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Off the Rink
What unfolds when an arrogant hockey star finds himself captivated by a straight-A student determined to steer clear of chaos? On the ice, Sebastian Hayes is a force to be reckoned with, but winning over Pagie might prove to be his biggest challenge yet. Pagie conceals her insecurities behind a flawless academic façade, and the last thing she needs is a guy like Sebastian complicating her life. However, destiny seems intent on bringing them closer. Can Sebastian abandon his bad-boy persona, and will Pagie dare to embrace the possibility of love?
Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2025
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7 people want to read
About the author
Athina Fernwood
45 books23 followersI'm Athina Fernwood, an independent author with a fervent love for the written word, and I'm thrilled to share my writing journey with you.
One thing that sets my writing journey apart is the personal challenge I've faced and triumphed over. Living with Dyslexia, I had to teach myself to spell, write, and read. It wasn't an easy road, but it's made me the writer I am today. I want to show my younger siblings, and anyone else facing limitations, that with determination and hard work, you can achieve whatever you set your mind to.
One thing that sets my writing journey apart is the personal challenge I've faced and triumphed over. Living with Dyslexia, I had to teach myself to spell, write, and read. It wasn't an easy road, but it's made me the writer I am today. I want to show my younger siblings, and anyone else facing limitations, that with determination and hard work, you can achieve whatever you set your mind to.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 16, 2025
She said no. That’s when the game really began.
Sebastian is the high school hockey god—cocky, gorgeous, and used to girls falling at his skates. Paige? She's the shy, honors student with a pen in one hand and zero interest in bad boys. When a setup date goes sideways and Paige turns him down, Sebastian becomes obsessed.
Because no one says no to him.
What follows is a hilarious, sweet, and swoon-worthy chase full of banter, tension, and unexpected feels. He’s all ego, she’s all brains—and together, they just might be perfect.
A cute, addictive romance with serious opposites-attract energy. You’ll root for them all the way to the final whistle.
Sebastian is the high school hockey god—cocky, gorgeous, and used to girls falling at his skates. Paige? She's the shy, honors student with a pen in one hand and zero interest in bad boys. When a setup date goes sideways and Paige turns him down, Sebastian becomes obsessed.
Because no one says no to him.
What follows is a hilarious, sweet, and swoon-worthy chase full of banter, tension, and unexpected feels. He’s all ego, she’s all brains—and together, they just might be perfect.
A cute, addictive romance with serious opposites-attract energy. You’ll root for them all the way to the final whistle.
May 20, 2025
Sebastian Hayes is the arrogant hockey star, usually surrounded by hockey bunnies all vying for his attention. But, his attention is suddenly snagged by straight-A student Paige. And as for Paige, she wants nothing to do with Sebastian and the chaos that normally follows him around.
Sebastian Hayes knows he's talented on the ice and knows that he's the one everyone needs to be on the lookout for, his talent will oftentimes lead his team to winning the game. Off the ice though, he finds that his natural talent and good looks aren't enough to win over Paige that easily, and now he's suddenly faced with the biggest challenge he's ever faced in his life, winning over the girl he never thought he'd want.
Paige is always trying her best, putting her best foot forward, trying to prove that she's actually stronger than she feels inside. Her perfect academic facade hides her insecurities and she knows that guys like Sebastian are just complications that she doesn't need in her life right now.
Fate and destiny are fickle things though and they seem to have other plans in place for Sebastian and Paige as the two are drawn ever closer to each other.
Can Sebastian let go of his bad-boy image, leave it in the past, and show Paige the man he is inside, beneath the image he lets the world see? Can Paige open up, show her insecurities, be brave, take a chance, and let love in?
Athina Fernwood knew what she was doing when she wrote Off The Rink and she used the perfect tropes: Hockey Romance, Slow Burn Romance, Good Girl/Bad Boy, Forced Proximity, Jealous Rival, Taming the Wild Heart, Secret Relationship, Opposites Attract, Enemies to Lovers.
I am not big into the hockey romance genre. If I am going to go in for the sports genre, it's normally going to be F1 or car racing. So, I was taking a pretty big leap of faith when I picked up Off The Rink and while it wasn't my favorite sports novel, I can't say that it was awful either. It was pretty good, I am just not big into hockey.
Sebastian is your typical high school hockey icon. He's cocky, gorgeous, and he just expects all the girls around him to fall at his feet. And then there's Paige. She's the quiet, shy, intelligent, honors student who has a pen in one hand and absolutely no interest in the bad boy. And after they are set up on a date and it all goes sideways, Paige just turns him down flat. And it's at that moment that Sebastian really sees Paige and he becomes obsessed with her. He's never had anyone say no to him before, he's not used to that, and now he's set on changing her mind.
I can honestly say that this is a very sweet, cute, hilarious, and rather swoon-worthy book that's full of cat and mouse, banter, tension and all kinds of unexpected feels that I didn't expect to feel while I was reading it. I got so many feels that I wasn't expecting while reading this book that I was left amazed. And everything that was put into this book, put it all together and combine it, it's just amazingly perfect.
I would say that this is a very cut, sweet, addictive, serious opposites-attract energy book that gives you so much more then you ever expect to find. From beginning to end you'll find that you're rooting for Sebastian and Paige.
Sebastian Hayes knows he's talented on the ice and knows that he's the one everyone needs to be on the lookout for, his talent will oftentimes lead his team to winning the game. Off the ice though, he finds that his natural talent and good looks aren't enough to win over Paige that easily, and now he's suddenly faced with the biggest challenge he's ever faced in his life, winning over the girl he never thought he'd want.
Paige is always trying her best, putting her best foot forward, trying to prove that she's actually stronger than she feels inside. Her perfect academic facade hides her insecurities and she knows that guys like Sebastian are just complications that she doesn't need in her life right now.
Fate and destiny are fickle things though and they seem to have other plans in place for Sebastian and Paige as the two are drawn ever closer to each other.
Can Sebastian let go of his bad-boy image, leave it in the past, and show Paige the man he is inside, beneath the image he lets the world see? Can Paige open up, show her insecurities, be brave, take a chance, and let love in?
Athina Fernwood knew what she was doing when she wrote Off The Rink and she used the perfect tropes: Hockey Romance, Slow Burn Romance, Good Girl/Bad Boy, Forced Proximity, Jealous Rival, Taming the Wild Heart, Secret Relationship, Opposites Attract, Enemies to Lovers.
I am not big into the hockey romance genre. If I am going to go in for the sports genre, it's normally going to be F1 or car racing. So, I was taking a pretty big leap of faith when I picked up Off The Rink and while it wasn't my favorite sports novel, I can't say that it was awful either. It was pretty good, I am just not big into hockey.
Sebastian is your typical high school hockey icon. He's cocky, gorgeous, and he just expects all the girls around him to fall at his feet. And then there's Paige. She's the quiet, shy, intelligent, honors student who has a pen in one hand and absolutely no interest in the bad boy. And after they are set up on a date and it all goes sideways, Paige just turns him down flat. And it's at that moment that Sebastian really sees Paige and he becomes obsessed with her. He's never had anyone say no to him before, he's not used to that, and now he's set on changing her mind.
I can honestly say that this is a very sweet, cute, hilarious, and rather swoon-worthy book that's full of cat and mouse, banter, tension and all kinds of unexpected feels that I didn't expect to feel while I was reading it. I got so many feels that I wasn't expecting while reading this book that I was left amazed. And everything that was put into this book, put it all together and combine it, it's just amazingly perfect.
I would say that this is a very cut, sweet, addictive, serious opposites-attract energy book that gives you so much more then you ever expect to find. From beginning to end you'll find that you're rooting for Sebastian and Paige.
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August 3, 2025Unfortunately a dnf at 75% for an arc but it just felt really confusing through the whole thing..
At first it just goes through hockey in a high school for Sebastian and Paige being introverted which was interesting at first because I wanted to see what would’ve happened between the two. But in the end it felt like everything was going over the place and it was just jumping all over the place. Because it starts with oh hockey, next thing Paige and Sebastian meet and next thing knowing they’re dating but not dating since no one’s asked each other out. But then next thing knowing months go by and Sebastian ‘cheated’ on Paige with his ex though it was her going on to him and Paige was pissed. Though I was confused because it was made out that they were together but later on was told that they weren’t actually with each other which wasn’t explained and was just already told that they were just not actually shown. But as going in between Paige being pissed at Sebastian, it just jumps towards Paige’s and Sebastian’s friends that were together being killed in a car accident. Though I liked that it showed the grieving process between the two and with Paige’s depression it just seemed to be skimmed over because then it was a bit like ‘Paige you got accepted into the school you want to and Sebastian your going back into your hockey games just your friend was replaced and your now captain.’ Which I didn’t like a bit and I felt the whole book as when I got up too, was just jumping into different bits with not much explanation that I didn’t like. And the fact that when I got up too I didn’t like the fact that Paige didn’t want to listen to what Sebastian wanted to say when he ‘cheated.’ And had to find out from his ex and suddenly Paige forgives Sebastian when she could’ve found out from him.. though I didn’t know why Paige and Riley had two different names because it just made it confusing to why they had two different names and I would’ve liked to know at the beginning of the book then maybe halfway in.
At first it just goes through hockey in a high school for Sebastian and Paige being introverted which was interesting at first because I wanted to see what would’ve happened between the two. But in the end it felt like everything was going over the place and it was just jumping all over the place. Because it starts with oh hockey, next thing Paige and Sebastian meet and next thing knowing they’re dating but not dating since no one’s asked each other out. But then next thing knowing months go by and Sebastian ‘cheated’ on Paige with his ex though it was her going on to him and Paige was pissed. Though I was confused because it was made out that they were together but later on was told that they weren’t actually with each other which wasn’t explained and was just already told that they were just not actually shown. But as going in between Paige being pissed at Sebastian, it just jumps towards Paige’s and Sebastian’s friends that were together being killed in a car accident. Though I liked that it showed the grieving process between the two and with Paige’s depression it just seemed to be skimmed over because then it was a bit like ‘Paige you got accepted into the school you want to and Sebastian your going back into your hockey games just your friend was replaced and your now captain.’ Which I didn’t like a bit and I felt the whole book as when I got up too, was just jumping into different bits with not much explanation that I didn’t like. And the fact that when I got up too I didn’t like the fact that Paige didn’t want to listen to what Sebastian wanted to say when he ‘cheated.’ And had to find out from his ex and suddenly Paige forgives Sebastian when she could’ve found out from him.. though I didn’t know why Paige and Riley had two different names because it just made it confusing to why they had two different names and I would’ve liked to know at the beginning of the book then maybe halfway in.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 4, 2025
Im dark romance girly normally, but the synopsis captured my attention. Now im not a hockey girly. I found this to be a cute hockey romance. I know I know cute is not a word that should be used to describe hockey romance, but these two were just too cute to me. This definitely plays with your emotions.
Sebastian is one of those guys who has girls all over him as soon as he walks into the room. The word "no" is not in his vocabulary.
Until she comes along. Paige and Sebastian go on a double date. Their friends invite them on their date. Paige is not into Sebastian (surprise, right).
As soon as Paige's best friend and her boyfriend ditch Paige and Sebastian. Paige tries to leave immediately. Sebastian asked her out to dinner. She said no. Remember, no one says no to Sebastian. With her not being interested in him, he becomes obsessed with Paige. He has to have her.. ( Us smart girls know that the he way to get a man's attention is to pretend you don't like him. Especially if girls love him). You will find yourself rooting for them, and you will want them to get together as a couple.
This was well written. It gives John Tucker must die vibes, but it's different than that at the same time. This book will suck you in, in just a couple of pages. No HEA, but I'm looking forward to book 2.
Sebastian is one of those guys who has girls all over him as soon as he walks into the room. The word "no" is not in his vocabulary.
Until she comes along. Paige and Sebastian go on a double date. Their friends invite them on their date. Paige is not into Sebastian (surprise, right).
As soon as Paige's best friend and her boyfriend ditch Paige and Sebastian. Paige tries to leave immediately. Sebastian asked her out to dinner. She said no. Remember, no one says no to Sebastian. With her not being interested in him, he becomes obsessed with Paige. He has to have her.. ( Us smart girls know that the he way to get a man's attention is to pretend you don't like him. Especially if girls love him). You will find yourself rooting for them, and you will want them to get together as a couple.
This was well written. It gives John Tucker must die vibes, but it's different than that at the same time. This book will suck you in, in just a couple of pages. No HEA, but I'm looking forward to book 2.
April 12, 2025
3.5 stars rounding up to 4
This is a cute high school story but man did I struggle with Sebastian for a large part of the book. I tried to remember he was an immature teenager, but I just wanted to shake him with how selfish he was and how terrible his attitude was, especially considering he'd been playing a team sport for years.
I did find myself struggling to get through some parts of the book towards the beginning with how much I was disliking Sebastian. I don't often annotate a book but this one I did because I kept being frustrated by him. I'm glad there was some character growth throughout the book and while I didn't love him by the end, he was okay and I stopped rage annotating about him 😂
I did like Paige, and while I was wishing she would be interested in someone else, I was glad that Sebastian seemed to grow up.
I don't think I realized before starting the book that it was a high school book. I expected college for some reason, but it takes place at the end of high school, and goes into the following year. The epilogue moves much further down the road by many years and sums everything up with a HEA.
There are some emotional parts of this where the main characters go through something traumatic so it might be a tear-jerker for some. If you're a crier, it might get you.
If you enjoy YA or sports romances, this might be a good read for you.
This is a cute high school story but man did I struggle with Sebastian for a large part of the book. I tried to remember he was an immature teenager, but I just wanted to shake him with how selfish he was and how terrible his attitude was, especially considering he'd been playing a team sport for years.
I did find myself struggling to get through some parts of the book towards the beginning with how much I was disliking Sebastian. I don't often annotate a book but this one I did because I kept being frustrated by him. I'm glad there was some character growth throughout the book and while I didn't love him by the end, he was okay and I stopped rage annotating about him 😂
I did like Paige, and while I was wishing she would be interested in someone else, I was glad that Sebastian seemed to grow up.
