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Rules of the Game #1
Offside
An addictive college hockey romance.
Heartbreaker. Troublemaker. And my ex's biggest rival.
After my boyfriend of two years unceremoniously dumps me on my twenty-first birthday, my friends drag me to a trendy new nightclub to drown my sorrows. Several drinks later, I spot the perfect rebound standing next to the bar: Chase Carter, my ex's worst enemy. A notorious antagonizer, Chase is cocky, smart-mouthed... and undeniably hot. Even better, he's rumored to be impressively skilled at more than just hockey. What better way to move on?
Unfortunately, my plan falls apart after I have one cocktail too many and throw up all over Chase's shoes. Following a night of him taking care of me while I'm at my worst, I'm certain he'll never want to see me again. But the next time our schools face off, he finds me in the crowd after the game—and when we fake a kiss in front of my ex, the sparks that fly are real.
Before I know it, we’re having “study dates” and he's taking me out for a do-over birthday to replace the bad memories with good ones. Beneath his brash exterior, he’s protective and sweet, not to mention generous in every sense of the word. The only problem? We're caught in the midst of a bitter rivalry that extends far beyond the arena. My brother hates him, my friends don't approve, and I'm being forced to choose between my loyalties and my heart.
He's the last person I should fall for, but it might just be too late.
Offside is a college hockey romance with lots of spice, swoon, and a happily ever after. It’s the first book in the Rules of the Game series and can be read as a standalone.
Tropes:
boy obsessed
ex’s rival
cocky hockey hero
good girl x bad boy
soft for her
dual POV
Read less
Heartbreaker. Troublemaker. And my ex's biggest rival.
After my boyfriend of two years unceremoniously dumps me on my twenty-first birthday, my friends drag me to a trendy new nightclub to drown my sorrows. Several drinks later, I spot the perfect rebound standing next to the bar: Chase Carter, my ex's worst enemy. A notorious antagonizer, Chase is cocky, smart-mouthed... and undeniably hot. Even better, he's rumored to be impressively skilled at more than just hockey. What better way to move on?
Unfortunately, my plan falls apart after I have one cocktail too many and throw up all over Chase's shoes. Following a night of him taking care of me while I'm at my worst, I'm certain he'll never want to see me again. But the next time our schools face off, he finds me in the crowd after the game—and when we fake a kiss in front of my ex, the sparks that fly are real.
Before I know it, we’re having “study dates” and he's taking me out for a do-over birthday to replace the bad memories with good ones. Beneath his brash exterior, he’s protective and sweet, not to mention generous in every sense of the word. The only problem? We're caught in the midst of a bitter rivalry that extends far beyond the arena. My brother hates him, my friends don't approve, and I'm being forced to choose between my loyalties and my heart.
He's the last person I should fall for, but it might just be too late.
Offside is a college hockey romance with lots of spice, swoon, and a happily ever after. It’s the first book in the Rules of the Game series and can be read as a standalone.
Tropes:
boy obsessed
ex’s rival
cocky hockey hero
good girl x bad boy
soft for her
dual POV
Read less
540 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 25, 2019
10105 people are currently reading
104543 people want to read
About the author
Avery Keelan
16 books4,859 followersAvery Keelan is a sports romance & adult contemporary romance author who writes hot hockey heroes you'll swoon for.
Her stories contain happily ever afters with lovable characters, snarky banter, and enough steam to fog up a mirror. Plus, of course, a hefty dose of drama and angst along the way.
When not writing, she's spending time with her family, watching hockey (obviously), or enjoying the great Canadian outdoors.
Follow on Social Media to receive teasers, updates, sales and more:
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Her stories contain happily ever afters with lovable characters, snarky banter, and enough steam to fog up a mirror. Plus, of course, a hefty dose of drama and angst along the way.
When not writing, she's spending time with her family, watching hockey (obviously), or enjoying the great Canadian outdoors.
Follow on Social Media to receive teasers, updates, sales and more:
Amazon Author Page
TikTok
BookBub
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 8,117 reviews
January 16, 2023
blander than my mom's unseasoned chicken
December 28, 2022
I cannot believe this snooze fest was rated so high. I swear literally nothing happened for like 75% of the book.
December 12, 2022
I wanted to, i really wanted to like this book. Hockey romances are my favorite thing to read but Bailey is the most dull, boring thing I’ve ever encountered. So let me use a scene from the book to explain. They’re going to have sex, okay. He usually takes off her clothes bla bla bla. This time, he asks for her to take off her own sweater and she’s like “I don’t know if i could do that😨🥺” and then it’s all “you don’t have to, i only want you to feel comfortable… the thing i hate most in this world is people being mean towards women!!😡” We get it, now move on from it. But no, this is literally 75% of the book. “I wanna do nasty things to you.” “Uhm, sure. Is that a promise?😜🫣🥺” and the story repeats. Over and over. Keep in mind the smut is like half a page and I wouldn’t even count it as smut, let alone good smut. The process leading to any events gets dragged to the point i wanna stab my eyes out.
Like at what point does it get only a little exiting? All I’m asking for it a 0.5 effort. Chase loans her family money and he has to make it up for her. “You know, I’m pretty mad” bailey says as she smiles. NOT EVEN A THANK YOU. She never tried to get a job, she just kept drinking her vanilla latte and let chase pay for everything while using a victim coat every chance she could get. This is not what i look for or want to recognize in a female character. Like the bar for her was so low, everything made her sad and she needed to be taken care of etc etc. that’s usually something i would enjoy in a book, even prefer. So use your fantasy to imagine how tame it was handled in this book. God was it traumatizing to read. Anything traumatized this girl, willingly going into a sex store? Left a dent in her soul apparently. She was just so boring in the relationship. Nothing exciting ever.
I have actually fallen asleep PLURAL times while attempting to finish this book. I want to finish it and i will, but 800 pages for this? I’m afraid i might fall into a reading slump after this. I usually take 2 days to finish a book, this has taken me 5 already. And I’m not even finished. AND i have a day off. The only reason this isn’t getting a 1 star, is because of chase. I would give it more but even thinking about how boring it is actually makes me mad. And that’s not normal.
