On the Line (Milwaukee Dragons: Book 1) by Liz Lincoln

2.5 Stars (bumped up to 3 stars for NetGalley, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads)

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept

Date of publication: April 17th, 2018

Genre: Romance, Sports

Series: Milwaukee Dragons

On the Line – Book 1

Swagger – Book 2

Where you can find On the Line: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Is this man: A) a super-hot NFL player, B) the guy you’re sexting, or C) your new boss?

If you’re Carrie Herron, the answer is all of the above. First Carrie starts exchanging steamy text messages with the sexy single dad she meets in line at the grocery store. Then she lands a job—and a bedroom—as the live-in nanny for the daughter of the Milwaukee Dragons’ newest star. But when Carrie shows up for work and realizes that they’re actually the same guy, she has no choice but to try to keep things professional. After all, Seth Chamberlain is her boss now. Her chiseled, charismatic, oh-so-tempting boss. . . .

After getting traded from Houston to Milwaukee, Seth’s having a tough time keeping his head in the game, let alone setting up his daughter in a brand-new city. So if the only nanny his daughter will tolerate while he’s on the road is the gorgeous, cosplay-loving redhead he’s had his eye on, well, so be it. Surely he can resist Carrie until football season is over. But with her knowing glances and kissable lips driving him wild, Seth must decide whether he’s ready to put everything on the line.

My review:

I went into reading On the Line thinking that it would be a great romance. And it was, for the first chapter. After that, the book bored me. I struggled to finish reading it. There was no zing with the main characters. To me, that is the most important part of a romance novel. The characters have to have a least some attraction to each other. Also, I like it when there are no dropped storylines. I can understand, and deal with, one dropped storyline. Things happen. But when there are more than one, then I start to get frustrated.

Carrie drove me bat-poop crazy during the entire book. She collected more drama than a drama llama. First, she got fired from her job as a science teacher. Then her landlord is selling her apartment. Next, she cannot find a job. She keeps putting off the nanny job that her well-meaning friend keeps offering her. I was irritated with her then. But when she started working for Seth, my irritation levels went through the roof. She should have listened to her BFF or wised up sooner in the book. I did like some parts of Carrie. I like that she dressed up for LARP at Comic Cons.

I liked Seth. If Carrie was a drama llama, Seth was the exact opposite. He was a single parent trying to raise a 13-year-old girl alone. That alone bumped him up in my eyes. Then he met Carrie and I thought to myself “Did you lose your ever-loving mind?” For some, strange, unknown reason, he wanted her. He did try to keep her at arm’s length until the middle of the book. Then it was like he said “Eff this” and started banging her.

Maddy, Seth’s daughter, deserves a mention here too. I alternately felt bad for her and thought she was a spoiled brat. I felt bad for her because she wanted to know about her mother. Any questions she had, Seth refused to answer. No wonder she started to look for her herself. She did have a connection with Carrie but it didn’t stop her from having a fit when she found out about Carrie and Seth. The total 180 that she did on that subject made my head spin.

I felt that there was a lack of chemistry between Carrie and Seth. Everything seemed forced up to sex. It made me sad because the sex scenes were actually pretty hot. I couldn’t get into them.

I had an issue with the dropped storylines in On the Line. There were a few. Carrie’s brother and his connection to Seth. Carrie’s last job. Seth being unsatisfied in his career. I felt that the book could have been so much better if those had been resolved. Because, to be honest, it made the book very hard to read. I feel that those storylines could have helped flush out the plot and the characters.

The end of On the Line was a very typical romance novel ending. The plotlines were brought together and ended in a way that should have satisfied me as a reader. But with the way I felt about Carrie and the lack of chemistry between Carrie and Seth, I kind of groaned.

Now saying all this about On the Line, I am looking forward to reading book 2.

What I liked about On the Line:

A) Carrie LARP’d. I don’t think I have ever read a romance novel where the main character LARP’d. Very refreshing.

B) Carrie’s education background. Came in handy several times in the book.

C) Seth’s dedication to his daughter

What I disliked about On the Line:

A) The book bored me.

B) Lack of chemistry between Carrie and Seth

C) Too many dropped storylines

I would give On the Line a rating of Adult. There are language, mild violence, and explicit sexual situations.

There are no trigger warnings in On the Line.

I would not recommend this book to family and friends. I would not reread On the Line but I would be open to reading other books by the author. I would also be open to continuing the series.

I would like to thank Loveswept, Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review On the Line.

All opinions stated in this review of On the Line are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**