The Graham Effect

The Graham Effect by Elle Kennedy
Narrator: CJ Bloom, Teddy Hamilton
Series: Campus Diaries #1
Published by Bloom Books, Tantor Audio on October 31, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Romance / New Adult
Length: 14 hours 3 minutes
Pages: 496
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
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The first book in the delicious, icy-hot Campus Diaries series, a spinoff of BookTok sensations Off Campus and Briar U, by New York Times bestselling author Elle Kennedy.

Gigi Graham has exactly three goals: qualify for the women's national hockey team, win Olympic gold, and step out of her famous father's shadow. So far, so good, except for two little things. Fine-a little thing and a big, grumpy thing. She needs to improve her game behind the net, and she needs help from Luke Ryder.

Ryder is six-foot five, built, opinionated, rude…and sexy as hell. But he's still the enemy.

Briar's new hockey co-captain has his reasons, though. The men's team just merged with a rival program, leaving Ryder with an angry roster where everyone hates one another's guts. To make matters worse, the summer coaching spot he's angling for with the legendary Garrett Graham is out of reach after he makes the worst possible first impression on his hero. So, really, this compromise with Gigi is win-win. He helps her make the national team, she puts in a good word with her dad.

The only potential snag? This bone-deep, body-numbing, mind-spinning chemistry they're trying to ignore. It's a dangerous game they're playing, but the risks just might be worth it.

I loved this book! Garrett Graham was a stand-out character for me in the Off-Campus series so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a book featuring his daughter, Gigi. While this book kicks off the new Campus Diaries series, I had a lot of fun seeing my favorite characters from the Off-Campus series make an appearance in this book. This book would work well as a stand-alone but I think that readers of the other books set in this world may get just a bit more out of the novel.

Gigi and Ryder were fantastic together and I loved the fact that they had hockey in common. Gigi and Ryder were both excellent in the sport and understood each other’s dedication and were able to help one another. I thought that they had wonderful chemistry together and there was enough spice to keep things very interesting. I loved the humor that was worked into the story and found myself laughing out loud more than once while listening to this story which rarely happens.

CJ Bloom and Teddy Hamilton did an amazing job of bringing this story to life. I thought that both of the narrators were able to add just the right amount of emotion to their reading to take the book to the next level. The humor of the story really shined during the performance which added a lot to the experience for me. I loved every moment of this audiobook and found it very hard to set aside. I am certain that the narration added to my overall enjoyment of this delightful novel.

I would highly recommend this book to others. I have realized that I have a soft spot for hockey romances and the humor in this story took my enjoyment to the next level. I cannot wait to read more of this entertaining series!

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