Like at what point does it get only a little exiting? All I’m asking for it a 0.5 effort. Chase loans her family money and he has to make it up for her. “You know, I’m pretty mad” bailey says as she smiles. NOT EVEN A THANK YOU. She never tried to get a job, she just kept drinking her vanilla latte and let chase pay for everything while using a victim coat every chance she could get. This is not what i look for or want to recognize in a female character. Like the bar for her was so low, everything made her sad and she needed to be taken care of etc etc. that’s usually something i would enjoy in a book, even prefer. So use your fantasy to imagine how tame it was handled in this book. God was it traumatizing to read. Anything traumatized this girl, willingly going into a sex store? Left a dent in her soul apparently. She was just so boring in the relationship. Nothing exciting ever.
I have actually fallen asleep PLURAL times while attempting to finish this book. I want to finish it and i will, but 800 pages for this? I’m afraid i might fall into a reading slump after this. I usually take 2 days to finish a book, this has taken me 5 already. And I’m not even finished. AND i have a day off. The only reason this isn’t getting a 1 star, is because of chase. I would give it more but even thinking about how boring it is actually makes me mad. And that’s not normal.
December 12, 2022
It starts out good & has a lot of the cliche sport moments you’re looking for when you read sports romance but it was 200 pages too long. SO MUCH useless information & fluff that didn’t progress the story or characters.
August 18, 2023
i will eat up a reformed playboy turned simp EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
this is a brother's rival hockey romance. after getting dumped on her birthday by her cheating boyfriend, bailey goes out for a girls night with her friends and gets hit on by chase, her brother and ex's hockey rival who's known for starting fights on the ice. she blows him off but when he rescues her after she has a little too much to drink, they start an unlikely friendship.
i just love when a man who's never been in a relationship is like okay, so i just give you all my time, love, and money right? it just never gets old. bailey was treated terribly by everyone from her school's hockey team, including some of the team girlfriends who were also her roommates and i loved how he was never shy to stand up for her. this was funny, hot, and so sweet. this is a LONG book but i loved being in this world so it didn't bother me.
i only wish we had gotten 200 pages of EXTENSIVE revenge on every single person who was the f**king worst to bailey.
this is a brother's rival hockey romance. after getting dumped on her birthday by her cheating boyfriend, bailey goes out for a girls night with her friends and gets hit on by chase, her brother and ex's hockey rival who's known for starting fights on the ice. she blows him off but when he rescues her after she has a little too much to drink, they start an unlikely friendship.
i just love when a man who's never been in a relationship is like okay, so i just give you all my time, love, and money right? it just never gets old. bailey was treated terribly by everyone from her school's hockey team, including some of the team girlfriends who were also her roommates and i loved how he was never shy to stand up for her. this was funny, hot, and so sweet. this is a LONG book but i loved being in this world so it didn't bother me.
i only wish we had gotten 200 pages of EXTENSIVE revenge on every single person who was the f**king worst to bailey.
December 25, 2022
3.5 ✨ “Carter?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m going to lose my balance if you keep kissing me like that.”
“I got you,” I said, voice husky. “I won’t let you fall.”
Offside follows Bailey, a college girl who gets broken up with on her birthday, and Chase, a hotshot hockey player from Bailey’s rival school. After a chance encounter at a nightclub, the two of them form an unlikely friendship that develops into something more.
I absolutely loved ex’s rival trope in this. Chase has a reputation for talking dirty on the ice and I absolutely loved how much hockey was actually included. He’s protective and over the top and a total simp for Bailey, who, I did not love nearly as much. I felt like her character development was extremely slow and underdeveloped by the end of the book. I didn’t feel like she grew at all.
The conflict is external to the couple, which I loved, but it is something very similar to happen in one of my favorite other hockey romances of 2022. So it did feel a bit repetitive and unoriginal. I didn’t feel as gripped as I wanted to be.
This book is also extremely long. Too long. It easily could’ve been cut a minimum of 100 pages. Because it took so long to get to the conflict, I didn’t feel as invested as I hoped by then. I just wanted to finish the book by that point. I also got really sick of them calling each other by their last names. I kept thinking Chase’s first name was Carter. He also calls Bailey James the majority of the time and I just was so over it by the end.
Chase was the star of the book for me. He’s funny, filthy, protective and honestly hot af. Everything else just felt very drawn out yet not quite fully flushed out. I still enjoyed it because I really do like character driven novels focused on the couple, and I’m down to try the next book in the series when it comes out.
Read if you like
✨ hockey romance
✨ ex’s rival
✨ protective yet cinnamon roll mmc
✨ boy obsessed
✨ sort of friends to lovers
✨ medium burn
✨ externally-driven conflict
“Yeah?”
“I’m going to lose my balance if you keep kissing me like that.”
“I got you,” I said, voice husky. “I won’t let you fall.”
Offside follows Bailey, a college girl who gets broken up with on her birthday, and Chase, a hotshot hockey player from Bailey’s rival school. After a chance encounter at a nightclub, the two of them form an unlikely friendship that develops into something more.
I absolutely loved ex’s rival trope in this. Chase has a reputation for talking dirty on the ice and I absolutely loved how much hockey was actually included. He’s protective and over the top and a total simp for Bailey, who, I did not love nearly as much. I felt like her character development was extremely slow and underdeveloped by the end of the book. I didn’t feel like she grew at all.
The conflict is external to the couple, which I loved, but it is something very similar to happen in one of my favorite other hockey romances of 2022. So it did feel a bit repetitive and unoriginal. I didn’t feel as gripped as I wanted to be.
This book is also extremely long. Too long. It easily could’ve been cut a minimum of 100 pages. Because it took so long to get to the conflict, I didn’t feel as invested as I hoped by then. I just wanted to finish the book by that point. I also got really sick of them calling each other by their last names. I kept thinking Chase’s first name was Carter. He also calls Bailey James the majority of the time and I just was so over it by the end.
Chase was the star of the book for me. He’s funny, filthy, protective and honestly hot af. Everything else just felt very drawn out yet not quite fully flushed out. I still enjoyed it because I really do like character driven novels focused on the couple, and I’m down to try the next book in the series when it comes out.
