Some might say that I’m not the target market for a show about university students when I’m a middle-aged mother with a surprising amount of grey hair*. To that person I will say, fuck you, I can watch what I want.
*I only realised this when I shaved my head yesterday and saw all the grey hair on the floor.
I watched the entirety of Off Campus over two days and I enjoyed it. It’s certainly compulsive viewing. Is it perfect? No, but I still had a good time.
My thoughts on it? I’ll tell you mine, if you tell me yours in the comments.
Thought one:
For me (and I know this is very much a subjective thing), the only good actor in the bunch was Allie. I found Hannah and Garret to be rather wooden at times and a little over-reliant on the awkward giggle. Or is that an early 20s thing? (Twenty years ago, did I do that much awkward giggling??)
Thought two:
The only one of Elle Kennedy’s books that I read is The Deal and that was many years ago now so if there are significant differences between the book and the TV show, they passed me by. (Feel free to sound off in the comments if you were bothered by the differences, if there are any?)
Thought three:
I will say there is something rather soothing, maybe even healing, about jocks being enthusiastic about consent and being sex positive in a female gaze, feminist kind of way. I saw this in particular in Dean and his interactions with Allie. I saw this even in the variety of sex positions that were used. I enjoyed the mini flashback to all the sex that they had had in secret. Very much a case of equals enjoying each other.
Are you watching? What do you think? Anyone else looking forward to Allie and Dean’s series?
Watched on the recommendation of friend who is also old enough to be the grandmother of these characters. Binged it. Enjoyed it. Had not read any of the books. That said, my college days looked nothing like theirs! I will look forward to the next in the series.
I haven’t read any of the books, but I enjoyed the series. I have a feeling I’ll like season 2 a lot more because really the only characters I looked forward to seeing each episode were Dean and Allie. Together they’re electric, but even separately (Allie especially) they make every scene more compelling. I posted my honest thoughts on s1 on the subreddit and got downvoted to hell, but I agree that I found Hannah and Garrett very wooden. Maybe it’s the almost 10 year age difference in the actors, but their scenes together just left me cold. I would like to read the books (I already put holds on all at the library, it’s just too bad the audiobooks are Audible exclusive) but apparently they changed a lot. I read something about the books being very misogynistic but they wrote the tv versions to be more feminist to be more in line with the kinds of guys we want to see now. I’m not mad at that.
I’m down the middle with it; I was no big fan of Elle Kennedy’s work, parts of the translation work, parts don’t.
The Show: enjoyed it! Hannah & Garrett may be the “main” couple, but Dean & Allie are THE couple. I think the showrunners know their audience & delivered. I think the woodeness of Hannah & Garrett are more awkward to me since both are dealing with very heavy issues (SA & DV). They give more sibling than lovers vibes.
The Book:Got the ebook for free, possibly a sale from SBTB? Read up to page 73 & forgot everything. Could be me, I’m in my AARP Era. Now I have read HIM, which Elle Kennedy co-wrote with Sarina Bowen. I have read almost all of the books in Sarina’s Brooklyn Hockey universe & really like them. Maybe I just enjoyed Sarina’s style of writing better?
I’m going to give The Deal another read & promise to pay attention this time.
I’m not running out to buy the rest of the books in the Off Campus Universe, and in a few months more copies will be available at the library.
I am enjoying all the press clips on Instagram & YouTube, they seem like a good group of actors.
I will admit to being obsessed with Garrett’s dark green leather bomber jacket! I had a jacket in that color about 20 years ago!
One thing I have noticed is how quiet the NHL is about this show. They did talk about Heated Rivalry but they seem to be pulling back from HR.
Overall I enjoyed the series, looking forward to Season 2, and will give The Deal another chance.
Thanks for being a safe space for book lovers!
Got to draw some attention to Elle Kennedy’s other, lesser-known series: the Midnight books, about an interconnected group of badass mercenaries. She’s one of the few romantic suspense authors I’ve read who lets her female characters be as capable as the men. That series deserves more love!
