Author: Tracy Wolff
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Synopsis:
Everything feels off―especially me. I’ve returned to Katmere Academy, but I’m haunted by fragments of days I have no recollection of living and struggling to understand who, or what, I really am. Just when I start to feel safe again, Hudson is back with a vengeance. He insists there are secrets I don’t know about, threatening to drive a wedge between Jaxon and me forever. But far worse enemies are at our doorstep. The Circle is caught in a power play and the Vampire Court is trying to drag me out of my world and into theirs. The only thing Hudson and Jaxon agree on is that leaving Katmere would mean my certain death. And not only am I fighting for my life, but now everyone else’s is at stake―unless we can defeat an unspeakable evil. All I know is that saving the people I love is going to require sacrifice. Maybe more than I’m able to give.
Review:
Let me start off by saying this, I did not enjoy Crave, the first book in this series. I had no desire to pick up book two, but the publisher sent me a copy, and guess what? I really enjoyed it. On a technical note, the editing, sentence structure, and overall style had minor flaws. The constant switching between the use of quotations and italics confused me when Hudson and Grace were speaking to one another. But other than that, it read pretty smoothly.
The pacing in this book held my attention. Unlike Crave, Crush had a plot that continuously moved forward. I was engaged in the storyline, intrigued by the tension between characters, and genuinely wanted to keep reading.
Things I enjoyed: the witty banter between Grace and Hudson, the action-packed plot, the mystery of The Circle, Hudson’s backstory, the strong bond between Grace and Macy, and the visual descriptions of the Laudres tournament.
Things I didn’t love: several of the pop culture references felt dated for a seventeen-year-old living in 2020, the predictable plot twists, and the sudden change in both Jaxon and Grace’s character. Jaxon felt very distant in this book. I didn’t connect with him. His actions felt weak, forced. In the first book, Grace portrayed the damsel in distress, but in book two, she has a strong feminist attitude. It comes out of nowhere and is jarring to the reader. Another head-scratching moment occurred when a popular character revealed his sexual orientation to Grace. It appeared the author wanted to appeal to the LGBT community but unfortunately it felt forced and unnatural. Grace’s textbook response to her friend’s emotional reveal came off as cheesy and unauthentic.
Overall, I enjoyed Crush and look forward to continuing the series.
Readers: an easy read for those who love young adult romance, and the paranormal
Writers: a good change of pace for those who write dense fantasy
Triggers/Warnings: adult language
Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Completed Read: 11/16/2020
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