The Line Below

By: Ali Dean

Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski

Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's Summary

When my teammates drag me to a club for my 21st birthday, the last thing on my mind is meeting a new guy. I’m not the kind of girl who gets wrapped up in a stranger on a sweaty dance floor.

Except, that’s exactly what happens. 

Only, the guy isn’t a stranger. 

He’s Jett Decker, the Olympic track star who has the entire campus buzzing with his transfer to our college. He may have given me his number, but I won’t use it. I refuse to be distracted by silly things like explosive chemistry. I’ve got my own Olympic dreams to chase. 

Turns out, whatever ignited on that dance floor can’t be put out by swimming laps.                              

©2018 Ali Dean (P)2018 Ali Dean

Good Narrator

Okay I’m just feeling old after listening to this book! Lol! It is about a group of college students and I just could not connect to anyone. It was well written and I can certainly see how it would be interesting for younger listeners however as a senior I guess I am just past listening to the antics of college students. I will still give this 4 stars however as it was well written and as I’ve mentioned the storyline is interesting for those who want to read about a college romance. The narrator was excellent.
AudiobookObsessionReviewer 🎧

Great Duo!

I am a huge fan of Ali Dean and Stacey Glemboski from the Pepper series they have done together. They have done it again with The Line Below, this time with swimming. I’m always fascinated by the ability of Ms. Dean to include enough information about the sport of choice of the characters so that a lay reader can understand what is happening right along with the characters. Ms. Dean’s ability to explain and writing style makes you cheer for the wins and suffer the losses right along with them.

Ms. Glemboski has quickly become my favorite female narrator. She has a wide range of not only voices but also accents and emotions. It is easy to discern the characters and to feel along with them.

This book is another great combination of these two very talented women. Once again Ms. Dean’s story pulled me in, and I couldn’t stop reading. There was an unexpected twist and I was just shocked, because I was so invested and never saw it coming. That is the power of these two women. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next.

I was provided with a free copy of this audio book for my honest review. The views expressed here are entirely my own.

Coming of age!

Both Shay and Jeff are on college sport's teams. When they first meet there are instantaneous sparks between them. This is their story of a growing romance and their growing into adulthood.

Both the narrator and author are new to me. I must say I am impressed. Ali Dean wrote about characters that are strong but you also see them getting stronger with age and life experiences. Her characters support each other and watch over the ones they like and love. One of her characters has darker and deeper problems. These are just some of the life experiences many people face as they grow older. The narrator did a very good job of conveying the characters' lives to the listener. This only makes for a greater listening experience. I volunteered to receive this Audible book in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend this Audible book.

🎧 AudiobookObsessionReviewer🎧

The Line Below - Jett * Shay

I'm not normally into sports romances, but I really enjoyed this book.

I liked Jett a lot, he was protective, without being an overbearing alpha. Shay on the other hand either needed to grow a backbone or if she actually had one needed to stop letting everyone else speak for her. It absolutely drove me crazy that she let her sister talk her into doing whatever she wanted like Shay didn't have opinions and a mind of her own. And don't get me started on the sister. I was happy when Shay finally decided to figure her stuff out on her own instead of letting anyone else dictate her life for her.

Both Jett & Shay are on college sports teams. Jett runs track and has already medalled in the olympics, while Shay is a swimmer who didn't qualify at the olympic trials. They meet for the first time at Shay and her twins birthday party at a club. Jett dances with her, gives her his number, and disappears hoping she will call. They meet again a week later outside of a concert and the relationship takes off from there. Along the way they deal with Shay's ex friends with benefits, Jett's friend & sisters dislike of Shay being too much like his ex, Shay's insecurities about their relationship, etc.

#AudiobookObsession
🎧AudiobookObsession

Audio made it an even better story

I had already read this book before I listened to it and it was even better then could have guessed. Books with duel narration is what I prefer to listen to and I think they did a really good job with this one. I this this narrator did a awesome job doing the male sections of this book. If you have read any of Ali books or if you enjoy a more of a sports or young adult stories this book is for you. The narrator really help bring the story to life.

College Sports Romance

The Line Below by Ali Dean is a college sports romance that I listened to on audio narrated by Stacey Glemboski. This is the first book in The Spark Sisters series.

This is the second series of Ali's that I have read and it won't be me my last. Her romances have a bit of drama but overall I would classify them as sweet romances that will leave you with a smile.

