Publisher: Juliana Stone (September 30, 2012)
Series: The Barker Triplets, 1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
When hockey phenom Billie-Jo Barker returns home and decides to play in the local Friday night hockey league, all hell breaks loose. Not because Billie's talent is in question, but because Billie is a woman. And though these are modern times, some of the local guys still have a problem letting a girl into their 'men's club.'
Soon, Billie is at the center of a small town battle of the sexes, with everyone choosing sides. Her sisters. The townsfolk. Her friends. And yet, the only person whose opinion she cares about doesn't seem to care much at all. Logan Forest, the man who broke her heart when she was eighteen and the man she now shares the bench with every Friday night.
She's got a lot to prove and though Billie Jo Barker scores on the ice, will this girl ever score with the man of her dreams?
Soon, Billie is at the center of a small town battle of the sexes, with everyone choosing sides. Her sisters. The townsfolk. Her friends. And yet, the only person whose opinion she cares about doesn't seem to care much at all. Logan Forest, the man who broke her heart when she was eighteen and the man she now shares the bench with every Friday night.
She's got a lot to prove and though Billie Jo Barker scores on the ice, will this girl ever score with the man of her dreams?
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My Review:
Offside is my first Juliana Stone book, and even though it wasn't a perfect score (I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun!), I'll still be coming back for more from this wonderful author!
I've not read many hockey romances—in fact, that only one I can think of was years ago, one of Luanne Rice's novels. Offside managed to add “sexy hockey players” to my endless list of book boyfriends. Even though Billie-Jo was meant to be the star of the arena, Logan wasn't too bad himself, though I do wish we could have seen a bit more of his talent and passion for sports. Billie's personality and presence came through pretty clearly, but Logan's didn't, which disappointed me a little.
The chemistry between Billie and Logan was great, the scenes very sexy. I loved that. And even outside the bedroom their relationship was done very well, and I loved watching the two of them fall for one another. Besides the steamy factor of the book, I also enjoyed some of the lighter, funny moments sprinkled throughout the book (such as Logan's one-eyed cat who has a thing for, ahem, watching the couple).
* Spoiler ahead! *
The one thing I wasn't too happy about was the drama over Logan's supposedly sleeping with Billie's triplet, Betty, in highschool. When, in reality, it was Billie pretending to be Betty in order to have sex with Logan, whom she had a huge crush on, but he never noticed her. She won't tell him, he won't tell her, so for most of the book they're tiptoeing around this big “secret” between them, and when the news is finally broken to Logan (by Betty, of course), he yells at her, believing that Billie must have done that often over the years to sleep with men who really wanted her other sister. I just couldn't stand the drama, and Logan pissed me off to no end when he reacted this way, especially since he should have known Billie would never do that.
Speaking of Betty, she's a real bitch, and a slutty one at that. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to like her when her story is finally told, but who knows? Perhaps Stone can make me reconsider. I'm definitely curious about Bobbi and Shane's story, and I think I'm looking forward to it the most.
3.5 STARS! If you want a sexy sports romance with an interesting twist (the heroine as the sports star), pick up Offside! I truly enjoyed following Billie and Logan to their HEA, and although I have problems with one of the Barker triplets, I'll still pick up the next books in Juliana Stone's new contemporary trilogy!
Enjoy!
Until Next Time,
*TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!
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