Ben is a hockey player who wants to be captain he is currently living with his best friend. Mable leaves her narcissistic ex boyfriend and has to live with her brother. The book is definitely a slow burn book but is a good hockey romance. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this.

I absolutely love Sports romance. I liked it but did not love it love it. I love the tropes, especially Brother's best friend. I loved the equation as a friend but i did not feel the chemistry between the MC's. But all in all it was a sweet easy read. Like a few parts and could connect with the social awkwardness. As i said the book was nice, the plot and writing were good but the depth in the book was on a down low.

I really enjoyed Crossing the Line, it has some of my favorite tropes including hockey romance, and brothers best friend. I enjoyed this book but I might have just read it at the wrong time because I thought it was mid.

Ben & Mabel made the perfect couple who balanced each other out with Ben being an introvert & Mabel being an extrovert. She was helping him be more comfortable speaking with others & they stopped fighting their attraction to each other. They finally felt that someone finally got them & accepted who they were but it wasn’t easy after what they both experienced in the past. This was a fun, emotional, entertaining book with wonderful characters that you will absolutely enjoy!! A must read!!

A Heartfelt Hockey Romance

I adore Ben and Mabel. They are complete opposites but accept each other for who they are. Mabel is loud, eccentric and a complete extrovert, while Ben is shy, quiet and an introvert. It was beautiful to see these two open up to each other and to learn to trust each other. This feel good, hockey romance is heartfelt, emotional and sweet.

A delightful slow burn hockey romance where the MFC falls for her brothers best friend (and fellow hottie hockey player). YES PLEASE! I found Crossing The Line to be a delightful indulgent read. Ben is a socially awkward cutie that should vulnerability which I appreciated. Mabel reminds me of that perky hippy friend that you just love spending time with. This combination made for a fun read.

I would absolutely review the trigger warnings before going into this book. There is an undisclosed child loss that is not warned about, and in my opinion should be removed. It did not advance the story and is extremely offputting in what should be a light hockey romance read.

Steamy Level: 2.7/5

Mabel had a crush on her brother's best friend, Ben, in high school and tried everything to get his attention while he did his best to avoid her. It's been ten years since and she's happy to never see him again. But when she breaks up with her boyfriend and needs a place to stay, she doesn't realize Ben is staying with her brother already and still giving her the cold shoulder as usual.
Ben may have been one of the popular guys on the hockey team in high school, but he's a shy introvert and has trouble knowing what to say. Mabel's outgoing energy just makes him even more tongue tied so he did his best to avoid her. Now he's living in the same condo and is becoming uncomfortably aware of his attraction for her. When his coach puts him on the short list to become captain next year, he knows he needs help and Mabel would be the perfect "extrovert coach".
These two were so great together, accepting each other for exactly who they were and supporting each other. I relate so much to Ben, being such an introvert myself, that I felt connected to the characters. I liked the behind the scenes with the rest of the team also. The story was a bit predictable but I was happy with their HEA.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is not the strongest read in the Kelly Jamieson hockey world. In fact, the characters, dialogue and storyline started so rough that I had to put this down and read something else. There wasn't anything new or groundbreaking in this to make me excited about possibly kicking off a new series with a new publisher. If I go back and read something from a back series, I think I'll get a better read.

Kelly Jamieson is a new to me author but I definitely plan to go through the backlist.

Crossing the Line is not your typical hockey romance with the MMC being more of the shy type than the overtly playboy type. He always looked at his teammate's sister as someone that is too bright and shiny for his shy persona. Enter the forced proximity of living together and sparks begin to fly.


Pick this one up if you enjoy:
* Brother's best friend
* Forced proximity
* Hockey romance
* Healing after trauma

Kelly Jamieson is one of my go-to authors when I’m looking to read a hockey romance and her newest book is Crossing The Line. This is Mabel and Ben‘s story and I adored them.
 
Ben is a hockey player, and he is super sweet, doesn’t have any scandals and he’s rather cautious. He’s looking at becoming the new captain and for that he has to step up and become the face of working with a charity including public appearances which is like his biggest nightmare. Ben is a total introvert and he’s such a cinnamon roll hero who I simply adored and with each page he comes out of his shell a little more and I can totally see how Mabel fell in love with him.
 
