Review: Off the Record by Taylor Danae Colbert

Title: Off the Record

Author: Taylor Danae Colbert
Publisher: Taylor Danae Colbert
Published: April 22, 2019
Pages: 172
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Source: Kindle Unlimited
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“Dax Thatcher?” I ask. “But isn’t he sorta. . .old?” 

Ugh. Celebrities. I mean, I know I took a job as a reporter for the Celebrity and Pop Culture department of our magazine, but it was just supposed to be a stepping stone to the more real stuff.

Despite the fact that Dax Thatcher was the subject of many of my teen fantasies—and I may or may not have an entire playlist made up of his music—he’s still just another star.

Until his golden eyes pierce through me that day on his Malibu deck. I find myself having dinner with him, going backstage with him, lying on the beach with him. I find myself telling him my deepest secrets, and diving deep into his less-than-perfect past. 

And then I remember my assignment: a four-issue feature on Dax Thatcher. . .and his supermodel fiancée. Yep, he’s getting hitched. 

I have to focus. I’m a serious journalist, and he is mere months from walking down the aisle with someone else. But that doesn’t stop me from wondering what those tattooed arms might feel like wrapped around me, or how soft the sheets on his California king bed are. 

Yikes. This celebrity stuff might be a little more real than I thought.

Goodreads / Amazon

MY REVIEW

DISCLAIMER: This review DOES contain SPOILERS. 

This story rocked my heart so hard. The rock and roll fangirl inside of me couldn't get enough of this story. 

The main characters in the story have really great development. I adored Dax and Shay both. Shay was a take-charge type of girl that doesn't hold much of anything back. Although she had her personal insecurities, she was very confident otherwise. Especially when it came to doing her job. She was motivated and hard working. Dax's character probably had the most growth. Throughout the story, we get to glimpse his entire life when he shares it with Shay. He takes Shay to his hometown, to visit his aunt, and to see the first home that he lived in when he moved to California. We get a little bit of his history piece by piece throughout the story. He is a nice little mystery that Shay has to unravel. Dax was very compassionate. I liked that his dark past made him a better person instead of worse. He has flaws and it makes him very real. The side characters were lovely as well. Every character had their part to play and there wasn't anyone that felt like filler. 

I loved the family aspect this story shows. Shay's parents were wonderful. I have to admit that the scene where Dax and Shay show up to her parents' house and surprise them made me laugh so hard. I had to reread that scene several times. I liked that Shay was close to her family. I also liked that she was kind to her sister even though her sister was a total snotface to her. I understand that her sister had some mental health issues, which was mildly explored. I also loved the relationship that Dax had with his aunt. And I liked that it showed how family isn't only those that share your blood. The boys at the Boys Center of Baltimore that Dax owned for at-risk youth were just as much a family to Dax as his aunt was. 

I really liked the plot of this story. I admit that I guessed something amiss with Dax and Annaliese's engagement, but I hadn't pegged the reasoning behind it. Everything played out really great plot-wise. I really liked that even though this is a fairly short book, the pacing of the story was perfect. It didn't feel rushed at all, nor did it feel like anything was missing. 

The romance in this story is a slow-burn that gets under your skin and simmers. The chemistry between Dax and Shay was UH-MAY-ZING and I loved that it didn't feel forced or unrealistic. It was totally genuine and smooth. Dax and Shay's personalities meshed very well together. It was easy for them to build trust and be real with each other. Their dialogues and banter were very riveting. It was so easy to like them as a couple, even before they were one. I was rooting for them the entire time. 

There was some great representation in this story. Other than the fantastic family representation there was also LGBTQ representation and mental health and substance abuse representation. I don't want to be too spoilery, but I liked that there was a character that came out as gay in a very public way because it was done on their own terms. This character was tired of hiding who they were and didn't want to punish the ones that she cared for by hiding. I liked where the story went with Dax's addiction issues. The way that Shay handled and supported him in the story was perfect. His issues were addressed and she made sure to let him know that he needed to go to therapy for himself and not for her. I do wish that more had been explored with Cara's mental health issues, or that her suicide attempt had been addressed more. 

Overall, this is a swoon-worthy story with a slow-burn romance that will rock your socks off. (And, well, maybe more than your socks.) This story has great plotting and characters that really speak to the reader. This was my first time reading a book by this author, but it will not be my last. I definitely recommend this one! It will kickstart your rock-n-rollin' heart.

I don't usually like reading books with less than 300 pages. They always seem too short for me. When I read the synopsis for this book though I was intrigued. It sounded amusing, and it certainly was! Do you have any book prejudices like this that you can't let go of? What have you recently finished reading?