The Graham effect

Kennedy follows her best-selling Off-Campus books with the first title in the new Campus Diaries series. The daughter of a hockey legend, Gigi Graham dreams of making it to the U.S. national women's hockey team. The men's hockey program at her university has just combined teams with a rival school after that program went bankrupt. Gigi enlists the help of moody Luke Ryder, the new cocaptain, to help her develop skills behind the net, her weak spot. Ryder, as he prefers to be called, comes from tragedy and the foster system and just wants his new teammates to work together and start winning. But as he and Gigi get to know each other, they fall in love. Their chemistry ignites the pages with as much excitement as the dramatic hockey scenes. Ryder is an especially compelling character, who overcomes lifelong fear to be in love with Gigi.This is a standout story among the very popular hockey romance trend. Fans of Susan Elizabeth Phillips may also enjoy Kennedy's smart love stories.

Kennedy (The Summer Girl) kicks off her Campus Diaries series with a seductive college-set hockey romance. After a childhood in foster care, prickly college hockey phenom Luke Ryder keeps to himself and avoids relationships with a vengeance. When his school makes the unprecedented move of merging hockey teams with one of their fiercest rivals, his life is thrust into chaos--and he finds himself back in the orbit of Gigi Graham. The pair first met six years prior at one of Gigi's famous athlete father's hockey camps, and they got off on terrible footing. Now, Gigi's determined to make the women's national hockey team--and she needs Ryder's help to get her there. Ryder, meanwhile, battles for a position on the combined team with Gigi's ex-boyfriend, Case Colson, and aspires to a summer coaching gig with Gigi's father. It's a tangled web already--add in the mounting, irresistible attraction between Ryder and Gigi, and things are sure to get messy. But what fun Kennedy has playing in the mess. She does an exceptional job creating equally flawed and endearing characters and conjuring palpable chemistry between the leads. Sparkling dialogue and a solid supporting cast help to keep the pages flying. As romantic as it is spicy, this will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next installment. Agent: Kimberly Brower, Brower Literary. (Oct.)