Review: ‘The Score’ by Elle Kennedy
The Score
by Elle KennedySeries: Off-Campus #3
Published by Bloom Books on January 11, 2016
SubGenres: New Adult and College Romance
Format: AudioBook, Paperback
Pages: 384
Narrator: Savannah Peachwood, Andrew Eiden
Length: 11 Hours And 41 Minutes
Source: Purchased
Audience: 18+/Adult
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A New York Times bestseller! Get ready for another binge-worthy romance from international bestselling author Elle Kennedy.
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.
The Score is the third installment in Elle Kennedy’s Off-Campus series. I’ve had this book on my TBR for a long time now, and thanks to the Romanceopoly Challenge, I finally made time for it. I’m mad at myself for not reading The Score sooner because this book may very well have stolen the top spot from The Deal, which was a definite fave.
I love reading books where the MMC becomes obsessed with the FMC, and that is what happened to Dean in The Score. He is a well-known player on Briar’s University’s campus, but after he has one night with Allie, he can’t get enough of her and will do anything to have her be his. Allie is skeptical of Dean at first and doesn’t want to trust him, especially after she just broke up with her ex-boyfriend, but even she can’t resist Dean and his ways.
Allie had every reason to guard her heart with Dean after coming out of a toxic relationship with another guy who didn’t deserve her. She also didn’t want to risk falling for Dean, even though he was making it difficult not to. Dean had to prove he wasn’t the same when it came to Allie. I loved the constant push and pull between the two because it was inevitable they had instant chemistry. They also had to be secretive about it due to their friends and their reactions. Allie’s friends were protective of her, and so were Dean’s friends because they knew how Dean was.
One of the many reasons I loved this book so much was how much I laughed at specific scenes in The Score, and it all came down to what happened to Dean. I even had to tell my husband what I was laughing at while I listened to this book on audio and followed along in my paperback. (Yes, I’m one of those readers. I liked listening to my books while following along with a physical book, especially when my husband was watching something on TV.) I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read The Score, but the scene where Dean’s in a bubble bath and Logan walks in on him. Yeah, that scene there will forever live rent-free in my head because no one was going to let Dean live it down, and I loved how every one of the guys and even their girlfriends gave him a hard time about it.
When it came to the ending and the conflict between Dean and Allie, I understood why one of them reacted the way they did. I had sympathy for them and I was glad everything worked out between Dean and Allie. I’m so happy I finally read The Score because Dean and Allie’s story was not only steamy and funny but unforgettable, and I definitely plan on rereading their book many times in the future. I wish I could give it more than five stars because this book definitely deserves more with how much emotion it put me through, while reading it.
Trope(s)/Element(s):
🏒Sports/Hockey Romance
🏒Secret Relationship
🏒Friends with Benefits
🏒Friends to Lovers
🏒Reformed Player Hero
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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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