The Deal

by Elle Kennedy · 2000

The Deal is the first novel in Elle Kennedy’s Off‑Campus series, a New Adult romance set on a college campus. Timid music student Hannah Wells, still healing from a recent heartbreak and a history of sexual assault, strikes a deal with Garrett Graham, the charismatic captain of the hockey team and campus playboy. In exchange for tutoring Garrett in philosophy, he helps her with her music studies. Their fake‑relationship arrangement blossoms into a heated, emotionally charged romance that tackles serious themes such as mental‑health struggles, anxiety, abusive relationships, and family pressure, while delivering witty banter, dual‑POV insight, and a vivid portrait of college life.