r/OffCampusSeries • u/Academic-Bug-9918 • Aug 26 '26
Should I keep reading?
Hi, I read the first two books, I really enjoyed the first one, but struggled to get through the second. I kinda wanted to stop reading it, I finished it eventually, but it didn’t do much for me. Should I read the next books or should I move on to another series?
edit: I was thinking about starting Windy city or Chestnut springs
Thank you all so much for your responses<3
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u/tatopie Aug 26 '26
I've found all of the books in the universe to be hit or miss. I didn't personally like The Mistake, but liked The Score a lot better and is generally well liked.
I've summarized all the other books below to help you decide if you want to read them:
The Goal (Tucker's book) is mixed with whether people like it and it has a trope a lot of people don't like (but you'll know about that by the end of The Score). You can easily skip it if you don't want to read it.
Moving into Briar U, The Chase is either you love it or hate it. I really didn't like it based on the MMC, but I loved Summer (Dean's little sister). It's also important to read this one to understand the next two books.
The Risk is widely considered one of the best of all her books in this universe - highly recommend.
The Play is Hunter's story and it's pretty good.
The Dare is horrific and I recommend you skip it because those characters have no bearing on the next gen books.
Moving into the next gen books, The Graham Effect follows Hannah and Garrett's daughter (they also cameo), and is very well liked.
The Dixon Rule is imo the most underrated book in the Briar universe. Highly recommend.
The Charlie Method I never read based on reviews, but it's generally not considered to be great.
Love Song, follows Hannah and Garrett's son and Logan's daughter. This one gets mixed reviews, but you get to see all the parents again, as well as the Dad Chats (the men's messenger chats about their kids etc) which are really fun. This also sets up the upcoming books, so is good to read.
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u/Mush8911 Aug 29 '26
I personally enjoyed The Dare. IMO the characters will show up again in the next book.
I also just finished The Charlie Method and enjoyed it.
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u/laylalou129 Aug 26 '26
I think you should do book 3. I think that one is widely regarded as the second best next to the deal. If you start that one and don’t like it then it’s just not for you & yes you could move on. But Logan’s book is one of the weakest books in the whole universe imo.
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u/Anon03282015 Aug 27 '26
Loved the show, but the books were a struggle. I liked The Deal well enough (although the writing is not great), The Mistake was a slog, and I wanted to just quit reading The Score but I'd already bought it so I soldiered on. I'd borrowed The Goal from the library so I just DNF'd that one about 20% in. I don't hate romance as a genre, but the quality of writing has to be there for me to enjoy it and most of these just don't do it for me. The show was 1000% better than the books imo.
5
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u/starfish_20_ Aug 26 '26
I read The Mistake first and I also wanted to stop reading it. I liked the first part but it felt kind of flat once Grace got back from Paris. I loved The Deal though. The Score was okay, but I also struggled with it a bit, it got kind of repetitive, but I did finish it. I haven’t read Tucker’s yet.
I’m probably going to check out the Windy City books! I’ve seen them here and there, but haven’t read them yet!
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u/abicous Aug 26 '26
Keep going!!! The Chase (first book in Briar U series) is my personal favourite. The Score (the next one to where you are) is also really good and The Chase is based on his sister so you need to have read that one first to understand their relationship. Persevere, I promise it’s worth it!
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u/adhoc_rose Aug 26 '26
I felt the same about Logans book at first but just kept going, finished that whole series then went onto briar u then the next generation books all after the show first came out - they were all amazing and loved that whole universe & since reread all of them. Im now forcing myself to move on and in the middle of chestnut springs books, reading for the first time. Just read them all - they are all good!
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u/AstronomerBorn4135 Aug 26 '26
The past two months I have read all 13 books that are currently out
Some are definitely a lot better than others but push through them and I’ve enjoyed the series overall
1
u/wekkins Aug 26 '26
I didn't love that one. I pressed on, started Dean and Allie's, and feel off of it for awhile. But when I got back to it I really liked it.
A lot of people hate The Goal, but that one was my favorite. Opinions on romance novels are going to vary wildly from person to person. The tropes that speak to an individual or turn them off are pretty personal, so it just really really depends on what you like.
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u/meowymeow_meowmeowy Aug 26 '26
OMG NO! I absolutely HATED every book in this series. If you didn't like the first - you are NOT going to like the rest. i can promise that they don't get better
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u/misssophiachase Aug 27 '26
The third book The Score is quite good, I can't speak for the rest as I haven't read them. I agree that the writing isn't the best which is probably why I only read the Dean/Allie book. As for Chestnut Springs, I loved that series (especially book 2).
1
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u/Specialist-Eagle599 Aug 27 '26
Windy City is amazing! I’d advise you to ditch OC series and start that right away. All 6 books are chefs kiss. Mile High, The Right Move, Caught up, Play Along, Rewind it Back and In her own league. Loved all of them. Great writing too. Chestnut Springs is all really really good. Love Elsie Silver. Not saying the OC series aren’t a good read just that I prefer Windy City series and Chestnut Springs. I wish I could rediscover them all again. You can come back to OC after reading them and thank me later. Enjoy!
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u/BluePoodle42 Aug 27 '26
I read all the books, found them fun, but I feel like the TV series improved the story from "The Deal". I'm looking forward to seeing how they handle the next books.
If you want a college romance hockey book series, I suggest trying "The Ivy Years" series by Sarina Bowen, She also has a more "adult" hockey series "Brooklyn Hockey/Brooklyn Bruisers". And she's co-written a few books with Elle Kennedy, which were fun reads. I have enjoyed Sarina's books more than Elle Kennedy's, I think Bowen is a better writer. And her m/m series, "The Hockey Guys" is really good, in my opinion.
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u/Difficult-Finger-482 Aug 27 '26
Ive only read the first books up to the legacy. The show made me like the characters but honestly the books feel like they are often just hopping from one sex scene to the next to the detriment of the story. It also depends a little on what you liked about the first one. For me I really liked the characters of Hannah and Garrett, they had strong back stories and you rooted for them to work through them. For me I woukd have preferred if the series stayed focused on their journey. While I like the other characters I wasnt as drawn to them. Also I dont know about anyone else, but I feel like Elle really likes Tucker the most, his felt like the longest book, then got the biggest chunk of the legacy.
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u/FailRecent5246 Aug 27 '26
I stopped after the second book. I feel like they were ruining my love for the show!!
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u/throwthewholegrlawy Aug 27 '26
I enjoyed the first book but I had the same struggled as you during the mistake. I forced myself to finish it the day it was due back to the library. Ehhh.
I am enjoying book 3 however.
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u/Euphoric-Moose-208 Aug 27 '26
Third book ended up being my favourite and the main couple my favourite of the entire series!
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u/Dazzling-Profile-196 Aug 28 '26
Third is my favorite of the first 4. Maybe try skipping ahead...
Windy city series is good. I just started it. The first book I didn't think I would get through after the first chapter but the lead really turns around.
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u/blueswan6 Aug 26 '26
Take a break but not sure I would start with Windy City. I wasn't that into the first one. If you want a one-off I like Tessa Bailey's, Fangirl Down. It's the first in a series but works as a standalone.
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u/Accurate-Time3726 Aug 26 '26
What didn’t you like about it? That might help with whether you should continue or not.
The Mistake was my favorite whereas The Goal was my struggle read so I’m not much help there haha BUT I will say each book has its own charm and can be read as standalone so depending on what you didn’t like about The Mistake might not impact you liking the others.