I just never got excited or engaged by the romance in On The Line. The premise was interesting, and the story itself was entertaining. I think what contributed to my lack of excitement was my dislike of the heroine. I so wanted her to grow throughout the story and though I did find the hero to be engaging, I couldnt find the chemistry I look for, nor the passion in the couple. There are plenty of well written love scenes, for me the couple connection just wasnt strong enough. The novel is written in the third person, which is a technique I am not fond of, which may have contributed to my opinion. I did appreciate the series set up, there are definitely more characters I am interested in reading more about. I am more than willing to try the next installment in the series because of the strength of the secondary characters.

This one was an ABSOLUTE delight. I thought for sure = based on the cover - that this would just be a fluffy nothing, but I was delightfully wrong. It's grounded and honest, and I really enjoyed it from top to bottom.

I’ve gone back and forth on how I feel and felt about this book. I’m going to do my best to explain this confliction with this review.

The synopsis got me so dang excited for this book. A comic book nerd main character? Heck yes!! Now while I have read and reviewed a lot of sports-related books I am in no way a sports fan. However, I kind of thought the one character being super nerdy and one being into sports would have been great. Plus the football player having a daughter just sounded like such a unique premise I had to get my hands on this book.

I enjoyed a lot about On the Line. Carrie being a book nerd who participates in cosplay was definitely one of them. I enjoyed how after Carrie and Seth's daughter met they bonded over their shared love of comics. Sadly, this also seemed to be where the relationship between Carrie and Seth's daughter ended. There was no other real depth to that relationship.

Seth and Carrie's relationship was a little too meh for me as well. Seth and Carrie have an insta-love/ insta- attraction thing going on that would have been okay if I felt it went beyond surface level sex stuff. I did enjoy how the couple went on dates and did other things besides have sex, but all the thoughts surrounding those activities were mostly about sex. I was a bit disappointed with that aspect of things.

Overall, On the Line was a fine read. I didn't think it sucked, but I also didn't think it was great. Kind of right down the middle. I think this story had a lot of potentials that was missed out on. Definitely a book you'd have to read to know if you'd like it or not. A unique premise with untapped potential.

First let me say this cover is awesome! Those abs definitely caught my attention. After reading hundreds of books, I know better than to judge a book by its cover. This story had a great description and that had me intrigued enough to read it. Although I enjoyed this story, I felt like something was missing. This is a 4 Star read for me and I would definitely try other works by this author.

This is, as the copy says, a romance between a nerdy science teacher and a football player. The football player is a single father, with a teenage daughter. I liked this book, but I had some issues with it, which in the end kept me from giving it a higher grade. Football and geek culture got about equal amounts of attention, which was nice, and we get a decent amount of forced proximity, so if these are your catnip, this might be the book for you.

To clear things up, Carrie and Seth are not sexting on the very first page, which I feel is implied by the cover copy. What happens is slightly more cute and more awkward. Seth pays for Carrie’s groceries, and when Carrie realizes Seth is buying his daughter her first ever tampons, she steps in to provide some guidance—they were the super sized kind, and no teenage girl is going to be ready for that right from the get-go. Anyway, Carrie gives Seth her number in case he and his daughter have any more issues, and somehow, they start flirting over text, and then it evolves into sexting. Not super explicit sexting, but sexting nonetheless. Seth doesn’t realize that Carrie is his college buddy’s younger sister, and Carrie doesn’t realize that Seth is her brother’s college teammate and part of the local football team. Until Carrie’s brother recommends Carrie to Seth, who is looking for a live-in nanny for his daughter. And voila, you have forced proximity. But by this point, Carrie and Seth had established they were interested in getting to know each other more, so when they realize that the sexual tension can’t go anywhere, since Seth’s daughter really likes Carrie, and Carrie needs a job, they agree to retreat from the sexual tension point of no return.

Carrie is a science teacher who lost her teaching position and has been looking for a new one. She’s into comics and cosplay. She doesn’t have an interest in football until after getting to know Seth better, even though her brother is a scout. She takes to being a nanny surprisingly quickly. She has one best friend who we really only see via texts and one or two phone calls. To a certain extent, the story and Carrie and Seth are consistent, but given their situations, some of their choices still felt off to me.

Seth moved to a new team, and brought his daughter with him. Before, he and his daughter lived in the same city as his parents, so he had a lot of support taking care of his daughter. But now that he’s moved, he lost that network. Hence his need for a nanny. To Seth, there are only two things that really matter, his daughter’s wellbeing and football. He’s attracted to Carrie, but recognizes that having sex would not be good for their working relationship, or for his daughter. Like Carrie, he doesn’t really know that much about geek culture—particularly comics—even though his daughter is a fan. So, he also learns about something new, although not exactly to the same extent as Carrie. He doesn’t seem to leearn—really learn—Poison Ivy’s backstory, and Poison Ivy is the character Carrie plays at conventions. On the other hand, Carrie learns the rules of football, and worries about Seth’s injuries. Seth does a slightly equivalent thing—which happens further along in the book and it is sweet, so I’m not going to spoil it. But it just doesn’t balance out for me.

Most importantly, the wellbeing of Seth’s daughter gets set aside for more than one chapter while Seth and Carrie are in the haze of great sexytimes. And it only becomes an issue when it works to split Carrie and Seth apart. I think that is what bothered me the most. You notice your daughter is wanting to spend less and less time with you, and instead of sitting down with her, or maybe talking it out with your mother, who was her caretaker for several years, you opt to use that time to have sex. Not cool! I get the idea of showing imperfect characters, and I’m usually here for that kind of storytelling, but it did not work for me in this book.

There were some sweet moments, and if you like reading about two people from different walks of life crossing paths and falling in love, On the Line is worth checking out.

wow i read this so long ago i don't actually remember much about it....

i remember liking their relationship and, though it's weird, than kind of enjoying the whole home-maker part where she was just doing laundry or whatever, and then the daughter being super bitch lame dumb and then everything working out at the end. soooo, i liked it? i think?

A funny rom/com read especially for sports fans, but all readers can enjoy the light and witty dialogue.

I loved this book! I’m not going to lie, the cover initially caught my attention, but I couldn’t put it down! It was nice and steamy and I can’t wait for the next book to come out!

This book had me hooked from page one I couldn’t put it down the words flowed the story was amazing this is a must read..

Liz Lincoln launches her Milwaukee Dragons series with On The Line, a fun and sexy story about a super-hot NFL player and comic loving sexy science teacher.

When a hot guy a super market offers to pay for your groceries and starts sending flirty texts, a girl can’t help but want to see where that leads. Unfortunately for Carrie Herron her new job as a nanny forces her to rein her intense attraction to her new boss who just happens to be the guy she’s been sexting with.

As soon as Seth Chamberlain found out he’d been traded to Milwaukee, he knew he’d have to arrange childcare for her daughter. He never expected that the perfect nanny would be the beautiful woman he’d been flirting with. Will he put his daughter and career before his personal life? It’s a difficult choice but some things are worth putting on the line.

The story is well balanced between the character development, a luscious relationship evolving from sexy lust to something deeper along with the challenges the main characters face given the circumstances they’re in, all within a very well informed and entertaining football backdrop.

By themselves, Seth and Carrie where great characters, I was a sucker for Seth’s swoon worthy mindset about fatherhood even though he was struggling on how to deal with his pre-teen daughter and as a teacher myself I could help but admire Carrie’s constructive way of looking at education. I also loved everything about Carrie and Seth from their meet cute, their clever dialog and sexy texts, to the mature attitude towards their relationship, and of course the super sweet and sexy grand gesture at the end. I can’t wait to read more about this series.

On The Line is book #1 of the Milwaukee Dragons by Liz Lincoln. It is a fun, super sexy sports romance, told from both points of view with a happy ending.

I was hoping for something a little more than the usual nanny and employer falling in love story. Not that the story was bad, I just wanted a little more interaction with team members to get a feel of whose story was coming next.
Carrie and Seth had great chemistry and throw in a preteen daughter and you have a good storyline.

This was a cute, contemporary romance that was a light read. Carrie and Seth meet in a humous way at the grocery store (was literally laughing at loud at this, because this would be something that would happen to me!) Seth was incredibly sweet with both his daughter and Carrie and of course, a strong male lead (who just happens to be an athlete). Carrie and Seth are your "opposites attract" and I'm glad the story ended up the way it did.

This was a really good book. I enjoyed the combination of football and comic books, two things so far from one another but with two people who love it so much bringing them together wasn't that difficult.

I love me my sports romances, so when I saw On the Line, I added it to my TBR, which is a towering mountain of terror. I have to stop adding titles to it, but gosh darn it! There are so many awesome looking books that hit the shelves every month that I am absolutely drowning in books I want to read.

Anyway, I picked this up because the only thing holding my interest lately are shonen fighting comics, and I started getting into a rut. When I can’t concentrate on any particular book, I always reach for a contemporary romance. They are quick, full of drama, and usually get me out of a reading rut.

On the Line features a smokin’ hot defensive linesman and a cosplaying geek. I have to admit, the cosplay is what got me pick this up sooner rather than later. I love comics and comic conventions, and even better that the heroine has a knack for dressing up as Poison Ivy. Not my favorite super hero universe, but I can still hang with it.

This book features another of my favorite tropes – the harried single dad, struggling to make a happy home for his child. In Seth’s case, it’s his daughter, Madison, who is giving him grief. She’s 12, he’s dragged her to a new town because he was traded, and he just can’t seem to do anything right. Seth meets Carrie at the grocery store, and when a stressed Carrie realizes that she left her wallet at home, he gallantly steps in and pays it forward. When Carrie returns the favor after learning that Seth is purchasing hygiene products for his daughter, she gives him the lowdown on what he should buy. I loved that they could stand in the middle of the feminine hygiene aisle and discuss pads vs tampons, like two actual adults. Hooray for Seth!

Carrie is currently unemployed and has been looking fruitlessly for another teaching position. When her brother, who works for the Dragons football team, informs her that his college buddy is looking for a live-in nanny, she decides that beggars can’t be choosers. And of course her brother’s friend is the hot guy she meet at the grocery store. Ugh. She can’t entertain thoughts of having a wild fling with him if he’s her boss.

Parts of this story worked better for me that others. The constant tease of will they or won’t they give in to their attraction started to drive me nuts. The forbidden moments that they managed to sneak in were a little too contrived for my liking. Once they started their affair, the dreaded keeping their relationship a secret trope raised its ugly head. Predictably, things fell apart once their deception was discovered, which led to my biggest disappointment with Seth. He abruptly ends things, with no thoughts about Carrie’s feelings, because his little girl suddenly hated her. Madison is a spoiled brat, and I had a hard time forgiving her for almost destroying both her father’s and Carrie’s happiness because – boohoo – her feelings got hurt because they were keeping a secret from her. I don’t feel that this storyline was ever resolved, either.

Grade: 3.75 stars

I loved this book. Carrie and Seth were both just great down to earth people and Madison was your typical teenager, but not too over the top. Carrie finds herself unexpectedly let go from her job and she finds one via her brother. Little does she know that it's for the same hot guy she just met; and a memorable meeting it was! Loved the fact that Seth, her pro football player boss, is not a player-how refreshing! Here are two strong characters trying to navigate the fine line between employer/employee, yet are insecure about where they're heading.

I would definitely read another book by Ms. Lincoln as her style is easy to follow and flows well.

I really enjoyed Carrie and Seth. This story starts with humor and moves to hot romance. Seth is a single dad and is looking for a nanny. Carrie is a teacher out of a job and takes the nanny position until she can find a teaching job. Everything is going as good as it can until it doesn't.

I feel like there needed to be one more chapter or two to fully close put the book. It would've been nice to see how Carrie and Maddie(Seth's daughter) have a talk a see how they fixed their relationship. I also feel like Seth and Carrie need more of a closure.

I am a huge fan of sports and add romance to it. Carrie is ready to put herself out there again and start dating. She meets a man at a grocery store and can’t stop thinking about him. When he turns out to be the man she’s working for she knows she can’t go there. It is hard for them to not give into the attraction they both have for each other. I enjoyed the first book in this new series.

The cover for this is abtastic! The hero is a football playing single dad and the heroine is the nanny. I couldn’t turn this book down. First things first, there is obviously a power imbalance at play here and I want to acknowledge it. I know and respect some readers will not be able to move on from that and that is okay. I think the reason it worked for me was that they met, had a mutual attraction, and shared flirty texts before she becomes the nanny. The author does acknowledge it a little but it never felt stressful for me while reading.

The heroine, Carrie, is an unemployed science teacher. She is also into comic books and cosplay. One night she is at the grocery store and has forgotten her wallet. The kind, yet incredibly handsome fella behind her graciously offers to pay for her groceries. Sidenote- I wish the universe would send me a handsome fella to pay for my groceries. Okay, back on track. So as this guy pays for the groceries he adds his to the bill. All he has is super-sized tampons and bananas. He mentions the tampons are for his daughter and Carrie kindly saves the day and instructs him to buy his 12-year-old pads. It was a great meet-cute and definitely one I have not read before. Heroine and hero first exchange words over menstrual products. I was pretty much hooked from here.

The hero, Seth, is a football superstar who recently got traded to Milwaukee. He is a single dad to his daughter, Maddie, and struggling a bit with her. Twelve-year-old girls are tough. Seth went to college with Carrie’s brother Jason and gets connected with Carrie for the nanny position. This is after they have bonded and exchanged flirty texts, they don’t know the about the connection until Carrie shows up for the job interview.

It is all awkward and they vow to not act on their attraction. Carrie needs the job. Seth needs a nanny and doesn’t want to introduce Maddie to a woman who might be temporary. Of course, they can’t hold off on their attraction. They had amazing chemistry. There is lots of masturbation in this book. Seriously, each character has at least one on page and several off page mentions of self-love. So if you aren’t into that, this book is not for you.

One of the best things about this book is that although the hero is white, his football team contains… wait for it… non-white players. I know you’re like, what? Is that a thing and yes it is. This fictional football squad seems to be depicted the way real football teams are, in that it is multi-racial. According to Goodreads, the cover of the next books features a black hero. There is no blurb, but there are some light hints at potential characters for future books, and I will be here for them.

This was a fun and quick read. I liked the progression of their relationship. The will they or won’t they seemed realistic. I was very invested in them making it work. Maddie was a realistic child and at times sullen and rude, like twelve-year-olds tend to be. Maddie’s mom is not in the picture and did fall victim to the sort of evil ex-trope, which I could have done without. A football book isn’t a football book without some issue of injury and Seth does have one and at one point it is an issue and then it kind of fades out and I felt that should have been incorporated better. But it did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. If you are willing to take a risk on a potential power imbalance book, I think you will enjoy this book. Lincoln is a new to me author with a risk that paid off for me. I look forward to reading more from her.

Grade: B-

Good story. Could of really been better, but the storyline was good and loved the characters. The author really was able to let you get in touch with them.

Does it make me completely shallow if I admit the cover is what first drew my attention to On the Line? I mean, is anyone surprised? Hello abs. Plus, you know, football player. I'm a sucker for a sports romance, especially when the hero is a football player, so I was all over this one. It was a really fun read. 
Carrie and Seth were great. I loved their meet cute and the flirty and downright sexy texts they exchanged after that first meeting. Of course, things got even more interesting when she ended up working for him... The chemistry was still there and their attempts to lock things down didn't last for very long. What ensued was a fun and sexy storyline, with some feels I really wasn't expecting if I'm honest. It was easy to root for Carrie and Seth together and separately. I mean, the geeky girl and the football player? Sign me up. 

I'm a fan of the Milwaukee Dragons. I can't wait to see what's next for the series!

FAVORITE QUOTES

"I think I finally understand what singers mean when they say they're drunk on a woman."