Offside by Shay Savage
YA Mature/Contemporary Romance
E book
August 3, 2014
Self Published

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “All the worlds a stage…”

Offside-Law 11-Players in an offside position when the ball is touched or played by a teammate, may not become actively involved in the play.

I enjoy Savage’s works. Though her stories are publicly acknowledged fan-fic, they are enjoyable. My first time reading Shay Savage was Transcendence. A time travel romance that was delightfully unique and dare I say, cute. Her Ethan Aden trilogy is a whirlwind mobster suspense romance that provides us with a dark and violent anti-hero whose redemption comes to him in the form of an abused young woman.

Offside is a mature YA that builds a high school angst tinged, over the top, drama filled emotional romance between a chauvinistic, obnoxious, narcissistic high school soccer star and a new student who fails to appreciate his “obvious” charms. Told from the hero’s point of view, Savage tells a story of love, loss, pain, and redemption. Dry wit and humorous scenes are injected randomly, giving some lighthearted moments to buffer against the more somber elements that weave their way in and out of the storyline. Smooth pacing and personable characters make for simplistic reading. The strong Twilight base was far more visual in here than any of her other books.

The story starts out slow as Savage introduces us to the main characters, highlighting the antagonism and their differences while setting up the storyline. Thomas Malone is the ‘man” at his high school and he makes sure no one ever forgets that. He has no choice. Gorgeous, rich, smart, and a talented athlete, the girls all want to be with him and the boys all just want to be him. But behind all his posturing, Thomas has problems that he wouldn’t wish on his worse enemies. His life of privilege has caused him to become jaded…until he meets Nicole. The one girl who doesn’t fall at his feet. The one girl who isn’t interested in his money, his fame, his body, or his social status. The one girl who doesn’t seem to want anything to do with him at all.

Nicole has come to live with her father for her senior year. Starting a new school with some secrets of her own, her first meeting with Thomas is less than stellar. He runs into her, literally, then yells at her for being in his way.  Let’s just say she’s not impressed. When he finds out they are in biology together (sounds familiar?) the games begin. Thomas engages in some light flirting and stalking to gain her attention. It doesn’t take long before Nicole begins to see the real Thomas buried beneath the different roles he is forced to play.

Here is where the similarities to Twilight first start. They are reluctant biology partners. Nicole’s father is the town sheriff and he has “issues” with the Malones, especially Thomas. Nicole does all the cooking, her mother is a free spirit, and she has a crappy car. She is Bella even though I didn’t see much of Edward in Thomas beyond being secretive. I did like Nicole overall because her development is tailored to mesh with Thomas and Shay builds her for us to like her. She is not a pushover or over drama queen and seems to have a good level head on her shoulders but overall I found she paled against Thomas. This may also be a result of the story being written from Thomas’s pov.

Savage does well combining the dynamics of the story with the slow evolving romance and character growth. We see Thomas’s evolution from cretin to gentleman the more time he spends with Nicole and her father. He sees what a real family is like as his own is fractured. Being in a real honest relationship is new for Thomas so he screws up a lot, but you can see him trying to make it work. My heart broke for him once we learn the reasons behind the attitude we saw in the beginning. The Malone household is filled with secrets that only get worse as the story progresses.

Sexually, Savage paints some combustible steamy chemistry between Thomas and Nicole, offering lots of sexual tension, dirty talk, and a few “relief” moments. She doesn’t shy away from her characters engaging in sexual congress but she also doesn’t offer them up for shock or titillation.

The ending is an overly melodramatic affair that is typical of teen romance and uses a predictable trope to allow our hero and heroine to find their happily ever. Regardless of some filler, lag times, and the Twilight theme, Shay Savage writes an entertaining romance contemporary that fans of Travis Maddox, Mason Kade, and Remington Tate will surely enjoy.

Rating: C+

 Goodreads I Author Website

Amazon I Barnes and Noble