Samantha Padgett

10 de junio de 2026

Elle’s writing gets better and better

Anotha beautifully complex and compelling love story, and my obsession with the Off Campus universe continues. I love the authentic feel of Elle’s writing, how these characters feel like people I’ve always wanted to be friends with. I’m constantly rooting for their success, growth, and conflict resolution skills. I’m reading from my Kindle app on my phone and constantly cheesing hard while reading. My jaw physically dropped with the Ryder bombs in this story, and I found myself grinning and literally laughing out loud, imagining all the OG characters and their reactions.The only critique, this book was heavy on the hockey matches and terminology, so I found myself skimming through to get to the romance/spice. I love how Elle continues to find ways to build strong, assertive female characters who are worshipped and revered by slutty boys with hearts of gold. This universe provides some hope, maybe if I continue to be my fullest authentic self, I can one day manifest the spicy romance I desire IRL. If not, at least I can temporarily fantasize about the fictional men I yearn for.Oh, lastly, the spice. The campus diaries seems to lean more explicit with D/s themes, which I absorb… vehemently. I’m eagerly anticipating the next adaptation to bring on all the kink exploration.Ver más

7 personas la encontraron útil

Gabrielle (BookishandBallgowns)

12 de noviembre de 2023

Me? Obsessed with Gisele and the Prom King? Yes.

I unabashedly love Elle Kennedy’s books. She’s writing for the feral little 20 year old inside of me and nearly 30 year old me is still living for it.Gigi Graham is destined for greatness. She has her sight set on joining the National Team so she can win Olympic Gold, but there’s one giant hurdle standing in her way: She’s struggling to handle the puck when she gets stuck behind the net, and the coaches have taken notice. Determined to overcome this set back she turns to the only person she can trust to give her honest feedback and up her game. He’s kind of a jerk, but there’s no denying that he’s an incredible hockey player.Ryder is navigating the merger of two rival hockey teams, his new position as co-captain, and a horrible first impression with THE Garrett Graham and he needs Gigi’s help. He’ll agree to teach her how to keep her cool under pressure behind the net, but only if she’ll do him a favor of his own. He’s aiming for a summer coaching job with her legendary father which seems impossible after they got off on the wrong foot. Now she’s the only one that can change her dad’s poor opinion of him.Normally next gen series are cringey because they feel like beating a dead horse but gosh dang, if this wasn’t the most fun way to continue the series. I love the direction Elle took with this! Making Gigi the hockey star was just chef’s kiss!!! It can feel so redundant when it’s a son falling in his fathers footsteps with just slightly different tropes, but this book was so different & UGH, THE GIRL POWER!!!!! Gigi is so hardworking and ambitious. And I love the way her character and Ryder were portrayed. Strong characters don’t have to be tough 100% of the time, and true strength is knowing when to lean on others.I laughed, I cried, and laughed again. This book had so much heart and I don’t know how to properly convey how cute it was. Gigi and Ryder are an excellent pair. They had such great banter and complement each other so well even when they’re being rude. I think the part of I loved most about this book was how things didn’t always work out for them. Instead, there was a healthy dose of reality. Things aren’t always going to be shiny and wonderful and seeing the way the characters handled those struggles was awesome. The characters in general were just so fun. There are a million new side characters that I want books for, and I hope Elle Kennedy delivers all of them.That’s not to say it was PERFECT. If we’re being completely honest here I lost the plot about mid way through. And when it finally wrapped up at the end I definitely had a moment of OH YEAH. That WAS the whole point of this book. But, I was still living for it. It’s was cute and fun, and made me smile. I cannot wait to see how the rest of the series unfolds. Consider me hooked!Ver más

