Katie the Book Reporter

Book 1 in the Campus Diaries series

I didn’t even make it a year before I re-listened to this audiobook. If you like sports romances (especially hockey), hot collegians or a supportive and hysterical group of friends/supporting cast, then you need to give The Graham Effect by Elle Kennedy a listen!

The audiobook is dual POV with dual narrators and the run time is about 14 hours. The narrators are CJ Bloom and Teddy Hamilton.

The Graham Effect is the first book in the Campus Diaries series, the third round of books set in Kennedy’s larger Briar University universe. The book follows Gigi Graham (daughter of Garrett and Hannah, the first couple featured in Kennedy’s Off-Campus series) and Luke Ryder. Gigi and Ryder are both superstar collegiate hockey players, but they first met years earlier when they butted heads at a hockey camp. 

Ryder and his best friends, Shane and Beckett, are forced to transfer to Briar University when their university suddenly goes under. Tensions are high as the Eastwood and Briar men’s hockey teams, historically fierce rivals, have to merge. While navigating the merger, Ryder also sets his sights on landing a spot as an assistant coach for a prestigious summer hockey camp – hosted by Gigi’s dad, retired NHL legend Garrett Graham. When Ryder makes a bad impression on Garrett, he turns to Gigi for help. They strike a deal – she’ll talk him up to her dad if he’ll do private training sessions with her to improve her odds of making the women’s Olympic team. 

The tension ratchets up between Ryder and Gigi as they banter and get to know one another on and off the ice. As their relationship deepens, they delve into more serious topics, including the lasting trauma of domestic violence in Ryder’s family and Gigi’s struggle to step out from her dad’s shadow. The couple is comforting, supportive and helps each other grow. 

Outside of the main couple, we get to see the journey of the men’s team as they struggle to set aside their former rivalry to unite under one program, moments with Gigi’s family (great for fans of Hannah and Garrett!) and some truly hysterical scenes from Ryder’s friends, especially Shane as he attempts to help cover up Gigi and Ryder’s sexcapades while they keep their relationship under wraps early on. 

There are multiple “giggling, kicking your feet type shit” moments between Gigi and Ryder, and the romance and tension between them was swoony even on a second listen. The story sets up future books well, laying the groundwork to explore characters’ personalities deeper when their starring moment comes. There are quite a few characters mentioned, which some people may not prefer, but it felt natural, especially given that both main characters are on hockey teams. Personally, it reminded me of the energy of being in college and having a lot of people in your orbit, so I liked it. 

Quotes I bookmarked: 

Garrett: “It makes me uncomfortable, the way she’s looking at me. It’s as if she’s seeing something I can’t. As if she knows a secret about me that even I haven’t been able to decode.” 

“‘Gray. A deep slate gray, stormy, like your eyes.’ My heart does a little somersault. He’s not trying to be romantic, but I liked that line.”

Gigi: “I hate that he’s able to draw things out of me without even trying. He doesn’t ask, or beg, or push me to talk to him. It just happens when he’s around. All my secrets spilling out with abandon.”

“‘This was my parents’ wedding song. It’s the first song they ever danced to…I heard it just now and I don’t know, knew I wanted to dance to it with you.’ That does something to my heart. I don’t know what. I don’t understand half of the emotions she elicits in me. Whatever this one is, it just feels right.”

“‘I’m not good enough for you…I don’t know if I’ll ever be, but I want to try.’ And I do, I mean that. I know I have my flaws but I need to level up to be with this woman. She forces me to be better. I want to be better for her. I want to be her hero.”

“‘I love you too, Luke.’ That does something to me. That name I’ve loathed for so long, that name I’ve recoiled from leaving her lips. Hearing it now coming from that sweet voice and gorgeous face accompanied by those three words — well, I guess I don’t mind being Luke.”

“‘Ryder is great.’ He’s more than great. He’s everything. That hard exterior hides the kind of man I’m honored to be with. A man I trust enough to show every ounce of vulnerability to. A man who hears me when I gently point out a flaw and tries to alter his behavior. A man who makes me desperately happy even when I’m feeling sad.”

“‘I’m here to lift you up…always. You fall, I pick you up. Always.’”