Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Crossing Lines

SERIES: Desert Ice Hockey (book 2)

AUTHOR: Christie Gordon

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 324 pages

RELEASE DATE: September 3, 2024

BLURB:

The moment I catch sight of the new coach, a spark ignites. Do we risk it all with a secret affair?

Jonah
I’m minding my own business when he struts into our locker room.
His confidence and sex appeal in his fitted suit and million-dollar smile are undeniable.
After picking my jaw off the floor, I collect myself. I need to find out more about him.
Do I follow him around? Yes. Do I make a fool of myself? Maybe.
While celebrating a win at the gay bar, my temper flares when I see him with another man. Do I dare take a chance?

Ryan
The first day at my new coaching job, he’s there. A winger whose dark hair and light blue eyes have me stumbling over my first words to the team.
Personal relations with players aren’t allowed. But he plays offense and I coach defense, so does it count?
Everywhere I go, he’s there. Tempting me.
My resolve is crumbling and I’m struggling to keep my distance.
When he catches me at a gay bar in a compromising position, it’s game over. Can we keep this hidden?

Crossing Lines is the second book in the college hockey series, Desert Ice Hockey, and is the follow up to the Rock U series. It features a coach with a dark past and a driven hockey player, a secret relationship, found family, hurt/comfort and a small age gap. Desert Ice Hockey follows a group of queer hockey players, known as the squad, while they each battle for their HEA.

Buy now to explore a world where emotions run as high as the heat, and hockey isn’t the only game in town.

REVIEW:

Yay! I’m back to hockey again and a secret/forbidden affairs/romance is always great read!

Jonah, one of The Squad, the Devil’s gay teammates/housemates, and Archer’s best friend since they were kids playing hockey together, can’t believe how gorgeous the new defensive line coach is that just got introduced to the team. He had a hard time keeping his eyes PG (along with other parts of his body)! Now his crush is getting out of hand and he can’t keep his thoughts off of Ryan, Coach Gibson. But when he discovers the coach being attacked by a man at the gay bar he and a couple teammates are at also, he takes matters into his own hands. It’s obvious that the coach is in pain after the altercation and he needs to get him back to his home. And then the chemistry that has been brewing between these two simply explodes and neither man can stop it. But what happens next when all the attraction cards are on the table?

I am thankful, even though the lines were blurred a bit, that Ryan wasn’t actually Jonah’s coach and they were both grown, consenting, legal adults. I know what they felt for each other, no matter that it was fueled by lust originally, was real and serious. I did worry, just like Ryan’s mom, Jonah’s mom and Laurent, Ryan’s ex/friend each did, that this would have a real chance of taking Ryan down and ruin all he had worked so hard for. I understand that technically they might not have done anything that might be considered illegal because they are both consenting adults. However, ethically they skated a very thin line. Many colleges and universities have a no student/staff fractionalization/dating policy. And this definitely crossed that line. But Ryan was never Jonah’s teacher. And he wasn’t his direct coach either but he was a valued and trusted new member of their coaching staff. And it soon became obvious that he cared about Ryan as more than a player on his team’s way to both the players and the other coaches.

The thing that still bugs me after all was said and done was that Owen, his hook-up turned stalker got off scott-free from him stalking and threatening Ryan. It just encourages that that type of behavior is okay and, if he doesn’t get his way, can brutalize a man and then stalk him. I really needed for him to suffer some kind of consequences for his behavior. I understand that the staff wanted to keep this on the down low with administration. But Owen’s behaviors are likely to escalate when he got away with everything one time. And that wasn’t okay on any level with me.

I have truly enjoyed getting to know this universe. I first discovered the Rock U series and fell hard for Author Christie Gordon’s  Knot Me rockers. Then I discovered that they were a spin-off of the Mesa Boys series. Now we have the squad and I’m starting to actually like hockey! This whole universe is so deeply developed and all the books are connected. Ryan picked up croissants from Queer Confections. That’s where Dana has his bakery with Nate in Catching his Name (Mesa Boys) . It’s also  where Devon (lead singer in Knot Me/Rock U works). The Club on Mill, where Jonah rescues Ryan from his psycho stalker Owen, is where the Knot Me band used to perform a lot in the beginning of the series. I’m actually a bit surprised that they didn’t all  run into each other there.

I have never been a huge hockey fan but these guys make me want to go to their games! Another great book in a fantastic series!

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

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