Lovebird Book Recommendations: The Off Campus Series
Hello readers! Welcome to Lovebird Book Recommendations, where I, Avary King, review/recommend the latest and greatest of everyone’s favorite genre: romance. This is a spoiler FREE zone!
Welcome back, readers! If you were anything like me and migrated to somewhere warm and sunny for spring break, then I’m sure you can relate to the pain of returning home to freezing temperatures. Unfortunately, this cold weather does not seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. But, do not fret, Lovebird readers, for I have two words that will make these cold temperatures a little more bearable: Hockey. Romances. If you are a fan of sports or hockey romances, congratulations! You are amazing, and I cannot wait to give you my recommendation. If you have never read a hockey or sports romance, first of all, welcome. Second, prepare for these types of books to become your newest obsession.
I have read A LOT of hockey romances in my time. For this edition, I will shake things up a bit. Because we may have some first-timers joining us aboard the hockey romance train, I will keep it simple. For this recommendation, I will be recommending a series. This series is what sparked my love for sports/hockey romances. I would pay good money to be able to read this series for the first time again, which is why I am going to live vicariously through you while you read it for the first time.
DISCLAIMER: Read at your own risk! Some of the books I recommend mention or talk about sensitive subjects that could be considered triggering for some individuals.
My series recommendation is:
Off Campus
Author: Elle Kennedy
Number of Books in Series: Four
Genre: Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Sports Romance
My Rating: 5/5 stars
Tropes: Varies from book to book
Read the descriptions for each book:
Where do I even begin with this series? Let’s start with a little background on this series for you. All the books take place at Briar University, and each book follows a member of the Briar hockey team and their romance. These books’ four male leads are best friends who play on the hockey team and are roommates. The Deal is Garrett and Hannah’s story, The Mistake is Logan and Grace’s story, The Score is Dean and Allie’s story, and The Goal is Tucker and Sabrina’s story. As I said, the Off-Campus series made me obsessed with sports romance. Sports romance is an amazing genre, but there is nothing quite like hockey romance. If you are not a hockey fan or have never seen a hockey game, that will change after reading this series. There’s just something so sexy about the sport of hockey. Athletic men holding sticks and getting rough with one another? Sign me up! This article would be ten pages long if I discussed everything I love about each book. So, to save trees, I shall name the three things I love the most about the series.
- One thing about Elle Kennedy is she knows how to write great characters. All of the characters are complex and have their own unique story. Sometimes a great plot isn’t enough to make me love a book; I must also love the characters. And in this case, I loved them all. Garrett Graham from The Deal is the OG hockey book boyfriend. If you are on BookTok, there’s a very good chance you have seen Garrett Graham content come across your For-You page. However, all the boys in this series will surely steal your heart. And let’s not forget about our awesome female leads in this series. I wish I could be best friends with Hannah, Grace, Allie, and Sabrina. The romances in this book are 10/10, but the characters’ friendships with each other shine just as brightly. This leads me to my second reason.
- This book is what is known as a companion novel. This means that while you can read the books as standalone, the books were meant to be read together in order. Reading them together in order will allow you to have a better timeline and a more in-depth story. For example, if you started with The Mistake, you would read mentions about Hannah and Garrett being together in that book. While Grace and Logan are the stars of The Mistake, you will have a better context of the story if you read The Deal first. It’s kind of like being in on a continuous inside joke. I love this series because while each book was separate from the other, we gained so much more content as the series progressed. By book four, The Goal, these characters feel like close friends, and you are emotionally attached to them. I just truly can’t recommend this series enough. I had a serious book hangover after reading these books. It was like eating the best piece of cake you had ever had. Each bite got better as you continued to eat, but there was just something about that first bite when you discovered how good the cake was.
- So let’s say you read all four books and you love them. After that last page of, The Goal, you think to yourself I wish there were more. Well, guess what? There is more! Elle Kennedy graciously gifted the world with more hockey romances. A novella called The Legacy follows our four couples three years after graduation from Briar University. But wait! That’s not all… There is also a series called Briar U, another companion series set at Briar University after our Off-Campus characters graduate. Four new books. Four new couples. Four new romances. The four new couples are a mix of familiar and new faces. For example, The Chase, book one of the Briar U series, follows Dean’s little sister, Summer, and one of the new hockey team members, Fitzy. Do you see what I was saying about the whole continuous inside joke thing? I love when I get to see the characters I love even after their designated book is over. After reading, you feel like you are friends with all the characters because you’ve followed them through four books. I am forever grateful that the Briar U series introduced me to one of my favorite book boyfriends, Jake Connelly. I am unapologetically a die-hard Jake Connelly fan.
It’s Elle Kennedy’s world, and I am just living in it. This may all sound overwhelming, but I promise you, you will be flying through this series and sad that there isn’t more. If you can’t tell, I love this series and think you will. Next time you are forced to go outside in 20-degree weather, try picturing yourself in a hockey rink watching Garrett Graham and Jake Connelly skate around to your favorite song. From personal experience, I can tell you it really helps.
