Reviews - Crossed | The StoryGraph

3.37k reviews for:

Crossed

Emily McIntire

3.62 AVERAGE

mackiereadings's review against another edition

2.5

dark hopeful tense medium-paced

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mikaelajade's review against another edition

5.0

As someone who wanted to be Esmeralda when I grew up, I ate this book UP!! The back and forth tension between Amaya and Cade was so excruciating in the best way and it made my heart melt. This slow burn was so much better than any slow burn in Emily’s previous books. I can’t wait to see what the next book will entail!

booksspicyandcoffeeicy's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

iselin_j_m's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

sassyfitncurvy's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🔥🔥🔥 spice level

Let me just say this—Crossed is more than a dark romance. It’s a fast-paced, page-turning, emotionally heavy masterpiece that had me glued to the pages and emotionally wrecked (in the best way).

First off, I loved the representation in this book—especially the character on the spectrum. It was handled with so much care and added depth to the entire story. We need more of this in dark romance. Period.

The relationship between the two main characters? Complicated, spicy, and real. This wasn’t just enemies to lovers or broken-meets-broken—it was two people carrying demons who somehow found peace in each other’s chaos. Messy? Absolutely. Beautiful? 100%.

And let’s not forget ride-or-die best friend and her relationship with the main characters brother. Whew. The loyalty. The love. The heartbreak. 😭 One scene in particular (no spoilers, I promise) shattered me. There was so much emotion woven into the second half of this book—I wasn’t ready.

Spice-wise, it’s a solid 3 out of 5. It wasn’t constant steam, but when it hit… it HIT. 🔥

If you’re sensitive to dark themes or heavy content, consider this your trigger warning. But if you’re looking for a dark love story with grit, heart, and characters who’ll stick with you? Crossed is it. Finished it in two days and maybe I should finally Google the French phrases I didn’t understand 🤷🏽‍♀️.

Definitely a 5-star read. Well-written, emotional, unforgettable.

Content Warnings

_lleesh's review against another edition

2.0

it was definitely a book!

kimberlywyatt5's review against another edition

4.0

This book is the darkest she has done so far. There is murder. There is self harm. There is rape. There is bullying. There is poverty, drugs, & blackmail. I loved all of this book. It is a retelling of the Hunchback of Notre Dame & she did a perfect modern retelling. I love the way she changed the characters but kept them true to their origins. If you don’t mind dark romance, this is definitely a great one!!