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The Score (Off-Campus Book 3)

By Elle Kennedy

Contemporary Fiction, Romance

Original Series now on Prime Video. Can't wait for Season 2 of Off Campus? Fall in love with Dean and Allie... Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the…

Release Date
2023
Length
363 pages
Publisher
Hachette UK
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Our Review

About the book

The third Off-Campus novel pairs Briar hockey player Dean Di Laurentis, a confident campus charmer, with Allie Hayes, who has just ended a long relationship. A one-night stand between friends of friends becomes something more complicated as both face pressures about their futures.

Our review

Kennedy gives her series’ resident playboy a heart, and the result is funny, warm and steamier than ever.

Dean has been the comic relief of the first two books, so the pleasure here is watching Kennedy complicate him without sanding off his swagger. Allie is a lively heroine with ambitions of her own in acting, and their banter carries real chemistry. The friendship group from earlier books stays present, which gives the novel a cozy, lived-in feel, and Kennedy is good at balancing explicit romance with affectionate humor.

The structure is familiar: casual arrangement, mounting feelings, a crisis that drives them apart. A late subplot about Dean’s choices takes a heavier turn that some readers find abrupt, and his reformation can feel a little fast. Readers who prefer slow-burn or clean romance should know the heat level is high. Fans of the series, though, will find this one of its most entertaining entries, and it works reasonably well even out of order.

What we loved

  • Sharp, funny banter and believable chemistry
  • Gives a fan-favorite side character real depth
  • Warm ensemble cast from earlier Off-Campus books

Keep in mind

  • Predictable fling-to-feelings structure
  • Very explicit content and a hurried late-book turn

Read it if you like

Readers of The Deal and The Mistake, Sarina Bowen’s Ivy Years, or Ali Hazelwood’s college romances.

The verdict

A breezy, sexy and good-humored college romance; one of the stronger Off-Campus books for fans of banter.

Author

Elle Kennedy