Review: ‘The Goal’ by Elle Kennedy
The Goal
by Elle KennedySeries: Off-Campus #4
Published by Bloom Books on September 26, 2021
SubGenres: New Adult and College Romance
Format: AudioBook, Paperback
Pages: 350
Narrator: Andrew Eiden, Susannah Jones
Length: 10 Hours And 39 Minutes
Source: Purchased
Audience: 18+/Adult
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She’s good at achieving her goals…
College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick butt in law school, and land a high-paying job at a cutthroat firm. Her path to escaping her shameful past certainly doesn’t include a gorgeous hockey player who believes in love at first sight. One night of sizzling heat and surprising tenderness is all she’s willing to give John Tucker, but sometimes, one night is all it takes for your entire life to change.
But the game just got a whole lot more complicated...
Tucker believes being a team player is as important as being the star. On the ice, he’s fine staying out of the spotlight, but when it comes to becoming a daddy at the age of twenty-two, he refuses to be a bench warmer. It doesn’t hurt that the soon-to-be mother of his child is beautiful, whip-smart, and keeps him on his toes. The problem is, Sabrina’s heart is locked up tight, and the fiery brunette is too stubborn to accept his help. If he wants a life with the woman of his dreams, he’ll have to convince her that some goals can only be made with an assist.
The Goal is the fourth installment in Elle Kennedy’s Off-Campus series. This New Adult series has become one of my favorite Hockey Romances, and I’m sad that it’s ended but thankful that Elle wrote spin-offs to it. (I also have The Legacy to read, and I’ll be reading it soon.) This friend group has become like family, and I love that each of them has finally found their HEA, especially Tucker, who ended up surprising me in this book.
Tucker has stolen the top spot from the other Off-Campus MMCs. Sorry, Dean and Garett. It’s always the quiet ones who end up becoming the biggest dirty talkers, and that is precisely what Tucker was in The Goal. He was also the perfect gentleman to Sabrina, and then, towards the end of the book, he took on another role that made me melt into a puddle. Seriously, Tucker is the ultimate book boyfriend/husband.
I was genuinely surprised I liked Sabrina, but after I read her POV and not Dean’s POV about her in The Score, I really liked her character. Dean didn’t like her, and he even ticked me off with how he treated Sabrina when she was with Tucker, but I won’t go into detail about it. Sabrina is goal-driven and has every reason to work her butt off after you get to know her character in The Goal. She ends up having something happen that has her questioning everything, but I liked how Elle Kennedy handled it and what Sabrina chose. Yes, I know some readers don’t like this particular trope, but I’m someone who can relate to Sabrina. I’ve been in her position, and I chose the same thing. Sabrina knew she could handle it, and she had Tucker after she started to trust him and eventually realized she was falling in love with him.
Elle Kennedy does have the third book (The Score) and fourth book (The Goal) overlap with their storylines. One scene in particular is going to be a tough one to read again if you read The Score. Elle definitely made me cry again because it affected Sabrina this time.
Overall, this is another fantastic addition to the series, and I give it 4.5 stars. If you haven’t read this series and enjoy reading Hockey Romances that involve a strong friend group that finally finds their HEAs, then you need to read this series. I’m sad that it’s ended, but now I can finally pass these books over to my college-aged daughter, who has been wanting to read them.
Audiobook Recommendation: If you enjoy listening to your books, I would recommend this series as a whole in audiobook form. Andrew Eiden and Susannah Jones were the narrators for The Goal, and they did a superb job of bringing Tucker and Sabrina to life. I could listen to these narrators forever narrate books to me.
Trope(s)/Element(s):
🏒Sports/Hockey Romance
🏒One Night Stand
🏒Grumpy Vs. Sunshine (She’s the Grumpy One)
🏒He Falls First
🏒Surprise Pregnancy
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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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