I felt disconnect between the two characters throughout the story. I understand instant love stories, but I felt this one did not have enough to back it up. One of the reasons this book stood out to me was because of the cover and how it showed a couple connected with music. However, I felt like it was such a background aspect. The two main action incidents were also each coming from nowhere. The first action plot was ok, and I brushed it off to keep reading, but the second one? It felt so random just so there can be another problem for the two characters. I still don't understand the reason for including it. I wished there were areas that were looked at again to fit the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Victory editing co-op for an early read of this book!!
This book really intrigued me from the cover art alone and as I have been getting into romance— the student professor trope really intrigued me. I thought the writing was well done, but I was not expecting the almost instant-love that occurred between our two main characters. They met for one day years ago, and it felt like our male main characters attached himself very quickly to the fmc. I think I just was expecting more buildup to the relationship or the first kiss. I wasn’t expecting the surprise pregnancy and that threw me off my game a bit too. If those are tropes for you then definitely check it out!! There’s he falls first, music, and forbidden love in this book!! The writing is well done, and I would read this author again!! I would rate it 3.5 stars if there were half ratings!

OMG! I didn't know what to expect with this book but it was an AMAZING book. Truly loved the plot, character development, and ending. I need more books like this from Rachel Tork. Rowan and Julian are a phenomenal couple. I will be getting a physical copy of this book for sure! Read this. You will stay up late at night to finish.

I wanted to first of thank Azala Press and NetGalley for an early copy of The Lines We Cross by Rachel Tork.

I loved the cover and the description of this book which is why I had chosen to read it. One of my favorite tropes is forbidden love. I feel like this trope was brushed over. By about 30-40% of the book it was pretty much done. I was really thrown off by another trope which I do not want to ruin for someone else reading it but I feel like this should have been forewarned somehow. If I had known this I probably would not have requested it and it ended up being a huge part of the story.

Overall I saw Rachel’s heart behind this book and know that it took her a while to write. I appreciated all of the characters but just felt that it lacked depth and chemistry throughout the book as far as character development and she had so many good ideas.

Overall I did enjoy this book and I look forward to her next book.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book. I do know that it was giving Harry Potter like vibes with the people in the front cover. When it came to the story, it was interesting to say the least, the surprise pregnancy in the book changes the whole vibe and it isn't in a bad way. It just changed the characters and their perspectives. Jake omg how we go from 0 to 100 in one chapter but somehow everyone made it safe it seems? Everything is happening so fast omg. The fire, the gun, the everything in between. So much that I didn't expect, this book is so messy but like in a good way. The wedding was cute, kinda similar to how I'm doing mine. I loved this book and the characters were very memorable, is that a sequel at the end of those awknowledgements I see? Oooohhh!

Quote: "a sunset such as this is like a beautiful song for our eyes"

Rated it four stars out of five!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Azala Press for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 46%

I was excited to read (and hopefully finish) The Lines We Cross, but as I read further I realised that I wasn't really enjoying the story itself. I couldn't connect with any of the main or side characters and, in fact, I didn't like some of them. All the characters are adults and they use that argument to prove a point, but then they don't stand up for themselves and they have friends standing up for them, it was a bit out of place for me? I don't even know how to explain it properly without giving away spoilers, which I don't want to do.

I didn't feel the connection they had, especially as they only saw each other once, three years ago, and then the story, despite taking place in the present day, keeps skipping days and weeks, which makes it difficult to root for a couple who only see each other ‘professionally’. The feelings started out of nowhere and went straight into a spicy scene, there was no build-up.

I knew about the surprise pregnancy trope, but it wasn't developed enough. It was like: oh, it broke- now she's pregnant, she hasn't decided what she's going to do, she hasn't even thought about it, but her friend says this and does this and she agrees.

There were too many plots going on at once, too many details for a book that doesn't even reach 300 pages (on my e-reader). It feels like the author was trying to do all these things but didn't have enough space for it and it was too dramatic.

The only good thing I can point to is the fact that the writing is captivating, which got me this far, but there was a turning point for me that I no longer cared to keep forcing myself to read and finish the book.

