Boys and girls can’t be just friends. A lie made up by overprotective fathers afraid of the illustrious teenage boy and his uncontrollable hormones. Reid and I were the exception to the rule. Best friends. A friendship bound with the spit in our palms and the gospel of a crossed heart. I lasted four years before the cliche caught me. Another four before my truth surged forward with an attempt at … with an attempt at a kiss and a drunken confession.
Ten years on, Reid Rivere is Hollywood’s golden boy. Ten years on, and I, Roxy Monroe have found myself embroiled in another cliche… at least I’m consistent.
Men and women can’t be just friends. I’m starting to learn that the hard way.
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Cross Your Heart is a friends to enemies to lovers romance stole my heart. This book reminded me so much of myself. Sometimes when you admit to liking your best guy friend you have to let them go in order for them to realize their feelings for you. As I read Roxy and Reid’s story I fell in love with them instantly. I loved to hate Reid for just up and leaving Roxy the way he did because she admitted her feelings to him. But then I fell in love with him because of how he came back and helped her pursue her career and ended up back with him. These two have such amazing chemistry that I wish I had a Reid in real life. This is one book I hoped it would be and more.
What a book!!! Totally different from what I expected and I just could not put it down. From the first page, the author dives into what some have experienced during childhood and the feelings that arise. As a young girl Roxy had a lot of moxie as she approached a standoffish young boy named Reid and proceeded to befriend him in the way that only children can. Growing up they were inseparable until an utterance derailed their entire relationship. As the years passed, Reid and Roxy got by the best way they knew how. This is one powerful, emotional roller coaster as readers take the journey along with Roxy and Reid. The author runs the gamut of themes from bullying to betrayal that cut to the core with the lesson that words have tremendous power and sometimes we need to be more understanding of others. This is one book to add to your tbr list. I volunteered to read an advance copy of this book.
These two ladies have done it again! I absolutely loved Cross Your Heart. It had it all, friends to enemies(a little) to maybe friends to lovers, unrequited love. Throw in a hunky Australian and you’ve got a great read. Not to mention it dealt with an issue that is so prevalent in the world we live in today. Go one click this right now!!
All I can say is WOW!! Reid & Roxy are maybe my favorite Haley Jenner couple yet (and that’s saying something because I LOVE Jake!)!!! Friends to heartbreak to something neither of them know how to navigate. Their story is so RAW, so REAL, and yet so epic it is in a league of its own.
“As dark as this world can seem at times, diamonds exist in the shadows.”
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that makes you really stop and consider the life behind fame. This isn’t your typical Hollywood romance, and I applaud the authors for their realistic portrayal of a movie star who has been ripped to shreds by the media and “fans”. Life isn’t always the fairy tale we make it out to be.
Beautiful!!
There is no other way to describe this book. Haley Jenner, the magnificent duo, have done it again. The feelings that they conjure with this story are just unbelievable.
I couldn’t put it down, I read it and felt all the emotions that Reid and Roxy where going thru.
It broke my heart, out it back together, again, and it gave me so much hope!
Great story, unique, unforgettable.
5 Stars read.
* I read an ARC and this is my honest opinion
Cross Your Heart is a contemporary romance with friends to lovers trope. It’s my first time to read from this duo and will definitely not be the last.
“It’s the worst kind of heartache, being loved by someone so completely in the wrong way.”
I’m a great fan of friends to lovers trope, more so if it’s enemies to lovers because who can resist that overwhelming hate feeling right? But this story of Roxy and Reid is more than this trope. It was everything I love in romance. This is a story that is so real and relatable. The character’s thoughts, feelings and behavior is so realistic that reading this feels like a diary of sorts. There is no way that any one of us haven’t experienced the sting of unrequited love or being “friend zoned”. It really sucks major balls. I know, I’ve been there myself. Not only that, the book tackled and showed us the ugly side of social media: cyber bullying. It happens, be it you’re a star or an average joe. The way Roxy dealt with hers is admirable because she is right: you give them power when you let them change the way you live. Overall, a truly enjoyable, heart wrenching, romance read that most probably I’d end up re-reading again and again.
So this is my first book by this author and I absolutely loved this book. Reid and Roxy were friends until one moment changed them forever. I love how their love developed along with their friendship.
I received a free copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
“Throw your daggers. Pull me down if you must. Know that the only person it causes pain is you. You’re letting hate spike in your heart and soul and it’s a poison, one that’s neigh impossible to rid yourself of.”
Cross Your Heart took us in a totally different direction, than the authors have taken us before. Yes it’s a friendship, to enemies, to lovers romance, however a very important lesson is to be learned. It’s kind of ironic given there has been a huge interest in “Bully Romance’s” recently. A nasty retort may be the one that pushes someone over the edge, the burden too hard to bear…would you want to carry the guilt of someone’s life on your shoulders? Whatever happened to the saying “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything.”
Reid Rivere is a loner, preferring to sit and observe people rather than join in. His life changes the day Roxy Monroe sits beside him in the playground. Two ten year olds, make a pact to be best friends “to never compromise ourselves for anyone or anything else.” Roxy took a gigantic leap of faith and it all came tumbling down when they were eighteen. Reid removed every trace of himself from Roxy’s life. Their plans were changed in that instant, they were supposed to do this together, now they paved their own paths. While Reid was the golden boy, Roxy was a dark stain and she had to endure an awful lot by herself. She always took the higher ground but “haters are always going to be haters.” Ten years later Roxy gets given a chance, but she has some demons to face. With a fortified wall to protect her and some acting she’d be okay…wouldn’t she?
Good lord… this book was amazing. From heartbreak to heartwarming, I’m still trying to process this magnificent story. Rocky and Reid were perfection- desperate, hopeful, sizzling, lonely, exploding perfection. I can’t even describe all the feelings it gave me, it was fantastic.
Reid and Roxy broke my heart and mended it back together again! This was the book I was needing to read this weekend and it did not disappoint. Two best friends for a decade… Imaging reuniting with your best friends for years and both living that Hollywood life yet in different ways. Can their friendship for one another mend the hurt that was done and can they survive and go for the love they still have for each other.
I was a sobbing wreck and I loved everything minute of it. Of course Roxy and Reid will hold a special place in my heart. Loved it!
If you love friends to enemies to second chances Cross your Heart is for you!! I immediately fell in love with Reid and Roxy, the best of friends until a kiss changed everything. I can’t say I loved teenage boy Reid for what he did to Roxy, but he definitely proved himself a decade later!
There are so many things I love about Haley Jenner’s books. They always create the best storylines and characters (main and Secondary). I especially loved the Secondary characters in Cross your Heart and I really really hope they get their own book!! There is the perfect mix of hot, sexy and angst, but one of the things I really love is that no matter how serious or angsty things get there is always laughter and humor mixed it to lighten the blow! They also always find a way to incorporate serious, everyday issues that aren’t addressed nearly as much as they should be. Their stories are some of my favorite and Reid and Roxy have definitely been added to my list!
Reid Revere and Roxy Monroe are the bestest of friends at the age of 18, until Roxy reveals a secret that destroys everything. A decade goes by and then they’re thrown in a situation that makes them question everything.
Reid made me so mad at times and at other times I wanted to jump his bones (j/k I’m married). I love a good enemies to lovers story , second chance romance and a friends to lovers and this has all 3. Throw in a witty bff and a hot aussie who is sweet and adorable and the story gets even better.
The chemistry between adult Reid and Roxy is and their first time together is explosive. This was my first time reading Haley Jenner but I guarantee it won’t be the last. I loved the characters she created and her style of writing. If a book makes me cry or laugh it automatically gets added to my favorites list, and tennage Roxy destroyed me but thankfully Haley was able to repair my broken heart.
I adored Cross your Heart! A beautiful story starting innocently with friendship at 10 years old. As Roxy and Reid grew older their friendship developed in to more…well for one of them at least… and from that point on your emotions are tested!
It’s a story about discovery of one self, friendship, love and amongst all this a powerful message about being kind to everyone.
Surprisingly this is the first book I have read by Haley Jenner and it was epic!! I need to add more of there books to my tbr!!
All I can say is wow, 5 Cross Your Heart Stars! I absolutely could not put this book down, I was hooked from start to finish. Second chance books aren’t usually my jam but this one knocked it out of the park. I loved both Reid and Roxy and I think the book had a very important message too. I think this will be going on my frequent reread shelf for sure!
