The Goal: Soon to be a Streaming Series on Amazon Prime (Off-Campus, 4)

From Lala’s Book Reviews TW/CW: accidental pregnancy and thoughts about terminating the pregnancy I have finally made it to Tucker and Sabrina’s book! I think I had seen a tiktok after I read Logan and Grace’s book (The Mistake) where it was a pretty serious game of musical chairs between these two guys and it was like “Garrett and Logan fighting over who will be the godparent of Tucker’s baby”, and I couldn’t wait from that moment on to read this book. Why? Well honestly because of the video’s mention of Garrett which is honestly kind of crazy (but I love Garrett), and I’m always intrigued about books where someone has a baby even though it’s one of those tropes that has to be written really, really well for it to work. The first half of The Goal takes place as the same time as the majority of The Score taking place, and it was cool to be able to see certain events from the third book from Tucker’s perspective, but at the same time it was also difficult to read about Beau’s death since it was such a huge turning point in Dean and Allie’s relationship and had affected a lot of the other MCs because Beau did hang out with and crossed paths with so many of the other characters. Had I been introduced to Tucker’s book before I read about Garrett Graham, Tucker would be my number one of book boyfriends from the Off-Campus series, but Garrett came first and can’t be unthroned from the spot, but I can safely say that Tucker is in the number two spot. To my knowledge, the majority of what we know about Sabrina before reading this book is that she is a pre-law student like Dean, works really had and is “competitive” about her grades, and that she’s a you-know-what and is rather cold hearted. But again, that’s what Dean told everyone because Sabrina didn’t really mix with any of his friends. Sabrina is a completely different person than what Dean has described to us over the other books because Sabrina has one goal on her mind and that’s to better her life and to get an education in a career where she can support herself and get away from her home life. Her life is far from perfect, she lives an hour away from the Briar U campus in a rather run down house in Boston with her grandma who basically raised her and her stepdad who’s mostly always drunk and makes crude comments. Sabrina’s mom ran away from the family when Sabrina was like seven I want to say and hasn’t had much (if any) contact since. Sabrina has her life pretty much planned out as she gets an undergraduate degree from Briar U and works two jobs to help pay the bills at home and save money for when she gets into Harvard Law. She only has two real friends, but at times it can be difficult to connect with them because they come from money, but she still loves them because they’re there for her. Sabrina honestly over-works herself from studying and going to class to picking up any extra shifts that she can to grow her savings, so needless to say that she doesn’t have time for anything other than a one night fling if that. But, man does Tucker lay on the southern charm that night in the bar where she decides to go, and one thing leads to another and they’re in the back of his truck (let’s keep in mind that Sabrina wants the less amount of strings possible and is just looking for a release). And, Tucker being the gentleman that he is, makes her text him when she makes it back home safely since she wouldn’t spend the night with him and wants to drive back home despite the icy rain and dropping temperatures. Well, Tucker follows her home anyway because he honestly didn’t think she’d text him, and he was worried about the worsening conditions. Something happened that night because Tucker is smittened with Sabrina and they shared something those moments in his truck because he wants nothing more than to get to know her, but Sabrina doesn’t have any form of relationship built into her plan in the foreseeable future while she gets her degree in law. After many, many moments, Tucker finally is able to break down enough of Sabrina’s walls to get a better look of her life, and despite not wanting anything to do with Tucker or a relationship, Sabrina finds herself wanting to be able to spend time with him and talk to him and just be near him, but her fears makes the doubt stay in arms reach. As they try to work out their whatever you want to call it, Sabrina is starting to feel the effect of pregnancy, and she starts to worry big time because how can she handle this when she has so much to do to get out of her current home life situation and she doesn’t even know if Tucker would want to be in her or the baby’s life if she keeps it. This book is such a quick read. I wouldn’t say that there’s a whole lot of drama in this book, but there are plenty of deep moments especially when it come to the part of the book with the pregnancy. And it was always great to have our few moments with Garrett (heart eyes). I can see why people were so excited for The Legacy to come out to finish up the stories and have a look into their lives after Briar U, but I think that this book was a pretty good ending to the original part of the series.

