Spicy, male female, 3rd person dual point of view, contemporary hockey romance. The characters were fun and I love a brother's best friend trope. The writing/storytelling didn't hook me though. And there was a death that seemed really unnecessary. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

CROSSING THE LINE is the newest brother’s best friend, forced proximity hockey romance by Kelly Jamieson. See above for book blurb. This is the author’s first book under a new publisher, but it bears all the hallmarks of her large collection of hockey romances. There is amazing chemistry, steamy open door scenes, an engrossing storyline, and a happily ever after that warms the heart. In this tale, Ben, an introvert, was being pressured to step up into a leadership role on his professional hockey team and in the community. When exuberant, free spirited Mabel came to stay with her brother, Marek, Ben recognized the opportunity to utilize Mabel as an extrovert coach. Mabel had a crush on Ben when they were younger and it wasn’t long until the forced proximity of sharing a two bedroom apartment with Marek and Ben brought all the old feelings back in line. However, Mabel had just left a toxic relationship with a man who had seemed so good in the beginning that she wasn’t sure she could trust her own judgement. I loved reading as Ben learned to come out his shell and Mabel found her spark again. The two were so good for each other and their story was a perfect love story. I recommend this book for readers of contemporary sports romance who enjoy best friend’s sister/brother’s best friend, childhood crush, forced proximity, forbidden hockey romance novels. This book is available in all formats and can be accessed in ebook format in kindleunlimited.

I would like to thank Rachel’s Random Resources, Boldwood Books, and Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a charming, believable story with just the right level of spice. Mabel and Ben meet up again when she leaves a toxic relationship and moves in with her brother Marek while he also has Ben (high school teammate) temporarily rooming with him. Mabel is such a sparkly, outgoing, colorful character that it isn't a surprise when Ben responds to her and things heat up. It was really fascinating to watch how they fit their somewhat "opposing" characters together. Mabel agrees to help Ben learn to be more confident and grow into a leadership role with his team, while Ben turns out to be a great listener and helps her overcome her lack of confidence and leftover breakup issues. The way Ms. Jamieson writes about their emotional journey I felt like I was inside their minds watching the new brain connections being made (in a good way!). I'm also a fan of a helpful found family; in this case Ben's New Jersey Storm teammates and Mabel's friends. All of us should be so lucky. One more thing that I appreciated was the creative (as in seldom used but fit so well) names Ms. Jamieson chooses: Mabel, Marek, and Bellamy sound so right, and Julian is the perfect name for the ex-boyfriend. Things like that just boost my enjoyment of a well written story. I am looking forward to more novels in this universe.
I was given an ARC by Netgalley and volunteered to provide a review.

A face-paced hockey romance - with hot and steamy spicy.

It felt a little off for me -- there is a lot of character development but some of the development/scenes felt extraneous to the plot of the story.

This sports romance was a fun read. It's set in the world of hockey and although not a sport I know much about, was still a story I enjoyed.

I liked the relationship building up between Ben and Mabel, and I think lots of other romance readers will have a good time reading this one.

Ben may be a star on the ice but off the ice he is more comfortable at home than in public which is making it difficult for him to be viewed as the right choice to be team captain. He needs to revamp his image, and he knows that Mabel would be the perfect choice to help as their personalities couldn’t be more different.

Mabel is friendly and has never met a stranger. After the way her last relationship ended Mabel needs to distance herself, so she finds herself temporarily staying with her brother. That is challenging enough but Ben, her brother’s teammate and friend, is also staying there and it is becoming more difficult to hide her feelings for him.

I enjoyed the evolution of both these characters as with Mabel’s help Ben become more confident off the ice while with Ben’s help Mabel was able to reclaim the woman she used to be. This is a touching romance with a great cast of secondary characters.

I don’t think I’ve ever related to a main character in a book like I related to Ben. I felt that the author really nailed and highlighted the struggles introverts can face on a day to day. I liked the use of the brothers best friend and opposites attract troupes.

Favorite quotes

“Strangers are friends you haven’t met yet.” He barks out a laugh, startling me. “Jesus.” “I didn’t make that up. William Butler Yeats said that.” “I don’t care who said it, they obviously never met an introvert.”

In a world made for extroverts, I’ve spent most of my life thinking there is something wrong with me.

1. The story from chapter 1 just showed that Mabel deserved more. 2. Brother's best friend is my favorite trope 3. The forced proximity between these two. 4. I wish there was another cover to this book and maybe that would've drew me in a bit faster. This is my first read from this author, lacked some plot and emotions between the characters.

Ben and Mabel’s story was sweet, sexy, and steamy and a great second chance, brother's best friend, hockey romance. Looking forward to reading the next one in the series.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Boldwood Books for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The writing was a little awkward at times, but I did like that the hero was introverted.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

I really enjoyed the story until I got halfway through. It read smoothly and all the characters were likeable.

Then the book lost it's fun romantic vibe and became sad. There is a death of a child involved, which seemed a little out of place. I couldn't get back into the story after that

Ben is a hockey player who struggles with public speaking or speaking in general. He’s staying with his best friend until his apartment is ready when he’s best friend’s sister, Mabel needs a place to stay. She’s the total opposite of him, an extrovert. Also used to a crush on him in high school so he’s a little bit scared of her. Which I kinda loved.

This book was so good and the spice was SPICY! Finished it one sitting. I really love getting to read about them falling in love “awkwardly.” I definitely recommend it and want to read more from this author. Would also LOVE to read books in the future about the other hockey players in their group.

Ben is this hockey jock who's so good on the ice but an absolute mess off it, especially when it comes to public speaking (literally, he’d rather play naked).