Read if you like
✨ hockey romance
✨ ex’s rival
✨ protective yet cinnamon roll mmc
✨ boy obsessed
✨ sort of friends to lovers
✨ medium burn
✨ externally-driven conflict
Read
July 11, 2023dnf at 58%!! help why was this so fucking long, im
honestly bored asf and i don’t have enough patience to finish this😜😍
honestly bored asf and i don’t have enough patience to finish this😜😍
December 26, 2022
Meh. This book was fine, I got annoyed at them calling each other by their last names and Bailey has the personality of an unseasoned chicken but Chase was incredible
February 20, 2023
blah blah blah get to the damn point
December 10, 2023
FINALLY FUCKING FREE FROM THE SHACKLES OF THIS BOOK AFTER EIGHT MONTHS 😭😭😭😭😭😭
so unnecessarily fucking long and boring 😴
so unnecessarily fucking long and boring 😴
February 4, 2023
3.5 ~ okay first of all i’m just gonna say that a romance without slowburn has absolutely NO reason being over 600 pages like nothing you say can convince me otherwise 😁 now that we have that out of the way let’s get into this:
honestly there genuinely wasn’t much wrong with the book besides the fact that it could have 200 pages shorter. they literally got together 40% in and it STILL managed to go on for another 400 pages like how??? also not gonna lie the mmc’s name being chase threw me off at first because what in the paw patrol but literally everyone mainly called him by his last name so thankfully i didn’t have to suffer much.
anywho i absolutely loved how him and bailey’s relationship evolved throughout the entire thing (the one perk of how insanely long this book was…) they went from rivals to besties to lovers then exs then straight back to lovers again because you already KNOW there was going to be a third act conflict in this thing (honestly i usually hate third act conflicts but there was a whole scandal in this one so i lowkey was invested 🫣)
*also i’m gonna need shiv’s book asap avery i can assure you that nobody wants tyler’s book next… he was barely in this to begin with 🙄 i just know my girl’s shoulders are going to hurt from carrying this entire series (a procrastinator with a crippling shopping addiction and commitment issues?? she’s just like me fr)
honestly there genuinely wasn’t much wrong with the book besides the fact that it could have 200 pages shorter. they literally got together 40% in and it STILL managed to go on for another 400 pages like how??? also not gonna lie the mmc’s name being chase threw me off at first because what in the paw patrol but literally everyone mainly called him by his last name so thankfully i didn’t have to suffer much.
anywho i absolutely loved how him and bailey’s relationship evolved throughout the entire thing (the one perk of how insanely long this book was…) they went from rivals to besties to lovers then exs then straight back to lovers again because you already KNOW there was going to be a third act conflict in this thing (honestly i usually hate third act conflicts but there was a whole scandal in this one so i lowkey was invested 🫣)
*also i’m gonna need shiv’s book asap avery i can assure you that nobody wants tyler’s book next… he was barely in this to begin with 🙄 i just know my girl’s shoulders are going to hurt from carrying this entire series (a procrastinator with a crippling shopping addiction and commitment issues?? she’s just like me fr)
December 30, 2022
bruh this book got me so mad. It started off so cute and had so much potential but my GOD.
it felt like the author was purposeful trying to make this book 500 some pages so they just thought “hmmm let’s add everything in that I possibly can” I’m not even joking. There were so many random scenes that added absolutely nothing to the plot that went on for PAGES UPON PAGES. [SLIGHT SPOILIES] a pregnancy that isn’t talked about beyond that scene, the whole house/money situation, any of the plot lines surrounding her writing for the school publication, her giant mysterious injury (which literally isn’t actually brought up until the last 5% of the book and it’s done in such a ‘oh yeah this is what happened’ sort of way). Even the sex tape scandal felt like it came out of nowhere. I know it was hinted at prior, but the direction it went in didn’t make any sense at all.
And don’t even get me started on Luke and Chase. Holy cow. Did Luke suck? Yes absolutely. But holy moly Chase isn’t much better. He is SO possessive of her to the point where I was like “I don’t want Bailey to end up with him either”. Asking to see her phone and getting SO MAD at her when she didn’t call him DESPITE HIM BEING IN A LITERAL HOCKEY GAME AND NOT ABLE TO ANSWER. BRUH SHE TEXTED YOU. CHILL. The entire feud between the two of them was so drawn out and felt so insane that I rolled my eyes every time it started. Each interaction was the same. Especially when it came to the hockey games. You could almost guarantee that someone was going to hit the other and Chase down the other and penalties would get called but some wouldn’t cause the “refs suck”.
I usually am such a fan of hockey romances, but this one was not it. Any scene that actually involved hockey felt so weird? Idk. As a hockey fan, they didn’t seem like they were ever actually hockey games. It just felt like “oh we need some drama, let’s just make it so that everyone is on skates and has an excuse to hit each other.”
Not a fan. Hate that I spent so much time reading this book waiting for it to get better.
it felt like the author was purposeful trying to make this book 500 some pages so they just thought “hmmm let’s add everything in that I possibly can” I’m not even joking. There were so many random scenes that added absolutely nothing to the plot that went on for PAGES UPON PAGES. [SLIGHT SPOILIES] a pregnancy that isn’t talked about beyond that scene, the whole house/money situation, any of the plot lines surrounding her writing for the school publication, her giant mysterious injury (which literally isn’t actually brought up until the last 5% of the book and it’s done in such a ‘oh yeah this is what happened’ sort of way). Even the sex tape scandal felt like it came out of nowhere. I know it was hinted at prior, but the direction it went in didn’t make any sense at all.
And don’t even get me started on Luke and Chase. Holy cow. Did Luke suck? Yes absolutely. But holy moly Chase isn’t much better. He is SO possessive of her to the point where I was like “I don’t want Bailey to end up with him either”. Asking to see her phone and getting SO MAD at her when she didn’t call him DESPITE HIM BEING IN A LITERAL HOCKEY GAME AND NOT ABLE TO ANSWER. BRUH SHE TEXTED YOU. CHILL. The entire feud between the two of them was so drawn out and felt so insane that I rolled my eyes every time it started. Each interaction was the same. Especially when it came to the hockey games. You could almost guarantee that someone was going to hit the other and Chase down the other and penalties would get called but some wouldn’t cause the “refs suck”.
I usually am such a fan of hockey romances, but this one was not it. Any scene that actually involved hockey felt so weird? Idk. As a hockey fan, they didn’t seem like they were ever actually hockey games. It just felt like “oh we need some drama, let’s just make it so that everyone is on skates and has an excuse to hit each other.”
