This was the type of book that you could take with you to the pool or beach and read.

It was fun an engaging and I really enjoyed it

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 when I received an e-arc of this book and even more excited after having finished it, because wow, this was a wonderful read and everything I could've hoped for!

I loved Isabelle and Garret. Such wonderful main characters. They were both super interesting and then they also had a truly beautiful developing romance. It was sweet, funny and adorable and I loved spending every single second reading this book. This book has so many things I loved in a sports romance; a wonderful romance, interesting characters and character development, a good set of supportive characters and an addictive writing style which made this a book that I never wanted to put down.

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 cannot wait to read more of Ally Mathews's books!

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

As soon as I saw this book, I immediately saw similarities with the first Step Up film, and knew I needed to read it. Isabella is a ballerina, and she's been practising for the upcoming fall production when the only male ballerina drops out, and she's left wondering what to do. This is her chance to become a true, prima ballerina, and she needs a partner to help her. While in the studio practising one day, Izzy notices the biggest jock in school, Garret, wearing tights and stretching in the next studio. Thinking he may be her hope, she records his practises, and sort of blackmails him in helping her. No one really knows that Garret has been doing ballet for a while, but when he hears that it is a great warm up for football, and his biggest dream is getting a football scholarship, he's willing to try anything, especially after being injured. When Izzy approaches him, he's reluctant, because no matter what, he isn't about to be seen on stage, performing, in tights. Can Izzy persuade him to help?

This book was swoony and so good. Both of the characters were fabulous, and well rounded, and I especially liked how Izzy, though she came from money, didn't want to use that to get forward, and wanted to use her own capabilities and merit to succeed. She's not the usual kind of preppy girl, rather a bit of a goth and a rebel, and her and Garret's interactions were so snarky, and swoony. Garret is from the complete opposite background, where the only way out of town, and away from his alcoholic father, is through a scholarship, and that's everything he has set his sights on. While at first he doesn't want to help Izzy, if he does, it helps him keep in shape, and could allow his little sister to take ballet lessons, something they really can't afford right now. Garret and Izzy's relationship together was perfect for this book, and the perfect read.

I finally got round to reading this novel, at first I was a bit apprehensive - however after the 3rd chapter I was gripped! Fantastic build of romance, and I really enjoyed reading it.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book which I received
through Netgalley.
A sweet and lovely story

(Source: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley, Entangled Publishing, LLC, Crush and Ally Mathews.)

“I still can’t believe it. The Untouchable is a blackmailer.”

I really really enjoyed reading this book. The story was fun, cute and light. The plot, or maybe I should say characters' circumstance reminded me a lot of Step Up, which I used to love *cough* Channing Tatum *cough* Poor boy, rich dancer girl... However, it did not annoy me, since I loved it.

“That right there? That was all you. I would never have made that catch, and we would’ve lost if it wasn’t for you.” Then he kissed her until she was dizzy, and everything around them disappeared and it was just the two of them.”

I would say this was one of the few books where the main heroine did not annoy me and that I was KIND OF annoyed with out hero, even though understandable. See, Isabelle was rich, yes, but she was a hard-worker. Meanwhile Garret was a guy fighting for a chance to get a scholarship and go to college, despite his fathers opposition. Both fought for their dream, and worked hard to achieve them, however, I did not like that Garret was throwing the money fact at her face EVERY SINGLE TIME. Although, he never created drama out of it, and there was next to no drama between them or their relationship, which made me love this story so much.

Overall, I read it when I needed a lightness and positivity in my life and this book provided it!

Cute and fun read! Quick read when you're looking for something easy to pick up. Sweet characters and fun interactions

This book was a cute fast read, like all of Entangled Teens books tend to be. Izzy really wants to perform in the fall production but has no one to dance with. Garret needs to take ballet lessons to help him recover after a football injury. Izzy decides to blackmail Garret to help her and she would in turn help him, eventually she does feel guilty and stops blackmailing him and they work out an arraignment. I appreciate that part of the book as I feel if it had continued as a blackmail plot I don’t know if I would’ve been able to like Izzy all that much. I do feel like the books conclusion was a little too quick and kind of abrupt. But it wasn’t a bad book and I would recommend it if you’re looking for a quick read that will leave with a happy feeling.

I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was a great light, fluffy contemporary. I love reading books with a romance full of banter. Sports romances are my guilty pleasure, so if you are looking for fun story about a ballerina and a football player I highly recommend checking out Offsetting Penalties.

Sonya's Stuff Review:

This young adult romance involves an aspiring football player and an aspiring ballet dancer. They’re thrown together when our hero – recovering from an injury – is encouraged to take up ballet to help with his football – his flexibility in particular.
Unlike most young adult books I’ve read recently, this one was written in the third person.
I like books where the characters have particular ambitions and talents they’re working with. I didn’t have a normal childhood or adolescence, with everyone in my family involved either in the theatre or elite sport, and I’m always going to pick up a book with these themes.
It seems the author knows a thing or two about American football, but not enough about ballet to convince me. As you would expect, I know NOTHING about American football (other than that they wear scaffolding when they play!), but it seems she did a good job with that aspect of the book.
The heroine starts off highly unlikeable, blackmailing the hero into dancing with her by filming him in the ballet studio and threatening to show it at school. Nobody who does ballet would ever do anything like this. I knew guys who kept their ballet lives a secret, and not even the meanest person at the studio would have been awful enough to do what she did.
Thankfully, the nastiness is resolved fairly fast, because I wouldn’t have been able to keep reading otherwise.
Now, I’m always going to be nitpicky with the ballet, and it’s no different here. I’ll just mention three things, though:
#1 It’s a ballet barre, not a “bar”, as it is referred to a number of times. You hold it; you don’t drink at it!
#2 I was horrified by the personal “ballet” lessons the hero received. Ballet is dance, not “stretching”. The guy walked into the studio cold, and with zero warmup was stretching beyond his (very limited) capabilities. A guy who can’t bend to touch his knees has no business throwing a leg up on a barre over a metre high.
This wasn’t ballet; it was muscle-tearing!
#3 No, people don’t wear princess costumes to ballet class!
Entangled’s Crush line is category romance for teens, so this is a shortish read, where the action moves along at a pretty fast pace. Offsetting Penalties is a decent little read to pass an afternoon – just don’t nitpick like me!

Natalia Heaney Review:

Offsetting Penalties is a sweet high school romance dealing with an aspiring footballer and an aspiring ballerina, with a “wrong side of the tracks” theme.
Our heroine does something that isn’t particularly nice – blackmail! – in order to get our clueless hero to dance with her in a ballet performance. Anyone who’s ever done ballet knows how hard it is to find enough guys for shows. They usually have to be recruited from other areas.
While I found some of the dance scenes a bit odd (there was a lot of random stretching before the poor guy even learnt the first thing about ballet!), it’s nice to see books where teenagers train hard to achieve a near-impossible dream.

I was unable to read the novel as it was archived two weeks after I had downloaded it, unfortunately. However, I was truly interested and will look for the novel elsewhere, and read it.

Overall cute story about the gothic prima ballerina who isn’t above blackmailing to get her way. And a poor down on his luck football player who is forced to take ballet to help recover from an injury.
The chemistry between them was palpable and intriguing and I enjoyed watching them fill the missing pieces in each other.
The ending disappointed a bit not knowing what happens after high school, but for a YA it was a cute story.

***I received this book through Netgalley for an honest review***

Unfortunately, I did not make it very far into this book. I just couldn't get into the characters or their motivation. Isabelle films Garrett at ballet class and then blackmails him into dancing with her at the big showcase. First of all, why would she want to dance with him? He's literally never done ballet before and this is his first class. Also, someone will definitely see him dancing at the showcase and tell people about it, defeating the whole point. Also also, I don't understand why he cares so much to keep it a big secret. The coach asked him to do it and it will make his game better. Maybe 20 years ago, a high school boy would not want anyone to know, but now, It felt a little old-fashioned for him to act "ashamed" about it. A high school boy now would talk all his friends into doing it too, so they could hang out together. Then, they would take it way too seriously and blow everybody away at the showcase and then they'd win the big game and he'd get the football scholarship.

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!!!

**I received and e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Entangled Teen!**

This is a good and light read. I liked it, but I don't recommend you to expect anything incredible or super original. However, if you are looking for an enjoyable plot, with an intense romance and many scenes of dance rehearsals, then this novel is for you.

Our main characters and narrators are Izzy and Garret. Izzy belongs to a rich family and is used to being called 'the Untouchable' at high school, even though deep down it really hurts her. She loves dancing, she is determined to dance with one of the best ballet schools in the world, but first she has to solve a tiny problem: she needs to find a male substitute to play the part of the prince in her performance. Garret loves football above all and is determined to get a college scholarship. He belongs to a very humble family, that is why he is so hardworking. Suddenly the coach encourages him to take ballet lessons in order to improve his flexibility and he ends up being blackmailed by 'the Untouchable'.

As I see it, the characters in this novel are acceptable, rather clichéd in terms of rich-girl-poor-boy and ballerina-girl-football-boy, but with a lot of potential. The first part of the book was incredibly catching, especially the scenes where Izzy teaches Garret the basics of ballet. There was a lot of tension between them and you could feel it through the pages. The way they touched their bodies, moved or just stared one another... It was beautifully described. As I continued reading I loved to know more about their personalities, their tastes and manias, but at some point they stopped gaining depth. I am not going to say they are unround characters, instead I am saying that I wanted them to be a little bit more round. In the same way, I wanted more scenes about dancing -that was one of the reasons I requested this book, because I like dancing- for in the end there were not many.

The end is predictable in a sense, and yet I enjoyed it. Again, I wish the story had had more subplots or plot twists, that would have turned this novel in a really especial one. The style of the writer is simple, perfect for new readers or readers that just want to break away from reality.

Offsetting Penalties by Ally Mathews is a contemporary novel about opposites attracting. A ballerina in need of a partner and a footballer not wanting to be ousted taking ballet find themselves in a tenuous partnership as they try to reach their goals: one earning a spot with the prestigious Ballet Americana Company and the other a college football scholarship.

Isabelle Oster has always wanted to be a prima ballerina. The fall production at her ballet studio is her chance to audition for Ballet Americana especially if she can show her partner work. However, when the male dancer in her ballet studio's fall production is unable to dance with her Isabelle needs a partner and quick. Completely at a loss and grasping for ideas when she spies Garret Mitchell, high-school tight-end, taking private ballet lessons the idea of him being her partner is too tempting to pass up and she's even desperate to resort to a little blackmail.

Garrett Mitchell needs a football scholarship if he wants to get out of Texas and away from taking over his father's salvage yard. After recovering from a foot injury, his football coach recommends taking ballet classes to improve his game. Reluctantly he does, as long as it's a secret, however that secret doesn't stay hidden for long when the Goth girl from his high school Isabelle Oster catches him. Soon he is finds himself being blackmailed to making a deal with Isabelle, where she'll help him learn ballet to improve his football and he'll partner with her for her performance. Then when she shows him what he'd have to wear?!...What has he gotten himself into?

Offsetting Penalties by Ally Mathews is a very sweet, fun, humorous, and downright enjoyable novel about two people who seem to come from two different worlds, but are very similar. Both Isabelle and Garrett are great characters who both have similar issues with their fathers. Besides the issues with their fathers and trying to obtain their separate goals, what really filled this story was Garrett learning ballet. I liked Ms. Mathews use of terminology and phrases. It made me feel like I was learning along with Garrett, which I enjoyed. I also think that Isabelle and Garrett are perfect together. The build-up of their relationship was so adorable especially with the banter and Garrett making Isabelle blush during ballet lessons because of how she phrased directions she usually gives to a child in her children's dance class, like pointing "headlights". The ending is really cute!

Overall, Offsetting Penalties by Ally Mathews was an entertaining and purely enjoyable. I would very much recommend and look forward to reading more by this author.

(I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book I received for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open and honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.)

Offsetting Penalties is a young adult sports romance by author Ally Mathews. Offsetting Penalties was a very quick, cute read. I enjoyed it a lot, but I do wish it was a little longer. It felt a bit rushed in terms of plot development because of the short length, but the storyline was adorable and the romance was smile worthy. Overall, it was a cute read.

Offsetting Penalties is told in dual narrative between our two main characters, Izzy and Garret. Garret is the star football player that suffered an injury sometime before the book started. He had to have surgery and his coach is a little concerned with his range of movement in his foot, so he signs him up for ballet lessons to improve his flexibility. Izzy is a self imposed school outcast, which she has her own reasons for (and we learn more about them as the book goes on, which I loved) and ballet dancer. Izzy was a surprisingly big personality for me; one that I really enjoyed. She is sassy and unafraid to go after what she wants. For example, from the very moment she saw Garret in the ballet studio her mind was spinning for ways that she could use him to get what she wanted. What she wanted happened to be a male dance partner who could help her with an upcoming dance show. Insert some light blackmail and you have the start of what turned out to be a beautiful relationship with Izzy and Garret.

That was both what I loved and didn’t love about this book. Everything happened fast. It was injury, ballet lessons, blackmail and then partnership…one right after the other. So, on one hand, it was great because the fast pace kept the book interesting and moving along, but on the other hand, I kind of wish that the book was a little bit longer. I was enjoying the characters and their interaction so much that I wanted more.

Bottom line: Offsetting Penalties was a quick, cute read. I really enjoyed both Izzy and Garret and their romance was adorable, The book was a bit too short for my liking and it did feel a little bit rushed in parts, but overall it was a fun read.

3.5stars
It is YA contemporary romance story between two completely different persons although bot into sport. It is that just one is rich and dances ballet the other is poor and plays Football. And sport is what draws them together for better agility Garrets starts taking ballet lessons. For Izzy ballet is her whole life and she will do anything to become a ballerina even blackmailing a football player into dancing with her. So they start they unusually relationship from fake to real. Will love be enough? Both Izzi and Garrett are motivated persons and wanting to prove themselves they have a lot in common even if it doesn't seem on a first sight. They are both interesting well develop, are they selfish I don't know I didn't decide that yet. In the end, they both proved me wrong.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgelly

Offsetting Penalties by Ally Mathews is a swoon-worthy book also I can say both of the main characters are so cute together and a very light and quick reading. A sweet love between a ballerina and a football player that start off not quick good at first but throughout the story, they start to fond of each other.

The Characters

Izzy/Isabelle - She is a senator's daughter who is rich but a humble person. She might be dressing up like goth style just because she wanted people in school to back from her, I mean she wants people befriended her because of they really want to be her friends not because of who her dad is and she thinks that by dressing up like that she can find a true friends which she did. Many people do not know that she is a ballerina. A sweet ballerina whose is 180 degrees different from who she is when in school. There is only one thing I do not like about her is that she is a bit selfish, other than that, she is a good nice girl.

Garret - Well, as for Garret, a football's team captain. He is not from a well-off family. They struggle to find money to pay bills, foods and everything but they are very close to each other especially his mom and his sister except his dad is an alcoholic and he is not supported his son, Garret further his study into a higher level which saddens him. Anyway, things happened, he's got injured during the play and after gone some healing his coach suggests Garret take ballet dance lesson for his own good especially his flexibility.

So, when the first two met at Izzy's ballet dance class, the two of them does not start off good because Izzy blackmails him. She is so desperate to find a dance partner that she made that decision without thinking much which lead Garret feeling mad at her but luckily it does not last long. Though I didn't feel them start as an enemy at all because they are not really portray their characters as an enemy which I mean, the arguments were not as intense as what should enemy does.

And I find that when something occurs right before the dance, Izzy, she becomes a selfish person when an opportunity for Garret's pop up and he needs to go there for his future sake but somehow Izzy is afraid that dance will not accept her to be part of the company when Garret has to back off. but a miracle is always there when you thought you have lost hope.

Overall, it's a nice, sweet story but only and if only, the ending is not too fast it should be more wonderful because you know, I need more details before the ending. Anyway, I'm satisfied and I definitely love the story. A sweet love story between two sports person - A Ballet dancer and a football player.