Crossing the Line is a cute, fast-paced hockey romance featuring a brother’s best friend/teammate’s sister trope. The characters are likeable: Mabel is quirky, outgoing, and empathetic, while Ben is reserved, observant, and caring. (Also, a hockey romance where the MMC wasn’t a noted playboy? Sign me up!) The romance is charming — and sometimes pretty steamy. Mabel and Ben are easy to root for as a couple, especially since both characters are supportive, understanding, and genuinely nice. Overall, it’s a heartwarming contemporary sports romance with strong character dynamics, and I’d recommend it to fans of the genre.

I really liked Mabel and Ben! It was refreshing to read about a man who is confident on the rink but is an introvert off the ice. Mabel was the opposite, very outgoing and can talk to anyone. They compliment each other, helping each other with their strengths and weaknesses. Ms Jamieson always delivers in each book that I’ve read!

Overall Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
Spicy Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5/5

I've missed Kelly's books! And then she comes out swinging with this incredible hockey romance story between Ben and Mabel.

One thing I love about Jamieson's stories is that she doesn't write "funny" characters. Like, that's not their entire personality. Don't get me wrong, I do love those kinds of characters! But when you write the most relatable characters as well as Kelly does I don't need them to be a laugh a minute.

Case in point? Mabel is every woman I know who was diagnosed with ADD/ADHD/Autism late in life. She was me at that age. Floundering. Having it *so together* in one area just to feel like your life is falling apart in every other one. Looking up one day and finding yourself staring back at a narcissist who has convinced you that you have zero worth; that they're your key to success. That..
Whoa. That got real deep, real fast. Sorry.

But that's just it. Mabel is literally me. She's my friends (because we ADD'ers clump up). She's women I know who just want to feel good about themselves while everyone they love looks at them with pity.

And then Ben. Ben is such an incredible character. He's a pullover from the Chicago Aces series and I love seeing him grow and develop. As a character and a player. In this book, his coaches want him to step up, become the leader they see in him. The issue is: he's an introvert. He's a balls-to-the-wall player on the ice, but off it he'd rather keep to himself.

He's also crushing on his best friend's twin sister.

This book isn't just hockey--though Jamieson writes those heart pounding scenes beautifully. It's a look back. It's remembering "the good ole days" of high school when everyone is awkward but only a few realize it. It's relationships upon relationships upon relationships. I love how rich this world is and I cannot wait to read the rest of the guys's stories.

Because, oh yeah, Kelly has definitely set this up to be multiple stand-alones. I'm already so invested in Marek and wondering if I've met his future FMC or if she's waiting in the wings. I want all the guys to have HEA ... and eventually the Stanley!

I really enjoyed this! Crossing the Line is a sweet but spicy romance. Our FMC Mabel leaves a coercive relationship and moves in with her brother, along with his hockey team mate Ben who Mabel had a crush on in her teenage years. Mabel is a free spirited extrovert and Ben is a reserved introvert. On paper they're chalk and cheese but together they were perfect and I loved how their relationship unfolded.

I really liked Mabel’s character. Although she’s supposedly the quirky dressing free spirit, she also comes across as wise and thoughtful. Well written and I would visit the authors back catalogue of work. Personally I wasn’t a fan of the car crash storyline but I'm guessing it’s being used to set up the couple in a later book

I really enjoyed this one. Dual POV, best friend’s sister/brother’s best friend, forced proximity, hockey romance. I really liked the personalities which was a bit difference to usual - the MMC was the shy one and the FMC was the outgoing one. I like the evolution of the friendship between them and the way they helped each other be the best versions of themselves.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

Why is it always the shy quiet ones that pull out the “good girl”, “look how well your taking me”. It just makes me feral. This book earned an extra star just for that alone.

This story follows Ben and Mabel, Mabel leaves her toxic relationship and moves in with her brother whilst she gets back on her feet, what she didn’t is that her brother has a roommate and that roommate happens to be the boy she crushed hard on in high school, bit of a sticky situation you got yourself in their love.

Ben is an introvert, who finds it really difficult to make small talk and overall, just wants to be alone, but when Mabel moves back in he sees an opportunity to hire her as his coach to help her be more confident socially since she is so extroverted and makes making friends look as easy as bashing the opposing team in the boards.

But what happens when the proximity becomes too much for both them and they can’t deny each other any longer.
And yes, these two play the game of tonsil hockey and smash each other 9 ways to Sunday.

This was a such a fun read, I didn’t want to put it down. It draw me from page 1, the strength that both these characters show in their growth journey and I ALWAYS absolutely throth a hockey romance.

At this point it may as well be ingrained in my blood.

This is a sweet and spicy romance about Mabel, who is a small-town librarian who decides to leave her controlling boyfriend, and Ben, her former crush and brother’s introverted pro hockey teammate. These two characters are adorably awkward but not painfully so and I found their challenges relatable and chemistry highly appealing. Well written! I will recommend this one!

A fun book that had the spice, drama, and angst I was expecting. It was a bit chaotic at times, and some things felt unresolved. Overall, though, I enjoyed the writing, and the characters, and reading as two imperfect people found each other.

Thank you to Boldwood books and Netgalley for the arc A cute best friends, twin sister, hockey romance with all the vibes.
Be warned there is a serious topic with this romance namely living with an abusive partner. So, let's start with that because it's on page frequently with the book.
Mabel has been living in a toxic relationship until she decides she can't take it anymore and leaves to live with her twin brother who happens to be Ben's best friend. Ben is the NHL player too.
The author handles narcissistic behavior expertly there must have been extensive research which explains how well she could describe in detail how Mabel felt.
Ben on the other hand is socially awkward and that too is handled with empathy.
This isn't your average fluffy steamy hockey book.
It has all of that in it, of course but it is deeper which creates an empathy with the characters. You find yourself emotionally drawn to them, very cleverly written.
The romance is of course dreamy and swoony. I also enjoyed that the author knows her hockey game.
Overall a good read and now I'll be looking at more titles by this author.

I'm between a 3 and a 4 on this one!

The start to this book was really strong, I loved how quirky Mabel was and an introverted, quiet professional hockey player is a sweet take on MMC in a hockey romance - we tend to get brooding, grumpy guys instead. I really enjoyed Ben as a character, and he reminded me a lot of Felix from Absolutely Not in Love by Jenny Proctor.

This book took a bit of a turn for me when it became so fully enveloped in the narcissist/abusive story line. At the start of the book, when we had the scene of Julian and Mabel having a falling out, the delivery wasn't as emotionally charged as it should have been for the caliber at which the rest of the details about Julian played out. I wish I had felt more from that beginning scene or a little bit more background on their relationship to set up for the rest of the story.

I also don't think we needed a car accident and a dead baby to help Ben become more of a captain figure, he was already there figuring it out, that was just another layer of trauma that wasn't needed to drive any point home.

The overall development of brother's best friend to lover was adorable, and I'm happy Mabel and Ben could grow together!

3.75 Stars rounded to 4! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Spoilers ahead, beware!

The first 75% of the book was fantastic. We got to know the characters on a deeper level and I was able to connect with not only our main characters but also some of the teammates. They felt like real people and were each unique and quirky. I appreciated that the author took such good care of her characters. The spice was SPICCYYY, get a glass of milk while reading. I really fell head first into this story.

Here are my criticisms
1. Twice the word rizz was used (same story, many pages apart). There is zero chance a late twenties used the word rizz in high school. It felt out of place and threw me off, a lot. 2024 elementary kids use that word.
2. I really, really don't think we needed a dead baby in this story. That was wild and then suddenly ignored and only briefly mentioned at the very end of the book? That put a huge damper on my reading experience.
3. Too many heavy topics were encompassed. We had a dead child, narcissist (I feel like this word and diagnosis is highly overused), abuse, family members victim blaming, children of abuse.... it was too much! Pick one, preferably NOT the dead child. Please.

This book was good- it went into some really deep and uncomfortable topics some of which I didn’t feel were necessary to the book. I thought there was a lot of hockey talk which isn’t what I look for in a hockey romance but I know some people enjoy that aspect. Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

I'm not used to reading about a hockey player that is an introvert. Which Ben is plus some. Mabel might be an extrovert but she is a lot more cautious now around people after a really bad break up. She is coaching Ben on how to deal with people especially in circumstances that have to do with him getting captain of his hickey team. I really enjoyed reading, Crossing the Line.

I really enjoyed the way the relationship developed between Mabel and Ben. Mabel is a free spirited librarian and Ben is a hard worked and introverted hocjey player.
Hockey didn't feature to heavily here. Mostly just team dynamics which painted a picture of Ben's character.
Mabel, dealing with an emotionally abusive ex, is trying to find herself and reconnects with Ben whom she had a major crush on a a teen.
Spice was spicy and I felt sleepiest appropriately included.
My biggest gripe was the trauma a secondary character endured. I'm not sure why it was needed in the book, I don't see it impacting the main characters in a major way. I would rather it not be included and just have a slightly shorter book.
Overall, it was a quick and enjoyable read.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my review

I saw it was a hockey romance with a librarian and I couldn’t resist!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Kelly Jamieson, and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

The Plot:
Trying to change up her life, librarian Mabel moves in with her pro hockey player twin brother “Smitty” aka Marek. Ofc Smitty lives tho with his teammate and Mabel’s unrequited high school crush Ben who she hasn’t seen in 10 years… what could possibly happen ;)

The Basics:
• First Person
• Dual PoV (Mabel and Ben)

