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A review by amburhostyn
Offsetting Penalties by Ally Mathews
5.0
I'm a sucker for sports romances whether they're young adult, new adult, or straight-up adult! It's been a while since I've read a YA one though, so I was really excited to dive into OFFSETTING PENALTIES and when I'd finished, I was seriously on cloud nine! I thought that it was absolutely perfect! This book was everything that I could have hoped for it to be. Sweet, funny, and just so, so well done!
Garret and Isabelle were amazing! I loved seeing both of their family lives, and I really enjoyed seeing them get to know one another. :D Their romance was utterly adorable, and it developed at a wonderful pace. I thought it was realistic in the best possible way, and it gave me all the feels!
I honestly can't think of anything about this book that I didn't like. I thought that Isabelle was interesting, and her passion for dance and her dream of making it in the dancing world on her merit alone rather than based on her dad's money and prestige was extremely inspiring. And Garret...Garret is my new book boyfriend! He was generous, thoughtful, kind, and just like Isabelle, he was super passionate about his dreams. He was also willing to change his opinion about things and went into everything with an open mind which I thought was fabulous to see. The one sports romance trope that I'm mighty sick of is the one with the alpha male who's hyper masculine and kinda douchey...and Garret broke ALL of those tropes! Isabelle and Garret were both fantastic characters, and I loved that it was so easy to see how they connected and what they had in common! I think it was one of the best flushed out romances that I've ever read in a YA...it was fantastic! And the story was perfect! Super relevant to characters about to head into college, and super easy to look back on to relate to! I can already see myself rereading this one and that's not something I do very often anymore. ;)
Based on my very enthusiastic reaction towards Garret, Isabelle and their romance, it should come as no shock that I absolutely adored OFFSETTING PENALTIES! If you like adorable, swoony romances, definitely add this one to your to-read list! I think it's perfect for both YA and adult romance readers, and I hope anyone who picks it up enjoys it as much as I did! I love, love, loved OFFSETTING PENALTIES and I seriously cannot wait to read more of Ally Mathews's books after this!!!
Garret and Isabelle were amazing! I loved seeing both of their family lives, and I really enjoyed seeing them get to know one another. :D Their romance was utterly adorable, and it developed at a wonderful pace. I thought it was realistic in the best possible way, and it gave me all the feels!
I honestly can't think of anything about this book that I didn't like. I thought that Isabelle was interesting, and her passion for dance and her dream of making it in the dancing world on her merit alone rather than based on her dad's money and prestige was extremely inspiring. And Garret...Garret is my new book boyfriend! He was generous, thoughtful, kind, and just like Isabelle, he was super passionate about his dreams. He was also willing to change his opinion about things and went into everything with an open mind which I thought was fabulous to see. The one sports romance trope that I'm mighty sick of is the one with the alpha male who's hyper masculine and kinda douchey...and Garret broke ALL of those tropes! Isabelle and Garret were both fantastic characters, and I loved that it was so easy to see how they connected and what they had in common! I think it was one of the best flushed out romances that I've ever read in a YA...it was fantastic! And the story was perfect! Super relevant to characters about to head into college, and super easy to look back on to relate to! I can already see myself rereading this one and that's not something I do very often anymore. ;)
Based on my very enthusiastic reaction towards Garret, Isabelle and their romance, it should come as no shock that I absolutely adored OFFSETTING PENALTIES! If you like adorable, swoony romances, definitely add this one to your to-read list! I think it's perfect for both YA and adult romance readers, and I hope anyone who picks it up enjoys it as much as I did! I love, love, loved OFFSETTING PENALTIES and I seriously cannot wait to read more of Ally Mathews's books after this!!!