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Alstone High #1.5

Cross the Line

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An M/M Alstone High standalone novella.

Leaving everything behind to move to England was difficult enough, but when I catch the attention of Alstone High’s bad boy for all the wrong reasons, things go from bad to worse.
He resents my position as the soccer team’s MVP, and that isn't even the worst part.
He’s figured out my secret.
He knows I want him, and he hates me for it.
But I can see right through Kian Courtland, and I’ve figured something out. Something that he won’t even admit to himself.
His secret?
He wants me, too.

Cross the Line is a standalone M/M new adult high school romance novella with enemies to lovers themes.

*Originally published as a short story in the Love At First Fright anthology. This novella edition has been revised and expanded.

3 pages, Audible Audio

First published October 29, 2020

369 people are currently reading
2472 people want to read

About the author

Becca Steele

50 books4,349 followers
Becca Steele is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of new adult romance from contemporary to dark. Her books have been translated into multiple languages.

Becca resides in the south of England with her family. When she's not writing, you can find her reading, gaming, or curating yet another Spotify playlist.

Stalker links
http://linktr.ee/authorbeccasteele

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5 stars
1,202 (31%)
4 stars
1,192 (31%)
3 stars
1,017 (26%)
2 stars
315 (8%)
1 star
103 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 488 reviews
Profile Image for nark.
707 reviews1,754 followers
February 9, 2022
relationship development? never heard of her. these two went from hate to fluffy lovey dovey shit in 3 seconds. i get that it's a novella, but c'mon, you gotta give me at least a little bit more than that, especially since this is supposed to be enemies to lovers. another thing, both mcs sounded exactly the same. i kept forgetting who's pov i'm reading. anyway bye now🥱
Profile Image for Marci.
571 reviews306 followers
November 16, 2021
well that was a letdown 😭 part of what makes enemies to lovers so fun is the buildup of tension but here we had preston and kian going from "i hate you!!!!!" to making out in 2 seconds. i was over it before then because i couldn't tell who was talking the entirety of reading this because both guys sounded the exact same!!! the transition from scene to scene also felt very stilted and awkward. they also had zero chemistry to me and there was far too much telling instead of showing going on. despite all this though i didn't completely hate it, but i didn't like it either so here we are at two stars!
Profile Image for magic_of_darkness_and_books.
177 reviews78 followers
October 27, 2022
1st reread: I enjoyed Kian and Preston as much as the first time! 💜💜💜


❤️ Kian and Preston ❤️
I love these boys. Becca Steele yet again show us how amazing she is!

Kian and Preston we see in Trick Me Twice and in Cross the Line we get to read their story.

🔥 Kian 🔥 - one of the kings of Alstone High, bad boy, lip piercing, troublemaker and gorgeous!

🔥 Preston 🔥 - the new American boy who moved to Alstone High. Or shaw I say Golden Boy? Bulkier build, football player, playful and good boy. But he replaced Kian's place in the football team. Or did he really?

~~~~~ ❤️So what happens when the two of them face each other?❤️~~~~~~

Hear Preston's thoughts about Kian:

"Arrogant.
Rude.
Abrasive.
Troublemaker.
Delinquent.
Straight (99% sure).
Hates me.

Halfway through, things somehow changed.

Green eyes I want to get lost in.
Lip piercing.
Chiselled jaw.
Hot. Fucking hot.
Mine.

I was so fucking screwed."

This story really has everything! From true love, two sexy boys, funny moments, to moments which show us how we should show the world who we are and how important it is to have someone on our side.

This story warmed my heart, wish it was longer. ❤️
Profile Image for ABookLover73.
375 reviews210 followers
November 9, 2020
FIVE HOT STARS for Kuan and Preston ❤🖤❤🖤!!!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I really enjoyed reading this book!

Becca proved once again that no matter which trope she decides to write, the book will be great.

"Cross the Line" is a dark bully high school M/M romance novella full of angst and enemies to lovers trope.

If you're looking for a dark bully high school M/M romance novella and you also love Becca's previous books, then this is the book for you!!!

Highly recommended!!!
Profile Image for Vickie.
154 reviews9 followers
June 4, 2021
3 🎶Satisfied🎶 Stars
Summary: kian is the star football (it’s set in Europe) player at his school but he is suspended from the school when weed is found in his locker. Preston or “golden boy” moved from America to Alston ( I think that the name of the town) and takes over as star player. Kian immediately hates him and for maybe 3 chapters they hate each other. At a Halloween party the give each other hand jobs and the same night the do the deed. The following morning Kian is arguing with his dad and says that Preston is his boyfriend. I’m pretty sure this like chapter 4 or 5. So the enemies to lovers isn’t very strong. Anyways they continue to date in secret until the end of the book when they come out as a couple.

Characters
Kian:
Bad boy
Rich
Star athlete
Desperately wants his parents love and affection (🎶woah ohhh woah ohh🎶)
He was pretty cute and fun the read about. The story was really short so there wasn’t any depth but I liked what I saw. The only thing that didn’t make him so flat was the fact that he wanted his parents to give a fuck about him

Preston
Golden boy
Star athlete
There’s not much else to say about him. Nothing wrong with that though,it didn’t make the book worse or better.

Commentary
Overall I liked this book but it was pretty meh. If you’re looking for this intense enemies to lovers where there is sizzling sexual tension and they hate each other half the book or have hate sex look the other way. Their relationship was cute though and I enjoyed it but it was lacking the intensity of E to L. But it was super steamy so that’s a plus. I don’t see my myself rereading it but it was nice little filler book where I could just destress.
Profile Image for Mariam,.
671 reviews567 followers
October 31, 2022
“Don’t mistake me for someone who gives a shit about your feelings. Stay out of my way.”
Kian is an absolute baddie and I love him for it.

When Kian drew level with me, he paused for a moment, his voice a taunting drawl. “A yellow mask for the golden boy. Appropriate. Shame you have to sit this little game out, huh?”
Leaning closer, I whispered my words for his ears only. “Maybe I’ll take part in the chase. Maybe I’ll catch myself a delinquent.”
“Don’t even fucking think about it,” he growled, shouldering past me.
A grin spread across my face. Man, he was so easy to rile up. He dished it out, and I gave it right back. There was something about getting under his skin that was so damn satisfying.


Y'all know I'm an absolute goner when it comes to characters who don't fuckin give up on THAT person and fight for them next and teeth. Preston, is, THE bitch 👑

And lastly, I fuckin love this quote so much.

It's better to cross the line and face the consequences than to just stare at that line for the rest of your life.


I saw people calling this book underdeveloped and I can see it but I don't care and I enjoy my happiness.

I was going to give this a 3/3.5 but I dunno, this book made me happy and soft soooo I'm giving it a 4 instead.
Profile Image for Iman (hiatus).
726 reviews261 followers
August 18, 2023
I kinda get the hate behind Kian getting replaced from the team by Preston, because I played for my class soccer team last semester and I got "replaced" the next day due to injuries and have to witness the dude played my position better than me. Seriously it felt like I wanna bury my head in the ground when everyone keeps praising him. I felt not only soreness on my back but my heart too LOL ANYWAY, back to the book hahahahah.

I like nothing about this book, but I don’t hate it. I just don’t care. There was no development between the MCs at all and no reasons on the pre-sexual attraction. Which ☝🏻makes their sexy scenes boring and sooo out of place. Zero chemistry :') Also, the plot flows so weirdly; most of the scenes was FTB, no depth, no reasoning and not enough time to get a grip on what was going on. Couldn’t enjoy it at all. And the switch personalities after sex 🙄 I swear I couldn’t catch up with this book.
