I didn’t realize this was the second book in the series until I started reading and recognized some characters. Preach always seemed perfect in the first book, so to see him fall and try to work through his life upheaval was kind of heartbreaking. Grace was new in town, and even though I understood her feelings, she irritated me for quite awhile.

They meet when he accidentally hits her with his car: she is in the middle of the road and he hits black ice. I understand that she was saving a puppy, but she puts all the blame on him for most of the book and you could tell they were high school aged by their actions. They have to complete community service at the school, together, since her hand isn’t useable.

As they spend time together, they actually start to open up to each other and realize that they are going through similar things. His college scholarship is rescinded due to not being able to play hockey anymore (the car accident caused another concussion) and she might not be able to go into the Air Force like she planned. She is also struggling with the death of her brother (which she hasn’t dealt with yet).

As time goes on, you start to see that these two people are great for each other, and their relationship is sweet, albeit steeped in pot holes they have to clear. Just when everything is looking good for them, devastating news is delivered and ends them. Can they find a way back to each other?

I really enjoyed this sweet YA romance. They had some pretty heavy and deep issues to work through and came out stronger individuals for it. I can’t wait to see how this series continues. I received an ARC and this is my honest, voluntary review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

You know a book is going to be great when it starts with the two MCs meeting because he crashed his car into her. Preach and Grace are an adorable couple with great chemistry. I loved how similar they were, in both personality and their struggles.

Blount and Rush always know how to deliver a great and complex YA. Their characters are flawed, multi-dimensional, and most of all, relatable for all readers.

Thanks so much to the authors and Entangled Teen for letting me read this book in advance!

After having adored last year’s In the Penalty Box by Lynn Rush and Kelly Anne Blount, I was looking forward to their next book together, Crossing the Line. Unfortunately repetition and sometimes misplaced angst kept me from loving it.

Grace Millner has had her future planned out since she was a little kid. She would enlist in the Air Force straight after high school and become a pararescue specialist. Ryan aka Preach also has his future planned: hockey, hockey, hockey. But on one fateful night the course of their future is changed, forcing them to self-examine and adapt.

Crossing the Line is well-written and the plot is interesting but the characters never really intrigued me and there wasn’t much sports action. Due to a lot of repetition in which the accident at the beginning of the novel is rehashed with a lot of “woe is me” on Grace’s part, I grew bored. That said, Crossing the Line is admittedly a novel for the younger set who would appreciate the angst and self-pity far more than I did. I never felt that Grace grew as a character. She was far too dependent on other characters needing to tell her some truths, when she should have done some soul-searching to find her own. Preach was a decent guy who turned himself around after a couple of miscues.

A good read for young adults but perhaps not a good choice for all readers.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this one and got through it in a couple of hours (enemies to lovers anyone?..). Both Ryan and Grace had heart breaking journeys in this book and the pain really comes across in the authors writing, but more than that, it was wonderful to see the healing that they both went through, separately and together. This is a sweet book that should be on your TBR lists, especially if you like a hockey romance.

Thank you to Entangled for sending me an e-arc of this book.

#CrossingtheLine #NetGalley
A huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and NetGalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely devoured it. It was a really nice experience, a light and fun read, a chance to explore Preach's and Grace's lives. I can proudly say that I loved absolutely everything, and am looking forward to reading more of the authors' work in the future!

The most unlikely of meet cutes: Preach accidentally crushes Grace’s hand with his car when she tries to save a dog from being hit. It was not love at first sight, more like instant enemies. Both have to come to terms with loss in different ways. The angst was just right for a high school romance and having Brodie and Willow from the first book (In The Penalty Box) was a fun follow up! It took a while for Preach and Grace to ignite but when they did the spark was heated! Highly recommended for readers who love a good high school hero who goes off the rails for a bit and a spitfire heroine who never gives up.

I enjoyed the first book, In the Penalty Box, a lot so had high hopes for this. Overall it’s a quick, enjoyable YA romance read. I enjoyed the change to track as a sports instead of focusing on the typical hockey or baseball I normally read.

While I enjoyed the characters, it felt like there was more telling than showing and there were several plot points I felt should have been fleshed out further, particularly with Preach’s POV.

I will definitely give these authors another shot since the book was an overall decent read!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
I did not read the other book in the series. Maybe I have to. I do not usually read YA books but this one caught my eye and I am glad it did. This was a most pleasant read. It's about the trials and tribulations of young people about to go out into the world. It is very true to life.

Amazing young adult romance!

Both Ryan “Preach” Armstrong and Grace Milner have their bright futures all planned out with Preach going to college to play hockey and Grace joining the Air Force. Things changed when an accident on icy roads changes all of their plans for the future when they are both injured with community service at school while they heal. They blame each other for the loss of their dreams but could they work together for their community service?

Crossing the Line is a young adult sport romance with a lot of heavy emotion that Preach and Grace have to work through figuring out their futures with the help from their families and friends.

Now I have to read In the Penalty Box about Willow and Brodie!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed reading Preach and Grace’s story. From them recovering from the accident that caused them to meet, to the grief they were experiencing because of their lives not going the way they expected, to them finding love. The thing that kept me from totally falling in love with the book though was how much was going on. There was so much that got mentioned but never got explored in more depth. I wish a few of those instances had been flushed out! Otherwise, I liked this book. It was an emotional but quick read with a sweet romance and a lot of heart.

I really enjoyed reading Ryan "Preach" and Grace's story in this second of the same world as the book In The Penalty Box. This is a YA sports book with some romance and heavy themes.

Preach and Grace (she's new here) are out past curfew for their town and are involved in an accident which leaves Preach with headaches and Grace with an injured right hand. To make matters worse, they get stuck together with community service at their school.

These teens go through some rough stuff. They share a bit of grief in what they feel is "total loss of their futures" and Preach (though his name implies this is a religious book, it's not really. The nickname comes from Ryan's personal commitment to himself to save himself for marriage) especially spirals in a bad way. But Grace helps to pull him out of it eventually as they turn to and open up with each other.

I liked the push and pull they each give each other. It's not always easy and light as there are very heavy topics throughout but it's ultimately an uplifting book that made me smile.

Thanks to Entangled Ten for the gifted ebook and all opinions are my own.

What a pleasure it was to fall back into this small town with these amazing characters. I loved seeing glimpse of old characters and bringing in new ones. This book featured Preach, and he is just too sweet for words, when he was not Bad Preach. We meet the newest character in a crazy freak accident that occurs, but it is what brings these two together. Grace is dead set in her ways and so is Preach, they are so much alike it is funny. But it is how they both deal with their individual situations that makes them slightly different.

The two are destined to work together after the accident and their bond seems to grow as well. There are so many things the two must deal with including life altering decisions, death, loss, trusting others and learning how to cope with anxiety. This was really a wonderful read that touched on all those subjects. I really felt connected to the characters and their individual situations. You could not help but to root for them throughout the book to get what they want out of life. Sometimes life deals you tough situations and tough decisions, but it is what you do with those that make you the person you are meant to be.

I really enjoyed this book; this series of characters and I really hope they highlight more on Pax in the future. I just really must wonder what his life is like and what is going on with him. The destruction is real. Everyone has a story, what is his?

A patch of black ice is all it takes for Ryan “Preach” Armstrong’s perfectly planned future to skid out of control. The car crash shatters his hockey dreams...and injures Woodhaven’s newest student, Grace Milner. As much as this feisty track phenom gets under Preach’s skin in all the best and worst ways, she might just be his path to redemption...

Grace can’t believe that all it took was seriously bad timing and a hot but prickly hockey player to threaten her lifelong dream of joining the Air Force. Now, instead of prepping for the track season and upcoming start of basic training, she has to complete community service with the absolute last person she would ever want to be stuck with—the guy who shattered her future.

When two fierce competitors collide this hard, the only result is heartbreak...or an epic victory as they cross the finish line together.

I love sports romances and I love sweet contemporaries and this was a wonderful combination of both.

Kelly Anne Blount and Lynn Rush deliver a compelling tale once more in the depths of this YA Sports Romance, packed full of emotion and hardship.

Both Grace and Ryan were equally fierce and driven, matched by their strong wills and their determination to follow through with their dreams after graduation. But, when everything they’ve worked for is ripped away by an unforgiving night on the icy roads of Woodhaven, it seems the only thing they share is the belief the other was to blame.

While this was a relatively light and uplifting YA read, the authors have not shied away from the weight or complexities of grief and the anger that bled between the lines, the heavy emotions both Grace and Ryan having worked through at times destructive and debilitating.

Blount and Rush write with pain and heartache, taking the tender and broken dreams left in the wreckage of a car accident and breathe life into that pain, hope into the grief that plagued both Grace and Ryan. Both characters were rich in detail, their backstory, battles, and individual growths well portrayed as these enemies turned lovers found hope in new dreams, and after a while, one another. I enjoyed watching these two grow, individually and together, and appreciated the mature way in which it was all crafted.

Overall, this was a sweet, vulnerable tale of healing and hope, littered with all the classic movie references and an endearing narrative of love blooming in the unexpected, and I loved every second and emotion inspired as I read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the advanced copy. 4.5⭐️

An amazing story about friendship, facing your fears, self confidence and love. Preach and Grace’s had been crushed in a second by a car accident. Can they work through the grief and accept their new future and have a future together?

This book was okay not really my usual read and it was kind of boring to me doesn't mean it's a bad read at all however just not for me

i… had no idea this was a companion novel to a preview book i’d read a few years ago; thank god it was a different couple!

sports romances are always so fascinating

i truly felt for preach and grace but the friendships in this??? i adored everyone in this book

An unfortunate, life-altering meeting threatens the futures of Ryan "Preach" Armstrong and new-to-town Grace Milner. Grace plans on heading directly to basic training after graduation, and Ryan has already committed to play collegiate hockey. Will the injuries sustained be too much for the two of them to handle?

When community service and the track team bring the two together, they can no longer ignore the sparks that fly.

This YA romance has complex characters with backstories that make them easy to root for. Another great book in the Rush/Blount series.

This was an interesting story. I've enjoyed these authors writing before and was excited to read this book as well. So it ended up being alright.

4.5
Thank you to Entangled Teen and Netgalley for sending me an e-ARC of this book to read and review. I love sports romances and I love sweet contemporaries and this was a wonderful combination of both. I loved the progression of Preach and Grace's relationship and I think they were able to develop as individual characters as well. The friendships in this book were top tier. I thought each character had such great backgrounds and growth and they truly felt important to the story. I think there was a lot of pain and a lot of hardship here, but I thought it was done in a really mature way. While the characters were still young, the book didn't feel that way and I liked that aspect. Overall, this was a sweet story full of love, friendship and healing.