See the cover and read an excerpt from The Graham Effect

Hockey romances are incredibly hot right now and one of the early romance writers of those is Elle Kennedy. Kennedy is even revisiting the beloved series but with a twist in the upcoming The Graham Effect.

If you’ve read Kennedy’s Off-Campus series, you might recognize that last name and that’s because it’s Garrrett’s last name. We followed Garrett and Hannah’s romance in the first book: The Deal. In some ways, that’s the story that started it all.

From there, the series branched off into the Briar U series and now, we’re headed back by this time, we’re following a very different set of characters. Even though you might think you know what’s in store, you’ll likely be as shocked as I was to find out who The Graham Effect will be following.

If that wasn’t enough, Bloom Books was nice enough to share the book’s cover, description, and a small excerpt. Honestly, if you’re an Elle Kennedy fan, you won’t want to miss any bit of this information.

The cover for  Elle Kennedy’s The Graham Effect is here to brighten your day.

I don’t know about all of you, but I adore this cover. I know that some people have strong feelings about illustrated covers yet I feel like it fits in the new romance era. I know that everyone is used to Elle Kennedy’s covers with people on them, but this is nice too. Personally, though, I’ll probably read anything Elle Kennedy writes in this world so I might not be the best person to judge.

If you’re as excited as I am about The Graham Effect, you’ll be happy to know we’ve got two other amazing tidbits to share. First is the official book description as shared by the publisher which gives us a look at who this romance will be between.

"Gigi Graham has exactly three goals: qualify for the women’s national hockey team, win Olympic gold, and step out of her famous father’s shadow. So far, so good, except for two little things. Fine–a little thing and a big, grumpy thing. She needs to improve her game behind the net, and she needs help from Luke Ryder.Ryder is six-foot five, built, opinionated, rude…and sexy as hell. But he’s still the enemy.Briar’s new hockey co-captain has his reasons, though. The men’s team just merged with a rival program, leaving Ryder with an angry roster where everyone hates one another’s guts.To make matters worse, the summer coaching spot he’s angling for with the legendary Garrett Graham is out of reach after he makes the worst possible first impression on his hero. So, really, this compromise with Gigi is win-win. He helps her make the nationalteam, she puts in a good word with her dad.The only potential snag? This bone-deep, body-numbing, mind-spinning chemistry they’re trying to ignore. It’s a dangerous game they’re playing, but the risks just might be worthit."

Personally, when I first read this description, I was shocked. If you would have had me guess who this book would follow, Hannah and Garrett’s daughter would not be it. Honestly, I was hoping for a marriage-in-trouble story for Hannah and Garrett. (Please, Elle Kennedy?!) Either way, this makes me even more excited to pick this one up in October.

If you’re not completely sold though, there’s one more surprise up my sleeve which is an excerpt shared by Bloom Books exclusively for Culturess. I don’t know about you, but even this small snippet is making me wish I had the book in my hands already so let’s get into it.

"Hockey Kings TranscriptOriginal Air Date: 07/28The Sports Broadcast CorporationJake Connelly: Speaking of unmitigated disasters, I guess this is a perfect segue to our next segment. Massive news coming out of the college hockey world: the Briar/Eastwood merge. Talking about your alma mater here, G.Garrett Graham: My kid goes there too. Keeping it in the family, you know?Connelly: On a scale of one to ten—one being catastrophe and ten being the apocalypse—how bad is this?Graham: Well. It’s not great.Connelly: I believe we call that an understatement.Graham: I mean, yes. But let’s unpack this. Setting aside the fact that it’s unprecedented—two D1 men’s ice hockey programs merging into one? Unheard of. But I suppose there could be some advantages. Chad Jensen is looking at a super team here. I mean, Colson and Ryder on one roster? Not to mention Demaine, Larsen, and Lindley? With Kurth in the crease? Tell me how this team isn’t unstoppable.Connelly: On paper, absolutely. And I’m the first person to give credit where credit’s due. Chad Jensen is the most decorated coach in college hockey. Twelve Frozen Four forays and seven wins during his tenure at Briar. He holds the record for championship wins—Graham: Does your father-in-law pay you to be his hype man? Or you do it for free to score approval points?Connelly: Says the man who won three of those seven championships under Jensen.Graham: Yeah, all right. So we’re both biased. All jokes aside, Jensen is a miracle worker, but even he can’t erase decades of bitter rivalry and hostility. Briar and Eastwood have battled it out in their conference for years. And suddenly these boys are expected to play nice?Connelly: He’s got a tough job ahead of him, that’s for sure. But like you said, if they manage to make it work? Come together as one team? We could be seeing some magic happen.Graham: Either that, or these guys are going to kill each other.Connelly: Guess we’re about to find out."

If you’re an Off-Campus fan, this one is going to be a can’t-miss. Considering how hot hockey romances are too, you can’t go wrong with at least, giving it a try. For me though, I just adore Elle Kennedy’s writing and she’s one of those authors I always end up buddy-reading with my best friend. It’s a win-win in my book.

The Graham Effect by Elle Kennedy is set for release on October 31st, 2023. 

Are you excited about a new hockey romance from Elle Kennedy? What do you think of the cover? Share with us in the comments!