Profile Image for ivy.
635 reviews357 followers
October 27, 2021
Okaaay, the scenes in this book were so f’n hot.
The opposites attract/enemies to lovers was done really well with one being the blonde all American golden boy and the other, dark haired British bad boy. Pretty much a dream pairing for me.
Being as it’s a novella the enemies part is short lived but i don’t feel like it took away from the payoff of them turning into lovers.
-high school setting
-soccer (football 😉) players
Definitely wish this was longer, was lots of fun. Flove this novella!
Profile Image for raccoon reader.
1,793 reviews4 followers
May 13, 2024
2.5 ⭐️

This is advertised as an enemies to lovers but it’s not really. There’s definitely animosity and misunderstanding that evaporates pretty quickly after the first kiss. Their attraction to each other quickly eclipses Kian’s dislike of Preston.

It’s set in HS which is always on the ick side for me.

It’s not a bad book. It’s short with low angst & kinda sweet. Very predictable. Nothing to write home about but if you need a short story with spice then this would do the trick. I think the others in the series are mf so I’m not much interested in continuing the series.
Profile Image for Bobby's Reading.
517 reviews26 followers
May 2, 2024
4.5 STARS | A STEAMY M/M ROMANCE I absolutely loved! It was also a bully sports romance as well, but I would prefer it as an enemies to lovers sports romance in my opinion! Preston and Kian were an incredible gay/bisexual couple! Leaving everything behind to move to England was difficult enough for Preston, but when he catches the attention of Alstone High’s bad boy for all the wrong reasons, things go from bad to worse. Kian Courtland resents his position as the soccer team’s MVP, and that isn't even the worst part. He’s figured out Preston’s secret. He knows he wants him, and he hates him for it. A spicy romance that has the steam and a story that LGBTQ+ readers will love! A must read!
Profile Image for NiCoLeTa E. {Addicted To Books}.
1,550 reviews82 followers
November 2, 2020
***4 "The Golden boy & his delinquent!!"stars***

NOW LIVE!!!



"It's better to cross the line and face the consequences than to just stare at that line for the rest of your life." -UNKNOWN

I love Becca Steele's stories and after reading "Trick me twice", I couldn't stop from craving Kian and Preston's story!!!
I was so curious about how they ended up together and I was sooo happy when I found out that "Cross the Line" was their story...
A short one, but I freakin' enjoyed it.
Yep, this story was a part of a Halloween anthology "Love at first fright", but this one is the new improved and extended story and you should read it!!!

"I don't know what I'm doing, but I don't want to stop."

Preston's life had changed drastically since him and his family moved out from U.S. and they came to England... But slowly and steadily, he is winning a place on school and on the football team...
Unfortunately, he is catching the eye of one of the Alstone's kings and he is trying to make his life miserable... What a pity that he is drown to the enemy!!!

"One thing I knew for sure now, though, was that Kian wanted me -even though he didn't want to want me."

Kian is one of the most popular kids on highschool and he is an amazing football player. But a mistake on his part had led him to suspencion from the team and he is feeling threatened by the new American guy who is about to take his spot in the team...
He hates him fiercely, but at the same time, he is starting to feel something foreign to him...

"Every day, I resented him a little more.
Every day, he burrowed deeper under my skin."


Bully romances are a weakness of mine and lately, I'm intrigued by M/M romances and this book was a lovely compination from both of them.
I really loved Kian and Preston, but I can not deny that Preston was a total sweetheart...
Kian had his own issues and he was bitter, but darn, Preston did him good in many aspects!!!
These two gave us many hot and sweet moments in here... They were challenging each other and they were matching perfectly together!!
I'm so happy that we got their story!!!

"I don't even thonk it's because you're a guy. I think it's because it's you."

**I received an ARC for the exchange of an honest review**
Profile Image for yaishin.
904 reviews115 followers
January 27, 2021
Was it supposed to be this short? Like each chapter barely started before it got over. And while I did like Kian and Preston very much, there was no...additional details to the story, I think. Like there was a barely-four-lines jealousy scene. And then they kissed and that's it they went to one of their houses, had sex, became boyfriends. All this happened in the same chapter. The story is based on the rich society in London. I'm sure even I can come up with some backstory, some drama, some mean-girl stuff. But nothing. I could tell that not much effort was put into writing this one.