4 stars — I was actually most looking forward to Tucker’s story, and while I loved it, it didn’t end up being my favourite. Weird how that works right? Now as I fully anticipated, I LOVED Tucker. Like LOVE LOVED him. He was everything I was hoping for and more. I adored how he was this delicious blend of sweet, caring, genuinely good guy mixed with a delightfully dirty mind. I think that was the part that surprised me, though I’m not sure why. But damn, that boy had it going on!! And yet he was still so gentlemanly…god, I love that mix. And he was so freaking patient! Like, I couldn’t even believe it sometimes. He was almost too patient on occasion, b/c he wouldn’t push Sabrina at all, and maybe she needed a little push. But I loved how he could see through Sabrina’s bullcrap to the heart of her. And I loved how he didn’t let the curveballs throw him off his path, he stayed true to himself and wouldn’t make choices that he couldn’t be happy with when it came to his life. While I wasn’t surprised that I loved Tucker, I will admit that I was surprised I loved Sabrina too. I loved how driven she was, and how she put on that persona of being a witch with a b to keep people away, but underneath she was extremely vulnerable. I also thought that Ms. Kennedy did a great job of showcasing the challenges of poverty through her situation. She desperately wanted a better life, and she thought she knew exactly what that better life would look like. While both Sabrina and Tucker aggravated me with their stubbornness and wrong assumptions (it’s not my favourite trope), she took a bit longer than I wanted to figure stuff out. It’s not that I didn’t get that her family life and childhood damaged her, but she was being an idiot and I was sad that none of her friends woke her up. Another thing that bugged me was that, in my opinion, she was seriously emotionally abused, and I kind of wished that that had been addressed at some point. Her Nana was, quite frankly, awful to her, and her love felt very conditional. And the way Sabrina would excuse Ray’s behavior…well, I just wish that someone had told her that that’s not normal, and gotten her some guidance. Tucker and Sabrina were interesting together. Obviously they had amazing chemistry, and there were so many sweet moments that I just loved. But their relationship was a bit dysfunctional, and I felt like I needed a bit more near the end when things changed. I just would have appreciated learning a bit more about their motivations, or seeing more frank discussions between the two of them…it just felt like I didn’t understand why this time it was different, you know? The plot in this one flowed a bit differently for me, especially the second half. It just didn’t feel like the usual narrative structure I’m used to, with the build up to a conflict and climax. As I said, I kept waiting for the turnaround, but it just kind of snuck in there with a lot of little ups and downs. And can I also say that I hated the way Tucker’s Mom behaved? She was truly awful, and I’m not sure I ever fully understood her motivations, or what she was like, or how Tucker became who he was with that kind of mother. On the completely other side of it, I loved seeing the group interact again. I really love all those boys and the girls they fell in love with. I also really appreciated that Dean and Sabrina worked things out, but weren’t all buddy buddy. And as for other secondary characters, I loved Sabrina’s friends and seeing a bit more of some of the other hockey boys. I’m so excited to know we’ll be getting a bit more of some of them. So yeah, so much goodness in this one, just a few little niggles that made it not the hit out of the park I was expecting. But a seriously great end to a fantastic sports romance series.

The Goal by Elle Kennedy ✨ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sabrina and Tucker absolutely won my heart. Hands down, this is my favourite book in the entire series. Sabrina is a powerhouse. She busted her arse chasing her dreams, and I admired her resilience so much. Her family though? Absolute trash. I despised them. Her grandma should have known better, and her stepfather is a straight up disgusting prick. I truly don’t understand why he was tolerated at all especially when her mum isn’t even in the picture. Sabrina deserved so much more. And then there’s Tucker 🫶🏼 Officially added to my book boyfie list. He has this nurturing, steady presence that just melts you. He was always there when Sabrina needed him, never wavering, never pushing just always showing up. The way he loved and supported her? Arghhhhh, my heart couldn’t handle it. The surprise pregnancy trope isn’t usually at the top of my list, but this one was done perfectly. It realistically portrayed the struggles, the fear, the emotional weight and the successes. Nothing felt rushed or sugar coated. This series wrapped up well and finished with a bang! I loved the friendships, the found family, and the sense of closure. I’m so glad I stuck with the series, and now I’m crossing all my fingers that the upcoming TV series does it justice 🤞🏼

, Perfect condition + ♡♡♡

It's official: this book is my FAVOURITE of the Off-Campus series. I could not put it down, and I'm actually surprised that I loved it as much as I did! Logan needs to move aside now, and I'm not sorry to say that, because John Tucker has definitely taken that #1 spot as my favourite Briar boy. From start to finish I was hooked to this funny, romantic novel. Tucker, bless his heart, is a romantic. He believes in love at first sight, and he believes that the first time he and Sabrina locked eyes across the crowded bar that she was "the one", but Sabrina only saw him through lust filled goggles. Where Sabrina only wants one night, Tucker wants more, and he's dead set on getting just that... But I don't think the "more" he was expecting to get was a baby. I loved everything that happened in this book. There were no moments where I found a scene to drag or just be dull; it was all perfect to me. I loved Tucker. I loved Sabrina. I loved their chemistry and banter, and I loved watching their relationship grow. I most especially loved the banter between Tucker, Garrett, Logan, and Dean - many scenes between those four had me crying with laughter! Seeing Sabrina and Tucker as parents, and watching as Garrett and Logan fight for the title of Godfather... I could just list everything that I loved that happened in this book, but then I'd be listing EVERYTHING that happened. It all really was perfect, and it sucks that I didn't start this series sooner. I'm sad to see it have to end, but I've heard rumours that there'll be a spin-off series coming featuring the rest of the hockey team at Briar University? I hope it's true, and if it is, I cannot wait to read it!

I really like how these books all have a different kind of story. Not everything goes perfect. It makes the story so much more believable. I laughed and even had to blink away some tears. True devotion of the MMC. Don't we all wish for our own Tucker? Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Spice quantity: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ Spice quality: 🥵🥵🥵 Dark: Humor: 😂😂😂😂 Suspense: 🙈🙈 Predictability: 🎱🎱🎱🎱 Readability: 📖📖📖📖📖 Feels: 👩🏼‍❤️‍👨🏼👩🏼‍❤️‍👨🏼👩🏼‍❤️‍👨🏼👩🏼‍❤️‍👨🏼 Emotional Depth: 🧠🧠🧠🧠 Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡ Perspective: first person dpov Cliffhanger: No Epilogue: Yes Format: E-book formn Why I chose this book: Reading the whole series

I must say I am pleasantly surprised with this book. I wasn’t as eager to read it as I was for the previous three because Tucker was rather underdeveloped in the previous books and we got to know Sabrina only from Dean’s perspective (meaning thinking that she’s a cold hearted bit*h). So, I picked up the book just so I would finish the series. And thank God I did because it is amazing! Tucker is the perfect combination of sunshine and alpha male and I love him so much! He melts my heart just like he does Sabrina’s. They were so unexpected and yet so amazing together. But what I love the most about these books is the dynamic between the 4 main guys. It’s their chemistry and friendship that kept me ‘till the end. I loved that each of them appeared in all of the books and that each new book gave more depth to the previously read scenes. LOVED THIS WHOLE SERIES SO MUCH!! Can’t wait to read The Legacy and see the 3 years after for Hannah and Garrett, Allie and Dean, Grace and Logan and Sabrina and Tucker (I love all 4 of the couples but Garrett and Hannah will always be my first and true love, followed closely by Dean and Allie because I am a sucker for the playboy-falls-in-love-trope) !