Cover Image: Crossing the Line

Crossing the Line

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Member Reviews

3.5 stars
This was the second entry to series about brothers working the land and farming. Our main guy is not just a farmer taking care of the land and his brother.... no- he has a secret need to do something different... Write.
Enter a city slick photographer there to do a dear friend a favor. The friend's blog needs a bump in views and spotlighting this farmer's land and who they are the premier farm to table location will do it.

Classic- He doesn't want her there- She sees he is more than what he presents.

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There is so much to love about this sweet, sexy and surprising book about Eli Cross, the youngest of the Cross brothers. Turns out that Eli is not just the sexy, charming panty-melter that we pegged him as from the first book. There is so much more to this sweet, intelligent man and he has a secret he has been hiding from his family that makes him even sexier but he is afraid of what they will think of him. They already think he is the screw-up outcast of the farm.
Scarlett is the photographer who is hired to help put the farm on the map so to speak and drum up business. Eli is chosen to be her guide to all things farm life, something he is not all that thrilled with in the beginning. However, sparks fly between these two and it would seem Eli has finally met his perfect match.
I smiled so much reading this book! Between Eli & Scarlett's budding love, Clarabelle, the chickens, and the sweet and incredibly romantic things Eli does for Scarlett that show how well he has paid attention and knows her, my heart was just so full. I really like Scarlett and love how she gets behind Eli and encourages him to chase his dream and she will be right beside him.
The family dynamic in this book does get stressed a bit on more than one occasion especially with the twist that's thrown in towards the end. It definitely keeps things interesting!
Another wonderfully written story by Kimberly Kincaid!!I love this Cross Creek series!!!
Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.

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I've finally stopped swooning over Eli enough to write this review! He is just so - perfect! The youngest of the Cross brothers he's smart, sexy, and charming! When he gets himself into a tough spot making a bet about the farm, he knows he has to work double hard to make sure they win. Hopefully anyway! That's how he find himself babysitting the big city photojournalist Scarlett Edwards-Stewart who has come to Cross Creek to photograph the farm for a series on a foodie blog. Hoping this brings new business to the farm he grudgingly takes on the task. Staying focused on the job and not the photographer gets harder and harder though.....

This story is fun, emotional, and sexy. It's very well written and these characters will win your heart. This is definitely one for the must read list. I highly recommend it.

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Well Kincaid has done it again with amazing me with another book.
This is the second book in this series and I absolutely loved it..... This is Eli & Scarlett's story and I could not put it down. This book shows chemistry between characters that will having you swooning over! I could not put this book down. I am so looking forward to the next book!

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5 HEARTFELT BEAUTIFUL STARS!! Loved this Book, Kimberly Kincaid has outdone herself with this beautiful heartfelt story. I have loved all her books, but this one is my favorite. This book has all the feels you look for, you will be on the emotional rollercoaster. I loved Eli, he is so different from what I expected him to be, loving, sweet, strong and smart, not cocky. Scarlett is beautiful, strong and perfect for Eli. The ending of this book is amazing. You definitely need to read this book and series. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

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Great read with some hilarious moments and just down to earth romance. Thoroughly enjoyed this book!

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Crossing the Line is book two of the Cross Creek series. I really enjoyed this story, Eli Cross is the youngest of three brothers and his latest escapade has got him in hot water. Scarlett Edwards-Stewart offers to help a friend but when these two paths cross things don’t go quite as expected. With its multi layers and fabulous characters this is another superb read from Ms Kincaid.

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Really enjoyed this story of a dissatisfied farmer and a photographer without roots. Eli finds the strength to be himself, and Scarlett finds the family bonds she's never had. The writing is great, with lots of wittiness, and the characters are appealing. It's pretty easy breezy through 85% of the book, and then suddenly something happens that's a little soap opera-esque - but fortunately there wasn't enough time to make that too melodramatic. The something does mean that there's suddenly conflict that didn't naturally arise out of the story, but it isn't really artificial conflict. It's just completely unpredictable conflict. It didn't ruin my enjoyment of the story, and it opens up some avenues for the next book in the series. I liked the side characters, and now I want to read book 1. I really liked the way the farm becomes a character in itself. Highly recommended!

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Eli, is from a small town and is part of Cross Creek a family farm, and meets NYC photographer Scarlet when she comes to Cross Creek as a favor to her friend. The two start off rocky, but soon their attraction to one another is hot. Scarlet helps revive business on the farm by doing a series of photos and videos for an online publication.

This is the second book in the Cross Creek series and each can be read as a standalone or part of the series. Hoping that Kimberly Kincaid continues to write about this family as I would love a story about the brother Owen and would continue telling the story of the other family members. Great read and I look forward to even more by this author.

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Eli likes to be sensible, “the way I see it, we’ve got nearly seven hours before daybreak. Seems a da*n shame to waste ’em apart when we could be doing something much more fun together.” Eli could be real sweet, “darlin’,‘want’ doesn’t come within a country mile of how hard I’m achin’ for you right now. But I don’t just want you here.” I liked this book, I loved Eli, he was such a good guy, and so sweet.

