This author is new to me, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything else they publish. I loved the story and the characters. The pacing of the story was great and the characters were relatable.

Avery Keelan’s Offside follows Bailey, newly dumped on her 21st birthday, when she runs into her ex’s rival at a club—smart-mouthed and cocky Chase. And he’s smitten with her. But with their school’s hockey romance and her overbearing ex, will their feelings be enough? I wanted to love this, I did. But unfortunately, it’s just too long to the point where things started to feel just dragged out. The front half was good, but the second half felt like grasping for unneeded drama and Bailey felt so immature and the focus on the steamy scenes felt just too much—and not even just the steamy scenes; I was just tired of them having a deep talk or be mid deep conversation only for Chase to start thinking about how horny he was or there being some sort of physical interlude. There’s some fun banter, and Chase really does so much for Bailey. I wish this was just about 200 pages shorter and I think it would’ve been a lot more fun.

A hockey romance with all the tropes that we love without a touch of saccharine that sometimes appears. This writer clearly understands hockey.

This was a cute hockey college romance. It was pretty basic but it has the playboy mmc that is now reformed. The fmc whose boyfriend just broke up with her and it has affected her friendships and relationships with people in both their circle. When the mc's first meet they are attracted to each other and they start spending time with each other after the breakup and so the fmc can help tutor the mmc since his grades are bad. I think the main characters had cute banter and the romance was cute and steamy though it wasn't overly smutty to me. This book was veery long for me and the blackmail plot towards the end kinda through me off since it was really extreme. I am not sure if it was completely necessary but overall an okay romance. Thanks to Bramble for this arc for an honest review.

I love a good hockey romance novel and I enjoyed reading this book! I liked the communication and trust that the characters had and honestly they were pretty adorable together. I did feel like the book was leading up to something dramatic but everything was resolved quickly and it was pretty anticlimactic. I still overall enjoyed this book, because I’m an easy reader to please!

“I wish you saw yourself the way I do”

Read this cos TT said there were ✨toys✨ and the MMC shared very vivid fantasies lol. But the writing was a real standout. The plot was never rushed, and the hockey scenes were immaculate. When Chase narrates the plays and moves, it sounds like a real life commentary. I know less than zero about hockey, but even I felt the passion and authenticity of that voice.

As for the story, this is an OTP romance. Once they find each other, they hold onto each other. Boy does it make you believe in love! Our poor girl Bailey is bullied, abused and ridiculed by her ex and old friends. Chase doesn’t just bring romance to her life; he brings understanding, compassion and confidence. In turn, Bailey anchors him and brings a sense of purpose back into his fboy life.

She is a studious journalism major and an identity wrapped up in hockey. He’s the always-prodding Hockey star of her rival team. From the moment they meet though, it’s more strangers to friends to lovers. They both have secrets and pasts that are teased throughout and reveal in very heartbreaking ways. Both hit rock bottom and both end up sheltering the other.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Loved this college age hockey romance. Bailey is a former hockey player herself supporting her brother and attending his home games and working on her journalism career at the same university when his teammate dumps her out of the blue after 3 years on her birthday. Who does she meet afterwards but of course the lead instigator from their cross-town rival. Who better to move on with?

📚🏒Offside ARC Review!🏒📚

Normally Rebekah is our sports romance girlie and I stick pretty close to my Romantasy, but I was happy to switch it up when I received an ARC for Offside by Avery Keeland!

This is a re-release and I’m not sure how much has been changed from the original. My sister could probably tell you, though!

Offside is a cute college hockey romance. It includes everything you could want from a book like this: a great meet cute, team rivalries, a hot MMC, and a smart, strong FMC, some great side characters, and action on and off the ice.

The romance progresses at the perfect rate, going from a bit of insta-lust to friendship to love. She starts out hating him as he is from the rival team of both her ex and her brother and has a reputation for being a chirpy a**hole lol. But she quickly realizes that the people she thought were her friend are actually the problem.

I love an MMC who hasn’t really dated before, and turns into a pile of mush for his girl. I also thought it was cute that they called each other by their last names, which was only confusing when he talks about her brother by the same last name lol.

It was an enjoyable read. Lots of hockey, banter, and some spice here and there. If you enjoy a sports romance and/or college romance, then this one may be for you!

I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley for the honest review.

This was a good book and definitely kept me intrigued through out the novel, however, this is so damn long!!! I did like the epilogue and all the extra chapters so we really got to see where our characters went in the future. I did not like the main story legal things were never fully worked through, more hinted at that they got theirs. Again, this story was super good and sweet, it was just very very long! I don't think the novel would have lost much if it had been cut down some but I am not sure. I do want to pick up more of this author's novels though! And for romance/rom com readers who are not usually fans of sports books because they seem to sporty, this one actually is not excessively sporty and was quite enjoyable.

It seems as if the world is in the throes of re-embracing the quintessential sports romance, but with a sizzling subplot. Hannah Grace, and her explosive hit debut ICEBREAKER, is deserving of much of that credit.

In the latest addition to the genre, Avery Keelan’s OFFSIDE follows in Grace’s footsteps with yet another read about a womanizing hockey player who falls hopelessly in love with someone he shouldn’t have. This book is everything it says it is: a spicy-but-make-them-soulmates summer read. Is it as addictively good as Grace’s ridiculously popular hit? Not quite. Is it a standout from the growing pile of books in this space that are racing to meet reader demand? Also no.

