Offside (Vancouver Vikings, #1)

by Sierra Hill

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Lately I have been in the mood for some feel good sports romance. So when Offside came on my radar, I jumped at the chance to read it. This is the first book in the Vancouver Vikings series, and it served as my introduction to the work of Sierra Hill. An author whose work I would definitely read again given the chance. Offside delivered an entertaining and steamy second chance. age-gap romance set in the world of hockey.


Before diving into Offside, readers receives a treat. Details of what transpired between Karris and Ballas six months prior to the events of Offside are provided. This allows readers to see how intense and off the charts was their chemistry was from the outset. It was a treat getting to know these two.

At the beginning of Offside, Karris reluctantly embraces her role as the new owner of the NHL team her uncle used to own. This is in addition to the NBA team she already owns. It so happens that Ballas a veteran player is a member of the NHL team, thus making Karris his boss. Awkward!  Especially in light of how things went down between them six months ago.

Hockey is Ballas's life, and the thought of giving it up scared him. He can't imagine a life without hockey, despite the signals his body emitted telling him the time to quit is near.  His determination to stay in the sport left him without a clue as to the direction his life would take when he had no choice but to quit the thing he loved. However, when a devastating injury on the ice left him out of commission for several days and after several antagonistic moments,  he begrudgingly accepted that a change was needed.

Karis and Ballas's relationship started out with a one-night stand. Karis had hope for more, especially when he provided her with comfort during a most difficult time in her life.  Now, Ballas is a serial one night stander. So his reaction to Karis scared him and has him running in the opposite direction.  However, as fate would have it, she was now his boss. This led to some interesting and fun moments between the two.

Ballas behaves as one would expect of someone who not only fears a committed relationship but dreads giving up a career they spent most of their life in.  The way he flirts with Karis will have you smiling. There were moments where he acted like an ass where Karis is concerned, which led to some serious grovelling on his part. I loved that he wasn't afraid to grovel.

Karis shows how well she coped in a male dominated field. One can understand her reason for not wanting the role, given how she was unexpectedly thrust into the position. However, she handled it like a pro. She didn't shy away from making hard decisions.

The author dived into the world of hockey by giving readers a look from both the athletes and management perspective. It was refreshing to see emphasis being played on the sport from the games, the injuries, management decisions and everything from that world to include the arrogance and entitled actions of persons within the industry.

Offside set the bar for the remainder of the series. Fans of romance will want to pick this one up.This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading