Review: "Over the Line" by Elise Faber

Over the Line by Elise Faber
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In need of an escape after losing both her job and her boyfriend in the same day, photographer Nova Cassidy gratefully accepts her best friend's offer to spend a week at her brother's house in Lake Tahoe. Unfortunately, there's more bad luck waiting for Nova on the road; her car slides into a snowbank and she's unable to dig it out, leaving her stranded. She's reluctantly rescued by professional hockey player Lake Jordan as he's driving past on his way home from practice. When she informs him of her destination, they're both surprised to learn that Nova's friend gave her Lake's address instead of her brother's.

After a grueling stretch of away games, all Lake wants is to be left alone to rest and recover, but with the snow continuing to fall, he has no choice but to let Nova stay with him. Making her feel welcome isn't part of the deal, however. A rocky start to her stay gradually gives way to the growing attraction between them, but their respective pasts make the prospect of a relationship difficult. When the storm ends, will Nova and Lake be able to overcome their past hurts and build a new future together?

Lake came across as quite a jerk in the early chapters, but as I got further into the story, I came to understand that his behavior was actually an effort to push Nova away and protect himself from getting hurt. Similarly, Nova had to fight her instinct to run when things got too serious. They both had demons to battle, and I appreciated that they each made a conscious choice and put in the effort to be together in the end. I also enjoyed the story's lighter moments, particularly the ones involving Nova's "demon dog," Steve the pug.

I really like the direction Faber seems to be taking with this new hockey series. For a number of reasons, this story didn't feel like a "typical" hockey romance to me, which was refreshing. The Sierra are a dysfunctional team, many of the players don't get along, and some of them have a questionable work ethic. As captain, Lake had to try and figure out how to change the team's culture to give them a chance at winning the Cup. It will be interesting to see how this dynamic plays out through the next few books of the series.

I highly recommend "Over the Line" for all contemporary/sports romance fans and look forward to the next book in the series.

*Review copy provided by the author. All opinions expressed are my own.

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