Book Summary: 

Rule #1 Do not cross the line with best friend’s sister

Ben

On the ice I’m formidable, relentless and I lead by example. Now my coach wants me to step up as Captain – and lead the team off the ice too. But this is my worst nightmare; I’d rather play hockey naked than do any kind of public speaking! To make matters worse, my best friend’s sister has shown up out of the blue to live with us temporarily. We have a history… it’s awkward, she’s starting to invade my fantasies and I can’t seem to escape her. But maybe she could be the answer to my problems…

Mabel

Moving in with my brother was not part of my life plan, but I have no choice at the moment. I need to get away and start my life over. I just wish I didn’t have to share the condo with Ben. I thought I’d buried my teenage crush, but seeing him all the time has me fascinated with him all over again! But now he’s asking for my help to be more outgoing and confident, and basically fake it until he makes it. Sure I can help, but that would mean a lot of time alone. I need to stay strong and resist the obvious temptation…

My Review:

New to Kelly Jamieson, I have to applaud her ability to immerse the reader in the heat of the game and then seamlessly flip the script, placing you in the heart of her characters. A surprisingly unexpected mix of sweet and sorrow, Crossing the Line is more than your typical hockey romance – it’s a testament to self-discovery, self-love, and the transformative power of acceptance from others.

Sleeping on her twin brother’s couch was never where Mabel expected her life to end up. She was happy-ish, with a job she loved and a man she thought she would marry. But that man turned out to be a narcissistic, manipulative monster who love-bombed her into blindness, taking over her entire life. When he gave her an ultimatum – to choose between him or her best friend – she realized it was time to cut her losses and walk away. Unfortunately, Julian doesn’t take rejection well. So now Mabel isn’t just crashing on a couch – she’s hiding, trying to recover from the wreckage of her shattered life. The last thing she needs while licking her wounds is an audience – especially from the one guy who spent most of their childhood avoiding her like she had a contagious disease. Sure, she’d been infatuated with Ben for years, but he’d made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her. That was then. This is now.

And now, who was Mabel kidding, Ben was still impossible to ignore. She can’t seem to stop her eyes from wandering his way, but she’s not foolish enough to risk her heart again. She’s focused on putting her life back together, and falling for Ben is not happening.

Ben, on the other hand, already has enough on his plate. He’s working hard to prove he deserves to be team captain, his coach is forcing him to be more outgoing (and he’d honestly rather play hockey naked than leave his introvert bubble), and he’s now the spokesperson for a charity. The last thing he needs is his best friend’s twin sister showing up out of nowhere and crashing on the couch. It’s easy to leave their past behind him… until Mabel starts creeping into his present – specifically his dreams and fantasies. But no matter how tempted he is, it can’t happen. She’s off-limits, and he’s determined to focus on becoming the leader his team and coach expect him to be.

Still, when Ben realizes he needs help breaking out of his shell, the solution seems obvious: ask Mabel to coach him on being more extroverted. It means spending time together, yes, but he’s convinced they can keep things professional, for the sake of his friendship with her brother Marek, and out of respect for Mabel’s recent messy breakup. They have to.

As a longtime fan of hockey romances, I truly enjoyed Mabel and Ben’s sweet, heartfelt story. Watching Mabel rediscover herself and witnessing Ben’s growth alongside his team was utterly satisfying. That said, I couldn’t help but feel the story was somewhat incomplete by the end. The narrative spends a lot of time on Ben’s desire to earn the captain position and his team’s quest to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but we’re never told what happens. Did they make it past the first round? How far did they go? While this lack of resolution might not bother readers more invested in the romantic arc, as a hockey fan, I wanted to know!

On a lighter note, I’m officially adding the word “pregret” to my vocabulary. That scene was pure gold – and even better was how it played out (no spoilers, but it’s worth the wait). As is typical with sports romances, the secondary characters were a riot. I couldn’t help but be reminded of Sarah Adams’s The Game Plan with all the team antics, especially when they tried to help Ben “woo” Mabel. The way they ripped on each other showed the strength of the team and their brotherhood as players, which set a solid foundation for a pivotal scene later in the book.

As for the overall story, I was genuinely surprised to learn that Kelly Jamieson has written over 50 novels and novellas. While I found this story entertaining, the writing occasionally felt underdeveloped – more novice than polished. One particular issue stood out: Jamieson’s tendency to repeat lines or ideas verbatim rather than rephrasing for emphasis. At first, I thought it was an oversight, but it happened multiple times, and each instance left me thinking, “Wait, didn’t she already say that?” Since this is an ARC, it may be something buffed out before publication, making it a moot point. If so, fantastic. If not, while it doesn’t hinder the story, self appointed members of the grammar police may take notice.

Beyond that, I had a larger issue with the lack of a trigger warning regarding the death of a child. While the event occurred off-screen, it significantly impacted the story’s tone. I understand how it was used to push Ben out of his comfort zone and highlight his empathy and compassion, but the entire subplot felt disconcerting. It disrupted the book’s lighthearted feel, dropping a ten-pound weight into the narrative without much warning. One moment we’re navigating Mabel’s post-breakup recovery, and the next we’re at the hospital confronting this tragedy. Then, just as abruptly, we’re back on the ice with Ben joking around with his teammates.

The emotional whiplash left me questioning whether this subplot was truly necessary – unless Alfie is getting his own story, which would make the inclusion of the tragedy, its impact on the family, and the hospital scene essential to the series, rather than just Ben’s story. While Jamieson eventually tied everything back into the narrative by showcasing the team’s camaraderie, their drive to win for their teammate, and the community’s support, I can’t help but feel that, unless this is setting the stage for Alfie’s story, the same emotional depth could have been achieved in a less hard-hitting way.

As for the spicy scenes, they didn’t quite hit the mark. The focus seemed to be more on how Ben carried himself – i.e., his transition from quiet and reserved to more vocal, rather than on the actual physical connection. The build-up was more intense than the steamy scenes, making the almost moments hotter than the actual intimate connections, which fizzled rather than scorched.

Looking deeper, the story centers around three key themes: narcissism, introversion, and acceptance/teamwork. While Mabel’s experience in a toxic, narcissistic relationship is well-explored, some of the conversations about it felt overly long and unrealistic – particularly her final confrontation with Julian. That said, readers will walk away with an understanding of terms like love bombing, signs/red flags of narcissistic or manipulative behavior, and the reasons why someone might stay in such an unhealthy relationship. I would definitely give a standing ovation to how she highlights society’s perspective on women in abusive relationships and the tendency to blame the victim—especially when the partner is emotionally and psychologically abusive, leaving scars that are harder to detect by the outside world. On the topic of introversion, while I appreciated the focus on Ben’s struggles, I felt disheartened by the implication that his introversion was a problem he needed to fix in order to succeed. Introversion exists on a spectrum, and not all introverts experience it as a hindrance the way Ben did. While Mabel’s constant reminders that there was nothing wrong with Ben helped balance this portrayal, the idea that introverts need external validation to be accepted rubbed me the wrong way. Still, I respect that this may have been Jamieson’s personal perspective as an introvert herself.

One lingering issue for me was the infamous “pantsing” incident that supposedly traumatized Ben into avoiding Mabel. While we’re told it involved dinosaur boxers, the lack of clarity on how it happened left me confused. If the event was significant enough to justify Ben’s behavior, more detail would have helped.

All that said, the introduction of the players – particularly Archie’s final comment – and the scenes involving Alfie hint at the potential for this to become a series. While my journey with The Storm ends here, I’d recommend this book to readers who enjoy heartfelt twists on classic romance tropes.