36 personas la encontraron útil

Sarah

8 de marzo de 2026

changed my brain chemistry

Gigi. As in Garrett Graham. Now that’s out of the way. I don’t think there was a moment where I wasn’t dying of laughter. At times it was out loud, which hasn’t happened in such a long time. Coach Jensen has seen it all and is completely and utterly D O N E (RIP Pablo), his scenes were hilarious. Dean and Logan’s first appearance was - wow. Underrated friendship. Of course the main stars were Gisele and Prom King. Three words, chemistry, tension, absolute in the feels. The way I blew through this book is unreal.If nobody else will say if I will, Luke Ryder is the grumpy bad boy that hates everyone but Gigi. He also falls first and hard. And we love that trope here!! I was getting such a strong dose of dopamine from their relationship. From the way it starts out to the sweet ending hit the feels perfectly. Whether it’s teasing or picking a playful fight I’m here for it. The way Gig and Ryder are there for each other is just so frigging sweet! The happy feels were getting punched in the best way possible. Emotions were running high. The third act bomb…I honestly thought Ryder was saying that to check on Gigi and not because they actually got married. Him getting her a signed poster, taking her to the opera, and holding her whole she cried…he cares about her so much and Gigi being there for me when the last opens up, I can’t find the words to describe how amazing they are together. The bonus epilogue was such a great way to end the book. Seeing all the campus kids melted my heart. I love this universe so muchVer más

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A. Burnett

2 de junio de 2024

I truly enjoy the Briar U-inverse

These books never disappoint. I truly liked Gigi and Ryders characters alone and together. She’s just a good human being. Funny, driven, consistent, caring. I love that she doesn’t have some harrowing backstory that explains her behavior and choices. She just is who she is unapologetically. Heck yes 🙌I enjoyed her and Ryders friendship and how their relationship organically developed into something more. I was kicking my feet when he said he loved her. Gah 😍I loved Ryder. He did have a harrowing backstory, but it wasn’t a crutch for his character. In fact the bad things that happened to him he was tight lipped about them, never used it as an excuse, and preferred to move on from the whole thing.Like I said, I enjoyed this book because the characters were truly well written and their story was freaking cute as hell.I also thoroughly enjoyed the dynamic between her and her family; it was awesome seeing Garrett and Wellsy again all grown up. The CD signing scene between Garrett and Ryder was all the cuteness.Must read if you love Briar U.Ver más

3 personas la encontraron útil

Sami_xo

Put Me In The Sin Bin With Luke Ryder Any Day, Please!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.7️⃣5️⃣Chewed this up, and I'm about to bite into The Dixon Rule as soon as I finish writing this review. I read my first Elle Kennedy book about 2 months ago - The Chase (Briar U). I wasn't all that impressed. I thought it was cute and well written with some great laughs. On a book buying binge, I picked up The Dixon Rule... love me a purple cover, 💁‍♀️. Anyhoo, I realized upon reading reviews that this series contained characters from Briar U. So, even though I wasn't overly impressed with The Chase, I decided I'd go back and finish the Briar U series before hopping into Campus Diaries. I read the rest of Briar U over the span of the past week - within about 4 to 5 days. During that time I ordered this book, The Graham Effect, thinking I should probably read that one first as well. I made good choices.I freaking loved this book. I'm totally an Elle Kennedy fan now. While some of these books are definitely more engaging than others, they all are highly entertaining. The Risk is my favorite, so far, that I've read. However, I'm thinking this book is a close 2nd, but it's tied in my mind right now with The Dare. I think plot wise, I like The Graham Effect a smidge more. Then again, I really like the curvy girl aspect of The Dare. I'm teetering back and forth.Of all Elle Kennedy mmc's (that I've read so far), Luke Ryder is my favorite, only slightly above Conor Edwards. Ryder has a more compelling backstory. My heartstrings were absolutely tugged on. He really was an emotionally stunted mmc who had the broody thing going on. Loved every second of his fall. I really felt he and Gigi were meant for each other, complimented each other, and deserved each other. It was exciting to turn the page to see what was going to happen next with those two.A few days ago, I ordered the entire Off Campus series. I've had such a good time this past week blowing through Briar U and starting Campus Diaries that I MUST go back to the beginning. If I had known how much I was going to enjoy Elle Kennedy's book, and her writing style, I'd have started with the Off Campus series. I like to read series- spinoff series in order. Failure this time around. No matter, I can't imagine reading this world out of order is going to stunt my enjoyment. I would just caution anyone contemplating beginning this journey to do it right and start from the top, work your way down. Off Campus, Briar U, and then Campus Diaries.The Graham Effect is a fun, slightly emotional, fast-paced read - guaranteed good time.

Taylor D.

23 de junio de 2026