REVIEW: Caught Offside by Quinn Ward

- August 30, 2026

CAUGHT OFFSIDE

by Quinn Ward

Release Date: August 29, 2026

Review

Really enjoyable professional multi-sport romance. I enjoyed the element of two different sports. They don’t just have the same problem of schedules and possible trades, but also different seasons.

It highlights the conundrum of how long into a relationship you should start considering it in your major life decisions.

Patrick is cautious off the ice. Reserved. And no matter how much he likes Asher, he’s careful and a little reluctant. He’s also the kind of person who draws inwards when life turns hard.

Asher is open and kind, even when constantly being under the strain of making it in the shadow of his parents. Even when trying to earn his spot in the big leagues. He’s patient with Patrick (sometimes to patient).

But sometimes having to find growth within yourself to make love work, makes it all the more special.

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Synopsis

The hockey player knows how to take a hit. The baseball player knows how to call the game. Neither of them knows what to do when casual starts feeling like home.

Patrick Fontaine has built his NHL career on being steady, useful, and impossible to rattle. He blocks shots, kills penalties, keeps his head down, and never gives anyone a reason to look too closely. Then a sharp-mouthed Triple-A catcher slides into his DMs, and Patrick’s carefully quiet life starts getting very loud.

Asher Tucker is used to pressure. As the son of two baseball legends, he’s spent his whole career being measured against expectations he can never quite outrun. He should be focused on spring training, his sore knee, and finally proving he belongs in the majors. Instead, he’s driving to Chicago for stolen weekends with a gorgeous, guarded defenseman whose kisses make it dangerously easy to forget this was supposed to stay casual.

It’s supposed to be simple. No labels. No promises. Just two athletes with impossible schedules finding each other when they can.

But as Patrick’s future in Chicago starts to look less certain and Asher gets the call he’s been chasing his whole life, casual stops being enough. With roster moves, road trips, and old fears pulling them in opposite directions, they’ll have to decide whether protecting themselves is worth losing the one thing neither of them expected to find.

Caught Offside is part of the Cross Check multi-author series but can be read as a standalone, featuring hockey player/baseball player, casual to committed, long-distance romance, stolen weekends, guarded quiet one/sharp-mouthed sunshine, career angst, found family, and a hard-won HEA.

About Quinn Ward

Quinn Ward is a non-binary author of LGBT romance. Throughout everything, the one constant in their life has been writing. It’s the piece of them they've never questioned. It’s their safe harbor, sometimes their escape when the real world gets to be too much.

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