Reid and Roxy met when they were ten. Their friendship was bound by rules they never thought they would break, such as never forcing each other to do something they didn’t want to do or fall in love. But after eight years of the best
friendship either have known, Roxy must admit her heart can no longer be contained.
Their rules break them apart, but after being separated for 10 years, their attraction cannot be denied. They are reunited and their time together brings them even closer together. But, are they willing to break all the rules again?
This story was filled with love, anger, angst, forgiveness, lies, deceit, tears and true sense of what it takes to work at love. Great story with great characters!
“Feelings are more powerful than people give them credit for.”
Oh My Word The FEELS in this book!!! My eyes were leaky, my heart raced, my stomach plummeted, and my soul just soared with the messages within this storyline. While I adore a good, solid romance, when that’s paired with a “teachable moment” that all of mankind could and SHOULD be inspired by, that’s one phenomenal book! The writing duo Haley Jenner has written one such book with Cross Your Heart. My heart feels so incredibly full.
When Roxy Monroe meets Reid Rivere on the playground at the age of 10, neither of their lives were ever the same. There was no telling these two that girls and boys could never really be friends. Why? Well…because for one, they shook on it and sealed a pact to remain best friends for all time with the solidarity of childhood saliva!!! That’s a bond that’ll last forever, right?! They pledged to be true to themselves and each other and to never allow their feelings to develop any further than friendship. As the years move on, where Roxy went Reid follows, and vice versa. They could always count on each other, and knowing that they’d never jeopardize what they had by falling in love, which gave them a security like others only fantasized about. They were constant companions, until Roxy did they unthinkable and ruined everything. She broke the cardinal rule and has spent the past decade paying the lonely price for a teenage decision that still haunts her.
Reid Rivere is center stage celebrity status where Hollywood icons are concerned. He has busted his arse for 10 years to achieve his dreams. He is on top of the world in every way, except one…he left his heart behind 10 years ago and desperately wants to reclaim it. When he and Roxy come face to face in this friends to enemies to lovers story, they burst onto our Kindles with it an entire plethora of emotions!!! My heart broke several times over for Roxy! My gosh this poor beautiful girl/woman. Penalized repeatedly for just being human. There was a period there that I was so ticked off at Reid for the damage he caused, but I soon changed my tune as I listened to him pour his heart out to Roxy. I saw things from his teenage perspective that lacked the maturity to deal with overwhelming feelings of love. Heck, men twice his age struggle with the magnitude of love. There was also a moment or two that I was scared, so darn scared, that Roxy would never know how Reid actually felt. I wanted to throw up with apprehension!!!! Shame on you Haley Jenner. Tsk Tsk.
Ultimately, a fantastic secondary cast of characters and the power of feelings helped to weave one heck of a meaningful romance read. I couldn’t put it down once I picked it up! It was addictive! I’m really hoping that we get much more of two certain someones down the line. PLEASE!!! I beg of you!!! They deserve a HEA and they’d be perfect for each other.
Now…for those of you who read romance for just the heat…YOU NEED dirty talkin’ REID!!! Hot Dayuuum that boy surprised me. Like I was heavy breathing and fanning my face when he and Roxy shared some very adult time. Wowza!!!
And Roxy….she was no slouch. That BJ scene was probably the most salacious and erotic BJ scene I’ve ever read. The writing was unbelievably descriptive and picturesque! Bravo for melting my yoga pants ladies!
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Cross Your Heart is sweet and sad, jaded and heartbreaking all at once!
“Be it romantic, familial or friendship. We want to feel loved. We want to feel connected. We want someone to share this turbulent and sometimes unstable journey of life with.”
Don’t you wonder about those people who always seem perfectly upbeat on the book of face? Do you think they get tired of slogging through the crap of life just like us? I bet they do.
Reid and Roxy have a pact, friends only, for always. What happens when one of them feels a little deeper? The friendship ends, those are the rules. A decade goes by, and someone wins an award while someone is being eaten alive by vultures.
Suddenly they’re tossed together, a little bit manipulatively I think. What are the steps, where are the rules now? Can they trust each other, should they even try?
“It’s crazy how people will make you feel bad for loving who you are, but how can you expect others to love you when you can’t find that affection for yourself.”
One of the kindest, HOTTEST books I’ve read this year. I understand now why Haley Jenner is an automatic 1-click for me! An important reminder in today’s world that it can never hurt to be kind, both to ourselves and others.
