A review by anna4
Cross the Line by Simone Soltani

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

YET AGAIN A BOOK WITH NO 3RD ACT BREAKUP.

I feel like I’m winning in life with books like this.

Cross The Line has a lot of great aspects: humour, a good and reasonable amount of the sport the book revolves around, great cast of characters, the representation and diversity was *chef’s kiss*.

Basically everything you would want to want in a sports romance. And after the first couple of chapters, I was really sure this would be an easy, at least, 4,5 star read. 

However, something didn’t really click for me and after thinking it through, I think I know what it was: It’s how Dev came to realise that he’s into Willow. There wasn’t a development of those feelings and it felt rather sudden for me (and maybe him too ?).

He went from “this is my cute, best friend’s little sister” to worshipping the ground Willow walks on (as he should tbh!)

Other than that, Willow and Dev’s professional and romantic relationship and their dynamic makes a lot of sense and it really shows in the way they treat each other.

“Cross the Line” showcases very successfully that a great romance book doesn’t need drama in any way or a big, unnecessary break up and that communication is key and goes a long way.

I know this is the first in a series and if you read the book, you can probably guess where the rest of the series is headed. 

I am definitely looking forward to those books!

Thank you to Pan Macmillan for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.