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Review

4 stars!

The fourth book in the Off Campus series brings us the story of John Tucker. Tuck is the last of the four hockey playing friends and roommates that feature in these books – the quiet member of the group who hasn’t had a lot of action in the series so far. However, a bomb dropped at the end of The Score has had me desperate to get my hands on this one to see how his story was going to play out!

Sabrina James was briefly introduced in the last book as the arch nemesis of Dean (Tuck’s roommate). We’ve only seen her from Dean’s perspective, and he thinks she is a cold, stuck-up bitch. I was nervous going into this story, but after getting Sabrina’s perspective and seeing her life, her goals, and her strong ambition, I actually liked her and was able to settle in and enjoy my read.

Sabrina’s life has not been easy, and she is desperate to rise up from her white-trash origins, away from her horrible home circumstances, and make something of herself. Her passion and determination to be accepted into Harvard Law school and build a successful legal career means that she devotes her life to two things – work and study – with no room for distractions. She doesn’t have time for relationships, and she satisfies herself with quick hook ups – usually with athletes.

Tucker and Sabrina meet in a crowded bar. Sparks fly, quick banter is exchanged, and before you know it they are steaming things up in Tucker’s car, and holy hell! You know the old cliché ‘it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for’? Well, it’s true here because Tuck blew my mind! The man is sex on legs, deliciously dirty with a filthy mouth and OMG the sexy time is sizzling!

One swift jerk of a lever and his seat falls completely flat. Tucker lies down and beckons for me again. “C’mere and fuck my face. I need more of that.”
Oh. My. God. Who is this guy?

But whereas Sabrina attempts to move on after their brief, but life-shatteringly awesome sex, Tucker is smitten. He wants more of Sabrina, and he’s determined to get it.

“I’m warning you – there are easier women than Sabrina.”
“Why would I want someone easy?” I flash him a grin. “That doesn’t sound like any fun.”

There’s a whole lot of back and forth as Tucker chases and Sabrina pushes him away, but she can’t resist their chemistry. The lines are a bit blurry as they can’t stay away from each other despite the uncertainty between them, but Tucker is just perfection – cheeky and flirty, infinitely patient, but giving the slightest push when Sabrina needs it, and being open about what he’s feeling and what he wants from her.

But then a delicious twist changes everything. Fans of the series will know exactly what’s coming, and I love this trope in a romance novel, so I was super excited. The added complication creates some great intensity, and gives Tucker the opportunity to show his continues awesomeness. But even with the added intensity, there’s still a whole lot of uncertainty between them. I thought it was well written, and it didn’t reached the point of becoming too irritating (probably because Tucker is so freaking incredible), but I did get annoyed with Sabrina and her insistence on keeping Tucker at arm’s length.

But despite the lack of clarity about their relationship, we can all see where it’s going, and as the storyline progresses it is heartwarmingly gorgeous as we watch them cope with real life after college, figure what they want from their lives, and find their way forward together.

The timing of this book takes us back to the beginning the The Score (and revisiting some of those events was hard… and teary) before moving on to the future for these characters post-graduation. The rest of the crew are all a part of the story, and I loved catching up with the couples from the previous book, as well as getting to know some of the younger members of the team a bit better – at this point I’m assuming the series will carry on with their stories?

I really enjoyed this story. Honestly, I would have like a little bit more romance (as opposed to us just knowing what the characters were feeling from their inner monologues), but I really liked the overall story, and the way it all worked out for these characters.

Not my favourite of the series, but still a great read. 4 stars.

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Off-Campus series

 

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