The Lines We Cross by Rachel Tork | ARC Review

Thank you Rachel Tork and NetGalley for this ARC! Rachel - my poor, poor heart took so many hits with this book, I was sure it was ever going to recover ❤️‍🩹

4.5⭐️//2🌶️

The Lines We Cross truly has it all: forbidden love, romantic tension, good amount of spice, and so many moments that leave you gasping. Rowan and Julian have such a strong connection, and the tension between them is burning slowly, but surely, until they become inevitable. I loved that the characters had a moment in their past, where their lives crossed, to then be apart, and I loved that during all this time apart Julian was still absolutely taken with the mysterious girl he met on the steps of the music building. The kindness he showed Rowan then, made all the difference in how she faced the anniversary of her sister's death.

Later in the book, when Rowan confesses that she no one, except for her dead sister, really understands how she thinks and how she feels, and how Julian is the one person that does. Perhaps she just needed someone to see her for who she was, not who everyone else wanted to see her as: a talented musician, the surviving half of a twin set, a somewhat estranged daughter, or as a reclusive friend. I loved how Julian was the safe landing space for Rowan, and how she was someone who he never anticipated of ever finding.

Through all the ups and downs, all the twists and turns, all the heartache and happy moments, this book guides us through an atypical love story that will surely tug at our hearts and make us feel everything Rowan and Julian went through.

Favourite scene: Ceremony in the garden 🪻🌸🌷
Favourite 🌶️ scene: Rain & hangover makes for sleepovers 🤭

I didn’t go into this book blind, which probably changed how I read it. I loved the chemistry between the characters! Rowan was such a wonderfully flawed character, and let’s be real—Julian was hot. 🔥

But then the twist happened… and everything lost its emotional power for me. The middle sections were a real slog to get through. I know a lot of readers don’t love this specific trope, but what bothered me more were the two wildly out-of-place tension scenes that just didn’t fit.

That said, I ended up liking this book much more than I thought I would! It has its flaws, but there’s still something compelling about the characters and their spark.

“He had to snuff it out.
The heat.
The want.
The need and hope and desire …
But the fact of the matter was, she was becoming his jailed, and she had absolutely no idea”

This book surprised me. I’m the type of reader that likes to go in blind especially when the book is marketed as a romance. I tend to be quite picky. When I found out that it was student professor romance I was intrigued and since the tension was there and the attraction was there too, I had a great time getting through the Rowan and Julian’s dynamics. To be fair, I maybe expected it to be a bit more of a slow burn but I don’t feel like complaining necessarily considering that it also had a certain degree of spice that made their romance hot and all over the place at the same time. The frustration, the sadness and the melancholy of what they share is unique and it’s the kind of tortured love people talk about only this time it does end with an HEA. Thankfully, otherwise I would have been extremely sad and tearful. This time around is the girl with trauma in their past and the MMC with a hero complex (again I’m not complaining cause it did have an effect on me) but who’s ready to do everything to save her and protect her. It would have been even more perfect if it’d been in a fantasy setting. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it.

“He didn’t know what to call whatever was between them. There wasn’t a word for it. At least, not one he would let himself use”

“I know that sometimes music can take us away, even from what’s really important to us. Even if we don’t want it to. It’s like a sort of madness”

I really wanted to like this book - I loved the cover and immediately wanted to read it, and the premise sounded good because I like the forbidden romance trope, but unfortunately, it just wasn't for me :(

I like the start of the book, how Julian and Rowan meet for the first time, and then the surprise of meeting again after three years. It was very insta-love, but I was fine with it as long as there was tension and longing, and from the description, I was expecting that along with a slow burn, but nope - at 30% it's all done and there was not a lot keeping me interested in their relationship tbh. I enjoyed the intimate scenes and did not find them cringy at all, but all the big feelings that the characters were experiencing... I just did not feel them, I couldn't see an emotional connection between them because there was none - there was barely any relationship development, they just suddenly got together, so I really struggled to believe their feelings. Being honest, I did not care much about any of the characters. I felt like they lacked depth, as I didn't even feel that the actually liked or had a passion for music!

There was A LOT of drama in this book - sooooo many different plots that felts underdeveloped and rushed; I wish the author had picked one and expanded on it, because so many of the things happened all of a sudden and without much build-up or fall-out. Like, big and really serious things happened, and they were brushed over like they were nothing. These characters had reeeally, reeeally bad luck and just could not catch a break!

(SPOILER): Lastly, I think the marketing of this book should include the surprise pregnancy trope, because I was not expecting that at all, and I was not very happy about it - it's not my favourite trope, but I'm fine if I know it's going to happen, but it was not mentioned anywhere, and it ended up being the main plot line of the book.

Overall, I think the idea was good, but the execution could have been better and then I would have been more invested in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Azala Press for the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

The cover of this book is what made me want to read it. Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read the ARC.

We follow Rowan and Julian through a student/teacher relationship. So if that is up your alley then this book is for you. I love it when our characters meet before the story actually starts and then they have to navigate their lives together. This book really keeps you on your toes, there is something happening all the time. Just when you think they have survived everything, another challenge pops up. I have already recommended this book to my bookclub when it releases.

Mine the trigger warnings in the beginning,

ARC review - publication date: 14 January 2025

Rowan and Julian met on the anniversary or her sister’s death. They did not see each other until three years later when she starts the graduate program at Grandview University’s School of Music and Julian is replacing her advisor that is ill.

This book is for you if you like:
- Age gap
- teacher/student
- forbidden romance
- insta-love
- he falls first
- surprise pregnancy
- forced proximity
- music

The start of the book was good and it got me engaged with the story. Even of I am not an insta-love fan, I liked the connection between Rowan and Julian. There was chemistry between them and music was something that connected them.
Even if there is an age gap and he is her adviser, Rowan is a mature woman that knows what she is doing. And Julian acted mature and protective towards her when needed.

The drama and suspenseful part of the book was a bit too much. There were too many twists and complications.

But I liked the ending and the epilogue. Also, even of the relationship is complicated, there is no break up.

I received a digital copy of the book from Azala Press and Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really wanted to like this book, the main concept is something I enjoy, but some points just felt a little.. far-fetched. Saying that, I felt this could've been longer, there was a fair amount of big events, but not enough build up or time spent in those events to have an impact. I also would've like more time with the other characters - ie. both main characters families - who we only met very briefly.
That being said, it was a very quick and easy read, I just was left wishing there was more depth to it.

I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic and the story is immaculate. I rated it 5 stars.

This book was super frustrating. In theory, the idea was exciting and catchy, but it just was lagging. So many storyline’s going all over the place and it was hard to stay invested. I was just losing interest. Interesting premise though.

The beginning of the book can hook you from the start, but as the story starts to progress, there are many plot lines that just seem unrealistic. These plot lines could happen, but the way that they are brought into the book just don’t make sense. The main characters on their own can be likable, but the dialogue and the way they interact aren’t very convincing. There is also a side character that is unbearable.
Overall, the writing is pretty good, but the story needed to be meshed together a bit better. The effort made to make so many plot lines could’ve been better used to showcase the tension and romance between the two characters.

The Lines We Cross

| contemporary romance | forbidden romance | professor x student | strangers to lovers | grump x grump | music | surprise pregnancy | scandal | suspense romance | spicy | kylo-ren coded |

This book started amazingly. It had many of my favorite things in a romance read including academia, strangers to lovers, and a taboo relationship. I loved the format of the book and the way the author decided to split the story. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end. Essentially there are three parts.

There were so many things I loved; however, once things started to really heat up, the story lost me. Overall, this was an enjoyable read with many things that I enjoyed. However, once I was in the thick of it, there were a couple of things that I did not enjoy that overshadowed the things that I was enjoying.

To avoid any spoilers for prospective readers, I will say that there was something that happened more than once that left me feeling confused because the reason why they were happening wasn't explained or obvious to me as the reader. This event occurred more than once and made me feel like it was an unnecessary part of the plot. Some events did not feel realistic under the impression of a taboo relationship and the circumstances of our characters. There is also a side character that is very involved, and usually side characters are very lovable and inject many things into a story like humor, and companionship. Sometimes they can talk some sense into the main character during a critical moment. In this story, I found the side character to be unlikeable and overbearing from the beginning.

Needless to say, I did enjoy the romantic aspect of the story. The romance story is the reason I finished the story. I enjoyed the theme of a music student and her professor as this is something I have not read many times or seen in more mainstream stories. I also enjoyed a lot of the feelings this book put me through including the suspense of the relationship.

Overall there were an equal amount of things that I loved and hated about this story. I think it will be a great choice for readers who enjoy taboo relationships, and romantic suspense.

Happy Reading, Friends xx

This is one of those books where there were elements of it I absolutely loved which would give it a very strong place in the romance genre, however, there were other parts of it that I really had mixed feelings about and at times I felt a little bit pulled out of the story because of it.

Firstly, I loved the characters - their personalities, the way they behaved, and the layers of interaction they all had. I enjoyed the slight suspense before we were thrown into the romance too. I loved our FMC, how she was so headstrong and determined despite all of the trauma she'd been through and I loved our I-will-do-absolutely-anything-you-ask MMC who was clearly just devoted to her completely. I enjoyed their backstories, how they met and got to know each other. All these elements were structured well in the story, There was some absolutely wonderful writing in this that really pulled me in and had me feeling for the characters and being able to relate to them.

Where it started to lose its spark for me was almost around the time we hit the halfway point and too many things just start happening out of nowhere. The introduction of several new plot points, some of them that were maybe about 30% towards the end just felt a little bit much for me. The plot became very intense, which I think then started to impact the romance and how it continued to be fleshed out as well. The pacing just started to feel a bit rushed and as if we were trying to fit too many events into the narrative, also some of the things that happened to them as a couple just felt very out of left field? I'm not the biggest fan of the insta love trope personally and I reckon it would've been great to draw out the tension between the two lovers a little more.



The writing is strong and you can tell that the author has some real talent! But it just felt like she was trying to fit 10 different plot points into a book that was less than 300 pages. Without spoiling it, there was about 3 plot points that could have been removed and it still would have been a jam packed storyline. This is not a bad book by any means, and I'm sure many people will love it. But for me, it just felt like it could have been edited down way more. Or if the different plot points were important, then the book needed to be longer. It just all felt way too rushed. I would have enjoyed to see more romance happen between the leads instead of the insane twists that were included to add adventure.

When I saw this book described as a mix of Out on a Limb (one of my favourite books) and Not Another Love Song (a book I really enjoyed), I knew I had to read it.

I went into this book really excited and the first few chapters didn’t disappoint but as the story went on, I my enthusiasm died down a bit. Now, for me, the thing that really put me off was the insane drama. Don’t get me wrong, I expect a certain degree of unrealism but at one point I was just staring at my kindle wondering how things had gotten so far. The fact that I couldn’t feel the character’s connection no matter how many times I was told about it didn’t help either, I can’t put my finger on the why - maybe it was the fact that everything was a bit rushed and/or a little bit too superficial - but I just wasn’t able to connect to these characters or understand their connection and why they fell for each other.

Unfortunately, even though this had the potential to become one of my favourite books of the year, it fell a bit flat.

Thank you to Netgalley and Azala Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I normally don’t prefer professor/student romances, and I was hoping this book would change my mind. The first half seemed to check off a lot of boxes regarding tropes and setting - grumpy/moody MMC, spirited and independent FMC, both classical musicians, he falls first + falls harder. I could feel the tension and longing acutely, and that kept me hooked.

In the second half, however, the plot seemed to veer towards campy and soapy, with crazy events peppered in between mundane scenes - that consistent tension was lacking and the forces trying to keep the characters apart didn’t seem that believable. I also felt like the whole “forbidden” aspect of the professor/student dynamic was focused on too much - emphasizing how their relationship was “wrong” vs. showcasing the endurance of their love.

That said, I thought the first half of the book was compelling and the characterizations of the MCs were really vivid and clear. If you like these kinds of forbidden love romances, this might be something you’ll enjoy!