Abby Offsides
By: Anna McCallie
Published Year: 2026
Publisher: Dell
Pages: 368
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Seeking a fresh start after leaving her cheating fiancé, Abby McIntyre makes a series of spontaneous decisions: She quits her job. She books a one-way flight to the UK. She even gets bangs!
Newly arrived in Liverpool, she lands a job with the Mersey Football Club and meets Lachlan Ramsay, the recently recruited Scottish star midfielder. Both lonely in a new city, the pair bond quickly, and Abby finds it nearly impossible to deny their chemistry—despite the nagging guilt she feels about Lachlan’s mysterious wife who didn’t relocate with her husband.
When Abby’s housing falls through, Lachlan insists she move into his massive penthouse. As they spend almost every waking moment together, Abby wonders if it’s possible that the world-famous footballer could be falling for her, too. But with her job and his marriage dependent on them staying firmly in the friend zone, can Abby risk being caught offside?
First Impressions
I’m pretty sure I saw this cover on Instagram and immediately went “I need to read this book” so I’d say that’s a solid first impression. I am a huge soccer fan so reading about an American who moves to England and works for a soccer team? My dream!
What I thought
I wish I could live inside this book.
After finding out her fiancé was cheating on her, Abby quits her job working for the Red Sox and moves to Liverpool for a job at the local football club, Mersey. One her first day, she meets Lachlan Ramsay- star footballer who is coming back to Mersey after years in Spain. They hit it off right off the bat, but Abby knows he still has a wife back in Spain.
The banter in this book is elite. Lachlan and Abby right from the start have great chemistry. I was rooting for them from day one. Abby has a lot of stuff going on in her life and this story is just as much a story of self-discovery as it is romance. I read a review that described this book as having Ted Lasso vibes and I feel like that is spot on.
It is interesting because this book could fall into very icky territory with Lachlan still being married and Abby being single. I did appreciate that Abby’s friends were honest with her. She had one friend who was not for the relationship building between them and another friend who was kind of feeding into the fantasy.
I enjoyed every character in this book. Even Lachlan’s wife Claire. I also fell in love with the Mersey club a little bit and find myself wanting to be a fan and go to a match. I feel like I’m at a loss for words as to what it is I loved about this book so much. The characters were spot on, the banter was popping, there was no 3rd act breakup over some stupid miscommunication. There was a lot of depth to both Abby and Lachlan and seeing them grow and now just do stupid things was so refreshing. Honestly, one of my favorite sports romances of the year.
I can’t believe this is a debut novel. It’s written so well. I can’t wait for McCallie to write more so I can read her next book. I think that she does a really nice job of writing a romance with depth and not falling into the tropes that are easy. I highly recommend this book if you’re a soccer fan or a fan of Ted Lasso.