Jett and Shay have an instant connection in this book. However, I liked that still had to work through some drama to know that their feelings were real. I also really enjoyed getting Jett and Shay's points of view throughout the book.

Stacey did a great job on the narration. I look forward to listening to more of her work in the future.

I would recommend this book if you like sports romances, college romances, or contemporary romance.


Audiobook Obsession Reviewer

Loved it!

I really enjoyed this story! It was so easy to read! Once I started reading it, I didn't want to put it down. The characters were engaging and entertaining. I loved getting to know Shay and Jett. Jett knew exactly what he wanted and I absolutely loved how direct he was with Shay. He went after what he wanted and made it known that he wanted to be with her and only her. And that he doesn't share. I absolutely loved it! Shay did too. With that being said, there are still plenty of twists in this story. It keeps your attention the entire time and keeps you turning pages to find out what is going to happen next. Shay is struggling with believing that what she has with Jett is real and with what she is going to do after college. She is a fantastic swimmer but her mom wants her to go into finance instead of pursuing a professional swimming career, which is what she desperately wants to do. I loved how they worked things out together. I also loved the way that the black/white relationship was handled as well. It shouldn't matter and I loved that that's how they treated it. It was never an issue for them, though there were a few people that had one at first. This story flowed very well. The sex is fairly explicit and details are shared. It fits the story and the characters and I enjoyed it being blended in to the story. I absolutely adored the other characters close to these two characters and am very happy that Shay's sister is getting her own book, Kick. Super excited to read it! I'd love to read more in this world with these characters as well.
The narrator did a fantastic job with the voices! I loved the slight accent for Jett. This was dynamic and definitely added an extra dimension to this story! I adored listening to it and having it brought to life!

Two Strong Characters

I was given a copy of “The Line Below” by Ali Dean in exchange for my honest review, and here it is. Let me tell you this is a sport romance, but not what your use to reading. It was nice and refreshing to read that the main female character Shay is the star athlete going for the Olympic swim team that falls for another Olympic track star Jett. The love story between Shay and Jett is hot right of the start and only grows with every challenge they must face together. Theirs a few twists and turns but at the end they find their HEA. If you love sport romance this one is for you.

Almost Perfect

One of my favorite things about this is the almost equal time spent on the sports and romance development. Shea is very dedicated to swimming, and the scenes where she is doing swimming seem very well written. I also of course love her and Jetts relationship.

Jett and Shea felt very realistic, in the sense their relationship had ups and downs. There were issues and misunderstandings, but they were able to work through them as well.

I like that there was a lot of good supporting characters, like Sheas sister. They had their own issues that were mostly working through as well as the main characters.



I loved everything about this book except for Julian and his awful behavior and forcing Shea to kiss him and basically sexually assaulted her until Jett stepped in.

The narration was great for both Shea and Jett. I would listen to more of Stacey Glemboski narrated books.

Overall, I would give this story 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

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Disclaimer: I received a free code from Audiobookcrave. All opinions are my own.

Great!

I was impressed by this my first novel by Ali Dean. The writing is great and I did so much incidental learning about swimming and competition in a pleasurable way. The romance was well executed with characters I liked and admired.

At the end, I was in denial it was over and wanted more. I quickly grabbed the next novel to listen to. THE LINE BELOW is about Shay, and the second novel, KICK, is about Shay’s fraternal twin, Kick. Each novel stands alone, but I’d suggest reading them in order if you can.

I recommend both stories especially on Audible for the excellent narration by Stacey Glemboski.

Book 1 - Spark Sisters

This is book 1 in Dean's Spark sisters series. A new sports romance read with our main characters being Jett and Shay. Both college athletes Shay being a swimmer and Jett running track. A fast paced, insta love romance. While overall I think this is a good romance with a smooth, fast paced storyline I gotta say that Shay's insecurities seems a little much. I liked how the race issue was addressed, as a possible issue but in the end it's as it should be - a non issue. Great balance of light and deep issues addressed and communication is key. I hope in book 2 as we get Kick's story any tension between these sisters is resolved. Wonderful narration - smooth and easy to listen to. Overall a good romance read!

This book was given to me for free at my request and I voluntarily provided this review.

real love

Shay and Jett fall in love so suddenly that ir seems impossible to connect so fast. But their past can destroy what they are building and take them apart. Great audiobook. Stacey does a great job reading AliDean’s story.

