Contemporary romance, sign me up. This was a slow burn romance with lots of character development for both the main characters.

I tried reading this a few times now and haven't been able to get into it. I might be able to try again in the future, but at the moment it's not for me. The writing wasn't grabbing me, and neither was the story. From what I did read there isn't anything wrong with the book, just wasn't what I was looking for as a mood reader.

This was a romance book with the second chance romance trope. It was a fine read, nothing stands out. It was fast paced and while it ended in a HEA (of course) there was a third act break up which I just don't enjoy.

This book was ok with me. It was not one I completely connected with. I don’t regret reading it, but it just wasn’t for me.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley

This was a decent read with moments of heart and tension, but it didn’t fully pull me in. Claire and Aiden’s dynamic is intriguing, and their past connection adds depth, but their development felt rushed at times. The train trip premise is unique and adds charm, though the pacing lagged in parts. The emotional moments hit, but the story leaned on predictable tropes. A solid, if not groundbreaking, romance about second chances.

I really enjoyed this one. I liked the writing style and it was a very enjoyable read. The narrative is pretty interesting.

I have never been more convinced that the main characters are simply not for each other.
Romance is one of my preferred genres and I can say that no story so far has convinced me so clearly that Aiden is simply not the man for Claire.

<spoiler>Miscommunication trope alert! Although one of the most hated tropes, it can be very well written and take the story in a whole new perspective, in this one it was a rock, a very heavy rock, that dragged them to the bottom.
But I digress.

The beginning was very promising. A broken heart, a high school love, a second chance, all the elements of the love equation were there. I was quite happy with the dialogue, which is the major part of how the book was written. My first complaint was the length of the chapters. They were just too short. I personally don't like long chapters but this was equally distracting to read. The POV (each a separate chapter) would change so often within the same scene. A 300+ page book has almost 100 chapters? But ok, that is something I could accept for the sake of a good story. Then came up another problem, the plot was a bit rushed but, we just started, everything is ok and I still like the writing style, let's continue. And then everything started to go downhill. Plot holes, weak world-building, side characters were cardboard, and then at the end, like a cherry on the top, the miscommunication trope which was one of the worst I've read. Like I said at the beginning, I just don't think these people are meant for each other, period.
But, what I have to emphasize, is that regardless of everything, the writing style especially the dialog, was really great. Easy to read, fast, organic. </spoiler>

I just think that this book could have had a much better story if it had gone through just one more edit.

I received this book as a dARC via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Read this if you are in the mood for cute, fast- passed slow burn! (Gah the oxymoron I know). I love short chapters and also the tension build. Grumpy sunshine will always get me going.


I don’t always love a third act miscommunication; it often feels contrived, and I hate a cheating trope. Although the cute banter and that feeling of talking about anything and everything with the right person- that was the glitter for me!

Just the thing to get you out of a reading slump.

I live in St. Petersburg and there are a lot of pieces of this book that just don’t fit very well with what would actually happen. If the two were just on spring break, sure maybe, but Ethan actually lived here and they’re bringing in characters that also live here and some of the ways the setting is described… more location research needed to be done for this story. Especially regarding a map and what college-aged kids could actually afford. Either pick specific places in St. Petersburg or just make it a random Florida town with a new name. The author lives in Florida so this feels strange to even be writing.

5 stars because self-publishing is really hard.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tuskan for the ARC.

I love that we're seeing more new adult romances on the market! However, I feel like this one was a little insta-love-y for my liking, and the miscommunication trope didn't land for me.

Unfortunately this book was a miss for me, I found it really hard to stay captivated by the story and will be dnfing it

This book was moderately enjoyable for me. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as Tessa Bailey or Emily Henry's books. With that being said, it was still "cute" and enjoyable! I will have to give this one a second chance in the future for sure!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book in exchange for my honest review
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Another good read
Perfect book to curl up with and to get lost in
Will have you hooked from the first page
Thanks NetGalley

I almost DNF'd this book as I wasn't as interested in this book as I thought I would be. I really just felt that I wasn't engaged as some other people were.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were interesting and likeable and the plot kept me interested. Would highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC in return for an opinion.

A cute, grumpy sunshine, good girl x bad boy romance. A very face paced, easy Read.

Still pissed Aiden assumed things without the FACTS! But this I can get over.

3/5 stars

This was a super cute read. I really enjoyed the banter between Aiden and Claire. I also really appreciated the short chapters in this one. It definitely held my attention, especially when reading a genre I don't typically get into. That being said, the pace of this was very quick, which I felt took a little from the story. It left no real room to dig into the background of Aiden and Claire. Given this was a second chance romance, I would have really liked to have gotten more. We did get some background, but it was fleeting. All in all, Crossing the Line was a fun, cute. Grumpy-Sunshine read. Perfect for reading in one day while relaxing.

This was such a fun read! I can't wait for more by this author. I would absolutely recommend! If you are looking for a book to get you back into reading. This is it!

The perfect book!!!!


Thank you soo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗

3.5 Stars

Crossing the line was a fast paced easy read! It was perfect for my mood where I needed something to be easy yet enjoyable enough that I can just forget everything else. Was it perfect NO, but it was what i needed and from Books this is just what it's meant to be a place to get lost.

We follow the story of Aiden and Claire and there childhood friendship that they didn't want to lovers. Aiden is our grumpy sunshine and miscommunication is BOTH of there middle names because that trope is the biggest of them all and as they developed through the book I found I hated him more and more and it was rubbing off onto Claire because I really needed her to get a back bone! it truly gave me some feels

Overall I enjoyed this book there is so much to love within but the cheating and ex issues is always a big put off for me.

Definately recommend if Slow burn, duel pov, quick paced and grumpy sunshine is your thing