Offside (The Barker triplets 1) by Juliana Stone

Happy Holidays to all of You!!


                     I hope you had a wonderful Christmas time with your loved ones ( and if you don't celebrate, a great family time simply). For once i did enjoy a calm meal and christmas day was also a really good one since i managed to get a little reading done after all i'm still hoping to finish the challenge i've entered and that's the last line so i'm trying^^.

I opted for a sport romance since i must still read 2 others but to be honest i was also hesitant to pick it... during this year that i tried to discover this genre i found excellent ones but i also got really disappointed by other and i was a little afraid if it wasn't one for le that i would loose my motivation.....thankfully i have been more than happily surprised and i really liked to read this on christmas since the main messsage is forgiveness and trust so without waiting here is my opinion on Offside by Juliana Stone

Happy reading!

Publisher: Juliana Stone

Publication: 2012

ISBN:  0373277210

Genre: contemporary, sport romance
Violence: mild
Language: mild
sex: strong
Public: 18+

Source: free (promo on smashwords at the time)

Short description from goodreads :

 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?

My opinion:

          As hesitating as I was to start this book I didn’t expect it to be that good! I really loved it.  While it was a little difficult for me to get into the story at first because I kept confusing the characters (between Billie, Bobby and Betty you have to follow^^) I got really attached to Billie and Bobby….( I hate Betty even if she appears only a little)… I admire how Billie fought for her dreams and how she isn’t giving up, she was moving and the fact she loved Logan since little drew me to her… she is an athlete and he has the mind of one determined, voluntary and stubborn too^^

Bobby is different. Part of me were (still are) angry with how she is reacting but at the same time to having had my father live a degenerative illness I really can understand her. If you haven’t lived the situation you can’t imagine how exhausting physically AND emotionally it can be… you can choose to help with your free will you are never prepared for how hard is it to see one person you care for change and not recognize you or simply acting the opposite you always knew him to be. It hurts a lot and I’m sure under her grumpiness she is terribly afraid to loose her father and it’s a way to protect herself. The fact she was alone to do it add up to all the stress and fears she had so in a sense it’s normal she cat how she does to Billie and if you look closely she is never really mean to her ( not like Betty) she not supportive that’s completely different…. I really hope she will get her HEA with Shane and even more I want to know what happened between them!

I really loved that the sport in this was hockey in fact it’s was attracted me in this book to start with and i was really glad to see how the author introduced us to it… it’s completely part of book but not overwhelming if you don’t know anything about it. You follow Billie’s love for it you don’t have to stick to the rules to get a felling of what happen because mostly in this story the ethic is predominant…for example  you know what Seth did isn’t acceptable no matter what the rules states it’s not something you can agree with. I also really appreciate to see how the sport made the character stick together even if it wasn’t the case at the beginning…. By sharing together, working together they bonded and those bonds while done are strong as we can see how the guys move together to defend her.

Logan is so yummy^^;; I loved how loyal he was with Shane and how determined he could be. It really made sense with the romance part… it took time to take place but when it does it’s ignite with a spark. Logan has been hurt but it was more a misunderstanding in fact even if he doesn’t know it. Because of that he has apprehension with Billie simply because of whom her sisters are… he takes time to really see her for her and he gets really surprised… however they share so much in common they couldn’t not to get together. He is protective, honor counts for him and…. He isn’t a complete macho so a perfect book boyfriend, a real alpha is his own way.

Really it was a great sport romance read and while the rest of the series won’t be sport romance ( or less because if Shane appears he is playing hockey too) but only contemporary I wouldn’t need a lot of coaxing to give it a try after enjoying this first book so much! If you want a steamy romance but that built slowly, some hockey sport and want to see some macho get what they deserve with also some humour along the road ( the cat Weird is too funny) this is a great book for you!

Score:  4/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Challenges: