Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
2.5 ⭐️
I really wanted to love On the Line. The premise had potential, but unfortunately it just didn’t hit the mark for me.
James is a rich girl who ends up working at a restaurant after being cut off for changing majors and deciding to follow her dreams of becoming an artist. When she starts her new job, she meets Ozzy, the charismatic line cook. There’s an instant attraction, and they start off just hooking up, but things get real, fast. This book dives into their emotional baggage, the chaos of restaurant life, and how they slowly heal and find something real with each other.
Their “relationship” started out of nowhere. There wasn’t much buildup, and they spend most the book in limbo. They acted like a couple, but it felt more like physical attraction, so they kept calling it “friends with benefits”. The fmc was constantly opening up about her struggles, yet she was the one who insisted on keeping things casual, which felt pretty contradictory. It also took a long time for them to make things official, even though Ozzy clearly wanted to be with her (and he didn’t communicate that either so). I get why she wasn’t ready though; she went through a lot of trauma in her past relationship. By the time they got together, it was near the end of the book, and there wasn’t much room to explore their relationship further.
On top of that, I felt like she never got closure with her parents. She only confronted her mom, and that was pretty much it. Given how much the book focused on her being a rich girl with a complicated family situation, I thought there’d be a more focus on that, but it kind of took a backseat. Ozzy’s family issues also didn’t get much attention and were brushed over a bit too quickly.
I really liked the fmc’s character growth, from a spoiled rich girl with trauma to someone confident and outspoken. The mmc reminded me of a mix of Jeremy Allen White’s characters in The Bear and Shameless. I really appreciated how patient and sexually adventurous he was.
There’s cheating in this (not between the MCs) and a crazy Snickers situation that had me literally throwing my ereader across the bed when I read it. I’ll never look at a Snickers bar the same way.
I wasn’t expecting the casual substance use (drinking and smoking) throughout the whole book. This might just be personal preference, but the scene where they snort coke in the bar’s bathroom threw me off. It didn’t add anything to the plot or their character development.
Please check all the trigger warnings before going into this. There are heavy topics discussed in this book that could potentially be upsetting or difficult to read.
Final Rating:
2.5 ⭐️ (rounded up for goodreads)
3
I really wanted to love On the Line. The premise had potential, but unfortunately it just didn’t hit the mark for me.
James is a rich girl who ends up working at a restaurant after being cut off for changing majors and deciding to follow her dreams of becoming an artist. When she starts her new job, she meets Ozzy, the charismatic line cook. There’s an instant attraction, and they start off just hooking up, but things get real, fast. This book dives into their emotional baggage, the chaos of restaurant life, and how they slowly heal and find something real with each other.
Their “relationship” started out of nowhere. There wasn’t much buildup, and they spend most the book in limbo. They acted like a couple, but it felt more like physical attraction, so they kept calling it “friends with benefits”. The fmc was constantly opening up about her struggles, yet she was the one who insisted on keeping things casual, which felt pretty contradictory. It also took a long time for them to make things official, even though Ozzy clearly wanted to be with her (and he didn’t communicate that either so). I get why she wasn’t ready though; she went through a lot of trauma in her past relationship. By the time they got together, it was near the end of the book, and there wasn’t much room to explore their relationship further.
On top of that, I felt like she never got closure with her parents. She only confronted her mom, and that was pretty much it. Given how much the book focused on her being a rich girl with a complicated family situation, I thought there’d be a more focus on that, but it kind of took a backseat. Ozzy’s family issues also didn’t get much attention and were brushed over a bit too quickly.
I really liked the fmc’s character growth, from a spoiled rich girl with trauma to someone confident and outspoken. The mmc reminded me of a mix of Jeremy Allen White’s characters in The Bear and Shameless. I really appreciated how patient and sexually adventurous he was.
There’s cheating in this (not between the MCs) and a crazy Snickers situation that had me literally throwing my ereader across the bed when I read it. I’ll never look at a Snickers bar the same way.
I wasn’t expecting the casual substance use (drinking and smoking) throughout the whole book. This might just be personal preference, but the scene where they snort coke in the bar’s bathroom threw me off. It didn’t add anything to the plot or their character development.
Please check all the trigger warnings before going into this. There are heavy topics discussed in this book that could potentially be upsetting or difficult to read.
Final Rating:
2.5 ⭐️ (rounded up for goodreads)
3
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Ok this book dealt with hard topics and I ate this book UP!!!!! So wonderful
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
just a bit of fun rly. made me miss working in hospo for a hot minute before i remembered what working in hospo is actually like
This main character is a mash up of Jeremy Allen White’s Lip and Carmy.
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No