Mabel‘s life turned upside down and after losing her job and cutting ties with her ex, she’s looking at starting over. She moves in with her hockey player brother for the time being and Ben is there as well until his new apartment is ready. Mabel is such a vivid and quirky person and I liked how she’s unapologetically herself.
 
The brother‘s best friend trope always works so well with hockey romances and it was no different in this story. And the forced proximity roommate situation only added some more tension, and I loved the dynamic of these two so much. They support each other lovingly and I loved how Mabel teaches Ben to be more comfortable around other people.
 
You can never go wrong with a Kelly Jamieson hockey romance and Crossing The Line is such a good one. 4 stars.
 
(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc.)

I love the opposites attract trope and that Ben was the quiet one while Mabel was the outgoing one. Their relationship was perfect for them. Mabel helps Ben in social situations while Ben gives Mabel her confidence back after her ex boyfriend belittled her and chipped away at her confidence. I loved their romance and enjoyed how it all came together.

I enjoyed this opposites attract, best friend's sister/brother's best friend romance novel with added forbidden love, close/forced proximity tropes.
The plot is well written, emotional and has some heartwrenching and heartwarming moments, spicy love scenes and very likable main and side characters. There are a couple of scenes that teared me up.
I loved the chemistry between Mabel and Ben and how their relationship and their understanding and support for each other developed throughout the story despite their different character traits. Their insecurities and vulnerabilities were palpable and I really sympathised with Ben who is a sweet cinnamon roll hero.

After ending her toxic relationship with her narcissistic boyfriend, Mabel leaves her old life behind and moves in with her twin brother Marek in New Jersey to find herself again and start a new life. There, however, she meets Ben, her brother's friend and Hockey teammate, whom she had a crush on as a teenager and who always avoided her.
Ben is a hockey pro and is staying with Marek until his own flat in the condo is ready. He hates crowds and being the centre of attention, he rather prefers to be alone, observe or read a book. Ben isn’t happy about the fact that the lively and chaotic Mabel is moving in with them, as her behavior always made him feel uncomfortable. But Ben soon realises that Mabel is not well. When Ben is offered the position of team captain next season on the condition that he becomes the team's ambassador for a charitable children's aid organisation, it feels like a disaster for the introverted Ben, who doesn't know how and what to speak in public but he would love to become the new captain. So he asks the extrovert Mabel to coach him. Mabel, who previously thought Ben was unapproachable and boring, reluctantly accepts and soon realises that Ben is just extremely shy and that she has misjudged him years ago. They slowly grow closer, but as the sister of his team-mate, she is off-limits for Ben and is still suffers from the consequences of her last relationship…

Overall, a touching and heart-warming story about two endearing personalities who are both afraid of falling in love again and getting hurt all over again for different reasons, which I am happy to recommend!

I received a free ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and left voluntarily.

Do I know anything about hockey? No! Doesn’t matter, Crossing the Line is a story to love even when a person has zero background knowledge.

The beginning hooks immediately. Mabel (yikes on that name) has the guts to stand up for herself against her jerk boyfriend. Three cheers for Mabel! She knows herself and isn’t going to change. That doesn’t mean she can’t be vulnerable, as we see.

Ben is not her opposite, he has confidence too. But he is more tentative in public situations.

The story- lighthearted fun, deep emotion, and dramatic situations. It really runs the full gamut. In real life, we know people act differently in these situations, so perhaps that’s why the author wrote them, to let us see how these two characters respond.

Read this. Not at the beach… read this when you’re in a quiet place and can appreciate the full range of the story.

Omg. There’s a scene where they sit in a pub next to some Aussie tourists and the way they talk is fucking hilarious. And also kinda spot on 🤨

I loved Ben. He was cute and introverted but also kinda raunchy. Like he doesn’t talk at all but put him in bed with a hot lady and you couldn’t get him to shut up.

CN for death of a baby, not one of the MCs, and shitty abusive ex boyfriends.

Thanks to #netgallery, the author and publisher for a copy of this book.

