OFF COURSE (Off Series #4) by Sawyer Bennett-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 4, 2013

Renner Caldwell has her life perfectly mapped out. She has the ideal relationship, the perfect job and all is right in her world. When a shameful turn of events happens, she boards the first plane bound for Ireland to lick her wounds and get her head back on straight.

Cillian O’Bradaigh is the sexy, front man to the Irish rock band, Over The Edge. His rising fame and sultry voice make him every woman’s fantasy come true. Not to mention his single-minded determination. To put it simply: what Cillian wants, Cillian always gets. And he wants Renner, because there’s just something about the flame-haired beauty he has to possess.

If their relationship was just about sex and rock n’ roll, it would be easy for them to get lost in their desires. Only their relationship is anything but a hook-up. Will lies, deceit and hidden tragedy get in the way, making the path to true love uncertain? Or will the girl whose been knocked Off Course, find her footing with the man who is teaching her it’s okay to lose control?

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REVIEW: OFF COURSE is the fourth installment in Sawyer Bennett’s contemporary, new adult Off Series featuring the lives and loves of the Caldwell clan. Off Course is a slight departure from the previous three storylines in that it takes place in Ireland. This is Renner and Cillian’s (pronounced Killian) story.

The storyline begins five years previous when a then seventeen year old Renner Caldwell meets the nineteen year old lead singer for the Irish rock band Over The Edge- Cillian O’Bradaigh-while on summer vacation. For all intents and purposes, the couple have an immediate attraction to one another but when Cillian realizes Renner is an inexperienced young girl, he walks away but never forgets their brief passionate kiss. Fast forward five years and Renner Caldwell returns to Ireland, disgraced and brokenhearted, and finds herself working in the very Irish pub where she first met the man whole stole her heart years earlier.

Renner and Cillian’s relationship is a story of second chances (to some degree). Following their brief first encounter where Cillian appears to reject Renner, the young woman returns home believing herself not worthy. But when her personal and professional life take an abrupt turn and Renner finds herself without employment, returning to Ireland seems like her only option. And running into Cillian is not high on her list of priorities especially when it looks like he does not remember Renner.

Cillian has never forgotten Renner Caldwell and his attempts to win her over fail at every opportunity especially when the ghosts from his past continue to control his present life. Hoping to alleviate a guilt that has been burning for years, Cillian does not realize that he is pushing Renner further away every time he jumps when some one else calls. Cillian believes it is his responsibility to save the world. But heartbreak and betrayal once again follow Renner and returning to America is now her only option.

Linc and Nix (Renner’s cousins) make a cameo appearance when Renner returns to the USA which gives the storyline a connection to the first three installments. The storyline also focuses on alcoholism and rehab and the lengths an alcoholic will go through to avoid acceptance and help. This is also a story of manipulation, enabling, and one man’s inherent guilt over death and destruction of his family. Sawyer Bennett addresses a different issue in each of her storylines and Off Course is no exception.

Off Course is a fast paced, heartbreaking and eye opening storyline that addresses several issues of current headlines including addiction and rehab: lies and manipulation; and work place affairs. Sawyer Bennett has noted that her next book in the series Off Chance will be her final installment and I have enjoyed the series and storylines. She has also stated that Renner and Cillian’s future will be addressed as Off Chance is Renner’s brother’s (Flynn) story.

Reading Order
1. Off Sides
2. Off Limits
3. Off The Record
4. Off Course
5. Off Chance (October 2013)

Reviewed by Sandy