Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway: Off the Record by Sawyer Bennett

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Title: Off the Record (Off Sides #3)
Author: Sawyer Bennett
Pages: 236 pages
Format acquired: eBook (ePub)
Publisher: Big Dog Books
Publication date: June 8th 2013
Source: Received from tour host (Thanks, AToMR Book Blog Tours and Sawyer!)
Buy the book: Amazon



The sparks of dislike burn hot, but the sparks of mutual attraction burn even hotter.

Ever Montgomery suffered the ultimate betrayal by the one man who she should have been able to count on for anything. It has left her hurt, jaded, and incapable of forming relationships, but it also means that she can spot a liar a mile away. These traits are earning her a reputation as a reporter with a keen nose for a good story and a complete understanding of the extreme power of the written word.

Lincoln Caldwell is the hot goalie for the New York Rangers. At twenty-four and a rising star, he works hard and he plays even harder. He’s gorgeous and carefree—the ultimate charmer. Ladies fall at his feet and the single life has never been lived the way Linc Caldwell does it.

When Ever publishes an article about Linc containing information that she received off the record, she finds herself on the receiving end of the athlete’s fury. Rather than basking in the glory of exposing Linc as a shameless user of women, she finds herself at his mercy when he demands and receives retribution. Required by her editor to trail Linc for six weeks, Ever is forced to look at the real Linc Caldwell.

And she just might find that she has misjudged him.

(Image and summary provided by AToMR Book Blog Tours.)

Review:

When I signed up for the tour, I didn't know that Off the Record was actually the third book of the series so I ended up reading the first two before continuing on with this one. I really enjoyed the first two, like, immensely enjoyed them but I couldn't help but feel neutral with this one. Off the Record was mediocre for me while I expected it to be more especially with the way Sawyer Bennett described and talked about Lincoln, I really liked him in this book but there was just something lacking. Don't worry though, he wasn't the main reason I didn't completely enjoy the book.

The biggest contradiction in this book, for me, was Ever. Ever is introduced as a steel-hearted and ruthless journalist who doesn't let anyone affect her in any way, but she apparently has a "vulnerable" side too. Ever has to be one of the most confusing people I have ever read about. She instantly judges Lincoln after hearing some scandalous stuff about him after just spending some time with him. She's not supposed to care whether something did happen anyway she is, after all, "detached", right? I felt that Ever was really irrational and I didn't understand what would spur her to write such a hurtful and rude article about him. It's not like he even did anything and being a journalist, she's suppose to know not to always listen to what you hear. Yeah, she saw him with a girl... and? She didn't really have any right to judge him in the first place anyway. *sigh* I'm sorry for the rant but I just felt so frustrated while I was reading the book. Thank God she got better as the book went on! I didn't love her but she was tolerable, her issues weren't really issues. Like, people have been through worse things than she did to not trust men. All she ended up doing was to push everyone else away and she really needed to get over that. It was kind of sad that all the resolution happened really near the end though, so don't expect any "than God" moments till you get to the last few chapter. *throws hands up*

Linc. Oh, Linc. What a poor fellow. If only you had fallen in love with me, your life would have been easier. I really thought that Lincoln's full appeal wasn't really tapped in this book. He wasn't particularly exciting compared to the first two male protags from the previous books. He was just lacking something that they had (yes, he had the sex appeal down.) Lincoln spent most of the book trying to hate on Ever and impress her at the same time and I guess there wasn't really enough space for the reader to get to know him, and he doesn't really have a backstory either, compared to the other two. He really needed to stand out and be more amazing than the first two so that the readers won't compare him to either Ryan and Nix. But oh well, I still liked him. I'm going to be honest and say that I objectified him a lot. #SorryImNotSorry

I was left with an okay book and a slightly unsatisfied appetite. I wanted an adult meal but got a Happy Meal instead but hey, at least I got a toy out of it! I'm still a fan of Sawyer Bennett because one book isn't going to define her awesome writing and I'm still going to patiently wait for her next book to come out (Off Course) and yay, it's about a rockstar! Swoon.

Rating:

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About the author:

Sawyer Bennett is the pen name for a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. She is married to a mobster (well, a market researcher) and they have two big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn't have many weakness but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.

You can find her here:

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