It’s been a minute since we’ve read a contemporary romance about college students! Are we the only ones? Cool cool cool. Love, Off the Record by Samantha Markum follows Wyn and Three, two aspiring journalism students competing for a reporter position in their university newspaper.
Ah yes, a rivals-to-lovers romance. Plus there’s a little forced proximity as Wyn and Three work together on a story that’s bigger than either of them could’ve expected.
Easter Eggs
Before we dive into the review, we wanted to note a few Easter eggs we noticed about the novel. Three was also a character in Samantha Markum’s This May End Badly, attending the boarding school that he references throughout Love, Off the Record. His cousin, Wells, even makes a surprise cameo in this book! And our protagonist, Éowyn “Wyn” Evans, is named after Éowyn from the Lord of the Rings series, often abbreviated as LOTR. What else has the LOTR abbreviation? The title: Love, Off the Record!
June is looking to be an exciting month of new book releases. Samantha Markum’s Love, Off the Record is definitely one to watch. Here are three things we love about Love, Off the Record!
Book Overview: Love, Off The Record
Content Warnings: fatphobia, bullying and hazing, mention of childhood trauma, violence
Summary: Wyn is going to beat Three even if it kills her—or, preferably, him. Being freshmen staffers on the university newspaper puts them at the bottom of the pecking order—until a rare reporter spot opens up. Wyn and Three are both determined to get the position, starting a game of sabotage that pushes them to do their worst, from stealing each other’s ideas to playing twisted mind games. No road is too low when it comes to winning.
As Wyn’s search for the perfect story leads her to an anonymous, campus-wide dating app, she hits it off with a mystery man she thinks might be the cute RA from her dorm. But Wyn is all too familiar with being rejected because of her weight, and she’s hesitant to reveal her identity, even as she grows closer with someone who might be the guy of her dreams.
When Three breaks a story that’s closer to home than he or Wyn expects, the two must put aside their differences to expose the truth—and face their real feelings for each other, which threaten everything Wyn has built with her anonymous match.
Wyn And Three’s Chemistry
Naturally, we need to start by gushing over Wyn and Three’s romance in Love, Off the Record! The tension made us close the book and take deep, calming breaths multiple times. Like when Wyn was trying to get a reaction out of Three by recreating her dream. Or when Three admits that arguing with her turns him on. (Hello?!) They definitely had a rocky start before the romance, and we really couldn’t tell how they would get together. But their rivalry soon stops being so intense when their swoon-worthy chemistry takes over.
Justice For Print Journalism
We may sound biased (having studied journalism and contributed to our campus newspaper), but we adore how Love, Off the Record focuses on print journalism. Short-form videos and posts have become our main source of news these days. And we can appreciate the use of physical newspapers and long-form features. There is still, of course, the risk of misinformation spreading when people read only the headline instead of the whole article. Wyn and Three’s time investigating the story about a campus-wide drug ring reminds us that something newsworthy can be found closer than we think.
The Secret Identity Of Hayes6834
When Wyn starts using the campus dating app, she gets to know an anonymous user named hayes6834. Their online relationship became a safe space for the two of them to open up about family struggles and daily pressures. They even kept in touch over the fall and winter breaks. And we were so conflicted about who the mystery person could’ve been. Whether it was her cute RA Lincoln or IRL enemy Three, we rooted for Three (offline and possibly online).
An intense rivalry, an anonymous dating app, and a tension-filled college romance. Samantha Markum’s Love, Off the Record speaks to our journalism hearts and our love for banter.
Love, Off the Record by Samantha Markum comes out June 11th, and you can preorder a copy of it here!
What do you think of Samantha Markum’s Love, Off the Record? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
Want to hear some of our audiobook recommendations? Here’s the latest!
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