Happy Book Birthday, Crossing the Line by Lynn Rush and Kelly Anne Blout!

It's romance time! And sport time! Yep, romance with sports. Mix that with a book birthday, and it's a guaranteed emotional rollercoaster with today's read and post. I don't get to romance very often. Well, there's often romance in the YA reads, but I don't read 'pure' romance very often. Still, the mix with track caught my attention.

Grab that box of tissues and a cup or tea because it's time to get lost in moments of teen love!

CROSSING THE LINE

by Lynn Rush and 

Kelly Anne Blout

Entangled Teen

Young Adult Sport Romance

336 pages

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.

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MY TIDBITS

Sarcasm, frustration, and hard-feelings are chipped away as a budding romance brings along the light of new hope with a couple to cheer for.

Grace's family has just moved to the small town, and she's already had her life basically destroyed. In a few months, she's supposed to be heading off to basic training, but those dreams might be shot thanks to an idiot, who can't keep his car under control. Now, she'll be lucky if her wrist ever works properly again. At the same time, Preach, the guy who hit her thanks to black ice and her determination to 'save' a dog from the middle of the road, is watching his own future implode in front of his eyes. That accident meant his third concussion in a couple years...which also means that he's banned from the ice for good. His guaranteed hockey scholarships are swished down the drain, and the girl, who's responsible, refuses to realize it's her dumb fault. 

This romance is written in first person from two points of view: Grace's and Preach's. Each chapter starts with the character's name at the beginning to keep confusion at bay. Still, for some unknown reason, I was convinced the first chapter's voice was the girl's (it did state Preach but my brain!) and this kept throwing me the whole way through...although I never figured out why.

Anyway, this is a wonderful, enemies-to-friends romance, in which tons of sparks fly. The opening scene with the accident, throwing both sides completely out of their life's games, starts everything out in a great upset. This allows the characters to let their nastiest sides shine, when interacting with each other, and the flood of insults and bickering begins. It's fun, it's even humorously grabbing, and when the first signs of interest between them spark, it's that much more exciting. Both sides are right. Both sides are wrong. And it works magically.

There are quite a few heavier moments in these pages as well. While Preach is working out his future and such, Grace has some deeper issues, which don't come to light right away. So, while there is romance...tons of that...character growth is also key. Both sides need to learn to step into new possibilities and find hope as well as peace. This gives them needed depth and makes them easier to relate to. And this is where the sport aspect filters in perfectly and gives even more reason to root for them and cheer until the very end.

Sneak Peek: Frostbite by Lynn Rush with Giveaway!

 

Frostbite

by Lynn Rush

Touch of Frost, #1

YA Paranormal

 

Amanda gives a whole new meaning to cool…

Amanda Smith is sick of getting chased from town-to-town. So when she lands in tiny Trifle, Arizona, she hopes it’s her last move for a long time. Despite hating the smallness of the town, she settles in and finds a best friend, and even a boyfriend. Normality at its finest.

But for a girl who can shoot snow from her hands and lift a two-ton truck over her head like a bag of feathers—normal is not an option.

The scientists who murdered her mother come barreling into Amanda’s quiet life. She must decide if she’ll run again or stay and fight. The price of either choice might be her life or the lives of those she’s come to love…

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SNEAK PEEK

“You barely know me, Zach.” And I was so the wrong girl. He just didn’t know it.

“I’m trying to get to know you. You won’t let me.” His dark eyebrow quirked up, and his dimple flared as he offered me his totally addicting half-smile.

He was right, though. So trained to stay protected I’ve pretty much forgotten how to…be. So controlled. So…

I inched closer, which probably looked ridiculous as I scooted across the sand, but if I was going to take a chance, Zach was going to be that chance.

His eyes widened, and he leaned forward as his grip on my hand tightened. Despite the sand mixed in with our hands, his warmth still crept up my arm. But it also left a trail of goosebumps.

Do. Not. Freeze. Him.

I drew in a breath, then pushed that last inch separating us. My reward was the softest pair of lips. The contact, as light as it was, sent a shockwave through my chest, rattling down my spine. The warmth of the sun toasting us, and his now familiar scent, swarmed around my body, filling me with him.

All Zach.

