He’s the beast, and she’s the beauty of his past.After twelve years in the league, all Zach Murphy wants is a Championship ring. His focus has been on hard hits–not smooth manners; about breaking quarterbacks–not making small talk at cocktail parties. After dumping a tray of drinks on the team owner’s daughter and accidentally feeling up the governor’s wife, his tenure with his team looks … team looks perilously short.
Kelsie Carrington-Richmond knows what it’s like to fall from grace. A onetime beauty pageant star and former high-school mean girl, she’s now destitute and one step from living out of her car. With few real job skills, she focuses on starting her new business, Charm School for Real Men. She’s thrilled to land her first clients, the Seattle Steelheads, who have hired her to polish their roughest player.
Except…it’s Zach. The same guy whose broken heart she left in her wake when she was still a mean girl. He’s just the beast she remembers—but she’s nothing like the beauty queen she once was.
Can they get beyond their pasts? Or will they both find themselves offsides?
Previously published as Down by Contact in 2013. This version has been updated, re-written, and re-edited.
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**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title in exchange for an honest review**
Offsides is a enemies-to-lovers romance in Jami Davenport’s Seattle Steelheads series and there is nothing that gives you all the feels more than a romance like this.
Zach Murphy has been playing professional football for the last twelve years. During that time, he’s worked to get to where he is after overcoming a not so wonderful childhood and some high school experiences he would rather forget ever happened. During this time, the one thing that Zach seemed to lose were his manners and his sense of judgement, which has put him in precarious positions many times. Now he finds himself in trouble with team management and a makeover of his image is the only thing that is going to keep him on the team.
Kelsie Carrington-Richmond is trying to start over. After escaping an abusive marriage, she’s moved to Seattle to try to start a new life. One of the things she’s trying to get off the ground is her business where she helps rehabilitate images. She ends up connecting with Steelheads management and is given her first client, which happens to be Zach. What management doesn’t know, is that these two have quite a history.
When Zach and Kelsie realize they will be working together, there is no love lost on either side. Both of them harbor resentment from high school and neither is happy that their livelihoods are dependent on one another. The question is, as they spend more time together will the ice between them melt or will those walls continue to stay sky high?
There was quite a bit of angst and drama in this book as these two make their way. Their history made them each defensive from the get-go. Kelsie was the person that had broken Zach’s heart and she isn’t ready to deal with how her actions years before affected many things in Zach’s life. Overall, this is a romance that has a bit of everything and should be enjoyed by all.
Kelsie and Zach met in high school where Kelsie was the mean girl and Zach had a traumatic childhood. Years later, Zach has turned his life into success while Kelsie has now become down on her luck. When the two meet again, the resentment is great for Zach while the regret is great for Kelsie. When the two are somehow paired to work together, Zach is determined to make it as hard as possible for her, while Kelsie is determined to make it work to get her life back on the right track. When the past and the time in between come to light, the question of if the two continue the relationship they’ve built will continue. I was so happy to find that you didn’t have to read the previous books to understand this one! I love that while this is part of a series it can be read as a standalone. I really felt the emotion off the pages in regards to Zach’s past and it made me really feel for him. As for the storyline, it was pretty straightforward and for the most part knew what to expect. I’ve read a few of Jami’s books in the past and enjoy her style of writing, so I can’t wait to continue this series!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
I wanted to smack Zack across the face for how he treated Kelsie. I mean, I do understand why he had such animosity toward her and how he could not see passed the past he had with her, but still. While she knows she hurt him back then, she doesn’t find out the extent until much later. They both have a long road to travel, but it’s worth it for them in the end. Great story!
For the last twelve years Zach Murphy has been so wrapped up in winning a Super Bowl that he has let it cloud his better judgement, and let his manners slip. Which in turn has created a lot of uncomfortable situations… ones that are coming back to bite him now. His antics have caused management to question whether they want him on the team, so they issue an ultimatum clean up your image, or your gone.
He wants that Superbowl ring, wants to keep his spot on the team, and he’s desperate to prove his worth to the team owner… he will do whatever it takes to redeem himself in their eyes. Even if it means re-connecting with a woman that crushed him years ago, and putting his livelihood in her hands!
Offsides is a dramatic and angst ridden enemies-to-lovers tale that’ll have you smothered in feels from beginning to end. These two had history, the painful kind, the kind that had them both come out swinging the moment they were thrown back into one another’s lives. With defenses high, painful memories resurfacing, it made it hard for them to focus on what was important… their futures. Zach wasn’t prepared to see the woman who broke his heart, and Kelsie wasn’t ready to deal with the fallout from her past actions, but what choice did they have? These two brought serious torture to the pages, their demons fought them at every turn, and their distaste for one another clouded their judgement at times, I had my doubts that they would every be able to find happiness. But they eventually did, they just had to wreck my heart before they did it! I loved every word of this one, it was engaging, heartfelt, emotional, and steamy… everything you could possibly want in a romance!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.
Offsides is an okay enemies to lovers sports read. This story has footballer Zach who’ll do anything to get a ring, and that includes attending charm school given by the person he hates most Kelsie. The story was okay for the most part, but I didn’t feel a connection between the characters. I did like the secondary characters especially Tyler. I have read this author before and I enjoyed her stories, but as we all know we can’t love them all.
Kelsie Carrington Richmond & Zach Murphy have a past, not a good past but when they meet again during an unwelcome circumstance can they move past it all and look forward or will they be stuck in the past.
Kelsie is down on her luck and Zach doesn’t seem to have any luck. Careers on the line, they both seem to have a lot to prove to not only each other but others that are counting on them but can past hurts overcome it all. They will go through a rollercoaster of emotions, but you can’t help cheer them on with every turn of the page to see that she can become The Beauty to His Beast.