Crossing the Line

by Courtney Mack

Kelsie has been in love with her best friend for two years. She never planned to act on it — until one night on a tropical island, the line between friendship and something more disappeared entirely.

By morning, it was back. And Damien made sure she knew it.

He called it a mistake. She called it the end of hoping. Determined to protect what's left of her heart, Kelsie does the only thing she can — she stops reaching for him. No saved seats. No late-night movies for two. No pretending that what they had was ever just friendship.

She doesn't expect him to notice. She doesn't expect him to care.

She's wrong on both counts.

Set against the backdrop of a stunning island wedding, Crossing the Line is a story about the courage it takes to love someone, the fear that makes us push them away, and the moment we finally realize that some lines are worth crossing.

Genres: Second Chance, Friends To Lovers, Romance, Contemporary, Novella, Unrequited Love, Contemporary Romance

172 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 10, 2026

About the author

Courtney Mack is a romance author living in the Midwest with her husband and two kids. Her books are full of angst, fun, and all have a guaranteed happily ever after.

Reviews

[Snafuzled · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an unrequited love/bff book. FMC has been in love with her bff for two years. Honestly, that’s not my favorite trope, but I’m an angst whore so I wanted to check it out. It’s been slim pickings for my beloved genre lately! 😢 There is some angst, but it was low on my gut punch scale.

I believe this is the author’s first published book. She’s pretty good. I’ll definitely keep her on my radar.

Spoilery thoughts …

I’ve seen some reviews not liking the MMC. I had a different take. For a while I was kind of annoyed with the FMC. I understood why the MMC was scared of crossing the friendship line and called their drunken tryst a mistake. He was on a WAY different page than the FMC and was genuinely worried about ruining the friendship. She was his bff. I think his reaction was valid. 🤷‍♀️

For such a short book it did get a little wordy about things I didn’t care about. I believe she was setting it up for future books within their friend group. I would have liked more drama and angst between our main couple.

I definitely see potential with this author. I hope she ramps up the angst next time! I think she has the writing chops to pull it off.

[Callie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read.

Unrequited love or friends to lovers isn’t always my favorite but I was in the mood for some angst! They’ve only been friends 2 years so I was happy it wasn’t like they had to see each other dating others their whole life.

Honestly it wasn’t as much angst as I thought, though. Kelsie tries to put away her feelings but is too nice to him in my opinion. 🤣

You can tell they both have feelings the whole time and there’s basically a lot of cut off conversation or Damien being scared of losing their friendship.

It wasn’t anything too memorable but was fine for a quick afternoon read.

safety: it’s mentioned Damien had a gf when they met but they broke up soon after she cheated on him, he didn’t seem to love her. Kelsie hasn’t dated for 2 years and I didn’t get the impression Damien has since that girl? But it’s not clarified. Kelsie goes on one short lived date during the book but nothing happens.

[Cozmik_Sunflower_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute unrequited love to requited / friends to lovers romance

This was a sweet and light angst romance novella Vput 2 best friends who sleep together amd he pushes her away the next day snd wants to go back to friends and she doesnt want that, she wants him.

[Mona · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun and I enjoyed the angst. The whole going to a winery and drinking wine after a drunken one night stand with your bff seemed far fetched bc If that was me I’d dry heave and look Iike death lol and then hiking after a drunken night out — I’d need a defibrillator and an IV.Ain’t no way. I struggle a bit with the unrequited love trope bc it seems like as soon as the love is requited the other mc is like “no, I don’t want you to want me now” even though they desperately do. I did like the writing and I’d totally read more from this author.

[Amy Spoils Books (Beware) · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐☆ (3.5 stars)

Sometimes you don’t need a book that’s going to emotionally destroy you. Sometimes you just need a sweet, low-drama romance to reset your brain, and Crossing the Line was exactly that.

You know pretty much where the story is headed from the beginning. There are maybe one or two small surprises, but this isn’t trying to reinvent the friends-to-lovers trope. It’s just a genuinely enjoyable story about two people figuring things out.

I liked both main characters. I enjoyed the chase, and I appreciated that once Damien realized he’d been a complete dumbass, he didn’t spend half the book refusing to admit it. Kelsie also did something I always love seeing—she protected herself. She stopped waiting around for someone who wasn’t choosing her, and watching him realize what he’d been taking for granted was satisfying without becoming overly dramatic.

One of my favorite things about this book was that there really weren’t any villains. Nobody was manipulative or cartoonishly evil. Everyone was just…people. Good friends making messy, very human decisions.

After reading several books that absolutely wrecked my soul, this was the perfect palate cleanser. It’s light, sweet, comforting, and exactly the kind of story I’ll keep in my back pocket for when I need to remember that not every romance has to emotionally traumatize me before the happily ever after.