But it is entertaining and all-around easy to read, and that makes OFFSIDE a fitting choice for those wanting more books where stereotypical collegiate jocks reinvent themselves in the name of love.

I ended up DNFing it at 50%. I wanted to like it because I've been obsessed with hockey romances lately, but this one just didn't hit. The pacing dragged, and the character development wasn't there, unfortunately.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for an arc of this book!

I love hockey romances when an overarching good plot is setup. This isn't that.
Fiest the good, the texting between Chase and Baileu was good. Full stop.

The story line is predictable and Chase constantly compares Bailey with other women. (In favor of Bailey). And in a .."she isn't as pretty kind of way". I am sure guus compare but do we need to do this to women. And Chase paying always when they are friends bugged me. We don't need this kind of inequity for female characters. Let her pay too.
Second, Bailey is expressly moralizing about how women do one night stands etc. Supposedly her brother isn't supportive and is she is unsupportive rigjt back. A good plot would have made it fall into place that she didn't fit with her friends in a slow way but I felt the author was in a hurry. I knew how this was going and it's a DNF for me.

I was really enjoy “Offside” for the first 300 pages. The plot was good and so were the main characters but it felt like the whole store was being dragged on. I truly believe this could’ve been 200 pages shorter and the issue could’ve been resolved quicker instead of adding a bunch of fluff. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed the novel but that just might be because I will always devour a hockey romance book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for an e-arc of this book!

I’m fully in my sports romance era right now, so I was super excited to dive into Offside by Avery Keelan! We meet Bailey, who’s freshly single and so done with hockey boys. Like, never again. But of course, fate has other plans because guess who she bumps into on a night out? Yup, another hockey player. But not just any hockey player… a bad boy from a rival team named Chase.

Chase has all the red flags. Rival team? Check. Attitude? Check. Trouble? Double check. Bailey wants nothing to do with him… until she finds herself in a little situation and decides to use him to make her ex jealous. And suddenly, they’re fake dating. But here’s the catch: Bailey starts catching real feelings. The problem? Literally everyone in her life hates Chase. Her brother and her roommates, it’s a big no from all of them. And she can’t exactly say it’s fake… especially when she’s not even sure she wants it to be anymore.

Watching Bailey and Chase’s relationship grow was seriously so sweet! Bailey really needed some better people in her life, her ex was the worst, and her so-called friends (and even her brother) totally dropped the ball when she needed them most. I was rooting for her to find her people, and maybe find love along the way.

My only gripe? This book was long. Like, unnecessarily long. There were so many scenes that didn’t really involve Bailey and Chase, and while I get that it’s setting things up for the rest of the series, it felt a bit like filler. Still, if you’re into hockey romances with fake dating, a swoony bad boy, and lots of tension, this one’s worth checking out, just be ready for a slow (and long) burn!

Y’all know me and I’m a sucker for a good sports romance. Especially if hockey is involved. So when I saw this was on NetGalley because it had finally been picked up by a publisher. I have never clicked that request button so fast. So big thank you to NetGalley and Bramble for providing me a review copy of this re-release.

I have to say for this being my first Avery Keelan’s book I want to kick myself. She’s been on my author radar for a while but for some unknown reason I just never picked her books up. And now after finishing Offside I’m regretting not doing it sooner because I loved every minute of this book.

The only reason I gave this 4⭐️ instead of 5 was because of the book length. This is an over 500 page romcom. And because of its length at times some parts moved a little slow. And some parts definitely could’ve been cut out. But even with all that said I still had a blast reading Chase & Bailey’s story. Chase was the perfect sworn worthy cinnamon roll for his girl. Bailey was a down to earth, compassionate and smart female lead. Their journey from friends to committed couple was adorable even down to their nicknames for each other.

Overall, I 100% recommend this book. I can’t wait to pick up my trophy copy and continue on with the series. I hope everyone reading this does the same!

This was a good hockey romance. I think it was better than a lot of them that I have read, but I also don't really think it did much for the genre over all. Still good and I think it will be well read and I plan to purchase.

An easy college sports romance, predictable but reliable. Cute chemistry between the MCs and side characters. Forced tension at times, but expected for characters in this age group.

If you're a spicy romance reader who loves hockey, this one's for you!

This gives you sports rivals to lovers as Bailey gets dumped by the captain of her college hockey team then gets captivated by Chase, the baddest of boys who plays for their rivals.

Read if you enjoy:
Great chemistry with adorable banter
Opposites attract
It's never been like this
Cinnamon roll wrapped in a tough guy exterior
He falls first
Revenge dating
Hockey romance

Chase and Bailey had great chemistry, and I loved how their relationship slowly shifted from rivalry to something real. Chase was super sweet underneath that tough guy exterior, and their banter was so fun.

If you’re into slow-burn, reformed bad boy vibes with a sweet payoff, it’s definitely worth the read.🩷

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nothing But Net … & Drama 🥅 🏒
This one felt about 300 pages too long. It was okay, and I think it could have been really cute, but holy moly, at almost 600 pages, it was hard to stay into it by the end.
Chase + Bailey
Her birthday goes down in garbage fire fashion. An epically crappy ex and a night out drinking lead her into the t-shirt of the rival team.
When everyone is against them and exes try to royally tear them down, will what they have be enough to make it through?
Have you read this one yet? What did you think?