I really enjoyed L.E. Royal's last book, Never Knew Until You, in fact it's one of my favorite books, so I was super excited to get into this one. I finished it a couple of days ago but wasn't ready to write a review as soon as I was done. I needed some time to think about the book as a whole. First, there is no way to compare this book to Never Knew, they are two completely different plots. I like the fact that this author wrote a character with Cerebral Palsy was a main character. I give the author a lot of credit for doing this as many authors would be too afraid. Elena's character on the outside to the rest of the world is an Ice Queen but deep down she's a big softie with a lot of love to give. The scene where Maya and Elena met for the first time as absolutely cringe worthy, but so good! Maya's back story was an interesting one and I couldn't help rooting for her to get custody of Livvie. Elena and Maya's relationship was a complex to say the least. Elena's disability caused her to have a lot of trouble letting someone in and she was often inclined to pushing Maya away. Maya's love for Elena was apparent as she tried to learn as much as she could about CP, especially about Elena's type of CP. She wanted to help her girlfriend no matter what and most of the time Elena balked at the help....to proud to take it (which is understandable). The author tried to weave in control/power play into the bedroom scenes, which honestly, I didn't feel really fit into the plot that well. Elena and Maya were a lot but I was rooting for them to stop being so immature and find their way back to one another. Overall this was a good book that is entertaining with some plot elements that many other books of this genre don't have.

DNF 44% but I’m counting this as read and I enjoyed what I read. I’m just having trouble staying engaged in contemporary once the couple is together, so rather than force myself to keep reading and potentially get <I>too</I> bored, I’m stopping at what I consider happy ending.

Maya is in her early 20s and is a single mom, though she doesn’t have custody of her three-year-old daughter because while she was pregnant, Livvie’s grandfather got Maya arrested on drug possession charges and gained custody after her birth. Livvie is Maya’s whole word and she’s doing her best to her life together so she can gain custody of Livvie.

In that process, Maya gets a job at The Mars Fund and meets Elena Mars. Elena has cerebral palsy and comes across as very cold at times, but when Robert brings Livvie to Maya’s job early one day, Maya sees the softer side of Elena when she plays tea party the rest of the day. There was immediate aesthetic and sexual attraction on Maya’s part, but seeing Elena with her daughter is the beginning of softer feelings.

This isn’t one of the best romances I’ve read, and maybe a little more focused on attraction than feelings, but I do love the interactions between Maya and Elena over the course of the book, especially scenes with Livvie. I love domesticity, and this book has that in spades!

Overall, what I read was really enjoyable, especially if you enjoy single parent romances. I have confidence that the custody situation will be resolved in Maya’s favor, especially with Elena at her side, but I was unable to stay interested long enough to see that arc concluded.

This book was quite an unexpected treat as a SwanQueen/OUAT fan. Many of the main characters from the show were present in some way including the parents and love interests.
The main relationship had good chemistry and the right amount of angst. But I do have a few small issues. I think their insecurities could've been discussed a bit more. And I would've preferred for the emotional component to be as as strong as the sexual one in their relationship. Like the bathroom scene didn't feel right after such a serious discussion about Neal.
Elena's relationship with Livvie was precious and easily my favourite thing in the book.
This is the first book I've read by L.E. Royal. Overall It was very well written and I am definitely going to read more of her books.

This is not an enjoyable book. I picked it on the basis that I really liked a previous book by the same author, (Never Knew Until I Met You, featuring a kinky dominatrix), but this was a different kettle of fish altogether.

The two main characters/love interests are in what can only be described as an abusive relationship, that is dressed up and presented as love. The emotional manipulation visited upon Maya by Elena are horrendous in isolation, even without factoring in that Maya is the newest hire in Elena's company. Yes real life people are horrible and do things like this but presenting it to the reader as wonderful, idealised, romantic love is twisted.

The previous book I read by this author had some excellent bdsm sex scenes that were really well written and included a discussion of what would occur and crucially, informed consent. In "Off Balance", however, despite their sex life involving power-play, choking, spanking: there is only one tiny discussion on preferences...at the very end! In one particularly shocking incident, Maya tells Elena that she was raped. Within minutes, Elena corners Maya in the restaurant bathroom, pins her against the sink and gropes her! Again, this is all presented as passionate and loving, rather than insensitive and creepy.

The final nail in the coffin for me, was the series of bizarre and incorrect statements on Cerebral Palsy. It was brilliant to have a character with CP in a lesfic romance, but having worked with children and adults with this condition some of the claims made were bullshit.

Recieved a copy of this book from the generous publisher and author via Netgalley.

Omg! This is the first book I've read by this author and I could not put it down. I spent the whole day reading this book and what a treasure it was. I love the author's writing style, I have a thing for obsessive love romances. Maya went thru so much in her young life that she had to overcome. Elena also has gone thru a lot and suffers with a disability. I know first hand how it is to be bitter towards people when you are dealing with health issues. So it was sweet to see them find love in the midst of one's pain and struggle of not being good enough and another's physical disability.

And the sex scenes were HOT. I really enjoyed the intimate scenes. And sweet Livvie was such a joy. I was so sad when the book ended and would love to see a continuation into their lives and dealing with Elena's stuck up mom.

Overall, wonderful book that teaches you to never doubt yourself always know you are good enough, not having wealth and status doesn't define you. When Maya finally realized that Elena loved her just for her was truly emotional. And when Elena finally let down her barriers about her age and disability bought tears to my eyes.
Please do yourself a favor and read this book you will not be disappointed. I'm going to read it again and look for other books by this author.

This book has me a little off balance as I don’t really know what I think about this one. It was a fast and good read, it the story was so-so for me.

Maya is starting a new job at the Mars Foundation, she needs this job to make sure she has a stable home and financial position in hopes to get custody of her young daughter again. When Maya meets her new boss Elena in the bathroom she thinks she is drunk, slurring her speech and uncontrolled movements make her jump to this conclusion. Turns out Elena has CP, instead of saying so she is her usual Ice Queen, as she is dubbed by her employees. When Maya’s daughter get dropped at the office by her grandfather, maybe fears for the worst; losing her job and any sight on ever getting Livvie back. As it turns out Elena is enamoured with the young girl and babysits her all afternoon. From then on Maya and Elena start connecting on a more personal level. Never really sure about what one sees in the other they continue building a relationship. They encounter trouble on their path and how they deal with that is satisfactory for them, but not for me.

The power dynamics, the angst and (many) insecurities that were swiftly swept under the table, made this a bit of a weird read for me. I don’t mind age gap romances, or work place romance, but this one just doesn’t do it for me. The story itself is rather sweet, the connection between Elena and Livvie very well done and lovely to read, but somehow this book left me with the feeling both characters are just using the other one. In the book this is actually addressed, but I guess it wasn’t believable enough for me and that is what irks me about this story, the feeling of one or both characters just using each other.

Maya is desperate to regain custody of her daughter and needs to keep a steady job to do it. She think she's finally found that steady job but on her very first day, she manages to get on the wrong side of Elena, the irresistible Ice Queen who happens to be her boss. Maya just might be able to thaw the Ice Queen - with the help of a child.

This is a very sweet story with two leads who seem like opposites but are just perfect for each other. But if you're after heat, don't worry - it's got plenty of that. The power dynamics between Maya and Elena were dynamite when things became a lot less "sweet". A pleasant, uncomplicated read.

There are some seriously good books published in 2020 and this is one of them.

The blurb enticed me. Single mother who lost the custody of her child vs an Ice Queen with Cerebral Palsy. It has all the makings of some of the comebacks and pairing you want to see succeed in life. I was itching to start the book and before I did I delved a little into CP.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect a person's ability to move and maintain balance and posture. I dove into the book with this little knowledge and emerged with a deeper understanding on the condition.

Behind the facade of a cold and impenetrable CEO, Elena was every bit an enigma to Maya who was a fearsome force to her colleagues yet a warm and loving character to her child. Locked in the limitations of her condition, even through years of a concoction of therapies, Elena struggled with the belief and acceptance that she would find love and a family. A younger Maya, manoeuvring through life with baggage of her own was also deeply entrenched in her insecurities and failures in life. I rooted for the pairing and the book delivered on all the angst.

Every lesbian tale has its fair share of activities in the bedroom and if you think CP limits such pleasures then this book will be an eye opener for you. I enjoyed every bit of the story. This is my first book of the author’s but certainly not the last.

I just reviewed Off Balance by L.E. Royal. #OffBalance #NetGalley