I’ll definitely be picking up the next book in the series the next time I need something to pull me back from the edge. Sometimes a happy little story is exactly what the reading doctor ordered.

[Juniper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amateur and cheesy. The writing isn’t bad, but the story was so cliche and boring. It’s like the author was trying to copy what she saw in other romance books and it never came off as authentic and everything felt forced.

I usually hate friends to lovers but this one actually did it the way I like if I’m going to read that trope. He was with someone for the first 2 months after they met but then his girlfriend cheated on him and he wasn’t with anyone after that. Neither was she. I would have preferred if there was no girlfriend at all but at least it was at the very beginning before there were feelings on FMC’s end. I hate friends to lovers when the FMC has to watch him screw everything that moves without giving her a second thought and she’s a celibate loser.

But the rest of it was pretty disappointing. It was clear the FMC loved the MMC more than he loved her. He could have lived the rest of his life with them staying friends, and she was pining the whole time. All their friends noticed she was in love with him. Nobody ever said they noticed he was in love with her, because he wasn’t. I was embarrassed for the FMC because she came off as really pathetic, mooning and drooling all over him while he’s like “let’s go hiking, buddy!” He didn’t even feel physically attracted to her before they had sex.

I appreciate that the author wrote the FMC as at least trying to move on from the MMC but it was a pretty weak attempt. We constantly got her internal thoughts about how she had no feelings or spark with anyone else. So really, MMC was never at risk of losing her. She was willing to hang around and be friends with him even after he broke her heart. Then, he has sex with her twice more after knowing her feelings and it never occurred to her that was a douche move on his part. She was all “if he wants to be friends with benefits, that’s fine.” Girl. Please get some self respect.

Of course, as soon as MMC decided he loved her too, that was it, he gets to decide they’re together now. He turned all alpha asshole and interrupted her date with a nice guy. She just let him, then immediately let him fuck her in a stairwell. It felt like he just liked the sex because most of his thoughts about her were sexual in nature. He reacted to her anger by getting hard, which is so condescending and always makes me side eye authors who think that’s romantic. You really think not listening to and respecting how she’s upset right now is a good way for a man to act about someone they’re supposed to love? Her anger and hurt shouldn’t be adorable or sexy to him, that’s weird.

So anyway, she was a pathetic doormat cosplaying as a strong woman. He just liked the sex and didn’t want to lose the person who worshipped him so he decided he loved her too. I never felt any yearning or pining from him, he just wanted things to go back to the way they were, as friends. In the end I guess he decided he could have that and get regular sex too, so why wouldn’t he take advantage?

I won’t be continuing with the next book. That MMC sounds even worse, with not caring how the FMC feels. I’m sure he’ll just bulldoze his way into forgiveness with sex and acting like a possessive asshole too. To me, if it takes losing the woman before the MMC even realizes he has feelings for her, then his love is weak and the FMC will always be the one who loves more. I don’t believe in those kinds of HEA’s. I always imagine that once the sex gets stale, he’ll cheat because he’ll eventually meet the woman who knocks him on his ass. The FMC is just the placeholder who strokes his ego and his cock.

Safety: Safe. No OW drama. A little OM drama but not really because the reader always knows she’s not actually going to do anything.

[Nikita Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute and quick little read. It honestly shocked me how much emotion was packed into this little 160 something page book. I felt the heartbreak, the yearning, the tension, the pain. It was incredibly well done and honestly the only thing i wish for was that there was more. I would have loved more of their friendship and more of their relationship between the last chapter and the epilogue.
While i wanted to throat punch Damien for saying the word “mistake” so much, i liked him as a character and actually felt like his reactions were completely realistic given the circumstances. You can tell he really loves her as a person and that the idea of losing her in any capacity has this man stressed. I think the realization that he wanted more than friendship with her was a bit cliché, typical girl wants guy-guy doesn’t notice-girl tries to move on-guy realizes he cant live without her-thing. But it still felt genuine given the range of emotions we get from him and his own turmoil over her distancing herself.
Kelsie stole the show obviously on emotions. This girl had me tore up! I felt so bad for her for this entire book while shes trying to weave her way through her heartbreak. And while i felt bad for Damien when he finally realized she wanted to be with him and that he had been holding his own self back from her, i honestly loved that she gave him a taste of his own medicine for a bit.

Cute little read. Packs a lot of emotion in a short amount of time. Is it fast paced, yeah, but it kinda works. If you want a little filler read i highly recommend!

