Review: Crushed

Crushed by Dawn Rae Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

Crushed was that kind of teen romcom that took me by surprise and wormed it's way into my heart. When playboy high school senior Fletch is dared by his friends to be friends--and only friends--with a girl, he is forced to not hit on the super cute and attractive Ellie Jacobs. His playboy brain is rocked when he finds himself respecting her as a friend without getting into her pants...which of course he ends up wanting to do as he falls in love with her.

The best part of Crushed in my opinion was the setting. A private school of incredibly smart kids who do nothing but drink and do drugs and yet they still get into too schools. Sounds impossible, right? But let me tell you, it is EXACTLY like the school I went to. I even looked into the author to see if she went to my school because even down to the campus layout sounded the same (though this set in northern California and mine was in New England). Moreso than any other teen book, this reminded me of what it was like to be 16/17 and think you rule the world.

Fletch is also a surprisingly good narrator. He may be a jerk, but as his life unfolds, you really start to feel bad for him. Being that smart and that rich, there is so much pressure from people like parents and lifelong friends to be something he's not. and not only that, but often their own agendas poison his happiness. I can't stand slut shaming for the sake of making the main love interest look better, but Callista's plot was so much more than that and more than anything made me really get into Fletch's head.

Ellie was the character I was torn about. She's supposed to be smart and independent, but sometimes she throws herself around like a total airhead. I know it is partially due to reading from Fletch's horny perspective rice, but especially with the introversion we get of her in the sequel Hitched, a lot of her actions are totally inconsistent.

I know the whole point of the book is Fletch falling for a good girl in Ellie, but I could have taken or left the romance plot. What I loved was Fletch finding himself, plus all the end of high school shenanigans his motley crew of friends get into. I was invested enough in Fletch to immediately buy the sequel.

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