Book: Cross Over by Myra Bloom
Reviewed by Maggie Hayes
Rating: 2.5/5
ARC REVIEW
Cross Over by Myra Bloom
⭐️⭐️½ (2.5/5)
The premise of Cross Over is a sports romance classic—little sister asks her older brother’s best friend/teammate to take her virginity. In this case, Andie propositions Noah, the broody goalie she’s crushed on since she was a teenager, not realizing he’s been quietly obsessed with her from the start. It’s a solid setup, but the execution didn’t fully land for me.
I really liked a lot about Andie—her inner strength, her desire to feel comfortable in her changing body, and her boldness (especially when she asks Noah for “lessons”). That said, her behavior sometimes skewed juvenile, which made the seven-year age gap harder to buy into. Some of her catchphrases—“Chocolate on a pie!” and “Cheese cake on a cracker!”—pulled me out of the story and made her feel much younger than she was meant to be. And at times, her expectations didn’t quite track; if she’s the one initiating, it felt odd that she’d expect Noah to take the lead from there.
I will always have a soft spot for a broody, wounded man like Noah. It hurt to watch him wrestle with the belief that Andie deserved better than him. I just wish we got more of him. Outside of his strained relationship with his parents and his fixation on Andie, his character felt underdeveloped. I wanted more insight into his friendships—especially with Ezra—and his life beyond hockey.
The chemistry between Andie and Noah is definitely there, and the steamy moments deliver. But outside of that, I struggled to feel the emotional progression. It often felt like I was being told they were falling in love rather than seeing it unfold on the page. More early conversations—where they could open up and actually connect—would have made their relationship feel more believable.
Be sure to check your trigger warnings. <spoiler>There is a significant amount of fatphobia directed at Andie, often at an unrealistic level. Early in the book, a blind date yells at her for being fat. While I appreciate the author's attempt to address the topic, the portrayal felt so over-the-top that it pulled me out of the story.</spoiler>