[Carrie Dozier · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5⭐️
A quick read if you like friends to lovers
Kelsie and Damien have been best friends for about 2 years now. After a drunk night they hook up and Kelsie thinks that she finally gets to be with Damien, but her happiness is quickly smashed with his reaction to her in bed with him😢
Yall I didn’t like Damien at all!! He crushes the h the morning after calling her a mistake and acted like an asshole. Then he wants to make sure they can still be friends. He was selfish and didn’t realize he had feelings for Kelsie until to late in the book for me. Of course she has been in love with him for awhile now😒
This was one of those where she should have told him how she felt after he did what he did! Talk to each other instead of hiding. Damien obviously loved her too but didn’t realize that’s what it was because of past family trauma🙄
Once Damien realizes he’s in love then the type of H I like kicked in…it was just to late for me!
Some jealousy with OM hiting on Kelsie! Thank goodness for that at least!
No ow drama

[leila braga · Rating 3 out of 5]

cara, eu achei bem legalzinho. é bem escrito

só que ficou me parecendo que o cara apenas foi atrás dela pq ele a perdeu. só lá no finzinho é que vem um momento de amorzinho entre o cara e a protagonista, de resto é só sobre a amizade, sobre ela ter parado de encostar nele, sobre a falta que ele sente das coisas que ela faz por e com ele.

senti muita falta de fofurinhas e declarações de amor. até a dona também, ela pensa muito sobre como ela se sente sobre o moço, mas falar pra ele que é bom... e eu entendo que ela não queria piorar as coisas, mas nem ali no último capítulo??

anyway, isso é preciosismo meu, o livro é bom e o hot é yum.
é curto, é bem escrito, é dinâmico (ainda tem coisas repetitivas, me parece que essa é a regra em romcoms, mas nada exagerado), tem hot gostoso e que nomeia as partes devidas rs
e aí eu, que tinha dado apenas 3 estrelas, pensei: se for comparar com os outros deste mesmo gênero de livro, esse aqui tá bem superior. assim, dei mais uma estrela :)

vale. só vai!

[Readerofbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

New to me author and seems to be her debut. For a debut it's a very nice book. A quick read which has emotion. The only issue is that the feels and angst aren't sustained because everything seems to happen and get resolved within a week. The girl has been crushing on her friend for the past 2 years since she first met him. He truly cares for her but believes friendships are sacred so doesn't see her that way/ want to muddy the waters. They have a drunken night of sex and he wakes up horrified. She gets hurt and tries to move on. When she does, he sees what he's missing and takes the plunge with her. All of this - ie the 1 night stand to the resolution of them being together happens over around 5-6 days. That's the bit which makes it feel a bit surface level/ rushed but like I said, she's a very good author and I think this is a fantastic debut book. Looking forward to her next one. 4.25 stars

[Amilia Garside · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️ - I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I loved the premise of this book. A friends to lovers set at a resort - a perfect summer read! The setting was definitely strong, and the writing was beautiful. I highlighted a lot of quotes. I thought Kelsie was adorable, and I loved the glimpses of friendship that we got.

Unfortunately I just didn’t quite connect to the romance in this story, which is a shame because friends to lovers is my favourite trope! I just felt like a lot of the book was just frustrating miscommunication. As well as this, even though this was a short read, there was quite a bit of smut. I feel like maybe this could have been toned down a bit to give us more development on the characters to give us more of a connection to them.

Overall still a great read, and an absolutely beautiful writing style.

[Michael Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Friends to Lovers

Kelsie and Damien were best friends. They were on an island for a destination wedding for their friends. After getting drunk, they woke up the next morning together in Damien’s bed. While Kelsie was living in the moment, excited that her dream finally came true, Damien panicked, calling it a mistake. Kelsie was crushed. She had to navigate her feelings for Damien while still in the friend zone as she put on a happy face for the wedding activities for the week. Damien instantly noticed a change in his best friend and couldn’t figure out why. While coming to terms with his feelings, he had to work at earning a second chance with Kelsie. This was a great start for this new author. Cannot wait for Ford and Zoey‘s book. As well as the lead up to what happened with Jake!

[Carole Copeland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok read

I really liked that this was about these two. Yes, of course the author had to bring in other guys to show she attracted someone else. Not really needed. It was nice that that was as far as it went and that we got to see these two...him...figure it out. The jealousy piece wasn't needed. I REALLY liked that the author has the main female know she isn't in a place to really be with anyone else because she loves the main male character. Not many authors want to write about strong women who know they aren't in a place to just move on or just sleep with someone to find validation. I did have to skim some parts as they were just fillers in the story, that didn't move the story of them along. I see the set up for the next book that makes one intrigued. Hopefully, we get another story like this that is just the two.

[Samantha Case · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Friends Forever

Is it cliche for best friends to fall in love? Maybe it's an overplayed scenario in Hollywood, but I believe that the best relationships are based in friendship. So, of course I was rooting for Kelsie and Damien from the start. The man is a blundering fool that doesn't use his brain before he speaks. More than once. But somehow these two still wow each other.

There are two spicy scenes that are a little detailed, but they're quick and relatively painless. The intriguing stories in the background surrounding the other characters... Those kept me reading page after page. I was hesitant to pick up this book but I'm extremely glad that I did.

I'd definitely recommend it as a lovely summer read. Easily 4.5 stars.

[HeatherDawn the_sarcastic_librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really quick, spicy little book. It packed a lot of feels in a short amount of pages. The characters acted younger than their age and there was a severe lack of communication. I really liked the FMC and really felt her pain. The MMC not so much until he pulled his head out of his ass. One thing that truly miffed me, and I know this is a stupid thing to get hung up on, but the MMC was a fireman in Chicago and he was described as having shoulder length long hair. I am pretty sure there are regulations involved for that and it seems like a safety hazard. With all that being said, I’m dying to read the next book in the series.

[Lily Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was SUCH a sweet short read! Very summery and beachy too. Perfect for the summertime and needing a nice break between the high angst or heartbreak.

It was short and easy and the characters were fun and interesting! The entire time I was getting so excited to read about the other characters in future books too! I LOVED the hints we got of their stories. Ford’s story is gonna be sooooo good!
I loved that the betrayal/main drama happened right in the first chapter so we weren’t waiting half a book. It was fast paced which was very nice. It didn’t lag and it wasn’t boring.

The spice was also very nice. 🌶️🥰

4.5 ⭐️

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

There isn’t anything really wrong with the story it’s is just all very expected. I felt like I had read this story before a time or twelve. I felt like I knew what was going to happen, how it was going to happen, what the characters reactions would be, how the side characters would factor in so I pretty much know how it is going to end without getting past the halfway mark.

Because the story was so predictable I got bored around the 25-35% mark. I pushed thru to see if the story would start to twist and become more creative and original and it didn’t. I quit at the 80%. A feel good read should not be a struggle to read. That should be for darker themes and topics imo.

[Margerm, Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I interrupted my reading of this book to read a few other stories. This story felt very tame in comparison to the other stories but perhaps it wasn't a fair comparison.
The h and H are friends. She is secretly in love with him. They are in the bridal party of a destination wedding. They get very drunk early in the week long trip and sleep together. The H is horrified to wake up beside the h and proclaims it a mistake. The rest of the book is the h and H figuring out their true feelings for each other.

[MB (What she read) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started this book not realizing it was contemporary romance with pretty young MCs, which I rarely enjoy reading anymore*. (I think it's their lack of depth, responsibilities and carelessness maybe?) YMMV. Anyway, it's a beach romance at friends wedding and it looks like all the wedding party will pair off in other books of the series. So if you like that kind of thing, this should be right down your alley.

(*This is my preference only, and I'm sure other readers would enjoy this more than I did).

[Gretta Monster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it

I saw this posted as the author's first book and decided to give it a read. This was really good. The book opens with Damien unintentionally breaking Kelsie's heart, and I really felt it along with her. Damien takes a bit to get his head out of his 🫏 but the chemistry and connection are really there. Great job on your first book! I will definitely be reading the next in the series.

[K Hearring · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not expect this to be this good.

I loved both of the main characters. He quickly got his head unstuck and got his stuff together. The inner thoughts and details weren’t overly done like in some books. I liked this more than I expected. I can’t wait to read about Ford and Zoey, that has me intrigued.

[SC Girlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

first read by this author

This is my first read by this author. I’m actually quite happy I stumbled upon her. I don’t even really like blonde FNC but this story was quite enjoyable. Were there a couple things I might’ve changed sure but honestly, I really enjoyed it. Definitely a five star read.

[Jennifer Creese · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this quick read. I like that it jumped right into the unrequited feelings and that it didn’t do a lot of flashback on the friendship and all that. It stayed very much on track without a lot of filler chapters. This will be a good pallet cleanser reread for me.

[TorturedTBRDept · Rating 5 out of 5]

love unrequited love

This book hits hard and then pulls back and falls even harder. So sweet and adorable. I always love a good best friends to lovers that just hits right and this was does it in all the right ways without hurting everyone and breaking everything apart.

[Alyson Munion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did but I loved it! It was well written and I couldn’t put it down. I read it in one sitting and was sad when it was over. I definitely cannot wait for the next book and hopeful we might get at least a few glimpses of Damien and Kelsie!

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damien’s mistake

Damien thought he crossed the line with his best friend. When he told her it was a mistake she was deeply hurt and needed to distance herself from him. I enjoyed reading their story.

[Tea Leaves and Tome Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Men are idiots

This was a sweet, short read. I found it through TikTok and the scene I was looking for was the beginning of the book.

I think the timeline, the pressure, the angstiness was just right. Cute read.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great quick read

This is a great quick read. I could definitely feel the connection and feelings between the mc's and the fact that this started from friendship meant the quick development made sense

[Rae Martz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an adorable one day read. Getting to read both view points really kept me from hating Damian 😂

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.