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book and wish it longer so we could get more moments with Ben and Mabel! For once he’s more shy, awkward, quiet, and introverted whereas she’s “full of life,” extroverted, and enjoys socializing. Way to go for changing librarian stereotypes, I love it!!
There’s just enough hockey talk, references, and description that I understand what’s going on but am not weighed down by semantics to get what’s happening in the story. I did cringe a bit tho when there was a reference to Taylor Swift songs (x2) and having “rizz.” Felt a bit weird to say rizz when mentioning something that happened so far in the past since its more of a newer slang. Otherwise, the writing is superb and easy to get into, so much so that I could not put it down. I especially could not put it down since in the last 50 pages or so A LOT happens

I definitely have a soft spot for Mabel and her love of saying “crappleberries” plus her Cheez-it eating habits. It made her very relatable. Same goes for Ben and his preference for dogs over people and his quiet demeanor. It was a lil insta love and lusty given the circumstance but it honestly felt right for the characters.

Truthfully, the understanding of librarian jobs really did it for me tho. I really enjoyed the references to the many roles a library/librarian takes on and the activities a librarian may need to do. OFC there’s one sexy librarian joke thrown in but it was in good taste. In fact I think this book does a great job of creating a non-stereotypical librarian character

There were a few spicy scenes and I found them well written + they really added to the characters and their relationship.

Similar to Mister Hockey and Sin Bin Situation, it is a hockey player and librarian or soon to be librarian. However, as a trained librarian and former library staff I think this book best showcases what it can be like to be a librarian without it overshadowing the rest of the story.

If you’re a fan of Rachel Reid or Elle Kennedy, then you’ll definitely enjoy this book.

I’m excited to see where this series goes!

Content Warnings: Death of a child, mentions of past controlling relationships, creepy ex, child abuse, brief mention of sexual assault victim blaming.

4.5/ 5 stars !!

"Crossing the line" is a classic brother's-best-friend romance novel, with some other tropes mixed in as well. It was a short and sweet story about how two people can overcome issues and baggage, and become a couple who are bettering each other. It reads kinda like if fanfiction was given a structure and professional editing, which perfectly fits the story and plot.

Some of the topics in the story is so important, such as highlighting that mental and verbal abuse, is still considered abuse, and should be taken seriously. I think it was written in a tasteful way, where i think the majority can read it and understand the full story and plot. So in conclusion:

Was this the best romance novel I have read? No
But was it addicting as hell, and I couldn't put it down? Hell yeah, it was

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this sports romance between a hockey player and his best friend's sister. It is very much opposites attract, with Ben's introversion and shyness contrasting with Mabel's friendliness and effusive sociability. I found the strongest part of the romance to be Mabel's understanding of and patience with Ben as he tries to come out of his shell and gain confidence over the course of the book.
I found the plot to be predictable but I don't think this detracted from it at all; I liked being able to see where the story was going and instead focusing on Mabel and Ben's feelings towards each other. The exception to this is [SPOILER] that a tragic event happens to a side character in the middle of the book, which I did not think was handled with all the sensitivity it needed purely because it did not get enough page time and was not that big an event in the plot. I felt like it might have been setting up the scene for another book in a series (I'm thinking Carson and Ayla marriage in trouble/second chance) which would explore the topic of baby loss and grief more, but nonetheless it was somewhat jarring in this book.
Overall, though, I liked reading this and didn't want to put it down. I would be up for reading more from this author!

Thank you NetGalley, Kelly Jamieson, and Boldwood books for allowing me to read an advance copy of Crossing the Line. While I’m not a hockey fan, Jamieson makes it an easy read with just the right amount of sports scenes so the reader is not overwhelmed.

Ban, an extremely talented professional hockey player and introvert, has been tapped to contend for team captain because of his outstanding leadership skills in the locker room and on the ice. However, his introversion causes him to struggle with small talk with anyone who is not a close friend and public speaking, even with just a sportscaster and cameraman. How can he be the team spokesperson? Management suggests he attend Toastmasters which nearly causes Ben to withdraw his name.

Mabel, just out of an emotionally abusive relationship, quits her job and moves in with her twin brother Marek and Ben (hockey teammates and best friends) who is waiting for his new condo to be ready. She is quirky, outgoing, appears to a bit flaky at times, and definitely an extrovert! Marek suggests that Ben hire Mabel to help him with public speaking and awkward situations.

And here you have a wonderful set-up for Marek’s warning to his teammates to “keep your hands off my sister”! This is a fast moving story filled with humor, innuendos, and steamy scenes countered with very emotional, touching moments as both Ben and Mabel share their weaknesses, worst moments, greatest fears, and learn that trusting the right people is crucial to your mental health and a successful relationship.

This book was OK. There really wasn't a lot of drama over the brothers best friend trope. What took me out of the story was the tragedy that occurred to a minor character. It came out of nowhere and was pretty triggering to just drop on. I found myself not caring about the main couple after that because it threw off the tone of the book so much. It was hard to care about their contrivedproblems. .