I was actually looking forward to reading this since I've been searching for one like this for ages. But, I was disappointed.
Profile Image for any.
322 reviews50 followers
February 1, 2022
I don't know exactly why, but I love becca's writing. this is like savage rivals but smaller
Profile Image for queen_of_the_books_18.
886 reviews242 followers
October 29, 2020
Cross The Line is a M/M story that was originally published in a Halloween anthology but it has now been published as a novella with new content.

Cross The Line follows Kian and Preston who you met in Trick Me Twice. It follows the athletes struggling to come to terms with their feelings for each other while at the same time trying to navigate every day teenage life at Alstone High.

The angst and their chemistry were off the scale hot. It made me fall in love with both of them so deeply and I just wanted to give Kian a hug. Becca Steele proves that she can write just about anything and I am here for it!

If you love M/M romances then this is the novella for you!
Profile Image for ⭐Toonasa⭐ •Romance Book Lovers' Haven•.
1,544 reviews293 followers
October 29, 2020
5 Golden Boy + Delinquent Stars⭐
A Swoony Hot Enemies-to-Lover M/M Novella!
I love Kian & Preston so so Much!!😍

~A shorter version of this story was in the 'Love at First Fright' Anthology, It introduced me to Becca Steele's writings and Where I Became obsessed with these two Guys! We see them as Secondary characters in Carter's Story (In 'Trick me Twice'). This story is Revised & almost doubled in size and have the same timeline as TMT.~

Kian, Carter, Xavier are the kings of Alstone High. When Kian's Temporary suspended from playing, In comes Preston, New American Guy. It tics Kian off that Preston may take his place in the team, so he hates him..He gets under Kian's skin.

“He was my opposite in every way. Black dishevelled hair to my perfectly coiffed blond, lean to my bulkier build, and an abrasive attitude to my generally easy going nature. And his lip piercing. Couldn't forget that. The only thing we had in common was our skill in the soccer field." ~Preston

Preston is Gay & isn't ashamed of it, He just hasn't come out HERE yet. Wants to be comfortable 1st.
All Kian+Preston's Banters are Fun! Their Hating+Heating, Ignoring continues right up to Halloween.. The Fright night is the GameChanger.
Kian's Bisexual (Preston made him realize that!) & no one makes him feel like P does..This night they finally let their Desire Rule!
Their relationship starts but Kian needs time and Preston's so patient *Swoon!*.

As months pass, their Relation grows, deepens. *steamy!*
We see many of their milestones here: Kian letting Preston in, Their sneaking around, Kian meeting Preston's parents (Love'em, They're soo better than Kian's Asshole dad!), Preston Coming out, Belated birthday Celebrations, Kian Finally having courage & a Public Claiming kiss *HOT!*, The Important Game and I love yous!❤

This story's Beautiful and a MUST! Kian+Preston make a great team (in so many ways!). I loved its ending😍. They've their whole life Ahead of them, Loving, Caring.. Together❤.
Profile Image for Jennifer☠Pher☠.
2,970 reviews271 followers
November 30, 2021
I am definitely not the target audience for this book but high school/college sports romances are definitely a guilty pleasure of mine, of course, without too much guilt.

I’ve been seeing another book by this author showing up in my feed so I figured I’d see what was what. It seems there are a few books connected in a series of sorts so I thought I’d start here. I think I missed the first book though. I don’t know. What I do know is that this did not scratch my itch. This just didn’t really work for me. Maybe because it was short but a lot of it just seemed odd and unbelievable. I dunno. I’ll keep an eye on the others in the series though. Maybe.
Profile Image for ★ sunkitten.
22 reviews5 followers
October 28, 2023
Cuando estaba empezando el libro caí en cuenta de que ya lo había leído. Pero ha sido gratificante volver a leerlo, no está demás decir que he disfrutado el volver a leerlo.
Profile Image for Victoria Weston.
1,003 reviews54 followers
November 4, 2020
This book is a M/M romance read and is a enemies t overs romance read that is a fantastic book. This book is part of the Trick Me Twice world and the characters in that book are here too. This book is a bully romance and is gripping as all this authors books are.

Preston is the new guy at the school, he's gay and is a guy that takes over from Kian on the team after he gets suspended and this is where the journey starts. Preston really has eyes for Kian and he is in his mind constantly.
Kian is a guy that thought he was sure of his feelings about himself well that is until Preston comes into the picture and shakes things up. Kian hates Preston and every time they are near each other Kian flips. But they have a strong amount of chemistry and this is the last thing that Kian wanted.

The way that this author writes is so great that you wont be able to take your eyes of the pages. I love her style of writing and I was gripped with all of these characters. I loved reading about these two and Preston was such a nice and descent guy that you will love him. There is a lot of back and forth between them both and they also had some really lovely moments. This book was a great read and the heat that comes of the pages is sizzling. I really enjoyed it and so will you and I highly recommend it.