This book is an amazing love story, I felt every emotion while reading it. Anyone can write a book, however it takes true talent to tell a story. This is a book that tells a story…the story of Reid and Roxy, how their friendship turned to love and their love was strong enough to withstand the harshest of rejections.
My heart broke for Roxy a few times, then I was able to say that a girl, stand up for yourself. Reid made me so mad at him, I didn’t think he could redeem himself in my eyes, but he did.
This book was able to also touch on a subject that needs to be discussed, cyber bullying. It showed how words hurt people, even if not said verbally, written words hurt just as much.
“What a world we live in. One where complete strangers find it acceptable to pull another person’s self-worth into the gutter. No wonder our world is so drowned in hate and violence. We find it so easy to spew words dripping with malice. The world has forgotten the beauty in a compliment, how easily it can turn someone’s day around.”
“You don’t get to attack another human being because you don’t deem them as worthy of another.”
Cross Your Heart is the first book I read by Haley Jenner. It won’t be the last one that’s for sure.
This book!
Haley Jenner knows how to write a story full of emotions!
‘Cross Your Heart’ is a second book of these authors which I read and I totally love it!
More than ‘Impact’!
Reid and Roxy were best friend from childhood. One day they promised that they won’t fell love to each other. But Roxy was just a girl and in their prom night and her eighteen birthday she got drunk and told this three words to Reid. That she loves him.
Their friendship was gone, like a wind.
A few years later they met again on the film set. They must’ve play two main roles, that will connect by love.
This book is awesome! The famous realities with normal people and theirs lifes are totally good written. Haley Jenner wrote a next book with passion and love.
It would seem that the story of Reid and Roxy is like more normal story about two young people which like each other, but one day everything was destroyed.
But in the end ‘Cross Your Heart’ is more than this.
I really like heroes in this book. Both of them, Reid and Roxy are curiosly created and their connection is different than the others books. It is like-hate-love story, but this hate- love part is the best in all book.
The bully accent is wrote really good. This subject is so tough to write, because really nobody wants to be an victim. Roxy must tolerate unpleasant comments about herself. This wasn’t a simple thing, but she done a great job. She survived it.
‘Cross Your Heart’ is a phenomenal story about famous and everything that’s connected to her. We think that it is simple life, but the true is that fame is very exacting.
This writing duo is absolutely amazing. Every book they write brings me to a happy, sobbing mess that makes me *feel* everything their characters go through. Each book they publish seems to be getting better and better, and I am so glad I stumbled upon these talented ladies.
Now for the book: Cross My Heart has multiple themes, but I am such a sucker for a best friends turned lovers romance. It’s one of my favorite tropes, and these ladies executed this flawlessly. Roxy and Reid met when they were only ten years old, and Roxy was such a firecracker even back then, and predicted/demanded that they will be best friends from here on out. They make a pact that they will never fall in love with one another, and if they do, their friendship will be over. Fast forward ten years, and Roxy is miserable. She’s trying to hide her feelings for Reid, but it is killing her inside to push her feelings to the side in fear that she will lose him once she acknowledges if out loud to him. After a drunken confession and a kiss on their prom night, Reid walks away from her, effectively breaking her heart in a million little pieces. (Let me tell you.. my heart was breaking right along with our poor Roxy.)
Ten more years pass with them not speaking to each other, and it seems like all of Reid’s dreams have come true: he’s a very successful playwright/actor, but he feels like a piece of him is missing. He and Roxy always swore they would conquer Hollywood together, and his success comes at a bittersweet cost. Especially since Roxy’s path in Hollywood hasn’t been what she expected. She’s extremely talented, but because of a vindictive ex, she is in a very public scandal and is being bullied relentlessly online because of it. When she and Reid finally cross paths after all this time to work on the script that made her start to fall in love with him in the first place, will they ever be able to become the friends they once were? Or will their friendship grow into something even more beautiful?
There aren’t enough words to begin to describe how much I loved this book. The side characters, the love, the double standards women have in any workplace in general, the bullying and harassment, especially in a time where it’s not being tolerated anymore, was so amazing to read!! I’m hoping we get to see all the characters in this book eventually get their own HEA! *wink wink*
**I received an advanced copy of this book and these are my honest opinions!!**