Not a fan. Hate that I spent so much time reading this book waiting for it to get better.
April 8, 2023
look, i know what you’re thinking. ‘elise, wtf, there’s no way in hell i’m reading a 600 page romance book.’ and while i’d normally agree, i’m here to inform you that i actually finished this and genuinely wished it was longer.
December 27, 2022
4✨
It was good but idk I feel like the sex tape scandal should have been something more. It was really played down on what happened after being hyped up about what could happen.
I also didn’t like how there were so many loose ends with Luke. Like wtf did he even want? He dumped her? Why was he stalking her, what was his motivation to split them up? More insight on that situation would have been good.
This book was almost 600 pages and about 200pages of that was literal hockey. Don’t get me wrong this is a hockey romance, but ma’am I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t need pages explaining what’s happening in every game.
Overall though, the characters had good chemistry. The storyline was good and it was well written.
This is a series and it looked like the author was setting it up for book 2 to be about this female mcs brother, if that’s the case I will not read it. He is too far passed redemption. Literally sleeping with his bestfriend/team mates gf behind his back, knowing the girl treated his sister poorly. Constantly sided with the ex he knew was using his sister and cheating on her. Nope.
It was good but idk I feel like the sex tape scandal should have been something more. It was really played down on what happened after being hyped up about what could happen.
I also didn’t like how there were so many loose ends with Luke. Like wtf did he even want? He dumped her? Why was he stalking her, what was his motivation to split them up? More insight on that situation would have been good.
This book was almost 600 pages and about 200pages of that was literal hockey. Don’t get me wrong this is a hockey romance, but ma’am I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t need pages explaining what’s happening in every game.
Overall though, the characters had good chemistry. The storyline was good and it was well written.
This is a series and it looked like the author was setting it up for book 2 to be about this female mcs brother, if that’s the case I will not read it. He is too far passed redemption. Literally sleeping with his bestfriend/team mates gf behind his back, knowing the girl treated his sister poorly. Constantly sided with the ex he knew was using his sister and cheating on her. Nope.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2024
4.5 Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate Stars ⭐
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
Based on looking at the rest of the reviews for this book, I might be in the minority of this, but I enjoyed this book. It made me giggle and smile! I also think I enjoyed it so much because there were a few similarities between my relationship with my husband and how Chase and Bailey act around each other.
This is a Dual POV following Bailey James and Chase Carter. On the night of her birthday dinner, Bailey's cheating boyfriend breaks up with her to focus on Hockey and not the distraction of a relationship. As a pick-me-up, Bailey's friends take her out to a new club where she gets roaringly drunk and hits it off with Chase Carter after a slew of terrible air traffic control innuendos. But she knows all about Chase Carter as he is a star hockey player on her school's rival team and so should be her enemy. She decides to leave with Carter, ends up puking on his shoes and all gentleman-y he takes her to his house... gives her a t-shirt and some place to sleep it off, and that's it! From then on the two form a friendship that blossoms into more.
So there are two things that my relationship shares with Carter and James. One - on one of the nights early in our relationship, I got pretty plastered and ended up showing up on his shoes. And two... never mind the fact that we have been married for almost eight years and I share his surname, he still calls me Ms Maiden Name as a nickname.
Bailey is very unsure of herself. She is timid and afraid to stand up for herself at the start. As a result, she tends to hide or run away from confrontation or any situation that could put her into something with conflict. But as she becomes closer to Chase and their friendship deepens, she starts to come out of her shell and pushes back for herself and stands up for what she believes. This is seriously needed because her initial "friends" and own brother treat her absolutely AWFULLY because of her friendship with Chase and completely isolate and alienate her - making it a very toxic environment to live in.
I love Chase. He is like an undercover cinnamon roll because he comes off as this cocky, arrogant man on the ice, but off the ice, he is a total and adorable sweetheart who is goofy, can make you laugh and is super protective. HJe is also extremely honourable and generous. He almost seems too perfect in everything that he does but my disillusioned mind didn't mind this too much as I was just enjoying the story and all the cute ways he was interacting with Bailey.
The one thing about this that kept the story from being perfect and it actually a detriment, is that it was too long. You could easily cut out 100 pages and it would still flow perfectly. At times was wondering when is this going to end? This was also split with a weird situation that sometimes it went into too much detail on some situations and not enough details on things I actually WANTED to see.
However, I liked their dynamic and I like the way that their friendship developed, and I like that the two of them were able to grow together. I also really appreciated that she was able to find a "family" that valued her and appreciated her in Chase's circle. While there is a third-act breakup, it's not as a result of them being stupid.So I didn't hate it too much because I understood the reasoning behind it.
Tropes in this include:
▶Enemies Rivals to Friends to Lovers
▶ Hockey Romance
▶ Ex's Rival
▶ Collage/University Romance
▶ He Falls First
▶ Cinnamon Roll
▶ Forbidden Romance
▶ Slow Burn
▶ Dual Pov
▶ Third Act Breakup
▶ Rich Boy Romance
Microtropes:
▶ "Mine"
▶ Forehead Kisses
▶ Nicknames
▶ Forearm's
▶ Takes care of her
Overall, if you want a sweet little sexy hockey romance, I would recommend picking this up because I really enjoyed Chase and Bailey's story.
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
Based on looking at the rest of the reviews for this book, I might be in the minority of this, but I enjoyed this book. It made me giggle and smile! I also think I enjoyed it so much because there were a few similarities between my relationship with my husband and how Chase and Bailey act around each other.
This is a Dual POV following Bailey James and Chase Carter. On the night of her birthday dinner, Bailey's cheating boyfriend breaks up with her to focus on Hockey and not the distraction of a relationship. As a pick-me-up, Bailey's friends take her out to a new club where she gets roaringly drunk and hits it off with Chase Carter after a slew of terrible air traffic control innuendos. But she knows all about Chase Carter as he is a star hockey player on her school's rival team and so should be her enemy. She decides to leave with Carter, ends up puking on his shoes and all gentleman-y he takes her to his house... gives her a t-shirt and some place to sleep it off, and that's it! From then on the two form a friendship that blossoms into more.
So there are two things that my relationship shares with Carter and James. One - on one of the nights early in our relationship, I got pretty plastered and ended up showing up on his shoes. And two... never mind the fact that we have been married for almost eight years and I share his surname, he still calls me Ms Maiden Name as a nickname.
