John Logan seems to have exactly the sort of life other university students would envy. He's a gifted hockey player with a very real chance of reaching the NHL, he lives with his closest friends and his popularity at Briar University means that he rarely spends a night alone unless he wants to. But beneath that easy charm and ceaseless parade of casual sexual encounters is a young man who's already realised that his future belongs to everyone except himself.
The Mistake is the second novel in Elle Kennedy’s Off-Campus series and it follows Logan after the events of The Deal. His best friend Garrett is happily in love with Hannah, while Logan is secretly convinced that he's developed feelings for her as well. Being around the couple has become increasingly difficult, so one evening he escapes the house in search of a party, and a wrong turn brings him to Grace Ivers’s dorm room instead.
Grace is a freshman who's spending Friday night alone with an action film. She's intelligent, adorably awkward and has a tendency to fill nervous silences with anything that happens to enter her head. Logan ends up deciding to stay and watch the film with her, and the unexpected evening soon grows into something much more physical.
Their first encounter is awkward, funny and refreshingly imperfect. Logan’s reputation suggests that he knows exactly what he's doing, but Grace is left completely unimpressed. Logan is mortified when he realises she faked her enjoyment and that discovery gives us one of the book’s funniest early exchanges, establishing a candid sexual dynamic between them. Grace might very well be inexperienced, but she's still neither prudish nor passive.
Her enjoyment matters, and she becomes more and more confident about saying that.
Logan and Grace have an easy chemistry that extends beyond just a physical attraction. They make each other laugh, enjoy spending time together and start sharing parts of themselves that they usually keep private. Grace begins to see glimpses of the thoughtful man hidden under Logan’s campus reputation. Logan discovers that Grace's nervous rambling isn't irritating but is actually one of the things he finds most endearing.
The difficulty is that Logan doesn't understand his own feelings. He thinks Grace is helping him forget Hannah and eventually confesses this at the worst possible moment. His choice to be honest is preferable to taking advantage of Grace’s vulnerability, but honesty doesn't excuse the pain that he ultimately causes her. Grace is left feeling that she's been used as an emotional distraction by someone she was just beginning to trust.
When Logan eventually realises that he actually didn't want Hannah, his mistake becomes painfully obvious. What he envied was the closeness she shared with Garrett. Their relationship represents stability, affection and a future built with another person. Logan has spent so long believing that his own future is going to be swallowed by family responsibility that he's found it hard to imagine this kind of happiness for himself.
Grace won't welcome him back just because he's had this epiphany. After spending a summer in Paris, she goes back to Briar more self-assured and far less willing to accept whatever Logan is prepared to offer. If he wants another chance, he'll need to earn it.
The list of romantic tasks she gives him in the middle of the novel gives it much of its humour. Logan has to write a poem, organise a public gesture and pose almost naked for a boudoir style photo, among several other acts of penance. Some of the requests are deliberately absurd, but his willingness to complete them is what's important. He can't rely on his looks, his reputation or a persuasive apology with Grace. He has to endure embarrassment and show that his interest in her is genuine.
I thoroughly loved watching the balance of power shift between them. Grace doesn't become cruel or unrecognisable, but she just stops treating Logan’s attention as something so remarkable that she should abandon her own standards to keep it.
Grace’s growth was one of the standout parts of The Mistake for me. Her confidence doesn't develop because a popular man finds her attractive. Logan might add to her experiences, but most of her insecurities existed way before he appeared at her door.
Her friendship with Ramona has relegated her to a secondary role for years. Ramona is louder, more adventurous and used to making choices for both of them. When she doesn't believe that Grace’s relationship with Logan exists, and later offers to comfort him after their he and Grace have a disagreement, Grace is finally forced to look at how unhealthy their friendship has become.
Placing distance between herself and Ramona is an important act of self-respect. Grace starts making friends independently, becomes involved with the campus radio station and learns that setting boundaries doesn't make her a disloyal friend. Her months in Paris give her the breathing room to discover who she is when she's no longer reacting to someone else’s expectations.
Grace confidence, despite her awakwardness, makes her incredibly likeable. She still talks too much when she's nervous and is fascinated by uncomfortable topics. She just stops being embarassed of those qualities. Confidence is presented as the freedom to take up space without constantly apologising for it.
I would have liked more attention given to Grace’s life after Logan, though. Her psychology studies, radio work and interest in action films give her the beginnings of a unique identity, but those threads are never fleshed out as fully as Logan’s hockey career and family situation. She's a strong and engaging heroine, but the story is increasingly centred on Logan's emotional crisis once their relationship is established.