Enter Mabel, his best friend's sister, who's basically sunshine in human form—outgoing, super social, and just the kind of person Ben needs to help him step up as team captain. But of course, they’ve got history, so it’s all kinds of complicated.

I loved how this isn’t your typical sports romance where the jock is all cocky. Nope, Ben’s the shy, awkward guy who needs Mabel’s help to “fake it 'til he makes it.” Meanwhile, Mabel’s got her own personal stuff to deal with, so their chemistry just makes things so much more real and steamy (hello, apartment-sharing situations!). The way they support each other, flaws and all, is just a chef's kiss.

I also love how their relationship develops—watching them go from awkward tension to full-on OMG they’re perfect for each other moments is everything.

Kelly Jamieson explores what happens when attraction takes over with an awkward extrovert and an awkward introvert who are unlucky in love in Crossing the Line for a genuine and thoughtful story.

Hockey star and introvert Ben Antonov struggled with expressing himself but never really felt how much it held him back until all the things he dreamed of were at risk due to his introversion and lack of social skills. Kind and caring Ben was hard not to root for and easily captured the hearts of readers.

Librarian Mabel Smits was a quirky and charming go-getter that had no problem being the center of attention and expressing herself. Full of sass and endless energy Mabel was definitely bookfriend material with her loyalty and warm heartedness readily on hand.

When Ben and Mabel were brought back into each other's lives at Mabel's hockey playing twin Smitty's apartment after each needed a place to stay dormant sparks came to life. This pair battled with their attraction only to find that the answer to their problems was in each other. A case of opposites attract moved this story and made for some fun and poignant moments. Lots of comradery and intuitive kindness built this story up.

Long time hockey romance writing veteran Kelly Jamieson knows her way around the rink and hearts of her characters. This author has a special knack for developing fictional teams and dynamics. Crossing the Line was a goal for Kelly Jamieson!

I enjoyed this book! I am a sucker for a hockey romance, and this hits all the marks for me. I really loved Mabel, and how she was the social, outgoing one compared to Ben. I enjoyed their banter, as well as the authenticity of the two. I felt like I could relate to both characters - Ben's social awkwardness at times, and Mable's chaos. I can't wait to read more from this author!

It's an engaging, spicy sports romance with many lighthearted, humorous moments and explores serious themes like emotional abuse. Mabel leaves her former life after an abusive relationship. She goes to stay with her twin in New Jersey and finds she is living with his best friend and her teenage crush, Ben. Mabel is emotionally bereft and needs time to heal. Ben hopes to further his hockey career but struggles with socialising outside his comfort zone. Forced proximity and attraction lead Mabel to coach Ben to find mixing with people more straightforward, and soon, they give into their attraction, which brings pleasure and a host of trouble. I enjoyed the friendship dynamic, the emotional connection between Mabel and Ben, and the character development resulting from mutual support.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

This was an amazing book, Sucked in from the first chapters and the spice was perfect to my liking, ¸

Recommend to put on your TBR

I love a good hockey romance, and this was no different. This total opposites attract was a blast to read and the spice was steamy.

This is a sports-centered, opposites-attract, close-proximity romance novel, and I enjoyed most of it.

Ben and Mabel couldn’t be more different—he’s the quiet, shy type, while she’s bubbly and outgoing. After Mabel’s messy breakup with her ex (a walking red flag of a college professor), she ends up moving in with her brother—and Ben, her brother’s teammate.

This is a quick read with some spice, and I appreciated the dynamic between Ben and Mabel. However, there were a couple of storylines that I feel should come with trigger warnings.

First, the depiction of the abuse Mabel endured from her ex was deeply unsettling. While it added depth to her character and her journey, it caught me off guard and reminded me of an old relationship I experienced many years ago. A trigger warning would have helped me prepare for that aspect of the story.

Second, the storyline surrounding Ben’s teammate and the car accident felt unnecessarily dark and cruel. I understand that it was meant to push Ben to grow as a leader and come out of his shell, but the execution was shocking. I found it difficult to continue reading after that point and had to take a break for a few days. Surely, there were less traumatizing ways to develop Ben’s confidence and leadership skills? This part of the story, in particular, would also benefit from a trigger warning.

Overall, while I enjoyed the chemistry between Ben and Mabel and the romance itself, some of the darker elements of the plot detracted from my experience.

4.25⭐

Crossing the Line is a super engaging, angsty, opposites attract hockey romance featuring Mabel and Ben.

Who ends up living together as roommates. When Mabel leaves a toxic relationship and temporarily moves in with her brother Smitty.

Only to find out that he already has a roommate. None other than his teammate Ben. The boy who Mabel had a significant crush on during high school.

And Ben and Mabel soon come to rely on each other.

As Mabel may be both outgoing and quirky. But her ex-Julian has dented her confidence, and it doesn't help that Smitty and her parents think she made a mistake by dumping him. And Ben, well, he's an introvert and the only time he really lets loose is when he's on the ice. However, he wishes to alter that and feel more at ease in social settings. So he takes the opportunity to hire Mabel as his confidence coach.

And the more time the two spend together, the harder it becomes to resist the attraction between them, and soon they find themselves getting hot and heavy.

But Mabel is hesitant to engage in anything serious. As she feels that her judgment is not reliable when it comes to men. After all, they may start out nice with compliments, flowers, and kindness, but it never lasts and they soon reveal their true selves.

However, Ben's not like that and he'll prove it one terrible poem at a time.

And with the perfect amount of sweetness, spice, and angst Crossing the Line was really enjoyable to read. Not to mention well-written with plenty of character development and likable secondary characters, and I am eager to read more in the future.

I would happily recommend Crossing the Line to all.