Bailey is very unsure of herself. She is timid and afraid to stand up for herself at the start. As a result, she tends to hide or run away from confrontation or any situation that could put her into something with conflict. But as she becomes closer to Chase and their friendship deepens, she starts to come out of her shell and pushes back for herself and stands up for what she believes. This is seriously needed because her initial "friends" and own brother treat her absolutely AWFULLY because of her friendship with Chase and completely isolate and alienate her - making it a very toxic environment to live in.
I love Chase. He is like an undercover cinnamon roll because he comes off as this cocky, arrogant man on the ice, but off the ice, he is a total and adorable sweetheart who is goofy, can make you laugh and is super protective. HJe is also extremely honourable and generous. He almost seems too perfect in everything that he does but my disillusioned mind didn't mind this too much as I was just enjoying the story and all the cute ways he was interacting with Bailey.
The one thing about this that kept the story from being perfect and it actually a detriment, is that it was too long. You could easily cut out 100 pages and it would still flow perfectly. At times was wondering when is this going to end? This was also split with a weird situation that sometimes it went into too much detail on some situations and not enough details on things I actually WANTED to see.
However, I liked their dynamic and I like the way that their friendship developed, and I like that the two of them were able to grow together. I also really appreciated that she was able to find a "family" that valued her and appreciated her in Chase's circle. While there is a third-act breakup, it's not as a result of them being stupid.So I didn't hate it too much because I understood the reasoning behind it.
Tropes in this include:
▶
▶ Hockey Romance
▶ Ex's Rival
▶ Collage/University Romance
▶ He Falls First
▶ Cinnamon Roll
▶ Forbidden Romance
▶ Slow Burn
▶ Dual Pov
▶ Third Act Breakup
▶ Rich Boy Romance
Microtropes:
▶ "Mine"
▶ Forehead Kisses
▶ Nicknames
▶ Forearm's
▶ Takes care of her
Overall, if you want a sweet little sexy hockey romance, I would recommend picking this up because I really enjoyed Chase and Bailey's story.
February 6, 2023
This book gave me a migraine
→ You are heartbroken about your ex, who you have a feeling might have cheated on you, moved on from the relationship quick and you are 99.999% sure your brother knew about it
As if I’d accidentally summoned him, Derek emerged from the locker rooms and made a beeline for Jill and me. He glanced in Luke’s direction but didn’t react to seeing him with Sophie. Almost like he was used to the image already.
→ Forget ever talking to the brother again, SHE STILL WENT TO HER BROTHERS GAMES EVEN THOUGH SHE WOULD SEE HER EX PLAYING ON THE FIELD AND GET HURT
“Pathetically, I didn’t have any other plans anyway. If I didn’t go, I’d be doing laundry or sitting in my room surfing Netflix. Watching my brother play for a few hours wasn’t asking much. I would pretend it was freshman year all over again—before Luke and I ever met.”
conclusion
Is she sane? Would a sane person do something like this? Am I sane? Is the world flat or round?
→ You are heartbroken about your ex, who you have a feeling might have cheated on you, moved on from the relationship quick and you are 99.999% sure your brother knew about it
As if I’d accidentally summoned him, Derek emerged from the locker rooms and made a beeline for Jill and me. He glanced in Luke’s direction but didn’t react to seeing him with Sophie. Almost like he was used to the image already.
→ Forget ever talking to the brother again, SHE STILL WENT TO HER BROTHERS GAMES EVEN THOUGH SHE WOULD SEE HER EX PLAYING ON THE FIELD AND GET HURT
“Pathetically, I didn’t have any other plans anyway. If I didn’t go, I’d be doing laundry or sitting in my room surfing Netflix. Watching my brother play for a few hours wasn’t asking much. I would pretend it was freshman year all over again—before Luke and I ever met.”
conclusion
Is she sane? Would a sane person do something like this? Am I sane? Is the world flat or round?
August 30, 2025
3.5 ★
I enjoyed this book quite a bit! I will say the 3rd act conflict/break-up was a bit ridiculous to me, but thankfully wasnt due to miscommunication like I usually find! other than that, I loved the development of their relationship! I thought the premise was cute and definitely shipped them from the start! the conflict they had throughout was insane and was making me want to pull my hair out lol but honestly, all of it made me very invested in the story and rooting for them to stay together! 🩷
I enjoyed this book quite a bit! I will say the 3rd act conflict/break-up was a bit ridiculous to me, but thankfully wasnt due to miscommunication like I usually find! other than that, I loved the development of their relationship! I thought the premise was cute and definitely shipped them from the start! the conflict they had throughout was insane and was making me want to pull my hair out lol but honestly, all of it made me very invested in the story and rooting for them to stay together! 🩷
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 13, 2024
offside kind of started promising—the fmc, bailey james, is single after her douche ex-boyfriend ends things on her twenty-first birthday. there’s some tension between her and the mmc chase carter, a rival hockey player, which gives ‘forbidden romance’ vibes. once chase and bailey start dating this causes even more tension, but this time between bailey and her so-called asshole friends. it’s a bit cliche, but sometimes it’s nice to have some familiarity.
while offside had its fun, cute moments it was two-hundred extra pages too long. it was slow and not in the ‘full of delicious tension’ way. it was bland and too wholesome. where’s the enemies to lovers? the forbidden romance?? some fake dating??! a contemporary romance without genuine slow burn and with nothing happening until almost halfway, has zero business being almost 600 pages long. it’s criminally insane.
it felt like there was too much focus and attention to detail on the hockey elements, with the main characters and the romance coming across as second thoughts. a lot of different side details were mentioned but were never tied off; weren’t given enough information for me to feel satisfied; or shown that these weird tidbits added anything to the overall narrative. why the fuck should we care about sophie’s pregnancy? what does that homewrecker add? NOTHING.
some other examples -
1. towards the end, chase writes a cheque for bailey’s family to save their home from foreclosure. her parents struggled to make mortgage repayments due to bailey’s medical expenses however we have zero idea what her medical history is until much later. she had a car accident, but everyone made it so secretive and ominous sounding.
2. chase and bailey never meet each other’s families especially after the massive monetary handout?? as if you wouldn’t introduce your boyfriend to your parents afterwards.