Genre: Romance MF
Format: Digital
POV: Dual
Tropes: brothers best friend/teammate, roommates, forced proximity, shitty ex boyfriends, introvert/extrovert, extrovert lessons, secret hookups, hockey, random Australian characters spotted, let’s get maggot.
Spice: 🌶️🌶️ / 5
Age suggestion: 18+

Firmly in my Hockey era after reading Crossing the Line by Kelly Jamieson (@kellyjamiesonauthor) A spicy, Brother’s Best Friend Hockey romance perfect for fans of Icebreaker and Collide. Mabel and Ben end up living together after she leaves her awful partner and moves in with her brother and his temporary roommate. Ben struggles with being out there and speaking in public, whereas Mabel has no problem in that department. Agreeing to help him improve his confidence brings the two of them closer and there's no denying their chemistry. I really enjoyed this one, the way Mabel helped Ben to become a more confident person, the way Ben protected Mabel and let her feel loved again - just perfect!

Thank you to Boldwood Books @theboldbookclub for the Netgalley copy of this one 🏒

• Synopsis •
Rule #1 Do not cross the line with best friend's sister

Ben
On the ice I'm formidable, relentless and I lead by example. Now my coach wants me to step up as Captain - and lead the team off the ice too. But this is my worst nightmare; I'd rather play hockey naked than do any kind of public speaking! To make matters worse, my best friend's sister has shown up out of the blue to live with us temporarily. We have a history.. it's awkward, she's starting to invade my fantasies and I can't seem to escape her. But maybe she could be the answer to my problems..

Mabel
Moving in with my brother was not part of my life plan, but I have no choice at the moment. I need to get away and start my life over. I just wish I didn't have to share the condo with Ben. I thought I'd buried my teenage crush, but seeing him all the time has me fascinated with him all over again! But now he's asking for my help to be more outgoing and confident, and basically fake it until he makes it. Sure I can help, but that would mean a lot of time alone. I need to stay strong and resist the obvious temptation..

I loved Ben and Mabel - she is quirky and extroverted, but took a hit to her confidence after breaking up with a narcissistic boyfriend; he is skilled and confident on the ice, but shy and introverted off-ice. Forced into proximity due to both staying at her brother's condo, their relationship evolves from high school crush to friendship and eventually steamy affair as they give in to their attraction to each other. Love the cameraderie and quirkiness of the the teammates too. Another hockey romance by Kelly Jamieson that doesn't disappoint!

I loved Ben and Mabel - she is quirky and extroverted, but took a hit to her confidence after breaking up with a narcissistic boyfriend; he is skilled and confident on the ice, but shy and introverted off-ice. Forced into proximity due to both staying at her brother's condo, their relationship evolves from high school crush to friendship and eventually steamy affair as they give in to their attraction to each other. Love the cameraderie and quirkiness of the the teammates too. Another hockey romance by Kelly Jamieson that doesn't disappoint!

I loved Ben and Mabel - she is quirky and extroverted, but took a hit to her confidence after breaking up with a narcissistic boyfriend; he is skilled and confident on the ice, but shy and introverted off-ice. Forced into proximity due to both staying at her brother's condo, their relationship evolves from high school crush to friendship and eventually steamy affair as they give in to their attraction to each other. Love the cameraderie and quirkiness of the the teammates too. Another hockey romance by Kelly Jamieson that doesn't disappoint!

Hockey Romances are my catnip so when I heard about this one I had get a spot of the Blog Tour.

I felt so sorry for Mabel, we’ve all been in those kind of relationships that are toxic but you can’t quite see it at the time.

Now she’s free she quits her job and moves to a new city and stays with her brother until she gets back on her feet and gets more confident but what she’s not expecting is to live with her brothers best friend too.

The sexual tension was off the chart in this story, it was the slowest of slow burns but for a very good reason and it just made the plot even better.

How Mabel and Ben both evolved over the course of the book was beautiful to read, I’d highly recommend this book to other romance readers.

I love this take on a hockey romance. Usually the guy is so confident and obviously alpha. Despite the fact that he’s still a hot pro hockey player, Ben is shy and not used to being the center of attention. Mabel is his perfect match as an outgoing, outrageous, woman. Though she’s coming out of an emotionally strained relationship, that doesn’t stop the sparks from flying between the two.
I love how this all played out. 5 stars!!!