Why we’re excited
Ivy Di Laurentis gave up ballet, had a miserable first year in Briar's dance programme, and wants to get through sophomore year unnoticed. Then AJ Connelly, once her brother's closest friend, finds her crying on a rooftop at 2 a.m. She asks him to help her get some experience for another man, and he can't refuse.
Elle Kennedy's Briar books go back to The Deal and the Off-Campus series, and this is book five of Campus Diaries, the next-generation spin-off. It works as a standalone, so newcomers can start here. Hockey romance readers who like a brother's-best-friend setup are the obvious audience.
On our most-anticipated list since 21 October 2026. See all the most anticipated books →
What to know about Bad Idea
Bad Idea is Book 5 in the Campus Diaries series. New readers should begin with Book 1, The Graham Effect (we have reviewed it). The book just before this one is Love Song, also reviewed on The Bookish Elf. We have reviewed 4 of the series so far.
We have reviewed 4 of Elle Kennedy’s books, with an average score of 4.0 out of 5. The one we rated highest is Love Song (4★).
It sits at No. 16 on our March 2027 most-anticipated list, which ranks the month's books by how many readers have saved them.
From the publisher
A Briar universe standalone romance featuring the next generation of Off-Campus characters―where the wrong person turns out to be exactly right.
After a year of being the dance program's most notorious punching bag, Ivy Di Laurentis only has one goal for sophomore year at Briar University: keep her head down, survive, and make her way to New York and the ballet career she walked away from. She has zero interest in hockey players, entanglements, or AJ Connelly―her brother's former best friend, certified golden boy, and the last person she'd ever expect to find her crying on a roof at two in the morning.
AJ has his own problems. His best friendships are in ruins, his hockey season is in turmoil, and his only plan is to drink through his feelings and hook up with anyone who isn't emotionally complicated. Ivy, vulnerable and familiar, is nothing but emotionally complicated. Which means she's off-limits.
Except she's also funny. Sweet. Achingly beautiful. And obsessed with somebody else. When she propositions him to gain experience, he doesn't know how to say no. And maybe there's something dangerously satisfying about hooking up with his ex-best friend's little sister…
What starts as an unlikely alliance becomes something neither of them was looking for. But with the wrong people watching, the wrong choices catching up to them, and the clock ticking on Ivy's time at Briar U, this bad idea could be the end of them both.
Description supplied by the publisher.
We haven’t read Bad Idea yet. When our review goes up, it will replace this page.
