New hockey captain Luke Ryder agrees to help Olympic hopefully Gigi Graham improver her form on the ice in this adorably contemporary romance.
It’s funny. When I think of Elle Kennedy, I think of her as an auto-buy author for me. But when I really reflect on her work, I realize how untrue that statement is. I’ve only really liked one of her books, the first book in her Off-Campus series. I either disliked or felt neutral about the other books I’ve read from her, and I never look into buying her books. Anywho, it comes down to I have a genuine fondness for Elle because of one book and I’m glad I do because I do not know if I would have picked up The Graham Effect otherwise. And I would have missed out on a wonderful romance.
Gigi was absolutely adorable. She was vibrant and friendly without being obnoxious, and the challenges she faced felt realistic and genuine. Sometimes I find these stories tend to create Mary Sue, my ass streams sunshine's and butterflies, or their problems are so convoluted and arbitrary I find myself scratching my head. But Gigi is dealing with feeling like she couldn’t complain or compete because of her status and connections in the world was completely in the norm. She felt complex without angsty, and it was such a breath of fresh hair.
You know who did feel complex and angsty? Luke Ryder. He felt like a lot of the male leads in these type of stories - dark backstory, a loner (but with just enough close friends to not be alone), and moody. And yet, I really liked his character arc. He truly had a depressing background, but I don’t feel like we dwelled on it much. It was revealed, he dealt with some of the trauma, but it didn’t hamper to story or feel like too much.
There romance was rather typical of the grumpy / sunshine sorta enemies but not plots. And yet, it just worked for them. I 100% felt their romance was believable, even the surprising twist at the end. It felt authentic to their relationship, and to them as individuals. Like all of Elle Kennedy’s romance, she throws out a slew of side characters that will, for better or worse, get their own standalone book in the series. I’m actually rather excited by the second book in the series, and I hope it lives up to the hype in my heart. Finally, this is does feature characters from previous books, but they never took over the story. They had the appropriate amount of screen time without overtaking the story. all in all, I loved this book and plan to revisit it in the future again.
Read if you like: ❤️ Contemporary romance | ☕ College-setting | 🏒 Hockey
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