3. the AUDACITY having the next book focus on tyler and not dallas, whose relationship with shiv was focused on most, second to chase and bailey’s. we had teasers of a stalking ex-boyfriend, a slow burn romance and commitment issues but instead we have tyler. no one cares about tyler!
the third act breakup was unnecessary and the reason for the breakup was even more so. breaking up with your girlfriend because of blackmail over an almost threesome sex-tape is wild. it wasn’t an issue until the end and when it eventually became an issue, it was resolved within seconds. make it this looming concern to add some angst to the story from the start.
bailey james
bailey’s character development was non-existent and she was lowkey dumb. she had zero backbone and acted like her issues would disappear if she ignored them long enough. her ex-boyfriend broke her heart, she had a feeling he cheated, she moved on without hesitation and suspected her brother knew about luke’s cheating behaviour: as if i’d accidentally summoned him, derek emerged from the locker rooms and made a beeline for jill and me. he glanced in luke’s direction but didn’t react to seeing him with sophie. almost like he was used to the image already.
i’m too mean, or bailey’s too nice because this motherfucker didn’t have to grovel or bend over backwards for his little sister’s forgiveness. i’d be fuming.
bailey, stand up for yourself, you are better than this! don’t support your dumbass brother or your asshole ex-boyfriend! save yourself some heartache. with how often chase called her ‘hot’, you’d assume she’d have some self-esteem and confidence, or at least have it built towards the end of the book. bailey started off feeling wholly inadequate and unattractive, and ended feeling no different!
chase carter
chase was sweet. the way he encouraged and supported bailey was adorable and wholesome, but he was no different from most hockey romance love interests. a reformed bad boy and manwhore turned into a cinnamon roll retriever who’s overprotective of his girlfriend is nothing new. i wasn’t expecting anything groundbreaking, but it’s not as if we haven’t seen this kind of character before.
overall, i didn’t love this, but didn’t hate this either but it was frustrating. i maybe would’ve enjoyed this more if half the word count was removed and reading this didn’t feel like an endless nightmare. offside worked better when it had staggered chapters released on wattpad.
while offside had its fun, cute moments it was two-hundred extra pages too long. it was slow and not in the ‘full of delicious tension’ way. it was bland and too wholesome. where’s the enemies to lovers? the forbidden romance?? some fake dating??! a contemporary romance without genuine slow burn and with nothing happening until almost halfway, has zero business being almost 600 pages long. it’s criminally insane.
it felt like there was too much focus and attention to detail on the hockey elements, with the main characters and the romance coming across as second thoughts. a lot of different side details were mentioned but were never tied off; weren’t given enough information for me to feel satisfied; or shown that these weird tidbits added anything to the overall narrative. why the fuck should we care about sophie’s pregnancy? what does that homewrecker add? NOTHING.
some other examples -
1. towards the end, chase writes a cheque for bailey’s family to save their home from foreclosure. her parents struggled to make mortgage repayments due to bailey’s medical expenses however we have zero idea what her medical history is until much later. she had a car accident, but everyone made it so secretive and ominous sounding.
2. chase and bailey never meet each other’s families especially after the massive monetary handout?? as if you wouldn’t introduce your boyfriend to your parents afterwards.
3. the AUDACITY having the next book focus on tyler and not dallas, whose relationship with shiv was focused on most, second to chase and bailey’s. we had teasers of a stalking ex-boyfriend, a slow burn romance and commitment issues but instead we have tyler. no one cares about tyler!
the third act breakup was unnecessary and the reason for the breakup was even more so. breaking up with your girlfriend because of blackmail over an almost threesome sex-tape is wild. it wasn’t an issue until the end and when it eventually became an issue, it was resolved within seconds. make it this looming concern to add some angst to the story from the start.
bailey james
bailey’s character development was non-existent and she was lowkey dumb. she had zero backbone and acted like her issues would disappear if she ignored them long enough. her ex-boyfriend broke her heart, she had a feeling he cheated, she moved on without hesitation and suspected her brother knew about luke’s cheating behaviour: as if i’d accidentally summoned him, derek emerged from the locker rooms and made a beeline for jill and me. he glanced in luke’s direction but didn’t react to seeing him with sophie. almost like he was used to the image already.
i’m too mean, or bailey’s too nice because this motherfucker didn’t have to grovel or bend over backwards for his little sister’s forgiveness. i’d be fuming.
pathetically, i didn’t have any other plans anyway. if i didn’t go, i’d be doing laundry or sitting in my room surfing netflix. watching my brother play for a few hours wasn’t asking much. i would pretend it was freshman year all over again—before luke and i ever met.
bailey, stand up for yourself, you are better than this! don’t support your dumbass brother or your asshole ex-boyfriend! save yourself some heartache. with how often chase called her ‘hot’, you’d assume she’d have some self-esteem and confidence, or at least have it built towards the end of the book. bailey started off feeling wholly inadequate and unattractive, and ended feeling no different!
“it’s weird.”
“what’s weird?” i asked, glancing up at him. he rested his cheek against the top of my head.
“i didn’t know what i was missing until i found it.”
chase carter
chase was sweet. the way he encouraged and supported bailey was adorable and wholesome, but he was no different from most hockey romance love interests. a reformed bad boy and manwhore turned into a cinnamon roll retriever who’s overprotective of his girlfriend is nothing new. i wasn’t expecting anything groundbreaking, but it’s not as if we haven’t seen this kind of character before.
overall, i didn’t love this, but didn’t hate this either but it was frustrating. i maybe would’ve enjoyed this more if half the word count was removed and reading this didn’t feel like an endless nightmare. offside worked better when it had staggered chapters released on wattpad.
January 13, 2023
The internal monologue of the main male character makes him very hard to tolerate, as he sounds like the douchiest frat boy ever. The main female character doesn't fare much better, sounding like a 'pick me' / 'not like other girls' every two sentences. How anyone rated this above a 2 ⭐ is beyond me. The writing was not good, the smut lackluster and the characters very shallow. This book has no heart, no soul and should be a hard pass.
November 14, 2024
— 2 stars ✰
i just wish those pages were cut shorter
i just wish those pages were cut shorter
January 9, 2023
4.5 Stars
This book really took me by surprise! After seeing a lot of people talk highly of this book on Instagram, I decided to give it a try. At the beginning we see Bailey and Chase, who go to two different colleges and their hockey teams are rivals. Bailey’s brother is on one teams and Chase is on the other. When Bailey’s boyfriend breaks up with her, she finds a friend in Chase. While she tries to stay away, Chase and her keep finding their way back to each other.
