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Saturday 2 January 2016

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



Released: 11th January 2016.
 
 
Blurb:

He knows how to score, on and off the ice

Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn’t have the first clue about what she's going to do after college. To make matters worse, she’s nursing a broken heart thanks to the end of her longtime relationship. Wild rebound sex is definitely not the solution to her problems, but gorgeous hockey star Dean Di-Laurentis is impossible to resist. Just once, though, because even if her future is uncertain, it sure as heck won’t include the king of one-night stands.

It’ll take more than flashy moves to win her over 

Dean always gets what he wants. Girls, grades, girls, recognition, girls…he’s a ladies man, all right, and he’s yet to meet a woman who’s immune to his charms. Until Allie. For one night, the feisty blonde rocked his entire world—and now she wants to be friends? Nope. It’s not over until he says it’s over. Dean is in full-on pursuit, but when life-rocking changes strike, he starts to wonder if maybe it’s time to stop focusing on scoring…and shoot for love. 

Kristine's Review:
Reviewed: January 2016.

Dean Di-Laurentis lives a charmed life, wealth, book smarts, talented hockey player, women throwing themselves at him, he seems to have the world at his feet, and in all honesty he does, there's not a lot the self confessed Manwhore has to complain about, life is good, it's even better when you live your life by your own code of never getting bogged down in what people think of you, never losing sleep over inconsequential opinions, it's good in theory but in reality for most of us we struggle to reconcile our own thoughts vs. the opinions of people around us. Seeing the world through Dean's eyes, seeing him impart his wisdom on living a life free of fear of judgement on Allie was both fun and insightful.

Allie Hayes life just went to hell in a hand basket, school is good, she has her future planned out, but after one too many arguments with her long term boyfriend Sean she's finally done with their relationship, the only problem is that she's been there before, Sean throws down an ultimatum or challenges her career choices and Allie ends it, until of course he apologises and #boom back together, Allie knows she needs to stay strong, that she's making the right decision in ending things, but reconciling herself from the role of girlfriend to single girl isn't easy.

When Allie and Dean's lives cross neither is prepared for what will happen, The Score isn't instalove, it isn't even instalust, the connection these two develop is organic, as they converse and get to know each other better than the limited contact they had previously had allowed, the reader can see something there, some spark of something more, something bigger begin to develop, and for me, here in lied the beauty of Elle Kennedy's words, because nothing here felt forced, nothing here had me scratching my head trying to figure out who Dean or Allie are as characters. Their chemistry was clear, their burgeoning relationship obvious, this soul deep connection that grew from Dean's flippant offer to help Allie move on from her ex, that ignited something ferocious and real for both of them.

What I loved so much here was that Allie begins The Score as this young woman who almost needs to be saved from herself, she needs someone to prevent her from backtracking, she requires someone to not only back her life choices but to believe on them with her, there's a sense that Allie is somehow the weaker one here, that she's the one who is still figuring things out while Dean has got his whole life mapped out, and yet there's so many times where Allie got to show her strength, her tenacity, her ability to look at the world around her when things are crashing down and still find the good there, but more than that her ability to know what she wants and what she deserves  and more importantly the things she needs to do in order to become the person she knows she's capable of being show's her growth throughout The Score. There's a definite sexiness to this story, one I've come to expect from Elle Kennedy, one that you would expect from Dean "man whore" Di-Laurentis, the man is known all over campus as a guaranteed good time, but more than just this inherent sexiness, the obvious chemistry, was the pure swoon worthy moments that made my heart smile, those moments when done properly make you sigh, it's those hints of first love, of a love that's bigger than you ever imagined it could be, one that makes you question everything, one that has the power to lift you up and tear you apart.

For me The Score is exactly what college romance is supposed to be, part coming of age, part romance, believable and relatable angst, not the kind that makes you want to tear your hair out while shouting "ohhh commmmmeeee onnnn..." a story that makes you giggle and swoon, one that when you turn the last page leaves a smile on your face, this series has fast become a favourite of mine, one I often revisit, it's everything I want from a college drama, a light hearted and sexy story that has depth, The Score was a great way to kick off my 2016 reading list, and that little tease Kennedy left readers makes me even more eager for what's to come for the Off Campus series.





Read GPI's Reviews of the Off Campus series:

The Deal (Off Campus #1)

The Mistake (Off Campus #2)


Purchase Links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1PC4IyQ

Kobo: https://store....kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/the-score-10

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1050857569

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-score-elle-kennedy/1122824500?ean=2940152679663


About Elle Kennedy:



A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a B.A. in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer, and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager.

Elle currently writes for various publishers. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!
  

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