus series and you want that familiar “close knit” family vibes back, this is the book for you.

And you will also see some familiar faces back…. I will leave it at that.

Cant wait for the second book in the series!

This was such an enjoyable read for me. It started off just okay but got better and better the further it went on, and for me the romance even came second to the story of Ryder’s emotional growth, the unification of the men’s hockey team and Gigi’s journey of self-acceptance. Ryder’s character arc in particular was genuinely moving and so skilfully drawn. And there was actually lots of hockey in this book, which is surprisingly not always the case with hockey romance, so that was another plus. The perspective of the women’s hockey team was a great addition to a genre that typically focuses exclusively on the men’s game.

The book’s setting will be familiar to anyone who read the Off Campus and/or Briar U series, but with an almost all-new cast of characters (Coach Jensen remains a delight), it’s an easy entry point for new readers as well. The world-building was solid, with secondary characters fleshed out enough to make me interested in reading more about some of them in subsequent books in this series.

My only complaint would be “not enough Dean di Laurentis”, but then I say that about almost all the books in these series, so…

The Graham effect, by Elle Kennedy.
4 stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Elle Kennedy proves, yet again, that she is the queen of College,hockey romance!

I did not think I was going to enjoy this as much as I did, to be totally honest. But after a slightly slow start I was captured by Gigi and Ryder’s story.

First things first, as always, the spice was elite, the romance was on point and the character development was great. My favourite thing about this book, was seeing the life that Hannah and Garret had built after loving them in the deal- book one in the off campus series.

But actually, I think I liked this book more. The relationship that Gigi had with her father was so wholesome and the small appearances of some other characters from the off campus series was just another sweetener.

If you love hockey/college/sports romance, this is a must. My only minor criticism would be the length of this one. Genuinely do not feel this needed to be 500 pages. But on the whole, this was a great read and I’m definitely looking forward to upcoming releases in this series!

It’s another banger Elle! 🙌🏻

I absolutely adored this book. I loved the insight into adult life for Garrett and Hannah and seeing how their kids each took their careers and passions from each of their parents. Gigi & Ryder have been a favourite couple of mine to read about and I loved their growth throughout the book. Highly highly highly recommend and can’t wait for the next one. I’m hoping for Alex Tucker - excited to read about Tucker and Sabrina’s lives after Briar!

4 ⭐

I loved seeing some characters as adults and with families. I truly hoped this book could be original and not a copy-paste from the off campus series and I was given a book with interesting and captivating characters.

I really liked Gigi as a character, I loved seeing glimpses of her parents in her personality, but what I loved the most was seeing her being her own person, capable and strong. Ryder was a surprise, I actually ended up loving his character and even more with Gigi.

Unfortunately, I was not a fan of two things: how the thing with Emma and his father went down and the decision Gigi and Ryder take near the end of the book (no spoiler) which I found so useless and rushed.

Beside all this, I can say that this book was everything I wanted to see in a sequel and I can't wait for the next books!

OMG, I loved this book! Anyone that knows me knows that Elle Kennedy and her Briar world hockey series is probably the only sports romance series that I am consumed by. I legit squealed like a little girl when I heard she was writing a new generation featuring the children of the previous Off Campus couples. This first book focuses on Gigi, who is Garrett and Hannah’s daughter. Gigi and Ryder’s funny, sweet and sexy enemies to lovers/friends with benefits romance is full of banter and chemistry, and completely captured my heart. I loved their story so so much!

Gigi and Ryder first meet as teens at a hockey camp, and it’s immediately hate at first sight. Six years later, they are both at the same college and both in the women’s and men’s hockey teams respectively. Gigi has one main goal: to make the women’s Olympic hockey team. To do this however, she needs to improve her game and has no option but to seek out support from Ryder. Luke is the co-caption of the men’s team, and has already made a bad impression on Gigi’s father. So in turn for helping Gigi, Luke wants her to put in a good word with Garrett, so he can get the summer coaching spot he has been aiming for. A win-win for both of them until neither can avoid the inevitable chemistry, which leads to a friends with benefits situation, and eventually becomes a forbidden relationship. With this book, Elle Kennedy delivered all of my favorite things about romance. It was smart and snappy, but also littered with these romantic scenes that sometimes took my breath away. It was funny and adorable, but smoldering with heat in every exchange. It was perfectly balanced and I had so much fun reading it!

I loved this book so hard. I laughed and swooned so many times, and I loved every moment of Gigi and Ryder’s story. I will never not feel comforted by Elle Kennedy’s writing and the familiarity that her characters and even just their world brings. The Briar world is the gift that keeps on giving and I will throw myself at every single new release as long as Elle keeps writing them. Reading this book was like being reunited with old friends and falling in love with new ones, and I seriously can't wait for more from this series in the future.

I loved being back at Briar U again! It was so fun reading about some familiar characters! Garrett Graham, Coach Jensen, all Gigi’s aunts and uncles, cousins!

I loved the little titles to the chapters, after reading the chapter I knew exactly why Elle choice this title.

I really enjoyed the Grumpy/Sunshine, how the relationship between Gigi and Ryder developed was really nicely written.

I for sure would recommend reading this book! If you love the first generation but also if you are new to the Briar U party!

