{"id":6935,"date":"2016-01-04T10:52:33","date_gmt":"2016-01-04T15:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=6935"},"modified":"2016-12-26T06:36:48","modified_gmt":"2016-12-26T11:36:48","slug":"review-cross-the-line-boston-love-2-by-julie-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=6935","title":{"rendered":"Review: Cross the Line (Boston Love, #2) by Julie Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\r\n <\/div><\/div>\n
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Review<\/strong><\/h4>\n

4.5 stars<\/b><\/p>\n

I love this book! Absolutely hilarious but also incredibly deep and emotional with a bit of action and suspense, and a UST-laden, deliciously angsty romance that had my heart pounding. This book has it all!<\/p>\n

This book follows on from Not You It’s Me<\/a> but can definitely be read as a standalone. Phoebe West was introduced in the first book, and it was clear then that she had a thing for her older brother\u2019s best friend, Nate. In this book we get to see her infatuation up close and personal, and it\u2019s intense! Phoebe has loved Nate her whole life, but after ten years of him pretty much ignoring her and by doing so breaking her heart over and over, she decides that it\u2019s time to try and move on.<\/p>\n

How do you stop wanting someone you\u2019ve dreamed of for most of your life? He\u2019s a habit I don\u2019t know how to break.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nate is an ex-member of the Special Forces, and is a total badass now running his own \u2018security\u2019 business. He has always been a presence in Phoebe\u2019s life but, unbeknownst to her, he made a deal with her brother that sisters are off limits so he has stayed away. But just as Phoebe tries to make the break, Nate starts showing up in her life warning her that she is in danger.<\/p>\n

And with the two of them around each other in a way they haven\u2019t been in years, the chemistry between them is blisteringly hot. Lots of hot looks, heavy breathing and spark-inducing touches ensue, and the UST is EPIC!!!<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you going to kiss me?\u201d I ask quietly.
\nHe pauses. \u201cThinking about it.\u201d
\nI gulp and hope it\u2019s not too obvious. I\u2019m thinking about it too.. \u201cAre you weighing the pros and cons?\u201d I ask, leaning into his touch.
\n\u201cOnly cons here, West.\u201d He shakes his head. \u201cYou and me\u2026 we\u2019re a story that won\u2019t have a happy ending. A tragedy. Nothing good comes from a tragedy.\u201d
\n\u201cWell, maybe\u2026\u201d I grit my teeth so I don\u2019t say something I\u2019ll regret, and take a steadying breath. \u201cMaybe I\u2019d rather live in the wreckage with you for while than fake a fairy tale with someone else forever.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But this isn\u2019t a wham-bam-thank-you-mam situation. No, Nate has been through hell in his life and he has demons that he needs to deal with, and it\u2019s an emotional journey as he comes to terms with everything that he\u2019s feeling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only time the ghosts disappear from his eyes is when he\u2019s looking at you.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I love the way Phoebe and Nate\u2019s relationship progressed!! There is no \u2018let\u2019s screw and get it out of our system\u2019 going on, no OTT alpha claiming, and no ridiculous game playing. This is the establishment of a real relationship, and while there is some angst, it\u2019s realistic and serves only to build the excitement and deepen the emotional intensity between them as they hash out their issues, and there is sensational character development as they build something incredibly special. It\u2019s beautifully done!<\/p>\n

\u201cLove, real love, the kind that lasts forever\u2026 it\u2019s not patient or kind. Not pretty or perfect. It\u2019s rough and hard as all hell. It\u2019s ugly.\u201d He steps closer, eyes never shifting from mine. \u201cLove is holding someone\u2019s filthy, tarnished heart in your hands and claiming it as yours anyway.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The accompanying storyline ties in perfectly to the love story. The danger that Phoebe is in is very real, and the action, suspense and excitement is fantastic as it all unfolds. But as deep and meaningful as this story is, it\u2019s also really light-hearted. Phoebe\u2019s inner thoughts are so freaking funny as she analyses everything going on in her life. I\u2019m usually not a fan of too much inner monologue, but this one is so well done, I enjoyed every moment of it!<\/p>\n

True friends don\u2019t judge one another. They judge other people. Together. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s also a really nice check in with Gemma and Chase from the first book, and I enjoyed the opportunity to see them again, and I really like how they tied into the story. And I loved Phoebe\u2019s brother, Parker, and her kind-hearted yet totally slutty and inappropriate BFF Lila just adds to the hilarity.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrankly, this whole pining-from-afar, <\/i>I-hate-your-guts-but-I\u2019d-like-to-ride-your-face thing you\u2019ve got going is not working for you.\u201d
\n\u201cThat was\u2026 visual.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This book is the full package \u2013 funny, intense, emotional, exciting and beautifully romantic with a bit of action and suspense on the side. It\u2019s great fun, and I loved it. I\u2019m so excited for more – Parker and Tink are up next!!<\/p>\n

4.5 stars.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Boston Love series<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"Not\u00a0 \"Cross\u00a0 \"One\u00a0\u00a0\"\"\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Not You, It’s Me (#1)<\/strong> (Chase & Gemma)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Cross the Line (#2)<\/strong> (Nate & Phoebe)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

One Good Reason (#3)<\/strong> (Parker & Zoe)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a><\/p>\n

Take Your Time (#4)<\/strong> (Luca & Lila)
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a><\/p>\n

So Wrong It’s Right (#5)<\/strong> (Conor & Shelby)
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Check out our Contemporary Romance Recommendations<\/a> page for more great reads.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback Review 4.5 stars I love this book! Absolutely hilarious but also incredibly deep and emotional with a bit of action and suspense, and a UST-laden, deliciously angsty romance that had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,9,29],"tags":[321,154,48],"class_list":["post-6935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lol-funny","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-boston-love","tag-julie-johnson","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Cross-the-Line.jpg?fit=150%2C232&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-1NR","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6935\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}