have mersey

Abby McIntyre got dumped by her fiancé and decided to take a big chance. She applied for a job on the other side of the world. Amazingly, Mersey Football Club decided to take a chance on her, and before Abby knew what was happening, she was in Liverpool, England, applying for a content creator job for a sport she knows nothing about. She’d been working in Boston with the Red Sox, but she wanted a big change.

After she squeaks through the interview, Abby meets a man in the parking lot who makes her laugh. And as she does research on the Mersey players, she finds out that he is Lachlan Ramsay, a Scottish midfielder who started his career at Mersey and is coming back after spending many years in Spain. With Abby new to the club and Lachlan back after many years, they fall into an easy friendship with good banter and a little flirting.

Lachlan’s skills on the pitch make him an easy leader to the younger players, and the older players are happy to have him back. And Abby is soaking it all in, learning as much as she can about the players and the sport as quickly as possible. Her best friends back in Boston sent her a list of things to do to help heal her heart, body, and soul, and she picks things here and there to try out. But when she comes home one day to find her flatmate spending time with her boyfriend on Abby’s bed, Abby decides it’s time to find a new place to live.

Lachlan has a large penthouse apartment all to himself, and he insists that Abby move into his guest room. Abby is concerned, as she finds herself developing warm feelings for him, and not only is she still recovering from her heartbreak, Lachlan is married. His wife wanted to stay in Spain instead of moving back to Liverpool, so while Abby toys with the idea they might be splitting up, there is nothing official. And back when she was interviewing for the job with the team, her boss was very clear that she was not interested in any candidate who wanted to be a WAG (wives and girlfriends). So Abby has to make sure not to cross any lines or there could be penalties. Big penalties.

But the more time Abby and Lachlan spend together, the closer they get. They talk, they laugh, they flirt. Abby knows she is dancing close to danger, but she can’t stop herself. By putting her heart in the game, Abby is taking a big chance. But will it mean that she wins the life she wants, or will she lose it all?

Abby Offsides is a debut novel that blends witty banter, soccer scenes, and a friends-to-potential lovers romance with perfection. Author Anna McCallie plays to win with this lovable story that takes us to the other side of the world through a broken heart. I am a big soccer nerd, so as soon as I saw this book, I knew I wanted to read it. But you don’t have to be a soccer lover to read this book—Abby herself isn’t a fan of soccer in the beginning, so you will fit right in.

I loved the friendship between Lachlan and Abby. They have an easy connection, and their witty conversations are on fire. But I also appreciate Abby’s full journey, how she makes mistakes at work and in her relationships, and she works to fix those mistakes. She is intentional in her healing from heartbreak, and I think that’s fantastic. It’s good to see her friends support her and call her out, and their ideas for getting her out of her apartment could be a helpful guide for anyone recovering from heartbreak. This is a story that will linger in my thoughts, and I will keep supporting Mersey FC next season.

Egalleys for Abby Offsides were provided by Dell through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.