When I tell you Chase is something else. He really is. He is soooo swoonworthy, so romantic, so EVERYTHING. He is definitely book boyfriend material. I loved their relationship. While they are in college, they have this matureness about their relationship that makes it so enjoyable to read… no miscommunication here.
This book really took me by surprise! After seeing a lot of people talk highly of this book on Instagram, I decided to give it a try. At the beginning we see Bailey and Chase, who go to two different colleges and their hockey teams are rivals. Bailey’s brother is on one teams and Chase is on the other. When Bailey’s boyfriend breaks up with her, she finds a friend in Chase. While she tries to stay away, Chase and her keep finding their way back to each other.
When I tell you Chase is something else. He really is. He is soooo swoonworthy, so romantic, so EVERYTHING. He is definitely book boyfriend material. I loved their relationship. While they are in college, they have this matureness about their relationship that makes it so enjoyable to read… no miscommunication here.
July 10, 2021
Offside
⭐️⭐️
Trigger warnings:
Cheating
Violence
Recording without consent
Spicy scale:
🌶🌶
Review:
Okay, so I can see why so many people liked this so much, but it wasn’t really for me. Which is kind of weird considering I got recommended it as a mix between The Deal and The Risk, which I absolutely loved.
I love the fact that Bailey ended up with real friends and dumped those sh*ts she surrounded herself with in the beginning. Bailey was really mature, thank god that didn’t add to the reasons I didn’t like this book. It was the opposite of slowburn, it moved too fast for my liking, and before I knew it the main characters were together before I really got to know enough about either of them. This made the book even less interesting. They handled situations maturely enough, except the last “plot twist”, that was awful.
Their bickering was more annoying than fun to read. The side characters were surface level, so the story became really centred on just the main characters. Which made the story boring because I had no one else to root for.
I’ll admit I skipped through the last chapters because it was dragging out, and I just wanted to get it over with. I felt like I had to keep going because I feel guilty about dnf’ing books.
⭐️⭐️
Trigger warnings:
Cheating
Violence
Recording without consent
Spicy scale:
🌶🌶
Review:
Okay, so I can see why so many people liked this so much, but it wasn’t really for me. Which is kind of weird considering I got recommended it as a mix between The Deal and The Risk, which I absolutely loved.
I love the fact that Bailey ended up with real friends and dumped those sh*ts she surrounded herself with in the beginning. Bailey was really mature, thank god that didn’t add to the reasons I didn’t like this book. It was the opposite of slowburn, it moved too fast for my liking, and before I knew it the main characters were together before I really got to know enough about either of them. This made the book even less interesting. They handled situations maturely enough, except the last “plot twist”, that was awful.
Their bickering was more annoying than fun to read. The side characters were surface level, so the story became really centred on just the main characters. Which made the story boring because I had no one else to root for.
I’ll admit I skipped through the last chapters because it was dragging out, and I just wanted to get it over with. I felt like I had to keep going because I feel guilty about dnf’ing books.
April 13, 2024
4.5 stars
Omg this was so much fun! Definitely started to feel a bit too long in the second half but I couldn’t stop reading. I also really appreciate that this hockey romance actually had hockey in it. So few sports romances actually include the games and it drives me insane.
Omg this was so much fun! Definitely started to feel a bit too long in the second half but I couldn’t stop reading. I also really appreciate that this hockey romance actually had hockey in it. So few sports romances actually include the games and it drives me insane.
September 5, 2023
3.75⭐️ I really liked this book but I just think it was too long and it had me bored at times because not much happened. But Chase and Bailey were super cute and I adored their relationship.
May 31, 2024
300 pages too long
April 18, 2023
Offside is a contemporary, college sports romance! The heroine starts dating the hero, a hockey player from her school rival’s team (which her brother and ex both play for her school’s team).
The story starts with Bailey’s boyfriend dumping her on her 21st birthday. She ends up still attending his hockey game, her brother plays on the team too, and she goes to a club with some friends after the game. There she runs into Chase, the agitator for her school’s rival team, and while she recognizes him right away, he doesn’t realize who she is. They flirt for a while and he ends up helping her get out of there safely once she’s drunk. From there Chase and Bailey form an unlikely friendship but they fit so perfectly together.
I really enjoyed this book! I loved Chase so much! He is so supportive, sooo into her, and just the most amazing, attentive, sensitive boyfriend. I thought they were so cute and mature together and I just loved their times together. The hockey action and games was so fun and I liked how into sports Bailey was as well, she even writes for her school’s paper about the sporting events. I do think this book was too long and didn’t need to be, it definitely could have been condensed down and some of the drama towards the end I could have done without as well. But the enjoyment of it all and for just Chase & Bailey….all the stars.
The story starts with Bailey’s boyfriend dumping her on her 21st birthday. She ends up still attending his hockey game, her brother plays on the team too, and she goes to a club with some friends after the game. There she runs into Chase, the agitator for her school’s rival team, and while she recognizes him right away, he doesn’t realize who she is. They flirt for a while and he ends up helping her get out of there safely once she’s drunk. From there Chase and Bailey form an unlikely friendship but they fit so perfectly together.
I really enjoyed this book! I loved Chase so much! He is so supportive, sooo into her, and just the most amazing, attentive, sensitive boyfriend. I thought they were so cute and mature together and I just loved their times together. The hockey action and games was so fun and I liked how into sports Bailey was as well, she even writes for her school’s paper about the sporting events. I do think this book was too long and didn’t need to be, it definitely could have been condensed down and some of the drama towards the end I could have done without as well. But the enjoyment of it all and for just Chase & Bailey….all the stars.