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 and it did not disappoint! The Deal started my obsession with Hockey Romances and I’ve been DYING to get back into the Briar universe! I was lucky to get an ARC and I completely DEVOURED it! 😍 Trust me, you are in for a treat with this Halloween release! 😉

Gigi Graham was the perfect blend of Garrett and Wellsy 😍 She has both her parents stubborn streak, along with her dad’s competitiveness and her mom’s quick wit. I also love how Garrett got away with naming her after himself 🤣 She was such a fun character! She was utter sunshine with an obsession with butterflies, but I especially loved her strength and drive to be the best. Also, how cool is it that she’s also a D1 hockey player?! Thank you Elle for showing the girl power! 💪🏼

Luke Ryder, three words - Grumpy Hockey Player 😍 Grumpy x Sunshine is one of my top tropes and Ryder was the perfect grump! I loved each insight into his background and watching his character unfold! Understanding him as a person, seeing his growth and watching him learn how to be a good teammate and captain in the midst of a fierce rivalry between Eastwood and Briar. I just loved him so much! And his protectiveness after the plot twist… swoon! 🫠

This book lived up to every expectation I had, and then some! I loved all the cameos of the OG Off Campus characters and getting an insight into their lives post Briar hockey. This book really set the scene for the rest of the Campus Diaries and many more next generation stories, and I’m here for them all! 😍

P.S. I really hope Shane and Diana’s story is next! 😍

Tropes:
- Enemies to Lovers
- Hockey Romance
- He Falls First
- Slow Burn
- Secret Relationship
- Grumpy Sunshine
- Forbidden Romance

BOOK REVIEW: The Graham Effect by @ellekennedy33 @yourswithlovex

5 Stars

I ADORED this. I love the Off Campus and Briar U series so much that I was actually a little worried this wouldn't live up to their standard, but it DEFINITELY did! Elle Kennedy is the master of ice hockey romance.

The story is brilliant with a wonderful new array of characters and some cameo's from the old Off Campus squad! The lead character is Gigi Graham, daughter of Garrett & Hannah and also an ice hockey player at Briar U. Her love interest is Ryder who has played for a different college that shut down and merged with Briar U's team. This book has SO many of my favourite tropes including enemies to lovers, sunshine/grumpy, friends with benefits and with a side order of forbidden romance.
The story was definitely deeper and more meaningful than I expected. There are some serious issues regarding Ryder and his childhood that were handled so well and added an extra depth.

Gigi was so lovable from the start but even more so when she started to open up. Ryder helped her so much with her growth and vice versa which was one of my favourite aspects. They were just so mature and supportive! I loved their passion for the sport and how hard working and confident they are but with playful and vulnerable sides too. Their relationship is so healthy with great communication and respect, which was SO refreshing to read! Plus, the SMUT. I was not expecting it to be so good!
The side characters are excellent and added so much to the story, including a lot of laughs (the banter was top notch).

Elle Kennedy definitely wrote a cracker here. I couldn't put it down and loved every single second. The characters are some of the best that Elle has written and that is saying something!

I highly recommend this book for all romance lovers! I recommend reading the other series first as you will get more out of it. I cannot wait for more of these books!

Please note that I was given this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Once again, Elle Kennedy nails it ! This book is a perfect mix of fun, sexy and sad moments.
Gigi is Graham and Hannah Graham's daughter. Like her dad, she plays hockey. And she's really good ! She, of course, goes to Briar, where she meets a grumpy player, Luke Ryder. He has dark vibes, but is a real beast on the icerink. Basically, she's a sunshine, and she would never look at him. And him, he only lives for hockey and doesn't do feelings or girlfriend. But they make a deal : they need each other. And they begin to be friends. And then more...

Gigi is really a fun character, and Luke is grumpy but has a soft heart. And they are really cute together. It's a great sequel to the Off-Campus and the Briar series, and I can't wait to read the next one. My bet is on Shane and Diane...

✨’𝙃𝙚'𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩. 𝙃𝙚'𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙄'𝙢 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝. 𝘼 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙫𝙪𝙡𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙤. 𝘼 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙬 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙧. 𝘼 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄'𝙢 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙖𝙙’ ✨

Book rating - ★ ★ ★ ★

Finally we have Gigi Graham & Luke Ryders story!! From their very first introducion you know there will be sparks flying in the future, and when they meet again 6 years later, Ryder and his friends are still known as rivals to the Briar U gang, but when they start to actually get to know each other and give in to their undeniable chemistry, they learn a lot about eachother and find they aren’t all that different after all.

Gigi was fiery, strong, determined and always held her own, but sometimes cracked under pressure of living in her fathers shadow.

Ryder was known as a moody, broody A-hole, but the closer he got to Gigi, we see a whole new side to him, and when they realise they mean a lot more to each other than a bit of fun, i loved to see the relationship shift from rivals to lovers, especially with a surprise along the way showing how much they were really it for each other, and no 3rd act break up!!😋

✨“𝙏𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡. 𝙏𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄'𝙢 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙩."✨

They brought out the best in each other, so their character growth was great, but it was so wholesome to see Ryders development in himself after everything he had been through growing up🥹

I loved to see Garrett & Hannah as parents, and more of the OG Off Campus guys, and got a few insights to what the others in the family are up too aswell, so I can’t wait to see what’s in store next 💞

This book was such a highly anticipated book for me. The Elle Kennedy hockey world is such a guilty pleasure of mine! There’s just something so addictive about her books that I know I am always going to come back.
I can’t lie, I giggled when I read Gigi’s name. Garrett really got his way with Hannah there.
Gigi was so feisty and sassy, and I loved reading her relationships with her friends and family. And, Ryder was just perfectly grumpy.
Him and Gigi were really a match made in heaven. Their chemistry..off the charts! The flirtiness made me blush and kick my feet in the air. Even though their story is unique to them as a couple, I did fell like it mirrored ‘The Deal’ in some ways which was very cute.
Let me tell you though, I wasn’t expecting the twist in the end?! I literally gasped. I’m not sure if I was that much of a fan of it, but it worked. Not a third-act breakup for those that are worried.
Lastly, I LOVED the cameos of the off campus/Briar U boys. It really convinced me to start my re-read of the Off-campus and Briar U series.

Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown Book group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!