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Eli Cross will do anything to help his family with their farm. Even though he gets all the BS jobs. So when Scarlett comes in to promote the farm for a magazine Eli gets stuck with her too.
It turns out not to be a bad thing as the more they work together and she gets all his secrets out it can be a step in the right direction for him.
This book hits all your emotion and is a feel goos book.

** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review**

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Did not really understand the book, was a hit and miss kind of story for me. Although the characters were well developed, the story had more potential I believe based on the description. It just wasn't what I was expecting but I would definitely give this author another chance. Thank you for the opportunity and allowing me to read this book in advance.

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I LOVED Crossing the Line.
Kimberly Kincaid always tells a great story and this is quite possibly her best book yet. I laughed, I cried, I loved getting reacquainted with Cross Creek Farms and the Cross men I met in the first book of the series and I was totally caught off guard by surprise development late in the book.
Renowned photographer Scarlett Edwards-Stewart is the last person Eli Cross wants to spend time with but she's come to the farm to take pictures for a series of stories in a foodie e-magazine - stories that just might save his butt after he let his mouth get him into a bet he can't afford. She's all Manhattan and has traveled the world on assignment but as we get to know her we discover a woman who is bright and funny, fiercely independent, quick to defend and eager to help those she loves. She is the perfect foil for Eli who we've seen in the earlier Cross Creek story as the smart-mouthed, easy going, lackadaisical youngest brother. Following these two through a month at Cross Creek was an adventure and I couldn't put this one down.
I highly recommend Crossing the Line and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

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This is book two of the Cross Creek series and while it completely stands alone and you do not have to read the first book, you really should because it is fabulous and it gives insight into Eli's character and his relationship with Owen. There is cursing and on screen sex in this one so if that's going to cause you to leave a bad review, you should skip this one.

This book was everything I wanted for Eli. If you take nothing else from this review, know that Ms. Kincaid writes a fantastic main male character. Eli (and Hunter) is the ultimate southern gentleman, - he is respectful and kind, and although Scarlett mistakes his manners for being patronizing, there was absolutely none of that at all (when DID being polite suddenly become sexist???) Eli was just a seriously good guy. In Crossing Hearts, it was clear that there was more going on with Eli than met the eye, but I had no idea the depth of his turmoil. The more we got to know of and about Eli, the more my ached for him. I honestly thought that Hunter would be my favorite Cross brother, but Eli stole that spot from him. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure what to think about Scarlett at first. She came across as a caricature of a stereotypical hipster (artistic, vegan, gay parents, drives a VW, dresses inappropriately for life on the farm, thinks Eli is sexist rather than – you know - being a polite human being, etc) but there was so much more to Scarlett and getting to know her, to see other sides of her, was really great. But, the way that she actually saw Eli for who he was and not just his persona was one of my favorite things about this book – she was perfect for him.

There is a twist in this book that made me gasp when I read it (I totally didn't see that coming!) but that I cannot WAIT to see played out in the next few books.

I would recommend this story to anyone who enjoys a love story. That sounds so simple, but that is what this is – a love story between Scarlett and Eli, but it is also a rough and imperfect love story between Eli and his family. I am already anxious for the next book in this series.

I requested and was generously granted an ARC of this book via NetGalley and the publisher. I was under no obligation to write this review, I did so because this book is wonderful.

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This is the second book in the Cross family series. This is a small town series with lots of family dynamics. There are 3 Cross brothers, who along with their father, manage a small farm as their livelihood. Crossing the Lines is Eli’s story. Eli sees himself as the black sheep of the family. He doesn’t really enjoy working the farm like his brothers do. He secretly loves to write. He keeps this secret from his family because he feels guilty that he doesn’t share their love of farming.

Scarlett is a world class photographer. She is never in one spot for long. To help a friend with her sinking business, Scarlett volunteers to go to the Cross family farm and do a series of photographs for her friend to put on her website. Eli is “in charge” of showing Scarlett the ropes and helping her get the photographs that will not only help Scarlett’s friend, but give much needed public interest in their farm produce. Eli and Scarlett start off on the wrong foot, but once they start working together, they discover an intense attraction. I loved the pairing of Eli and Scarlett. Eli has felt guilty for so long, and Scarlett helps him let loose and feel free. She encourages him to tell his family about his love of writing.

This book has everything you could want in a contemporary romance, laughs, romance, great characters, and a strong story line. This is fast becoming one of my favorite small town romance series. I hope Owen’s story is next, and I cannot wait for it.

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I just got done reading this book and I was pleasantly surprised. This is the second book in the series but you don't need to read the first one to read this book, I however will be going back to read the first one. This story is about the youngest brother, Eli (H), who works at his families farm and Scarlett (h), a famous photographer, who goes to Cross Creek, to help her best friend save FoodE. I really liked Scarlett's personality, she is the prefect h for Eli. Were he feels trapped and must help the family, she is all about making herself feel happy and doesn't care what anyone thinks. Their chemistry is off the charts and I was rooting for them to the very end. I definitely would recommend this book.

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An amazing romance novel that I really enjoyed reading. The characters plot line and setting are equally amazing.

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I will post the link to my review on Amazon when the book goes live:

My first book by Kimberly Kincaid.

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Part of a series: The Cross Creek Series
Standalone
HEA

What I didn't like:
I had a hard time getting into the story.

I voluntarily received an ARC from NetGalley.

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Eli Cross’s modus operandi is to operate with a firmly-affixed front of cocky deflecting, grinning-and-bearing, and simply be labelled as the good-for-nothing brother who’s also the least hardworking one on the farm that is in sore need of a good financial haul.

But his love has never been for agriculture like the rest of his brothers and being stuck in that position means to just stay as much under the radar and keep his love for journalism under wraps until it, well, all blows up in his face. And as we all know it, it does, upon the arrival of a famous photographer who’s out in the middle of nowhere as a favour for a friend.

I just wasn't too convinced at the reason he had to keep his love for writing a secret because it simply doesn't seem like something to be ashamed about. That he didn't assert his own love for it while working on the farm was quite incomprehensible to me.

What was surprising though, was that the cocky, hell-if-I-care exterior was nowhere in sight when Scarlett shows up and tags along. He’s distanced but polite at first, without the charm that I thought he’d be laying on thick to deflect Scarlett’s curiosity about his personal life. Initially, I had a hard time figuring out how Eli/Scarlett would work out in ‘Crossing the Line’ but it eventually became clear that they were displaced in their own, similar ways—and acted out in an opposite manner—and in so doing, rather poignantly find their common ground.

I wasn’t entirely sure what purpose the last bit of drama that came in at the end served though (apart from inserting the customary-ending conflict between Eli and Scarlett) and that kind of threw me off the narrative a bit. The ending as a result, came rather abruptly and we don't really know how Eli/Scarlett work their arrangement out past their love declarations so that felt a little unfinished.

That part aside, Kimberly Kincaid’s writing is always lovely to read. It's flowing and easy, and ‘Crossing the Line’ is no different. Thee three Cross brothers are well on their way to get their HEAs and because the grumpy ones do tend to excite me more, I’m already expecting Owen’s story to be a hoot.

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Three and a half stars.

Apologies, last night I posted the review of this book against another ARC I was reading!

Eli Cross is the youngest of the three Cross boys. In the first book we see that he is considered to be a bit of a slacker by his two older brothers, even though he does other things around the farm that they don't know about. He also has a secret life, he loves words: reading and writing, and would rather listen to a recording of a Shakespeare play than listen to country music in his car. But Eli knows his life belongs on Cross Creek farm with his family and his dreams of being a writer are just that. His frustrations with his life and the pressure from his brothers, Owen in particular, lead Eli into entering a bet with the farm's closest rival, and Eli's personal bete noir.

Scarlett Edwards-Stewart is a free-spirited photographer. Having been abandoned to the welfare system as a baby, then adopted by two gay men, she travels the globe, calling no place her home, although she has an apartment in New York. When her best friend Mallory calls in a panic to say her online food blog "FoodE" is about to fold, Scarlett agrees to do an in-depth photo feature to save the blog. The only opportunity is for a small family farm in Idaho which farms both produce and livestock and embracing the whole farm to table movement and ecologically conscious farming.

When Scarlett arrives at the farm, all city girl clothes, VW Beetle car, tattoos and coloured hair, Eli is designated her guide and BFF as punishment for getting the farm embroiled in a bet when times are hard. But despite their initial antagonism, its true that opposites attract. But can Eli keep his secret life from Scarlett?

I felt that the first book in this series felt a bit disjointed, like three ideas for a book jammed together without segue. This book doesn’t suffer from the same issue. This second book is firmly centred on Scarlett and Eli’s growing romance and uncovering each other’s secrets. I thought the novel held together much better and I enjoyed the slower, more detailed development of the romance set against the backdrop of Scarlett’s photography, Mallory’s blog, the day-to-day life of the farm, and the occasional farmer’s market.

I thought there was a little confusion about the portrayal of Scarlett at the start: she is an internationally renowned photographer who has travelled all over the world and yet she is portrayed as thinking that either four-inch stilettoes or flip-flops would be suitable footwear for trudging around a farm all day! But that was a small niggle. My biggest disappointment was Eli, I still don’t really understand why he felt the need to do what he did in secrecy(view spoiler). I fail to understand what his issues were or why he behaved the way he did with Scarlett, he just felt quite immature to me.

But that was my only issue, otherwise I loved this sumptuous, sprawling story of farmer meets photographer against a backdrop of apple-picking and chicken feeding.

Fingers crossed that the next book is Owen’s, although the surprises of the last chapter make that less certain than before.

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