Offside Rule by Maeve Hazel | Book Review

[ad/gifted - I received an eBook copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

Author & Title: Offside Rule by Maeve Hazel

Genre: Romance 

My rating: 4/5

Publication date: 16th January 2025

Blurb: 

With rules strictly prohibiting referee/player relationships, Arianna and Xavier face an impossible choice.

Fiery and focused.

Arianna Esposito is a single mother under pressure. As a European football referee, she loves her job—but she struggles with an old injury and the guilt over moments she's missing with her young daughter. The last thing she expects is for a charming young football player to make her believe in love again. Arianna finds herself torn between the world she's carefully built and the risky promise of something more.

Dedicated and passionate.

Xavier Kavalle is a rising star in European football, doing his best to shoulder the weight of his team’s success. As he prepares his teammates for their shot at the championship, he finds inspiration in an unexpected place—the referee he can’t keep his eyes off of. She’s talented, fiercely independent, and everything he never knew he needed. Under mounting pressure, can Xavier step up to be everything his team—and Arianna—needs?

As the championship approaches, will they play it safe or defy the rules to pursue the kind of love they long for?

Review:

This is the cutest novella! I love a sports romance anyway so I knew this would be right up my street.

Nineteen-year-old Xavier Kavalle plays for a European football team. He is good enough to be captain but that role has gone to his cousin (who isn't the best player on the team) just because his dad is the team's coach. Despite this, he stays positive and confident in his team's ability.

Arianna Esposito is a twenty-five-year-old widow and mum to four-year-old Giulia. She is also a football referee who takes her job very seriously. The two cross paths one evening after she makes a football comment to Xavier whilst he's watching replays, then he realises she actually knows her stuff when he discovers she is refereeing his next match. 

There is an instant spark between the two of them but with their age gap, the fact that a ref cannot get involved with a player and the fact that Arianna has a child, could their relationship work?

The character of Xavier was so lovely for someone so young and I really enjoyed the scenes between Xavier and Giulia. Arianna's feelings regarding being torn between her career and her family were written very well and you could feel her turmoil. I love novellas because I can just fly through the story but at the same time I feel sad when I am loving them because I just want to read about these characters forever.

This is a sweet, short read that any romance lover will enjoy! 

Powerless by Elsie Silver | Book Review

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Title & Author: Powerless by Elsie Silver

Genre: Romance

My rating: 4/5

Publisher: Piatkus

Publication date: 6th April 2023

Blurb:

Two childhood best friends. Two broken hearts. One impromptu road trip to get away from everything.

I've been living in the friend zone for years now.

To Jasper Gervais's fans, he's just the hockey heartthrob on TV. But to me, he's still the lost boy with sad eyes and a heart of gold. The man I've loved in secret for years.

So when my life falls apart on my wedding day, it only makes sense that he's the one to swoop in and save me. And when his world comes crashing down around him, I'm there to return the favour.

But the more time alone we spend together, the more I start to realise that Jasper isn't looking at me like a friend anymore. And he isn't touching me like one, either.

He acts like he wants me.

But after years of turning me away, he's going to need to prove it...

Review: 

I loved both Flawless and Heartless so ended up speeding my way through the series. Usually I wouldn't be a big series reader, but I have just loved all these characters so much and never want to say goodbye! 

Powerless follows the story of Jasper, a childhood friend of the Eaton boys. He is an NHL player and we learn about how he came to live with Harvey and his family following Jasper's troubles with his own parents. Sloane is a prima ballerina and is a cousin of the Eaton's so Jasper has known her since she was ten-years-old.

From what we have seen of Jasper in the previous two books, we know he is very quiet and reserved so I was excited to see a bit more of him. In Heartless, we learned that Sloane had recently gotten engaged but didn't seem happy about it so I was eager to learn more about that.

Sloane's father is a businessman and her engagement to Sterling was essentially a business transaction. She has been in love with Jasper since she first laid eyes on him at ten years of age but she was under the impression that Jasper didn't feel the same way.

I don't usually like a childhood friends to lovers trope but this was beautiful. It was so wonderful to get into Jasper's mind and for both he and Sloane to overcome things together. I thought no one could beat Cade but Jasper Gervais is up there!

The Christmas Swap by Talia Samuels | Book Review

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Title & Author: The Christmas Swap by Talia Samuels

Genre: LGBTQIA+ romance

My rating: 4/5

Publisher: Penguin Michael Joseph 

Publication date: 21st September 2023

Blurb:

It's the perfect Christmas love story.

Margot Murray is a newly single, high-flying businesswoman with no interest in a cutesy seasonal romance.

Ben Gibson is an unlucky-in-love sweetheart in need of a woman to bring home for the holidays.

Together, they make a pact: Margot gets a blissful week away from London in a picture-perfect manor, in exchange for posing as Ben's girlfriend.

The story can only go one way. Margot is sure to fall in love for real.

And she does.

With Ben's sister, Ellie.

What could possibly go wrong?

Review:

I am loving festive romances at the minute and I'm sure we have all read our fair share of the fake dating trope where they go to one of their families homes for Christmas and end up falling in love for real.

The Christmas Swap is a slight twist on that. Ben is one of Margot's clients and she plays the role of doting girlfriend at Ben's family's country estate over Christmas. Ben doesn't want to be dealing with the questions about why he is still single in his mid-30s and Margot was due to go on holiday with her girlfriend but they have since broken up.

When they arrive at Ben's family home, his sister Ellie instantly thinks Margot is lying. She's heard hushed conversations and thinks that Margot may be a gold digger, not that they aren't really in a relationship. A romance does blossom between the two women and the whole story is just so interesting to read. Ellie's sleuthing and misunderstanding was brilliant to follow because you could absolutely see how it all made sense to her but was totally off the mark.

There is so much depth to both Ellie and Margot, and Margot's emotionally abusive past relationship was tackled really well. This is a really refreshing take on the fake dating trope!