The Goal, by Elle Kennedy

Earlier this year, we reviewed the first three books in Elle Kennedy's Off-Campus series, a collection of New Adult romances set in the college hockey world. The final book in the quartet, The Goal, has recently been released, and it has just as much easy charm as its predecessors.

The Goal centers around Sabrina James, a hardworking senior determined to make it into a top-tier law school, and John Tucker, a hockey player with a more laid-back approach to his future. The two are wildly attracted to one another, but Sabrina is clear from the start that she is only interested in a one-time hookup. John is hoping for more, but when Sabrina discovers that she's pregnant, their not-quite-a-relationship instantly gets a lot more serious.

Kennedy knows what her readers want from this series: humor, independent heroines, genuinely likable heroes, and a sex-positive attitude. The Goal delivers on most of those, but feels choppier than the earlier books in the series—Sabrina's troubles come so fast and furious that they eventually lose their impact, interesting characters are underdeveloped, and the ending is rushed. At $4.99 for the ebook edition, The Goal is still a total bargain, but I wish Kennedy had resisted the urge to inflict all the drama on her poor characters, and given their relationship a little more space to develop naturally.