Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
IF HEATED RIVALRY alerted you to the fact there’s a genre called ‘hockey romance’, then you might be glad to hear there’s another such adaptation that hit our screens this week.
But hold your horses (pucks?) – there are some differences between Heated Rivalry (based on a series written by Canadian author Rachel Reid) and Off Campus (based on a series written by Canadian author Elle Kennedy).
So here’s everything you need to know about Off Campus.
What’s it all about?
The biggest difference between Heated Rivalry and Off Campus is that this isn’t a same-sex (or MM, in the parlance of the genre) romance. This is a romance between a guy and a gal, and only the guy is a star hockey player.
The show is based on the international bestselling book series from Elle Kennedy, and created for television by Louisa Levy. The entire book series is about an elite ice hockey team and the women in their lives – season one of the TV show is based on the first book, The Deal, an “opposites attract” romance between quiet songwriter Hannah, and Briar University’s all-star hockey athlete, Garrett.
Hannah wants to grab the attention of a fellow student, Justin, and decides that she must make him jealous in order to do it. So she tutors star hocker player Garrett in exchange for a pretend romance.
But (you guessed it)… it turns out that maybe their pretend love affair has a bit more reality to it than either of them anticipated…
Is it steamy?
It is indeed, though it looks like not *quite* to Heated Rivalry levels.
Who’s Elle Kennedy?
Elle Kennedy (44) is the author of several romance series, including the Off Campus spin-offs Briar U and Campus Diaries; Avalon Bay; Killer Instincts and Out of Uniform. She’s a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and has written a whopping 50+ contemporary fiction and romance novels which have sold over 10 million copies worldwide.
She often writes coming-of-age stories, and told BookTrib more about why:
Sure, we don’t always find ourselves in picturesque coastal towns having summer flings, or fake dating the star of the college hockey team, but those years of our lives really are about discovering who we are, who we want to be, and what it is we truly want for ourselves. We’re shaking off the influences from our younger selves, and (hopefully) finding that happily ever after (or at least happily-for-now).
As for the show itself, she told Parade:
Adapting a book for television always involves some creative changes, and that process was led by the team at Amazon. I can’t say much just yet, but from what I’ve seen, the core relationship dynamics of The Deal that fans love so much are still there…
Who stars in the series?
Regulars include:
Where can we watch it?
Off Campus is streaming on Prime Video now.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say