College Sports Romance

The Line Below by Ali Dean is a college sports romance that I listened to on audio narrated by Stacey Glemboski. This is the first book in The Spark Sisters series.

This is the second series of Ali's that I have read and it won't be me my last. Her romances have a bit of drama but overall I would classify them as sweet romances that will leave you with a smile.

Jett and Shay have an instant connection in this book. However, I liked that still had to work through some drama to know that their feelings were real. I also really enjoyed getting Jett and Shay's points of view throughout the book.

Stacey did a great job on the narration. I look forward to listening to more of her work in the future.

I would recommend this book if you like sports romances, college romances, or contemporary romance.


Audiobook Obsession Reviewer

Ali Dean can write the elite athletic college experience like no one else.

Although The Line Below and Kick are companion books that can be read in any order, I recommend this one first.

Shay and Kick are twin sisters, both competitive swimmers at a university. Nationally ranked and gifted, Shay is serious about competitive swimming and wants to make a future in it. She has a no-strings attached arrangement with a teammate. What makes her take pause is an Olympic runner finishing his college education. Jett won the silver medal and is serious about a relationship with Shay.

When Shay decides to become exclusive and in a dating relationship with Jett, her former no-strings-attached lover won’t accept it. As Jett and Shay grow closer and their relationship deepens, things start to become complicated as Shay has tough decisions to make.

Excellent, excellent series. Ali Dean is an excellent writer, and Stacey Glemboski’s narration made this a fast, easy listen. Highly recommend this series, or anything Ali Dean writes for that matter.

Diving In

First time listening to this Author and I was really impressed. This book had some interesting characters with very relatable stories. This is more than the average sports romance and that was a plus for me. Not that I don't like football, or hockey, but it was refreshing to see swimming for a change. I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to the next one!

Loved the sparks sisters!

Audio Review I loved the audio for this book. The voice is easy to listen to and kept me engrossed in the story that I finished it in one day as was so addicted.

In regards to the spark sisters I loved that it showed how sister can have conflict but at the same time can be there for each other. I felt that kick doesn’t get as much support as she should but looking forward to her story more in the next book.

I loved Jett, I loved that the book was different and the guy was open from the beginning and he kept opening up. I get he kept some secrets from Shay but I got why he never said it. Am glad there wasn’t too much dramatic that pulled them apart.

I looking forward to listening to the next book.

fabulous

this was another amazing story by this author. we got to hear Shays story. she wants to become an Olympic swimmer but has self doubts. she hooks up with Jett who is a runner. her casual fling julian is here to cause lots of trouble.

the narrator is amazing. she nailed so many different characters.
🎧audiobookobsession

You have to listen to this, brilliant narration

Stacey Glemboski does a really great job with the narration. I love listening to her.

I seem to have listened to these books in the wrong order (typical me). It didn't ruin my enjoyment of the story, in fact I loved it just as much as the other book. I really enjoyed the way the two books cover roughly the same time period and dovetail the events together, you just see them from a different point of view. I really like these characters, they took me through a whole load of emotions with them. Brilliant book.

Ok listen

This was my first read (or should I say listen!) by Ali Dean, and as a usual liker of NA sports romance, I was hoping to like it.

I have to say, it wasn't the greatest sports romance I've ever read. I couldn't connect with any of the main characters really. Shay Spark and her twin Kick (I connected more with her though this story was about Shay), star swimmers; Julian Reid, Shay's on/off booty call; and Jett Decker, Olympic track star.

It was going sort of okay until chapter 3 when Shay and Jett just immediately started dry humping on the dance floor without even speaking, and Kick almost had an orgasm over watching it... It went right down to a 3* for me at that point.

There was just way too much drama that didn't really have any "oomph" about it, a love triangle with no spark (excuse the pun), and the instalove without introductions... It all just seemed quite naive for me.

That said, I do have Kick's story on audio and have started listening already. It also hasn't put me off reading any of the authors other series.

(AUDIO)
The narrator didn't really have me gripped, and the characters could have been easily confused if you weren't paying attention.

I love sports romance!

I love sports romance books, this was my first book that talks about swimming. They are in college so we have those typical issues but I love the main characters. I was constantly trying to guess what was going to happen next. This narrator does a great male voice. I really enjoyed listening to her read this book. no cliffhanger here, I definitely recommend this book!

🎧Audiobook Obsession