Toeing The Line Review
Great love story, especially one that starts off as friends in high
school and find love together later in life. Having 2 men as best
friends is already a challenge but when you add romance into it, it can
break you. Normally general romance stories only pull a 3 star review from me, because most are so typical and it seems you’re reading the same story over and over but with different characters. Toeing the Line was different for me in the aspect that yes it was a typical love story but Allyson made the characters so likeable that you can’t help as a reader to become so involved with the outcome. I really wanted to see a happy outcome between these two characters and found myself while reading this wanting to yell “what’s wrong with you!”.
For those looking for a more realistic love story with a bit of sizzle, you’ve found it.
I really look forward to reading more from Allyson. Enjoy!
Synopsis:
Riley tends to fall hard and fast for the guys she dates, and it never ends with the wedding bells she expects. Tired of the heartbreak and unsure if she even knows what love is, she swears off unreliable things like dating and trying to find that elusive happily-ever-after spark. Focusing on her art seems like the perfect distraction, except she’s missing the physical side of being half a couple. Fortunately, her best friend, Zane, is happy to model for her drawings and tie her up in the bedroom, with no expectations. Just fun.
Zane’s granddad raised him with the belief that people who bring joy to the world should be protected at all costs. For Zane, his best friend Riley is one of those people, and he definitely doesn't mind when making her happy involves helping her pursue her creative dream and some sport sex with a hint of kink. They can have fun, and he can keep her from falling for the next idiot who comes along while she searches for her Prince Charming.
Regardless of her resolution, as things heat up between them, Riley finds herself falling again. She needs to decide if she’s in love with the idea of being in love, or if—despite Zane’s insistence that she deserves someone better—what she feels for him is the real thing. If she can’t learn to trust her heart and convince Zane he’s exactly what she needs, it will obliterate a lifelong friendship.
Excerpt:
Zane held the pool cue up in
frustration. “Are you going to show me how to do this right or not?”
Riley let out a mock sigh.
“Fine.” Moving next to him again, she positioned his left hand properly. She
rested her right arm against his, chest leaning against his back. She pressed
her cheek against his bicep, helping him line up the cue. “I’d go on about
angle and force and all that, but for me, it’s just instinct and relaxing.” She
pulled his arm back and helped him take the shot.
The balls scattered again,
three more sliding into pockets. He had no idea what he’d just done. All he
knew was how incredible she felt pressed against him. He dropped the cue but
didn’t pull away. “You’ve gotten better.”
“I still tool around with it
occasionally.” Her hand still lingered on his.
He stepped back, and she slid
into the empty space, sandwiching herself between him and the table. Her blue
eyes searched his face.
He should move. Put some
distance between them. Her heat held him close.
“Is this okay?” Her question
was soft in the din of the bar. Her hands slid up his arms, teasing him through
the long sleeves of his shirt.
Was it? The pulse below his waist
was screaming “yes,” but the few faint snatches of reason left in his brain
reminded him not to go down that path with Riley. She deserved better.
“Because,”—she shifted her
weight when he didn’t answer, her entire frame rubbing against him—“I was thinking
about our conversation the other day.”
The day where he’d insulted her
to the point where she hadn’t talked to him for several after? Why hadn’t he
pulled away yet? Right. Sexy woman holding him captive without trying. “Oh?”
She draped her arms around his
neck, fingers interlocking in back. “Do you really think the cybersex stuff was
a mistake?”
He swallowed. How the hell was
he supposed to answer that? “I never said that.”
She caught her bottom lip
between her teeth. “You implied it.”
He forced the gears in his
brain to unstick, to push past her soft scent, her gentle curves, her palms
against his skin. “Neither one of us wants to get attached. I figured dwelling
on it was destructive to our friendship.”
The corner of her mouth pulled
up in a mischievous smile. She trailed one hand down the chain around his neck,
grasping his dog tags and tugging lightly. “I never said anything about getting
attached.”
The same argument Jen had made,
but somehow, instead, coming from the amazing creature in front of him. His
thoughts stumbled, abandoning him. “I don’t…I mean…”
She pulled him even closer,
lips hovering centimeters from his, the sharp tang of cherry obliterating
reason. “Tell me you’re not interested, and I’ll never mention it again. No hurt
feelings.”
Being able to run his hands
over her body. Experiencing moans in person that had driven him wild over the
phone. No strings with him meant less of a chance of her falling for the next
doorknob that came along. He found his voice. “What about sex ruining
friendship?”
She hesitated, but her
confidence flooded back quickly. “I promise it’s just sex, and so do you. I
trust you, so if you say it, I’ll believe you.”
Find
Allyson Lindt
Website:
http://allysonlindt.com
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AllysonLindt
Amazon
author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/allysonlindt
About
Allyson Lindt
Allyson Lindt is a full-time
database developer and a fuller-time contemporary romance author. She was lucky
enough to marry her muse and soul mate. Their cats are their children, and when
they’re not spending way too much time gaming, they’re building new worlds
together. Her debut contemporary romance series, Bits & Bytes, began
hitting shelves in 2013. She loves a sexy happily-ever-after and helping
deserving cubicle dwellers find their futures together
Thanks (again :-) for the great review, I'm so glad you enjoyed Toeing the Line!
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