Crossing the Line

by Katie McGarry

Lila McCormick first met Lincoln Turner when tragedy struck both their lives.

But she never expected their surprise encounter would lead to two years of exchanging letters-or that she'd fall for the boy she's only seen once. Their relationship is a secret, but Lila feels closer to Lincoln than anyone else. Until she finds out that he lied to her about the one thing she depended on him for the most.

Hurting Lila is the last thing Lincoln wanted. For two years, her letters have been the only thing getting him through the day. Admitting his feelings would cross a line he's never dared breach before. But Lincoln will do whatever it takes to fix his mistakes, earn Lila's forgiveness-and finally win a chance to be with the girl he loves.

Look for more powerful contemporary romance from Katie McGarry with Pushing the Limits and Dare You To.

Praise for Pushing the Limits: The love story of the year - Teen Now

A real page-turner -Mizz

A romance with a difference - Bliss

• ISBN10: 145923328X
• ISBN13: 9781459233287
• Publish Date: 1 April 2013 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Harlequin Teen
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[pagingserenity]

Crossing the Line was a cute read but that was about it. I didn’t really connect to either of the two main characters and the story as a whole kind of felt… flat to me. It really felt more like a scene that was cut than an actual story itself.

[ellieroth]

También en: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Historia corta entre ROMPIENDO LAS NORMAS y DARE TO YOU, lleva publicado ya unos cuantos años pero no lo había leído por pura pereza y falta de interés. Sólo que al finalizar el año tuve una completa necesidad de leer todo lo que KATIE MCGARRY tuviera publicado (la publicación de BREAKING THE RULES propicio esto).

Lo primero que noté, luego de pasarme todo el año pasado variando en mis lecturas, tanto en escenarios como en etnias, es ¡qué pálidos son los personajes de McGarry! Luego de leer todo la serie PUSHING THE LIMITS más su historia corta RED AT NIGHT, es casi imposible no notarlo. ¿Es algo malo o bueno? ¿Tanto leer con diferentes personajes ha cambiado mi cerebro?



La historia en sí es bonita, no va a cambiar tu mundo pero es una historia para cuando quieras pasar de algo muy intenso a cualquier otra lectura. Como un aperitivo que abre el apetito (¿se nota que me gusta la comida? xD)

No tengo mucho que decir porque no rockeó mi mundo.

[Sam@WLABB]

Can you really be in love with someone you only met once? That is the question both Lincoln and Lila are asking themselves. After exchanging letters for over two years, Lincoln shows up on Lila's front steps to plead his case regarding a little lie by omission type of situation. Over the course of the weekend, they learn about each other and themselves.

This novella was very sweet. I would love a full length follow-up, so we can see their evolution into happy couple.

[nitzan_schwarz]

Not as good as the full novels, but I think it's probably because we didn't get to see the whole getting-to-know-each-other-and-falling-in-love process, rather getting in after all that's done and now all there's left is getting a few things out of the way.
Also, I hated how Lila was. I SO get her fear, but geez, stop crying "I can't do it I can't do it..."
Good thing Lincoln snapped her out of it.
Also, since reading [b:Attachments|8909152|Attachments|Rainbow Rowell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1398982892s/8909152.jpg|13785503] I love that name lol.

[boghunden]

Den her novelle samlede jeg op, fordi jeg frygtede, at endnu en reading slump var på vej. Det var det helt rigtige valg, for hold nu op, hvor var det bare en på alle måder sød bog! Utroligt, så meget man kan nå, på kun 65 sider. Den tog mig virkelig med storm!

Lila og Lincoln er begge virkelig skønne karakterer og jeg veksler mellem, hvem jeg bedst kunne lide. Faktisk kunne jeg ikke huske hverken den ene eller den anden fra Pushing the Limits (LINK!), men det var ikke generende for historien. Den måde, de lærte hinanden at kende på, var lidt anderledes, men jeg synes, det fungerede. Det gjorde, at de forstod hinanden – og jeg forstod, at de forstod hinanden.