For more on my reviews, new releases, and more about books head over to my blog.
https://www.facebook.com/VickisMagica...
Profile Image for Cyndi (hiatus).
747 reviews45 followers
October 29, 2021
I want more!!! There was so much potential left on the table. Not that I didn't love what was there, because I definitely did, but this could have easily been an amazing full length novel.

The "enemies" part of this book was fairly short lived, but I liked what incited the grudge between Kian and Preston. It felt like something that would happen naturally in the situation they were in, especially in high school. I was a little surprised by Preston's somewhat aggressive advances towards Kian, though. Especially for someone worried about coming out to his team. I cringed each time he put Kian in an uncomfortable situation and was relieved when he realized and admitted that what he was doing was wrong. Obviously Kian didn't mind too much, but outside of riding the lines of consent, Preston could have easily ended up with a fist to the face if he had.

Once Kian and Preston got over themselves enough to acknowledge their attraction to each other, it was full steam ahead. And I mean steam. But also support and sweetness and friendship and, of course, love. There were so many cute moments and shy smiles and I ate each and every one of them up. They were truly adorable together and I was rooting for them hard. The ending was kind of abrupt, but I guess that's to be expected in a novella. I'm glad the author extended and released this, because I don't hit up a lot of anthologies and I would have hated to miss this story.
Profile Image for SCBookAddict.
645 reviews52 followers
October 26, 2020
This story is HOT!

After being teased about Kian and Preston in Trick Me Twice, I quickly devoured Cross the Line.

It's the bad boy vs. the good guy, it's enemies to lovers, it leans slightly toward the high school bully romance. What more could you ask for?

This story runs parallel to Trick Me Twice and I honestly believe either could be read first because they don't give much away to the other story.

This is a M/M story, so if that's not your thing, don't read it. If it doesn't bother you or it is your thing, you NEED to read it because to be a novella, it packed quite a punch.
Profile Image for Alley Ciz.
Author 98 books2,389 followers
September 21, 2020
This story may be short but oh does it bleed the tension! Loved it!
Profile Image for Becca Steele.
Author 50 books4,349 followers
Read
October 24, 2023
Cross the Line bonus epilogue is now available via Becca Steele's website!
Profile Image for Pablito.
624 reviews24 followers
December 1, 2021
Too much sex; too little plot.
And the enemies become lovers way too soon for my taste.

The second book, Savage Rivals, not only has a better balance between plot and sex, it also holds off the shift till later, and there's the bonus of hate sex. I'd start there, which is actually where I did.

For anyone wondering, Savage Rivals can be fully enjoyed without Cross the Line.
Profile Image for Kate V.
1,822 reviews364 followers
July 20, 2021
4 -4 .5 stars!

This was a short and steamy MM novel featuring Preston and Kian. Preston is an American and moves to Europe. Starting in a new school, being gay and being a talented soccer player is hard work and a little daunting. Kian is a straight star soccer player but one bad decision lands him suspended from his soccer team. Preston steps in to take his place until he returns and the two of them have some serious enemies vibes happening. However, underneath all that venom is attraction and it doesn't take long for the two of them to explode.

This was a really good read. I loved both characters and it was super steamy. My only gripe with it was that their enemies vibe went to lovers real quick. Kian went from straight to bisexual in 2.5 seconds. Obviously it had to be that way because the story was so short but I got a little whiplash from it. I think their story would have benefited from a little more relationship development. But not gonna lie...I still really liked it. Overall, if you're a fan of steamy MM enemies-to-lovers romance I would recommend this!
Profile Image for Ashley “Mav”.
175 reviews20 followers
October 25, 2020
I absolutely love M/M romance. I’m not even gonna sugar coat it. Kian & Preston’s short story is everything. Watching the push and pull, the tension between them (both sexual and physical). I completely got engrossed in their story.

I’m thankful that there’s nothing “too dramatic”. The story is the perfect romance with some rough edges that makes it as steamy & almost comforting.

I’m also a HUGE fan of representation and seeing a M/M done so well without cliches is what got me the most. You have a gay man in love with a newly “awakened” bisexual. It’s real, raw, and compelling.

A perfect short story to read after TMT.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 488 reviews

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