Cover Image: Off Center

Off Center

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This was a book that I Really enjoyed this read and I would recommend to others easily, I will be looking out for other titles by this author.

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This was my first book in the series, although there are three more (Courtside Crush, Rebound Boyfriend, and Game Plan).

Lane Crawford is determined to win the American High School Journalist of the Year Award which will surely help her get a scholarship to study in her dream college. She loves everything related to her school newspaper and writing articles. She's also had a long-tem crush on Elliot Lambert, their new editor. There's nothing more she would like than for her first ever kiss (yes, she is seventeen and has never been kissed) to be with this adorable nerd. She has plenty ideas which are bound to get his interest and make him want to spend more time together which is clearly the way to his heart.

Unfortunately, things go totally wrong during the first brainstorming session. Lane's idea for an article on cheerleaders gets rejected. Even worse than that, Elliot clearly shows his interest in Andie, the new girl who shot down Lane's idea, and Lane somehow gets assigned the worst possible section - she is to cover the sports section, more specifically, the boys basketball team, notorious for their 'lacklustre performance'. How on earth is she going to do that? The new girl might have unwittingly stolen the coveted news beat, but she is nothing if not helpful. Andie suggests writing a series of articles on the starting five, and Lane finds an unexpected ally as well. Hunter Mackey, the gentle giant, agrees to help Lane understand basketball and his team better.

As Lane continues writing her e-mails to her best friend Jillie, her feelings begin to change. Is it possible that Elliot is using her crush for his own purposes? or that she is falling for Mackey who always makes her feel listened to and seen like nobody else? Is she fair refusing to help Andie who wants to write an article on a topic so special to Lane that she thinks noone can do it justice? and how do you survive a Thanksgiving weekend with your Dad and his new family?

To say that I liked Lane is an understatement. I loved her honesty and her ability to look at her own actions and admit she was wrong. She is fiercely loyal to her amazing Mom, but is also kind and supportive of her little half-sister. She is also trying to deal with the fact that she misses her best friend so much and isn't ready to make a new one. She is passionate about journalism and her newspaper assignments. . Mackey's job as the center of his team is to defend and protect, and well...he does it perfectly with his quiet strength and unassuming attitude. Am I going to give the story away if I tell you that Lane does get her perfect kiss in the end?

Off Center is a super quick read, perfect for anyone who likes clean, high school romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the review copy. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.

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I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

I had really enjoyed the first book in this series, Courtside Crush, and when this one became available to request, I immediately did. In Off Center, we follow Lane as she joins the school's paper, and hopes to use her articles to win American High School Journalist of the Year. When the new girl, Andie, turns up, Lane is bumped down to the sports column, and now has to write about teams, and games, that she knows absolutely nothing about. Luckily, Hunter Mackey is on hand to help her, and and she just might be able to get her goals back on track.

This book was definitely cute and a quick read. I liked Lane, and her romance with Hunter, and was invested in them getting together. Again, this is about basketball, which I still don't know much about, but I liked how it was explored by someone who, like me, didn't know the sport, and with someone who did know it. Though not as enjoyable a book as Courtside Crush, definitely one I'm glad I read.

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Off Center is a cute friends to lovers young adult romance by MF Lorson.

I always enjoy a good high school romance, and this one is definitely fun. I enjoy the overachiever aspect of Lane. And it's fun that she meets Hunter through help with school work. Of course, she has a crush on another guy, so it takes her a while to realize what she has with Hunter.

Their story includes a great mom, some family issues, and a change in plans. The writing is good, with an entertaining storyline. Overall, it's a decent read if you're looking for a YA romance.

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3-3.5 stars

I really liked the newspaper element of this story - I always wanted a school newspaper more like the ones American schools appear to have (at least in fiction!!). I also think it was cool to see Lane step outside of her comfort zone, make new friends and become her own person. I loved her relationship with her mother, wish there had been more of that. There were a few issues with the writing itself for me, as well as a few problematic attitudes and some areas where further development was necessary.

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I was given this ARC by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinions on the book. Firstly, I was immediately drawn to this book from its colorful and attention grabbing cover. I had hear great things about the ‘Varsity Girlfriends’ series so I was excited to start it!This book is a very clean teen romance that touches upon some deeper issues within the book itself. I rated it 4/5 stars. The main character Lane was a very likable character, one of very few. An overachiever who has her entire life planned out. We are first introduced to her sending emails to Jilly which added a bit of mystery to the plot.

As I said the main character Lane is an overachiever and one the first page she tells us her intentions for the year, which she has planned down to the last detail. She is a journalist and madly in love with the Editor-in-Chief Elliot. However this an unrequited love for the most part. A new girl throws a spanner into the works when she is given the main news segment in the newspaper and Lane is put onto the sports section, a topic she knows nothing about. She becomes unlikely friends with one of the star basketball players Hunter Mackey. However, they’re friendship eventually evolves whether that is what she wants or not. The book takes us on the journey through Lane’s perfectly planned out year and even though it may not have taken the exact route she wanted it was still pretty perfect!

I thoroughly enjoyed this read I think the plot was incredibly interesting and the added mystery of the emails were exactly what I needed to keep me into this book. There was one aspect about this book I truly enjoyed, Lane’s relationship with her mother. I don’t read many books that include a healthy relationship with a mother. Most of them end up having horrible mothers that genuinely make you question humanity. However, Lane’s mother was the most supportive and the right amount of involved mother. You could feel the mutual love and respect. I absolutely loved this aspect. Apart from Lane, her mother and perhaps Mackey every other character was incredibly unlikable and I was just waiting for them to get what they deserved the entire duration of the book. The ending of the book was truly moving with her long-waited first kiss and her bittersweet email to Jilly.

If you’re looking for a quick feel-good book this is certainly one to look at. It is just a funny, enjoyable clean teen romance with an added mystery plot as a bonus! This book really held momentum the whole way through and the ending did not disappoint. Thank you again to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

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Off Center is the second book in the Varsity Girlfriends series and the second one I’ve read, albeit out of order.
Lane Crawford has a plan. She wants three things to happen for her this final year of high school. She wants to get a scholarship to Northwestern University, win American High School Journalist of the Year and have her first kiss, with Editor-in-Chief Elliot Lambert.
She begins the year by meeting a new student, Andie and seeing her in class for the paper too.
Her first disappointment comes when she is not given the news section of the school paper (thanks to Andie) but boys basketball instead.
Enter Hunter Mackey. Extremely tall yearbook editor (the newspapers natural enemy) who also happens to play center for the school basketball team. He takes Lane under his wing and introduces her to the other players and helps her get the game.
Lane begins to have feelings and simultaneously deny them because Hunter Mackey isn’t who she wants to kiss her.
Elliot takes advantage of Lane for much of the book. Maybe he knows about her feelings for him, maybe he overestimates his sex appeal, but either way he manipulates Lane into performing duties only the editor should perform.
Out of the blue Andie tells Lane she is writing an article about Jillie and Lane sees red. This sets off a chain of events that lead Lane to finally finding her voice and backbone and her first kiss.
When Mackey is teasing Lane about being short there is a missing word, and again when Lane's Mom is talking about chaperoning the homecoming dance.
When they talk about the former editor having mono and being out for an indeterminate amount of time, I wondered if she was pregnant and this was a clever ruse.
Lane is a great character. When she is talking to the reader, writing to her bff Jillie or talking to her Mom.
Toward other people she is a little standoffish and keeps her funny, acerbic thoughts to herself.
When Elliot turned down her idea for an expose on the cheerleaders because it could be construed as nasty then asked her to write a scathing article about athlete entitlement I so wanted her to say what she was thinking.
I like her relationship with her Mom. They act like friends, but you can see her Mom is still a Mom. And every teen navigating the tumultuous world of dating needs a good, reliable sounding board. Her relationship with her father is understandable and it’s nice he finally woke up to himself.
By chapter 12 I had a feeling Jillie was dead. Once this was confirmed, I empathised with Lanes anger at this new girl writing an article about Lane’s best friend and her death. The fact that Andie lost her father to cancer doesn’t qualify her to write about someone she didn’t know, no matter how they tried to justify it to Lane. Elliot should have asked Lane to write it and Jillie’s Mom shouldn’t have spoken to Andie about Lane and Jillie’s friendship without Lane’s permission. Lane was fully justified in her emotions.
The ending was both great, with her first kiss, and bittersweet with the final letter to Jillie.

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Content Rating and Review


https://sagethoughtsonbooks.blogspot.com/2019/02/courtside-crush.html

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Off Center (Varsity Girlfriends #2) by M.F. Lorson

Read: 04/24-04/25

I knew exactly what I wanted out of my senior year.

A full ride to Northwestern University, the title of American High School Journalist of the year,
and a kiss, not just any kiss, but one from the boy I've been in love with since the sixth grade.

By October, my plan was fully in motion with liplock by Christmas Imminent. Imminent, that was, until Andie Mercantile moved to Marlowe Junction, swooping both my beat and my man.

Now, I'm stuck writing the sports column--a subject I know nothing about. My goals aren't unobtainable, but they will take a lot more work. Just because a sports writer has never won journalist of the year before, doesn't mean it can't be done. And as for the kissing part, I'm not counting myself out just yet.

After all, maybe learning a bit about competition is just what I need.

First off: Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an ebook in exchange for my honest review!

What I Liked:

This was a really fun romantic read. Lane was a likable main character which made it easy to root for her as she went along the way. The plot was fairly predictable but filled with plenty of fun characters that charm their way into your heart making it a worthwhile read. I never read the first book in the series but I don't think it impacted my enjoyment of this book too much.

What I Didn't Like:

I would have liked more emphasis on Lane's articles that she wanted to write to the the award. I was really hoping that by the end there would be this amazing article on basketball that would have blown everyone away but instead that plot line slowly began to disappear as other things took center stage (or should I say court). It was also difficult to get fully invested in some of the plot points as the characters were not developed quite as fully as I would have hoped. While, they were charming enough to keep you invested in the overall story some of the twists and turns that occurred had less impact because you didn't fully understand the characters.

Overall, this was a lighthearted read about first loves in high school but I wasn't blown away.

Rating: 6/10

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Off Center by M.F. Lorson is the 2nd book in the Varsity Girlfriends young adult romance series, and an enjoyable book. This book is a cute love story. Lane has her whole senior year planned out, she will get her first kiss from the editor in chef, as they work together on the school newspaper. When she ends up getting the sport beat, her plans fall apart. Enter Mackey, basketball player, who is the opposite of the editor in every way. Who will Lane end up with? I love the people and situations in this book, and watching the characters grow. I found this book to be a quick read, and recommend it to all readers who enjoy a YA sweet romance. 

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you.

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Lane hopes new school year will bring her all she wants: a journaling post at a school newspaper, her long time crush to kiss her and money to study at Northwestern University. It turns out that there's nothing you can predict. She is part of the school newspaper but it turns out she has to write about the topic she knows nothing about - basketball. Her long time crush is interested in the new girl and Northwestern Uni is not going to give her the scholarship she hoped for. Instead she meets a lot of basketball players and finds new friends, she realises that her crush has been using her and she falls for a jock who is the most caring and funny person ever (Mackey).
I realy liked reading the book, it's a very well-written fast reading material. I especially enjoyed the sense of humour used in the characters' exchanges.

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A nice cute read, sweet, easy and entertaining . Nice characters but other than the main character we didn’t learn much about them. Well written, keeps you interested.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

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I want to thank Netgalley for providing me an Arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really liked this book.
It was a really fast paced and easy read.
The main character reminded me so much of myself and I found myself totally engrossed in her story.
It was really well written and addictive I finished it in one sitting.
I gave it 3 stars.

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*3.5 stars*
This is a cute friends to lovers clean teen romance. Lane, the main heroine, was an overachiever, type A person who had her whole life planned out, but she was also funny, thoughtful and a great writer. She needed help with a journalism assignment and Hunter Mackey stepped in to help point her in the right direction. She had really never noticed him before, but they quickly became friends which eventually turned into more.
I thought it was a sweet book. I didn’t like it quite as much as the first book in the series; this is still a standalone though. I did like getting to see some characters from the previous book. Lane’s character was very well developed, but I did struggle with her character for most of the book. She was just too set in her own ways and hard to like. The other characters I didn’t feel like I really got to know much about them. Lane did have some family issues going on which added to the story. I loved her amazing mom! And her dad definitely showed some growth throughout the book. Also, Lane wrote emails to Jillie from the beginning, and there was a little bit of a mystery to this. We did finally get some answers in the end, but I still have a lot of questions.
If you like clean teen romances, you will enjoy this one. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

* ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

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This book was really cute!
Despite Lane's pining over the wrong guy almost half the book, I thought that her and Mackey were so adorable. I really liked the storyline and how it wasn't just a conventional sports oriented YA book. It presented different issues throughout and I therefore really enjoyed my read!

Thanks for this ARC!

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