De små breve, der starter hvert kapitel, er virkelig skønne. Det er næsten min yndlingsdel af bogen og fungerer næsten som en historie for sig. Det er her igennem, jeg for alvor synes, deres personlighed skinner igennem.

En rigtig sød lille novelle. Den næste novelle kommer til december – noget, jeg først fandt ud af, efter at have brugt ½ time på at lede efter den… Jeg skal i hvert fald helt sikkert læse den!

[Angie]

I read Crossing the Line several months after Pushing the Limits, so I couldn't remember much about Lila. And after finishing it, I don't think you even need to read it to understand what's going on. Yes, this novella takes place afterward, but it's not really effected by any of the previous events. It still alternates POV, but this time it's Lila and Lincoln. The tone is very different though. It's much lighter, and actually wanders into ridiculous territory. Really. This novella is beyond silly, and I don't mean funny. Lila is home alone for a week while her family is on vacation, and she's just had a fight with her penpal, Lincoln. Of course, he shows up on her doorstep with flowers to beg forgiveness, and ends up spending a few nights there because she's scared to be alone. Needless to say, they kiss and make up and live happily ever after. Cute, but everything in between is lame.

My first problem with Crossing the Line was Lila and Lincoln's fight. It has to be one of the dumbest ones I've read. Lila takes what happened way too personally and blows it out of proportion. She acts like it's the end of the world, or like Lincoln ruined her life when it has nothing to do with her. My second problem was Lila. I know it's not my place to judge someone else's fears, but Lila's fear of being home alone is beyond ridiculous. I get scared too, but I deal with it. Her mom even had to leave her brightly colored post-its all over the house to remind Lila to do the littlest things because at 18, she's never been home alone...ever. That is hard to believe. Her fear may have felt more believable if we had actually gotten to know her better, and seen that this fear is based on something. I just didn't know her well enough to care.

The "plot" of Crossing the Line was also problematic. I already said her fight with Lincoln was dumb, and that's pretty much the catalyst, but what happens when he's at her house is...well, ridiculous. Lila calls him, screams, drops her phone, Lincoln calls the cops, and they find nothing. This prompts Lila to ask him to stay. She thought she saw someone when she was dumb enough to go outside, alone, at night. Fine. However, she says she thinks she has a stalker. I love stalker plots, but we already know who's lingering around her house! How dumb can she be?! Seriously, it's that obvious. Of course, someone has to come and tell her directly who it was, and she and Lincoln go out to get revenge. Alright.

I'm guessing Crossing the Line was suppose to be a fun little interlude between two heavy books, but it isn't. It's just dumb. I really enjoyed Pushing the Limits, so this was a disappointment. I like the idea of having cutesy novellas between the drama filled full length books, but this just made no kind of sense. I don't feel like we learned anything about these characters, and it certainly doesn't fit into the series anywhere. I did like that their letters were included. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing, but other than that, this novella had nothing to offer.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Rowena]

Lila and Lincoln have been writing letters to each other back and forth for the last two years. There isn’t a person who knows Lila, the way that Lincoln does and they fall in love with each other through their shared words and letters to each other. They make plans and when Lila finds out that Lincoln lied to her about something, everything she was preparing for comes crashing down on her and it pisses her off. She feels betrayed and she feels all alone again. Echo’s got Noah and Lila is happy for her but she misses her best friend. When Lincoln shows up at her place, wanting to explain and fix what’s broken between them…Lila doesn’t stand a chance.

I thought that McGarry did a fabulous job of bringing Lila and Lincoln’s relationship to life. Their shared letters, the talks they had when Lincoln gets to Lila’s house, getting Stephen and his friends back, all made for a wonderful story. The story may have been short but it didn’t feel rushed at all. I enjoyed seeing Lila again and getting to know her. I felt the same way for Lincoln. I thought he was a great hero and I also thought he was pretty much the perfect guy for Lila. They understood each other and they had chemistry.

I’ve enjoyed every book that I’ve read by McGarry and I’m looking forward to reading more. This book was another winner for me and I definitely recommend it.

[Linda]

Great novella in the Pushing the Limits series.

Full review to come soon.

This and other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews