Katie the Book Reporter

The Graham Effect by Elle Kennedy: Review

February 19, 2025

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.
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Happy publication week to Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti! Full review of Regency romance.

January 23, 2025

Happy publication week to Earl Crush! Lydia Hope-Wallace and Arthur Baird, the Earl of Strathronnach – you have my heart!

“I am built for you, Lydia-Hope Wallace. My body and my heart were formed for the loving of you.” – From the unsent papers of Arthur Baird

“Today is the twenty-second of November in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and eighteen. Yesterday in front of several witnesses, I vowed to love you reverently, discreetly, advisedly, and soberly. And this morning, for you alone, I vow this: I will love you indiscreetly and unadvisedly, fearlessly and without reservation, with all my body and all my heart, today and tomorrow and until the end of time.” – From the papers of the Countess of Strathrannoach, left upon her husband’s pillow

Alexandra Vasti’s second entry into her Belvoir’s universe is romantic, sexy, adventurous and funny, with great balance between character moments and plot. The first book, Ne’er Duke Well, was only enjoyable for me, but Earl Crush hit it out of the park.

The book isn’t hurting for action; Lydia first meets Arthur when she appears on his doorstep to propose a marriage of convenience, after what she thinks is a yearslong correspondence with him about political ideas. It turns out it was Arthur’s brother sending the letters; the younger Baird was masquerading as Arthur as part of a larger plot. From there endless twists and turns unfold – a carriage run off the road by a herd of zebras! Hijinks! Spies! An assassination plot! A fake marriage as investigative cover! With plenty of sexy moments in between.
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ARC Review for The Rival by Emma Lord, out 1/21/25

January 17, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this eARC! The Rival by Emma Lord is out Tuesday, Jan. 21.

“I don’t think I could explain what Seb and I are to each other in any singular word, but friends certainly isn’t it. Whatever we are, it goes so deep that the word feels too flimsy for it. Like there should be a new word, something as crackling and maddening and inevitable as we are.”

I was utterly charmed by this YA romcom from Emma Lord! I thought it would be up my alley when I read the description on NetGalley, but I didn’t expect to fall as deeply in love as I did. The Rival ended up being one of my favorite reads of 2024.

The Rival is a joyous, touching and chaotic-ly funny story – part coming-of-age and part romance. The book follows Sadie and Sebastian, rivals from thick-as-thieves families who end up attending the same university. Once there, they continue their competitive relationship, going head-to-head for a single spot on a prominent campus zine – think The Catullan in The Sex Lives of College Girls. But while vying for the spot, and fighting to preserve student org funding on campus, the duo’s complex rivalry morphs into something new.
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Welcome to Katie the Book Reporter: The Blog

January 11, 2025

My first formative reading memory isn’t about a specific book – it’s about a natural disaster.

In 2005, when I was nine, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. While my family’s home north of New Orleans was largely spared, we were without power for a few weeks save a small generator. With no TV, video games or other entertainment, I turned to books – reading by the light from windows during the day and by flashlight at night. I had always liked to read, but in the aftermath of Katrina my interest in reading exploded. Reading was entertainment, joy, an escape, a window into something different during a stressful time.

My love for reading has stayed strong since then, growing with me through middle and high school, college and my mid-to-late 20s. I’ve bonded with friends over our mutual love of books and found new ways to express myself through my passion for books and reading. Which now brings me here.

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