Reviews - On the Line | The StoryGraph

DNF @ 40%

Sex acts with a snickers? I guess 🥴

Heroine who has like zero backbone and stays way too long with her verbally abusive BF who’s (still) best friends with the guy who r*ped her? While he watched and did nothing? You’re losing me here.

Casual cocaine usage for no real reason? In a contemporary? Nope. See ya. I’m out.

lbeichner96's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

steca2's review against another edition

4.25

emotional funny 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

I could have loved this if the author dug in more. I think she needed probably an extra 100 pages to really flesh it out because some of the darker themes felt really rushed, resulting in a one note experience.

James’ abusive relationship was portrayed fairly well but the quick “engage in CNC to cure rape trauma” felt a little reductive. All of Ozzy’s family trauma should have been taken one or two steps further to really explore the impact. Particularly the Huxley arrest plot point. That felt very unfulfilling, especially since there wasn’t a conclusion (even in the epilogue!) to the point I wish the author didn’t have that happen.

lauracarlin's review against another edition

3.5

I took this as seriously as the movie Waiting. I liked the beginning when the restaurant setting was being built and then it just kinda stopped once Ozzy and James started sleeping together. All of the positive thoughts I have about this book are second to why the snickers candy bar had to be ruined for this book.

nikkis_read_cute's review against another edition

5.0

❣A special thank you to @good.girls.pr for early access to this fun & amazing book!

❝ And for those who once believed they were unloveable, I wish you all to be loved by someone like Ozzy McKenna.. ❞

❥ A few words to describe this book — funny, provocative, bold, and sexy.

Have you ever read a book that exceeded your expectations? “On the Line” by Naomi Loud just fit that bill for me!

Some parts were hilarious, some were pleasantly surprising, others were swoon-worthy, bold but good, and some were even sad.

I could relate to James’ situation with Zachary, as well as Ozzy’s broken family dynamic. Reading about these situations made this book that much more compelling for me.

I don’t want to regurgitate the synopsis, or give away too much of the book, but I will point out that this isn’t a fluffy read. There are some difficult topics, but they’re handled delicately.

The book is also portrayed in such a way that makes it feel like real life. I love when I become engrossed in a book and become part of their world.

Read this If you like:

bookishblasian's review against another edition

5.0

Loveable characters: Yes

This book was the very best surprise! I can’t remember the last time I read a book from start to finish in a single day. I started this book when I woke up. Had time to go to the movies and run errands, and then had time to finish this book throughout the afternoon and right before bed. I couldn’t put it down! I’ve never heard of Naomi before, but I have seen some rave reviews of this book from some people on booksta that share similar book tastes with me. Despite having a mile long TBR, seeing yet another review of this book finally got me to download it. I am a big The Bear tv show gal, and this book is like a hornier, slightly less stressful version of that show. Ozzy is 1000% Carmy. I wasn’t sure what to make of him or James at first, but I ended up falling in love with them both. I love how James was bold / stupid enough to go out on her own just to follow her dreams. She had all the money and privilege, but she didn’t want it because she was miserable. I love how flirty Ozzy was. Kitchen hoe or not, I would’ve fallen for his charming self too. He is somehow both very crude but also so so so sweet. As a chef, it’s clear he loves food and shows love with food. The amount of times he checked to see if James had ate (usually she hadn’t) and he took it upon himself to cook for her or make sure she was fed. It warmed my heart every time. So many of their big convos happen after Ozzy cooked for James, and I’m positive that was by design. I had no idea what to expect from this author so I definitely didn’t expect all the darker themes in it. I didn’t mind it though! It added a little something extra to the story. Although it wasn’t my fave scene, I love that James was able to reclaim her power over her past traumas. She obviously has way more work to do to work through all that stuff, but I love how she felt safe enough with Ozzy to ask for what she needed. Also the steam?!?! This book was so horny lol. The steam was impeccable. At times it felt like a lot, but I can’t deny how much I loved these two together. Ozzy was down BAD for James. Despite his reputation, he fell so hard and so fast for her. Poor guy kept getting his feelings hurt every time she mentioned them being casual. I loved that they both said it was casual, but really it was never casual between them. I’m glad they worked their shit out and started trusting each other. My only complaint about this book is that I really wanted more of these two! Overall, I’m so glad I took a chance on this book. I inhaled it from start to finish and I haven’t done that in a while. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

kralovajitka01's review against another edition

4.0

emotional tense 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

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