The Goal by Elle Kennedy
Genre: NA Realistic Fiction
Blurb (on back of book): She’s good at achieving her goals…
College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick butt in law school, and land a high-paying job at a cutthroat firm. Her path to escaping her shameful past certainly doesn’t include a gorgeous hockey player who believes in love at first sight. One night of sizzling heat and surprising tenderness is all she’s willing to give John Tucker, but sometimes, one night is all it takes for your entire life to change.
But the game just got a whole lot more complicated
Tucker believes being a team player is as important as being the star. On the ice, he’s fine staying out of the spotlight, but when it comes to becoming a daddy at the age of twenty-two, he refuses to be a bench warmer. It doesn’t hurt that the soon-to-be mother of his child is beautiful, whip-smart, and keeps him on his toes. The problem is, Sabrina’s heart is locked up tight, and the fiery brunette is too stubborn to accept his help. If he wants a life with the woman of his dreams, he’ll have to convince her that some goals can only be made with an assist.
MY OPINION: **
I'm sad to say that I personally disliked this book because I loved the rest of the series and was ready for a stunning conclusion. As the last book of the Off Campus series, I'm sad to report that I ended up not liking the characters or the storyline and was tempted to abandon it more than a couple of times. The problem is that I did not want to leave an entire series left unread and I ended up finishing it after a considerably longer amount of time than it took me to finish the other books in the series.
The first half basically retells all of the third book from the perspectives of Sabrina and Tucker, which I ended up not loving. It was very bland and I disliked the characters so strongly that I didn't care to know how they felt about the various events that occurred in the previous book. The second half focuses more on Sabrina and Tucker's relationship and navigating an accidental pregnancy.
Sabrina was so unlikeable that it was an effort just to get through her chapters. She tried so hard to be the strong, independent type that she mostly just came off as stuck-up and annoying, at least to me. She gets pregnant and is concerned about how she's going to deal with a baby and Harvard Law School and doesn't let Tucker help her at all. This was so annoying to me because he's literally the father and has a responsibility to help out, especially since he was completely willing. I could not tolerate her stubbornness. I did feel bad about her situation with her creepy, perverted stepfather, but it still did not negate how I felt about Sabrina herself.
Tucker was annoying because of how dependent he was on Sabrina. He gets with her one time and suddenly his entire life revolves around her. She obviously doesn't care for him, at least in the beginning, and he doesn't care at all and creepily stalks her and follows her around until she wants him or admits that she wants him. I personally admired Tucker for his willingness to take care of Sabrina through her pregnancy and then take care of the baby once she was born but I could not stand his character otherwise.
I did not ship Sabrina and Tucker at all. They felt like they had a one-night-stand and suddenly were in love, which I did not believe at all. There was no chemistry between them, at least not like with Dean and Allie, who also had a one-night-stand at the beginning of their relationship and then gradually grew to love each other. I'm just supposed to believe that Sabrina and Tucker suddenly fell in love after one night in a car. I just wasn't seeing it.
Additionally, I absolutely HATE the accidental pregnancy trope. It's so useless and annoying and quite frankly boring. It just adds unnecessary complications to the story and takes away from the development of what could have otherwise been a strong relationship. I also despise babies and reading about someone having a baby ruin their entire life (or "change" as some people who like babies like to call it) was not at all entertaining or heartwarming. Every scene with the baby made me want to rip my hair out. I despise children so much and this book really added to my overall hatred for infants.
Also, the naming of the baby made me laugh so hard because of how ridiculous it was.
Overall, this book was not for me. I loved the rest of the series and strongly recommend reading those if you are looking for soft, fluffy romance novels that don't take up a lot of time. However, I couldn't get around this one and can't see myself rereading it anytime in the future, even if I do decide to reread the rest of the series.
Main Character: Sabrina, Tucker
Sidekick(s): Friends, family, etc
Villain(s): Accidental pregnancy, stepfather, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.
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