I was anticipating this post! I kept seeing buzz about it on Instagram and had never read the books, so I was reluctant at first. One of my besties was talking about watching it and I went ahead and tuned in. We did it over a few days (we wanted to prolong it because the eps go fast!) and I LOVED it.
I was reluctant at first for two reasons:
1.I’m nowhere near college age and was afraid I would not like it (like you described)
2. I never really liked reading contemporary novels with heroines under 25 because of what I call “Diana Palmer PTSD”. Other than one paranormal book, she was high on my DNF list because of her problematic character dynamics.
So I am glad I watched all 8 episodes and did get some of the books. Hopefully my reading slumps subsides enough that I can start them.
I read the first three books shortly after they were published (back when Obama was still president). I read the 4th book (Tucker’s story) much later, when I stumbled over the second series, which continues after the majority of the characters from the first 4 books (the one that are introduced in The Deal have graduated). Those books feature several teammates from the first four books, including Dean’s sister, Summer, Coach Jensen’s daughter, Brenna and Hunter Davenport. I’ve also read some of the next gen books, which are set a Briar U, where Coach Jensen is still coaching men’s hockey and Hannah and Garret’s daughter plays for the women’s team.
I thought that the adaptation was well done and although I am definitely not the target audience, enjoyed the way that music was used throughout. Just to date myself a little, Billy Idol and Elton John were part of my college experience, and I think I saw both Top Gun and Dirty Dancing at a movie theater, so those references delighted me, as did the various references to other rom-coms throughout. Dean and Allie’s story is in book 3, and has changed a little, so I’ll be interested to see what happens in the second season.
I haven’t seen the TV series and have no plans to watch it, after seeing that the actors playing Hannah and Garrett look nothing like my imagining. And if their acting is wooden, that’s a dealbreaker. One of the reasons for Heated Rivalry feeling like something groundbreaking is the wonderful performances.
I read the first three books in the series back in the day. I absolutely loved The Deal because the relationship felt real but I hated The Mistake (Grace was juvenile and selfish; Logan was too self-sacrificing and I didn’t feel any connection between them). The Score was just a huge disappointment; I had such anticipation for Dean and Allie but the author managed to take all the romantic potential out of their story in the first few chapters. I still mourn what that book could have been. I didn’t bother with book 4.
I really enjoyed the show (and the books, years ago) — but I agree with @Maria that Sarina Bowen’s Brooklyn Hockey/Ivy Years series rank higher. Love all of these books about women’s and men’s hockey teams, college and pros, and her m/m hockey romances are great, too!
https://sarinabowen.com/the-ivy-years
https://sarinabowen.com/brooklyn-hockey
https://sarinabowen.com/mm-reads-1
Like several others in this conversation, I’m significantly older than the “Off Campus” characters and I enjoyed the TV series. During the past two weeks I’ve read all 5 of the “Off Campus” books plus 2 of the follow up books (THE GRAHAM EFFECT and LOVE SONG) that focus on the college-age children of some of the “Off Campus” pairs. Also like others here, I think the Allie+Dean actors are more compelling than the Hannah+Garrett pair.
I’ll watch the next season because I like what the Allie+Dean actors are bringing to their roles and because I liked THE SCORE (the Allie+Dean book) better than the first two books in the series.
@Lara, to your question about differences between the books and the TV show, I’ve read several online posts that compile differences. Some are small (e.g., Garrett’s tattoos) and some are more significant (e.g., the reason for Hannah and Garrett’s third act breakup). Anyone looking for this sort of stuff can search for “Off Campus books vs TV series” and you’ll get lots of info!
I am way older than the characters in the series–I’m retired! I read and liked the books back in the day but don’t remember them particularly (though Sarina Bowen’s hockey books have stuck in my mind).
