Book Summary:
Lifelong best friends Derrick and Jeremy met Hanna at a bar ten
years ago. Both wanted her—one married her. Now the other man has been invited
to join in for one hot weekend. Everything would’ve been fine if they’d had
their fun that weekend, then gone back to normal. But they didn’t. And when
past demons resurface, things will never be the same—for any of them
Review:
Welcome to the very first book review for our inaugural Author
Spotlight Week featuring Karla Doyle.
Okay, full disclosure time: up until very recently, Crossing the
Line was the only book in Karla Doyle’s book catalogue that I hadn’t read. I’m
not proud of this but for a long time I very adamantly refused to read it and I
was about 92.7% sure I’d hate it. This has nothing to do with Karla’s writing
skill; I’m actually completely addicted to her books. Body of Work and Icing on
the Cake are up there as some of my favourite romance books of all time. I just
had a very personal reaction to the subject matter of the book and I didn’t
want to read something knowing that I was going to be super biased against it.
But here’s the thing, I picked up a copy while it was on sale and even with
that bias…I really freaking loved this book.
The blurb suggests that that fateful, hot, threesome weekend is
the pinnacle of the book, that sex is the focus. And while the sex scenes in
this book are beyond smoking hot and deliciously erotic, Crossing the Line is
an immeasurably emotional book. It deals with some very real, highly emotional
and difficult themes and it does that very, very well. Few other books handle
threesome situations, such as the one featured here, in such a realistic and
emotional way. The emotions in this book are so raw and so realistic that you
can almost reach out and touch them. The characters suck you in from the very
first page. They’re people who could be standing next to you at a shopping
centre or hanging out with you watching movies. They’re loveable, endearing and
vibrant characters but they’re also exceptionally real. They make huge,
whopping mistakes that make your heart ache for them. There were moments, I
won’t spoil it but you’ll know when you come across it, that literally took my
breath away.
Now, it’s a relatively short read, which normally is a bit of a
struggle when dealing with such big concepts. But Karla Doyle has managed to
fit in a tremendous amount of emotionally driven plot without it seeming
rushed, fake or silly. There are copious amounts of seriously delicious,
incredible sex scenes, combined with heart breaking mistakes and deep but
realistic character development. The dialogue is perfect. It’s witty and
engaging and always spot on for every single scene. The characters are rich and
so very human. Derreck and Jeremy have been friends forever, and it could be so
easy to make them sound like carbon copies of each other, but they’re both so
completely different and such vibrant characters. Hanna’s pain and passion is
so tangible, and you can easily see why both these incredible men love her. I
was rooting for their happy ending and so blissfully happy when they got
it.
Crossing the Line was surprisingly incredible. There were parts
of it that were difficult for me to read, on a personal level, but the characters
and plot are so well formed that they suck you in, and you can’t help but be
moved by their story. The sex scenes are smoking hot, leaning toward the erotic
without being crass or tacky and they will definitely leave you feeling steamy.
The plot flows beautifully and draws you in, the characters and plot points
develop naturally, never feeling forced or silly and the characters and the
issues they deal with are so real, it’s almost like living it along with them.
Overall, this is an incredible read and I’d recommend it to anyone who is
interested in romance with a twist of eroticism.
Purchasing Information:
Crossing the Line is available in both eBook and paperback form
from a variety of retailers, so you’re bound to find one that tickles your fancy!
The purchase information and excerpt can be found here: http://www.karladoyle.com/books/crossing-the-line/
Where to Find Out More:
Karla Doyle has an awesome back-catalogue of books, and a very
exciting list of upcoming books, so if you’re curious about her work or want to
get your hands on one of her books (which I totally recommend), there are a
bunch of different ways to keep up to date on any news.
Karla’s Website: www.karladoyle.com
Email: karla@karladoyle.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/KarlaDoyleAuthor
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Karla_Doyle
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/karladoylestuff/
