I feel like if you’ve spent any amount of time on BookTok over the last few years, you’ve probably heard of the Off Campus series by Elle Kennedy. Hockey romance? College setting? Found family vibes? Sign me up. I read both the Off Campus series and the follow up, Briar U, back in 2025.
So when Prime Video announced they were adapting the series for TV, I was equal parts excited and nervous. Book to screen adaptations can either completely capture the magic of the books… or leave you wondering whether the producers even opened the original material.
Having now watched the first season and read the books, I have thoughts. A lot of thoughts.
The Books: Why Everyone Became Obsessed
The Off Campus series started with The Deal, following Hannah Wells and Garrett Graham at Briar University. Garrett is the hockey captain who struggles academically and Hannah is the music major tutoring him. Naturally a fake dating arrangement follows...
What made the books so addictive for me wasn’t just the romance. Yes, the chemistry is incredible and the banter genuinely made me laugh out loud at points, but it’s the friendships between the hockey boys that really carry the series. They feel chaotic, loyal and believable in a way that makes you want to stay in that world long after the romance storyline ends.
Each book focuses on a different couple which I absolutely loved because you still get glimpses of previous characters without feeling stuck in the same storyline for too long. Logan, Dean and Tucker all get their moments later in the series and some of those books are just as good as The Deal. In fact, in my opinion, Allie and Dean's book, The Score, is the best!
One thing I will say is that the books very much feel like products of the mid 2010s romance era. Some scenes and attitudes definitely read differently now compared to when they were first released, but the emotional side of the stories still holds up really well.
The TV Show: Better Than I Expected
Going into the show, I was fully prepared to be disappointed.
I think readers become so attached to characters that it’s almost impossible for a casting choice to perfectly match the version that exists in your head. Garrett in particular was never going to please everybody because every reader seems to picture him differently. I do think they got Dean spot on though!
But after the first couple of episodes, I actually thought the cast worked really well.
The chemistry between Hannah and Garrett was believable, the humour translated surprisingly well to screen and, most importantly, the friendship dynamic between the boys still felt like the heart of the story. Elle Kennedy apparently said preserving the friendships and "bromance" aspects of the books was really important to her when adapting the series and I genuinely think that comes across while watching it.
The show also looks exactly how I imagined Briar University while reading. The cosy autumn campus aesthetic mixed with hockey culture somehow made me want to go back to university despite the fact I definitely romanticise student life far more now than I did back in the early to mid 2010s.
The Biggest Differences Between The Books and Show
If you’re expecting a scene-for-scene adaptation, this definitely isn’t that.
The TV series makes quite a few changes to the original storylines, especially when it comes to introducing future couples earlier and overlapping certain plots. Dean and Allie’s dynamic gets more attention much earlier on compared to the books, which actually worked really well for television because it helped the wider ensemble feel important from the beginning.
Some characters have also been merged or slightly reworked to make the pacing fit into an eight-episode season. That’s probably unavoidable when adapting a romance novel because books naturally spend so much more time inside a character’s head.
I also think the show leans slightly more into the drama and steaminess straight away. The books definitely have spice, but the TV version seems very aware of the audience it’s targeting and wastes absolutely no time establishing the tone.
That said, I actually appreciated that the emotional storylines still felt grounded underneath all of the romance.
Which Did I Prefer?
This is genuinely difficult because I think they both succeed in different ways.
The books give you more emotional depth. You spend longer with the characters, understand their insecurities better and become more attached to the relationships because you’re inside their thoughts for hundreds of pages.
But the TV show made Briar U feel more alive.
Seeing the hockey games, parties, dorms and friendship groups visually on screen added something the books couldn’t quite replicate. It also helped that the pacing moved quickly enough to keep me constantly wanting just one more episode.
If I absolutely had to choose, I think the books still win for me purely because the character development feels richer. However, this might genuinely be one of the better romance adaptations I’ve watched in a long time and that’s coming from somebody who whilst watching most adaptations repeatedly says the book was better every five minutes.
What I Hope Gets Adapted Next
One thing the success of Off Campus has definitely done is make me even more excited for future romance adaptations.
I’m especially excited that Elsie Silver’s Chestnut Springs series is being adapted because I genuinely think the small-town setting, family dynamics and chemistry between characters will work so well on screen. The books already feel incredibly cinematic while reading them, so I have really high hopes for that adaptation.
I’m also really looking forward to seeing what happens with the adaptation of TL Swan’s Miles High series. If they manage to capture the same addictive chaos, emotional drama and ridiculously over-the-top billionaire energy as the books, I genuinely think it could become one of those binge-worthy romance shows everybody ends up talking about online.
I feel like romance adaptations are finally starting to get the budget and attention they deserve rather than being treated as cheesy guilty pleasures, and it’s about damn time.
Final Thoughts
Whether you start with the books or the TV show, I think Off Campus is one of those series that’s ridiculously easy to get invested in. It has romance, humour, friendship drama, emotional moments and enough tension to keep you bingeing far later into the night than intended.
If you love college romance, fake dating tropes and found family dynamics, you’ll probably enjoy both versions.
Just be prepared to suddenly develop an emotional attachment to fictional hockey players.
Molly
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