OFF HER GAME (Texas Highlanders Ice Hockey #1) by Suzan Butler-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 25, 2013

Penalty Number One: Men

Making time for men and relationships doesn’t fit into former social worker Valerie Chase’s game plan. This crisis counselor turned cocktail waitress knows the score, though. Part of her would love to indulge in a little side action, especially when a certain hunky hockey player demands attention, but she’s far too responsible to let herself get wild and crazy.

Penalty Number Two: Desire

Darren Moran’s good lucks and deadly determination make him a fan favorite. He‘s always wanted to play hockey and does it well. After the last season’s disaster, the last thing he needs is to let some woman crawl under his skin and distract him. But… Valerie is different. She’s his good luck charm. She makes him play the best he’s ever played and he’s not about to lose her, even if it means incurring penalties by encroaching on Valerie’s personal life.

Penalty Number Three: Passion

When the two take the game to the next level, Val’s got to call a timeout. An unplanned romance is a game-thrower, a sinful temptation that neither of them can afford. After all, there’s no way to have order in matters of the heart when the penalties tally up to an ejection from the game

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REVIEW: OFF HER GAME is the first storyline in Suzan Butler’s new Texas Highlanders Ice Hockey series focusing on the men who play professional hockey and the women they love. Suzan also includes a variety of secondary characters including team owners, bar managers, ex-wives and lovers as well as a multitude of family members, patrons and fans.

Off Her Game focuses on Valerie Chase, a part time waitress and full time counselor at a shelter for at-risk teens. But when she is suddenly laid off from her counseling job due to cut-backs, Val is at risk to lose everything when money becomes tight. And to complicate matters, she is attracted to professional hockey player Darren Moran, whose divorce just became final. Val isn’t in the mood to become Darren’s rebound relationship but she continues to send mixed signals even once their relationship passes friendship to lovers.

I did have one complaint in this particular storyline and that was the mixed signals Valerie continued to give-off. One moment she was hot and the next she was cold-all within a matter of minutes. She would refuse Darren’s advances then she would be upset when he refused to play the game. The reader is taken on a roller coaster ride of one character’s inability to acknowledge her true feelings and in doing so amped up my anxiety level. At one point I hoped Darren dumped her a** for good but Darren was a man in love and believed Val was his personal good luck charm both on and off the ice.

If you are a fan of hard-hitting sports heroes and beautiful heroines, Off Her Game is the perfect match. There is a potential for several more storylines especially for one bar owner in particular. Let’s hope everyone gets the HEA they deserve.

Copy supplied by author.

Reviewed by Sandy