I don't think I realized before starting the book that it was a high school book. I expected college for some reason, but it takes place at the end of high school, and goes into the following year. The epilogue moves much further down the road by many years and sums everything up with a HEA.
There are some emotional parts of this where the main characters go through something traumatic so it might be a tear-jerker for some. If you're a crier, it might get you.
If you enjoy YA or sports romances, this might be a good read for you.
April 2, 2025
Off the Rink
By Athina Fernwood
⭐️⭐️.5
🏒 Hockey Romance
🩵 Slow burn romance
🏒 Good girl/bad boy
🩵 Forced Proximity
🏒 Jealous rival
🩵 Taming the wild heart
🏒 Secret relationship
🩵 Opposites attract
🏒 Enemies to lovers
Okay so you have Sebastian the bad boy hockey player with enough ego to fill the highschool and then some and Paige the complete opposite, she's the girl who is busy writing a school play for the drama kids, while being an honours student, shy, introvert so what happens when the two worlds collide?
Well this book shows you when Sebastian manages to walk all over her play manuscript and his friend, who also happens to be Paige's best friends boyfriend, makes Sebastian apologise by turning up to the movies on a double date where after the movie is finished their friends bail on them and Paige says no to going for dinner with him. And what happens when someone says no to the bad boy with the ego problem for the first time in their lives instead of throwing themselves at him? He becomes obsessed.
Will she be enough to Tame in his ego though?
Off the Rink releases April 1st 😘🖤
By Athina Fernwood
⭐️⭐️.5
🏒 Hockey Romance
🩵 Slow burn romance
🏒 Good girl/bad boy
🩵 Forced Proximity
🏒 Jealous rival
🩵 Taming the wild heart
🏒 Secret relationship
🩵 Opposites attract
🏒 Enemies to lovers
Okay so you have Sebastian the bad boy hockey player with enough ego to fill the highschool and then some and Paige the complete opposite, she's the girl who is busy writing a school play for the drama kids, while being an honours student, shy, introvert so what happens when the two worlds collide?
Well this book shows you when Sebastian manages to walk all over her play manuscript and his friend, who also happens to be Paige's best friends boyfriend, makes Sebastian apologise by turning up to the movies on a double date where after the movie is finished their friends bail on them and Paige says no to going for dinner with him. And what happens when someone says no to the bad boy with the ego problem for the first time in their lives instead of throwing themselves at him? He becomes obsessed.
Will she be enough to Tame in his ego though?
Off the Rink releases April 1st 😘🖤
March 31, 2025
This book was an absolute bundle of feelings. I don’t know what persuaded me to sign up for this ARC, considering it as absolutely not the type of story I normally read. I think it was the Hockey. I really like the concept of hockey even if I can’t skate or play.
Anyway, the book was my first from this author, I went into it blind beyond the brief synopsis for the ARC. The story started out simple, but absolutely captivated me. The ultimate climax was unexpected, and completely caught me off guard, but it was beautifully written and well done. I fully expected an HEA but the ultimately conclusion had me tearing up at the end. I can’t wait to read more from this author.
Anyway, the book was my first from this author, I went into it blind beyond the brief synopsis for the ARC. The story started out simple, but absolutely captivated me. The ultimate climax was unexpected, and completely caught me off guard, but it was beautifully written and well done. I fully expected an HEA but the ultimately conclusion had me tearing up at the end. I can’t wait to read more from this author.
March 15, 2025
This is the second book by this author I have read and this was really enjoyable.
hockey romance is not something I usually go for however I really enjoyed the story the twists the characters.
the story flowed kept me wanting to know what was next
5 star read for me
definitely medium burn
hockey romance is not something I usually go for however I really enjoyed the story the twists the characters.
the story flowed kept me wanting to know what was next
5 star read for me
definitely medium burn
March 24, 2025
This was the first book I read by the author, however, it exceeded my expectations. This was amazing. The story flowed and made me need to know what happened next. This is definitely a great story.
September 23, 2025
This was adorable hockey romance that i devour in a day as i was hooked and a sucker for sports romance. I adore Sebastian and Paige just couldnt get enough of them
April 7, 2025
I normally am a dark romance girl. But let me tell you this book made me feel things. I did not see some events happening and boy.. did it make me feel shattered for the main characters.
It is well written and sucks you in from the first page. I was rooting for them troughout the book! If you are looking for spice this book is not for you though. It does not contain any but the plot 🤌🏻😘.
I would def recommend this book.
It is well written and sucks you in from the first page. I was rooting for them troughout the book! If you are looking for spice this book is not for you though. It does not contain any but the plot 🤌🏻😘.
I would def recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews