Offside On The Ice: An Ex's Brother MM Hockey Romance

by Ellis Rhodes

Alec Hale has spent his life protecting his family’s dynasty. As Captain of the New York Sovereigns, he demands perfection. He follows the rules, honors the legacy, and looks out for his younger sister, Bella. That means there is one person in the league who is strictly dead to Wyatt Wolfe.

Wyatt isn’t just a rival. He is the reckless enforcer for the Detroit Iron, but worse than that, he is the man who shattered Bella’s heart three years ago. He is the scandal the Hales tried to bury. He is reckless, infuriating, and completely off-limits.

Alec is supposed to hate him.

But when a heated confrontation explodes into a forbidden night, Alec realizes that the line between protective hatred and blinding desire is dangerously thin. Hooking up with a rival is risky; falling for his sister’s ex is a catastrophe waiting to happen.

Now, Alec is living a double life. On the ice, he’s hunting Wyatt down. Behind closed doors, he’s unable to let him go. When the truth threatens to surface, Alec must choose between the family he protects and the man he can’t survive without.

Offside on the Ice is a high-heat MM hockey romance featuring the Rivals-to-Lovers and Ex’s Brother tropes. Expect dirty talk, secret hookups, and a hard-won HEA.

Genres: Gay

371 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 18, 2026

Reviews

[Third Act Confessions · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️ 2.5 stars — Great chemistry, rough execution

I really loved Wyatt and Alec. Their chemistry was easily the strongest part of this book for me. They felt believable together, I was rooting for them, and I genuinely wanted their HEA. Their connection carried a lot of the emotional weight of the story and was the reason I kept reading.

But… I struggled a lot with the actual writing.

The story felt messy and kind of all over the place. There were multiple moments where things contradicted each other or just didn’t make sense. At times it honestly read more like an early draft than a polished, finished novel. The ideas were there, but it desperately needed another round (or several rounds) of editing to tighten the plot, fix inconsistencies, and smooth out transitions.

Ironically, I thought the romance itself was written better than the story surrounding it. Wyatt and Alec worked. The plot around them… not so much.

Also, I need to talk about the heat level because I think the marketing oversold it. This is labeled high heat, and I definitely wouldn’t categorize it that way. For me it was maybe a 2/5 on spice and that might even be generous.

Overall, I landed at 2.5 stars. The romance and chemistry bumped it up because I really did enjoy Wyatt and Alec together, but the writing issues were too distracting for me to overlook. There are several more books in the series, but I think I’m stopping here.

[Christie Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, I wish I could give this this the 5 ⭐'s it deserves

Story - 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters -5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Author keeping the story & characters straight -3 ⭐⭐⭐
And editing that should have caught numerous mistakes and multiple people with the name "Miller"- 1 ⭐


Honestly, the editing is frustrating enough that I almost gave up on a truly awesome story. Some things were a little over the top, SPOILER, like the hatred still festering after 3years for a relationship which lasted for a couple months and was long distance and a "humiliation" so easily explained as nervousness from a trailer park kid in the house of hockey royalty. And the number of times Alec seems to decide he's going to be a hero for Wyatt - and then summarily dumps the poor guy? Very contradictory and another thing editors should have caught. But, if you can keep things straight even though you'll wonder whose pov it is from one sentence to the next in a few spots, you'll find wonderful if scarred people who really love each other. Also the nothingness of their sexuality is a bit strange if only bc it's not a mention whatsoever - they're bisexual I imagine if only bc they obviously have dated women, but it's not said and is so unremarkable that I wonder if everyone is openly queer in this world? A nice place if so...😊🌈💙💚💛💜♥️

[Bubu GT · Rating 1 out of 5]

Despite having a cute barebones to the story of Wyatt and Alec, I felt that either the book is actually written using AI or the author has a terrible time keeping the details up and has no editor.

The details about the story kept changing constantly the characters referred to key conversations that did not happen or the details changed from the actual chapter when characters referenced it in a latter chapter. The trainers room became a shower within the same chapter. One chapter they are sharing a penthouse suite in a hotel and next the character is asking the other how did you get into my room - or one minute character says it is 6 weeks of FaceTime calls and a few paragraphs later it is 6 weeks of radio silence.

So many of these mistakes really makes me think the reason is probably this is AI rather than editing mistake.

Definitely don’t recommend. Will not read from this author again.

[Rosenthal Read · Rating 1 out of 5]

Excusez moi c’est quoi cette daube ?
DNF à 33%, première scène de smut sooooo cringe
J’ai déjà eu du mal à rentrer dedans (ce qui n’est visiblement pas le cas de Wyatt…) parce qu’on nous vend un ex… le gars est resté 2 MOIS avec la go et il lui a brisé le coeur ?! Laissez moi rire ! Et le frangin qui se la joue cow boy mais derrière il est juste moue du genoux, il se laisse manipuler, traiter comme un moins que rien et son obsession pour le bad boy qui sort de nulle part
C’était vraiment débile, j’arrête le carnage

[Linnea · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who’s read a lot of MM hockey romances, I can honestly say this one really worked for me. The chemistry between the characters felt natural and believable, and once I got into it I genuinely struggled to put it down. Around the 80% mark I actually paused reading to look the author up on Goodreads because I was already hoping she had more books out, but then I made the mistake of reading reviews for this book and completely psyched myself out for no reason. If you love MM hockey romance with strong chemistry and a story that keeps you hooked, this one is definitely worth picking up.

[Emmaali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alcune parti sono fatte bene, le emozioni tra i due si sentono bene, ma poi in alcuni punti il libro sembra slegato, persone che vengono fatte sparire e il cane che viene abbandonato non si sa dove per ii giorni, povero Barnaby! Questo autore come al solito ha la tematica dei rapporti col padre che sono in crisi e per di più ci sono vari errori di tradizione, per fortuna meno degli altri libri della serie

[Paddy Waymark · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.7

This is an emotional love story between two hockey players. Suspending belief and enjoying the battle is advised. It is very engaging on that level.
Family warfare, demanding management, uneven team support, psychological issues, violence on the ice and a three legged dog are in the mix. Alec and Wyatt, rich and damaged, find their way under heavy pressure to a life of peace and satisfaction. Enjoy.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.
This was a super quick read. It was good, but also not...? The sister was annoying. The "trash" yapping didn't connect. Why invite the Mum to Miami when she wasn't mentioned there? The threats from the GM - seriously. There was chemistry but also not. I mostly didn't like the "burn the world (their careers) down" ending.

[Kristopher Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Ellis Rhodes books. I enjoyed this one about an Ex's brother. Nice romance with some family trauma and control thrown in. I liked the emotions of the central characters too. Good read.

[Kelly Lovelace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is this bad AI?

Love the plot of these books, but details are a mess--incorrect and mixed up--often! It is highly distracting/annoying for me.