I turned my head a fraction and that angle offered me even more of him. That pouty bottom lip I’d been eyeing since I’d first seen him was all mine to taste. To nibble. And I took full advantage.

And here she is...

New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author, Lynn Rush, is a full-time writer, wife, and trail runner living in the Sonoran Desert, despite her fear of rattlesnakes. Known as #TheRunningWriter, Lynn can't resist posting epic sunrise pictures while running in the desert with her trail sisters, even if she has to occasionally hop a scorpion.

When she's not running or writing, she's watching movies that fuel her everlasting love of superheroes, vampires, and all things Supernatural. The books she reads usually carry the same theme, but this former college athlete loves reading sweet sports romances as well.

She's madly in love with her Ironman husband of 20+ years who is the inspiration for what true love is. You can find her on social media as @LynnRushWrites and her website is: www.lynnrush.com

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Review: Gutter Girl by Lynn Rush and Kelly Anne Blount

 Today's read snuggles up into warm feelings and takes a fun swing into crushes, love and romance. High school style, of course. You may have noticed that I don't hit this genre very often. Usually, I'm into a bit more action/fantasy and 'dark' tones when it comes to romance. Or a bit of ridiculous comedy is nice, too. But I do enjoy a pinch of sweetness every now and then. 

The blurb won me over on this one—Mr. Perfect meets Goth Girl. I was hoping to wouldn't be too cliche or gooey...or even too issue centered, since it does hit upon bi-polar issues as well. But I ended up enjoying this one quite a bit.

GUTTER GIRL

Twin River High, #1

by Lynn Rush and 

Kelly Anne Blount

Entangled Publishing

Young Adult Romance

294 pages

COMING...

MAY 10th!!!

Star football player Jace Rovers has a secret. And not just any secret—a shocking secret… He writes romance. The kind with swords. And dresses. And kissing.

Nobody knows. Not the other kids at Twin River High. Not his overbearing parents. And certainly not the millions of fans who’ve read his book on the writing platform Scribbles. And that’s the way he plans to keep it.

Except suddenly one of the other football players grabs his notebook in jest and starts reading a kissing scene out loud…and Jace knows he’s busted.

But then McKenna Storm, resident goth girl who avoids the spotlight like a virus, snatches up the notebook and tells everyone she's the author. And lucky for Jace, she later agrees to continue the ruse...for a price.

Heck, he'd give her anything not to reveal his secret. But when they start to fall for each other, he knows he'll have to keep the biggest secret of all—his darkest character is based on her…

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BOOK BLINK

                                      * hits upon Bi-polar issues

                                      * friendship and respecting personal space

                                      * sweet romance

                                      * high school setting

                                      * not as in-depth a read as first appears

MY TIDBITS

Trust, opening up, finding ones-self, knowing when to seek help, true friendship, and chasing dreams all mold into a cute romance, which leaves a smile on the face.

McKenna has one goal—leave town as soon as graduation hits. Since her family rammed disaster around her sixth grade year, she's been keeping her head low, trying to stay invisible, while dealing with her mother's disease while keeping life going alone. She's almost made it until keeping her head down causes a collision in the school's hallways and her notebook gets switched with the one guy she's secretly liked...well, forever. Not that she's ever really played with the idea that'd they'd be together. She's not that stupid. But she doesn't know all sides of him, either. No one does. And that might just turn everything upside-down.

After reading the blurb on this one, I expected a slightly edgier read with depth thanks to some of the issues. This, however, is not the case. The romance starts almost right away, and it's pretty clear where everything's going. There are several cliches—the popular jocks, cheerleader girls, geeks—and the reactions are nothing surprising. But despite the lighter side of things, this romance works and was easy to read. It just wasn't what I was expecting.

McKenna has problems at home. Big ones, but what these really are and how they exactly play out dribbles in little by little as the story unfolds. This tale is more about the romance, anyway, and it is sweet, predictable, and simply a nice high school relationship. That both sides have something to hide and aren't ready to step out of the masks they've been living behind, suits the age group well. There isn't much dark brooding or heavier scenes. Rather, the problems both sides face run more on the sidelines of the romance drama. This creates an easy to read and digest romance for younger teens and tweens. 

I did enjoy it quite a bit, found both characters to root for, and let the cliches simply unfold with all of their fun and sweetness.