I do agree about the energy/chemistry in the Allie+Dean characters in the show, but I didn’t find Hannah+Garrett at all wooden. They’re just more interior characters and I saw a lot in their facial expressions. This has been driven home for me by all the edits I keep running across. I think their acting was impressive, honestly.
Sure it was no HEATED RIVALRY, but it was so much stronger than other romance adaptions. I’m glad it was 8 episodes rather than a milktoast movie which up until now has been what we’ve got. It’s kind of remarkable that this was made pretty concurrently. If these are the kinds of show we can expect in the future, I’m pretty happy.
Finally I’m able to chime in on Off Campus! For the record I am 64 and semi-retired. I’ve read all the books, the first three multiple times. The fourth book (Tucker’s) didn’t hold my interest that much. The first three I have really loved. I just re-read The Deal to refresh my memory before watching the series. I still loved it!
There were some significant changes to the story line. Garrett’s dad is even more of a villain and Hannah is the one to break up. Plus some others but that one stands out the most. Overall I really enjoyed the film version. I really think Tucker was miscast. I loved Logan (again several changes notably no sister in the book). I thought Hannah and Garrett were very sweet and yes, there was definitely some wooden acting, I also found Garrett very convincing.
Let’s get to Dean and Allie! Definitely stole the screen. I literally can’t wait for them to finally get together. Again some changes from the book. I loved Dean in the book and I loved him even more in the show. They really captured his character very well and the actor carried the scenes Same with Allie. What a free spirit! These two were totally believable. The last scene with Dean when he realizes Allie has “branched out”. My heart hurt for that boy.
All in all I really enjoyed watching the entire series despite my age. It wasn’t a BBC production by any means but it wasn’t trying to be. I think of it as a “made for TV” style movie. I am really looking forward to the next season.
I really enjoyed the series, although I took a break before episode 7, when Allie’s previous trauma is most deeply explored (it’s not at all explicit, and there’s no depiction of her actual trauma, for anyone who might be concerned). It was great to see enthusiastic consent on screen!
I think they’re taking a good approach to creating TV seasons out of a book series. For some reason I thought they would be using the Bridgerton approach where each season more or less wraps up the main couple’s plot lines, but although the romance plot is basically complete, the hockey plot line is just on pause, as is any discussion of Allie’s career plans. Which I think will give those characters more substantial material to work with as the series moves on to other romances–in Bridgerton the past couples mostly feel like filler.
I am 73 and read & watch what I want,too. I don’t have kids, by choice,but lots of nieces & nephews plus lots of friend’s kids around, so Im mostly in touch with generations after me.
I disagree that Allie is the only really good actor. She is good, but I think they all are. I don’t see Hannah and Garrett (Ella and Belmont) as wooden at all. Their relationship starts as they are both in the beginning stages of dealing with past trauma so that is as sensitive as their sexual relationship. Any woodeness is to me a natural hesitation or caution one would experience in real life. I found Ella to be an extremely strong performer, especially in her rendition of Cherry Pie. Very well done.
Yes, I like seeing playboy Dean slowly fall for Allie without realizing it until Beau diagnoses whats wrong with him. His shick at that, Allie’s hook up with another guy, and that guy turning out to be his arch enemy put him in a state of lack of control he isn’t used to-interesting. And Alkie is starting to find out that nothing is without consequences.
The actor & character I’m most interested to see what happened next is John Logan. His problem seems to be money,unreliable parental ties, and his relationship with his sister. He’s afraid his hockey dream won’t pan out becayse he may not have the talent to impress. Yet he seems at this point to be the most decisive of the 4 main male characters with the most talent for understanding everyone else. I also think his crush on Hannah shows a deep loneliness and readiness for real love and partnership. Seems like he’d be the future teacher and coach. I really like Cipriani’s approach to the character & look forward to seeing how his story plays out.
All in all I think was show has been intelligently organized and produced. I haven’t read the books, but I think these storyline are the best any high school/college show yet.The themes are true, mature, and real for today’s young people.