December 15, 2022
the fact that chase carter isnt real is a damn shame because the things i would let this man do to me… 🧎🏻♀️🧎🏻♀️
added sidenote:
repeatedly while reading this book i told my boyfriend it would be hot if he, A) threatened break someones legs for me, B) threatened someone in general, C) played hockey
… my boyfriend now thinks i am insane since he does not have a toxic bone in his body and is a lil gamer boy but a girl can dream
added sidenote:
repeatedly while reading this book i told my boyfriend it would be hot if he, A) threatened break someones legs for me, B) threatened someone in general, C) played hockey
… my boyfriend now thinks i am insane since he does not have a toxic bone in his body and is a lil gamer boy but a girl can dream
February 12, 2024
Хороший спортивний роман, без "овердрами", адекватні ДУЖЕ ДУЖЕ затишні головні герої які живуть у дуже солодкій бульбашці, коли разом. Здорові стосунки, де люди "ГОВОРЯТЬ ПРО ПРОБЛЕМИ" і вміють скласти 1+1, щоб не закочувати зайві істерики.
тверда 4* від мене, для гарного відпочинку
Гарячі сцени дуже гарячі і чуттєві ! ;)
тверда 4* від мене, для гарного відпочинку
Гарячі сцени дуже гарячі і чуттєві ! ;)
August 13, 2023
3.75 stars
“I can’t wait to marry you.”
“Won’t that make me a Carter, though?” I teased.
“You’ll always be my James.”
this was cute. longer than necessary but still enjoyable. carter & bailey r cute.
💗💗💗
“I can’t wait to marry you.”
“Won’t that make me a Carter, though?” I teased.
“You’ll always be my James.”
this was cute. longer than necessary but still enjoyable. carter & bailey r cute.
💗💗💗
September 4, 2023
5/5
Це один з найкращих хокейних романів, які я читала. Мені сподобалося абсолютно все. По перше, тут троп суперник колишнього хлопця і брата, це вже щось незвичне.
По друге, в книзі дійсно є хокей, ігри, тренування, навчання, а не лише згадки про них.
По третє, стосунки головних героїв -настільки комфортні, здорові і милі, що аж плакати хочеться від того, що це лише книжка.
Бейлі і Чейз просто котики😻
Мені сподобалося, як вони будували свої відносини, як крок за кроком дізнавалися один одного, як Чейз намагався завоювати Бейлі і шукав будь-який привід, з нею побачитися, сподобалося, що не було оцієї шаленої пристрасті і любові з першого погляду, а можна було прослідкувати як герої закохувалися. А як вони захищали один одного, підтримували, довіряли. Сподобалося, що герої усвідомлювали свої почуття, а не переконували, себе в протилежному. Всі їхні взаємодії наповнені такою шаленою хімією і пристрастю, що аж іскрило. А які в них сцени🔞, то взагалі пожежа. І без всіх владних замашок, але настільки чуттєво, з такою турботою, уважністю і обережністю😍
Про головного героя варто окремо згадати. Тому що Чейз - мрія, а не чоловік. Іноді, не вірилося, що йому 21 і він ніколи не мав стосунків. Це настільки зрілий і адекватний персонаж, що я часом дивувалася з нього, хоч він іноді й виходив з себе, але здебільшого розумно оцінював ситуацію. А який же він турботливий, щирий прямолінійний, як він завжди робив так, щоб Бейлі відчувала себе комфортно, ніколи не тиснув, не наполягав, завжди враховував її думку, навіть ревнував красиво, а не як божевільний:
"Я не хотів бути хлопцем-гелікоптером, який шалено ревнує на кожному повороті, хоча в глибині душі я був таким. Знала Бейлі про це чи ні, вона привертала багато чоловічої уваги. Мені це не подобалося, але врешті-решт, я їй довіряю. Вона ніколи б не зрадила, і взагалі могла постояти за себе."
Драму в кінці я очікувала, але авторка все-одно змогла мене здивувати і як же ж було шкода героїв в той момент.
Хоча в якийсь момент мені було трохи нудновато, проте, навіть, не хочеться знімати бали за це. Тому що в цілому книга дуже гарна, а почуття описані неймовірно, при чому з обох сторін. Я весь час читала з посмішкою на обличчі, тому щиро рекомендую, точно не пошкодуєте))
Це один з найкращих хокейних романів, які я читала. Мені сподобалося абсолютно все. По перше, тут троп суперник колишнього хлопця і брата, це вже щось незвичне.
По друге, в книзі дійсно є хокей, ігри, тренування, навчання, а не лише згадки про них.
По третє, стосунки головних героїв -настільки комфортні, здорові і милі, що аж плакати хочеться від того, що це лише книжка.
Бейлі і Чейз просто котики😻
Мені сподобалося, як вони будували свої відносини, як крок за кроком дізнавалися один одного, як Чейз намагався завоювати Бейлі і шукав будь-який привід, з нею побачитися, сподобалося, що не було оцієї шаленої пристрасті і любові з першого погляду, а можна було прослідкувати як герої закохувалися. А як вони захищали один одного, підтримували, довіряли. Сподобалося, що герої усвідомлювали свої почуття, а не переконували, себе в протилежному. Всі їхні взаємодії наповнені такою шаленою хімією і пристрастю, що аж іскрило. А які в них сцени🔞, то взагалі пожежа. І без всіх владних замашок, але настільки чуттєво, з такою турботою, уважністю і обережністю😍
Про головного героя варто окремо згадати. Тому що Чейз - мрія, а не чоловік. Іноді, не вірилося, що йому 21 і він ніколи не мав стосунків. Це настільки зрілий і адекватний персонаж, що я часом дивувалася з нього, хоч він іноді й виходив з себе, але здебільшого розумно оцінював ситуацію. А який же він турботливий, щирий прямолінійний, як він завжди робив так, щоб Бейлі відчувала себе комфортно, ніколи не тиснув, не наполягав, завжди враховував її думку, навіть ревнував красиво, а не як божевільний:
"Я не хотів бути хлопцем-гелікоптером, який шалено ревнує на кожному повороті, хоча в глибині душі я був таким. Знала Бейлі про це чи ні, вона привертала багато чоловічої уваги. Мені це не подобалося, але врешті-решт, я їй довіряю. Вона ніколи б не зрадила, і взагалі могла постояти за себе."
Драму в кінці я очікувала, але авторка все-одно змогла мене здивувати і як же ж було шкода героїв в той момент.
Хоча в якийсь момент мені було трохи нудновато, проте, навіть, не хочеться знімати бали за це. Тому що в цілому книга дуже гарна, а почуття описані неймовірно, при чому з обох сторін. Я весь час читала з посмішкою на обличчі, тому щиро рекомендую, точно не пошкодуєте))
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