The Mistake gave me exactly what I wanted from an entertaining university romance while also giving me more emotional weight than its light and fluffy premise suggests. Logan and Grace are funny together, their attraction is convincing and Logan's sustained effort to regain her trust makes the second-chance storyline rewarding.
Grace’s increasing self-possession stops the romance from becoming another story where an inexperienced woman feels lucky just to be chosen by a popular man. Logan has to recognise her value, take responsibility for hurting her and be honest about the despair hidden beneath his carefree image.
The expanded family conflict gives the novel its emotional impact. Logan’s fear of being trapped by his father’s addiction is painful and credible, although the ultimate resolution is too perfect. I wanted greater development in a few areas, especially Grace’s independence, Logan’s boundary-setting and the realities of Ward’s recovery. But none of these reservations stopped me from being invested in the characters or enjoying their story.
This is warm, funny, sexy and surprisingly tender, with a heroine who learns to claim her own voice and a hero who realises that loyalty shouldn't need the loss of his entire future.
🏒 Read this if you enjoy college romance and sporting settings
💞 A second-chance romance following one painful mistake
📋 Ridiculous romantic gestures and a hero determined to earn forgiveness
🫶 Friendship, family loyalty and unexpected emotional intimacy
🌸 A young woman discovering her confidence and setting firm boundaries
⚠️ Contains explicit sex, alcohol addiction, substance use, sexual threat and strong language
Book Details
The Mistake by Elle Kennedy
Paperback ISBN
978-0349440859 — Piatkus paperback edition published in Australia on 14 November 2023.
Hardcover ISBN
978-0349447919 — Piatkus limited collector’s hardcover edition featuring a redesigned hardcase, printed edges, illustrated endpapers and colour character artwork.
eBook ISBN
978-0349440866 — Piatkus digital eBook edition published in Australia on 14 November 2023.
Audiobook ISBN
978-1511372831 — Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio unabridged MP3-CD edition published on 29 March 2016.
Genre
Contemporary Romance; New Adult Fiction; Sports Romance; College Romance; Explicit Romance; Relationship Fiction
Subgenre
Hockey Romance; Campus Romance; Second-Chance Romance; Reformed-Player Romance; Good-Girl and Bad-Boy Romance; Dual-POV Romance; Coming-of-Age Romance; Family-Drama Romance
Tropes / Literary Threads
Wrong-door meet-cute; second chance; popular athlete and inexperienced heroine; reformed player; he falls first; opposites attract; grovelling hero; romantic challenges; public declaration of love; found family; mutual vulnerability.
Publisher
Piatkus — an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group and Hachette UK — publishes the edition currently sold in Australia.
Series
Off-Campus, Book Two — preceded by The Deal and followed by The Score, The Goal and The Legacy.
Formats Available
Paperback; Collector’s Hardcover; eBook; Kindle; EPUB; Unabridged Digital Audiobook; MP3-CD Audiobook.
Audiobook Narrators
Lorelei Avalon and Lee Samuels
Audiobook Length
Approximately 10 hours and 11 minutes for the unabridged English-language recording.
Original Release Date
28 April 2015 — first independently published by Elle Kennedy Inc.
Australian Release Date
14 November 2023 — current Piatkus paperback and digital editions released in Australia.
Page Count
336 pages — Piatkus paperback edition with ISBN 978-0349440859.
Where to BuyThe Mistake by Elle Kennedy
📚 Amazon
Affiliate Disclosure
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you purchase through my Amazon affiliate links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I also encourage supporting Australian booksellers such as QBD Books, independent booksellers, and self-published authors whenever possible.
Danielle Robinson is a literary critic and writer whose
work explores literature through the
lens of atmosphere, memory, culture, and emotional experience. Holding a double degree in philosophy and theology, she combines academic insight with a deeply refined aesthetic sensibility shaped by more than three decades working across the creative industries as an internationally published, multi-award-winning makeup artist, fashion stylist, and interior stager.
She reads widely and rigorously, reading and reviewing more than 200 books each year as both an ARC reader and commissioned critic. Through Silk & Sentences, Danielle approaches literature as something immersive and lived with — not simply stories to consume, but works that shape the way we think, feel, and move through the world.
She writes from her semi-rural Queensland home, where she lives with Alex, her husband of 33 years, their dogs Oscar and Paige, and an ever-growing library of books.
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