Such a Rush

Okay, seems a bit dramatic doesn't it? Well things are dramatic when you're a teenager and I think Jennifer Echols catches that very well. I've only read Going Too Far by her before this and it's along the same vein as this one. Troubled, strong female MC. Sex isn't an issue, it's in the book. So be prepared along with some strong language and some pretty bad parenting and other things that people might object to. None of it is stuff that doesn't occur on the news nightly or isn't written in the papers. It's just that Jennifer Echols isn't afraid to write it down in a book about teens for teens. And I think she should.

Leah has been raised in trailer parks next to airports her entire life. So, at the age of 14 when they move to Heaven show more Beach, South Carolina, she ducks under the fence and gets a job at the airport. She watches the planes come and go. She listens to the old pilots shoot the breeze on the front porch of the small airport that doesn't even have a flight control tower. And she eats it up. It's about the only thing she's got going right in her life. And so what if she's got a huge crush on Mr. Hall's of Hall Aviation son, Grayson. Nothing will ever come of it. They don't know she exists. The boys don't. But Leah figures out how to get flying lessons from Mr. Hall and he takes her in as a daughter, his sons are too busy to come visit after the divorce. By the time Grayson, Alec and Leah are all 18 they have their commercial pilot's licences and plan to spend Spring Break and the summer flying banners for money for Hall Aviation. But bad things happen and those plans go down the drain.

Now, I'll say this about Jennifer Echols characters- they are complicated. I thought I had Leah figured out. She lived in a trailer and wanted to get out of it. But she wasn't going to be handed anything, she was going to earn it. And if people thought she had been handed something because she was sexy and knew how to use it, well they could think what they wanted to, she wasn't going to correct them. But Leah was also fierce to me. And I didn't expect her to take certain things that she did. I thought she acted a little out of character in certain parts of the book.

Grayson, he was exactly who I thought he would be. Cocky, self assured, good looking and always had to have everything his way. Alec, was probably the easiest to like because he wasn't in the picture that much. And Molly, well let's just say, I don't want a best friend, if that's what I have to have. They all seemed to be good and wholesome and caring, but Leah just didn't see them for who they really were. She never let her own feelings out. She had a crappy mother who was always leaving her. She rarely had food. She didn't have a car to get food. No one ever offered to take her to get food and she never asked. Her reasons were stupid.

But you know what, I loved this book. For all the flawed characters, I still loved the book and I will buy my own copy. I stayed up all night with a bad eye to read this one. I guess it was because the characters didn't fit a mold. They changed up when I thought I knew them. And I had to think about them for a few days before I could even write this review. They're still swimming around in my head. I really loved this book!

It's definitely for older teens. It contains, strong language, sex, drugs, drinking, and other suggestive things regarding sex. I can't say what age, my teen is old enough for it. Use your best judgement.

I did read the ARC of this book supplied by Southern Book Bloggers ARC Tours. I was not compensated for this review. show less

There’s sort of a triangle here but not quite, Leah is pushed into fake dating one brother while she’s actually crushing on the other brother. The brother Leah’s actually interested in swings back and forth between being a jerk to her and being thoughtful towards her. The way he speaks to her at times does border on toxic but I guess I was mostly okay (barring a couple moments) with their relationship because those two sides of him basically balanced out, plus it helped that he isn’t just randomly cold to her, you’re at least given insight into his behavior, understanding that it’s less about Leah and more about his strained relationship with his dad and still coming to terms with losses in his life.

Also speaking of toxic, show more there is a lot of slut shaming in this story, it’s wince-inducing at times but that type of judgement of women still very much exists, it’s unfortunately realistic and generally I’d rather contemporary fiction go for realism than pretend the world is more enlightened than it is, still, I could see it understandably being a dealbreaker for some readers.

While romance is at the forefront in this book, what I really appreciated and loved most is that we get a well-rounded look at Leah’s life beyond just boys, pretty much all my favorite moments here, the stuff that felt truly absorbing and emotionally engaging involved the financial and emotional struggles of Leah’s homelife, and most of all her aspirations to become a pilot and her passion for flying. show less

I didnt read any reviews on Such A Rush before I picked it up. Im a daredevil like that. I loved the cover and while you should never judge a book by the cover, I unabashedly admit it: I totally did.

Cover Judger McJudgington

I know what you're thinking, her hair must have taken a load of shampoo to get out all that AquaNet.

After reading the back blurb, I nearly put the book back. My inner teenager - the one that tirelessly watched Top Gun - first at the theater, then burning a hole in my VHS tape - is still hooked on planes of any kind. How could she not be? My inner flygirl made everyone call her "Charlie" for a year and got mad when her Mom wouldnt let her wear seamed hose....well, "Charlie" won, and got her book even though I am NO show more fan of the overdone Love Triangle.

~Blergh~

Im so glad I gave it a try. i read it in a day's time while my inner Charlie put on her wedgie, sporty, two-piece suit and went to play beach volleyball in the Danger Zone with Iceman, Slider, and Hollywood. The hussy.

Such A Rush fits in the New Adult genre but is set as YA. I'd say mature YA. I discovered immediately, this wasnt your average Erhmehgerd-I-Just-Met-You-This-Is-Crazy-Im-Struck-Stupid-I-Love-You-Forevar! when they all first meet. Good Lord, I hate that. Authors need to stop doing it. Take notes from Jennifer Echols.

This is a love triange...that isn't one.

It's like Echols took a yawn-boring, overdone, love triange, threw it in the cockpit and out came this story of loyalties and love that isn't anywhere near predictable. And then throws you for another corkscrew loop. Corkscrew...get it?

~woohoo, arms in the air, airplane reference!~

There is plenty of piloting planes, not fighter planes, but still airplanes nonetheless. The reader is plunked into the life of this everyday girl who has made some silly or stupid choices to roll with the turbulence of life. She can fly a plane but cant drive car. She's dealt with a flakey parental, encountered swoony boys, gave up fighting assumptions and gossip, found herself embroiled in family dramas, learned deep loyalties, deepened friendships, and had some LOL's.

Such A Rush reminds me a bit of one of Shakespeare's plots: What you thought, isn't. How you see it happening, doesn't. But it all connects for a more interesting, twisty plot where it all works out well in the end.

Like the beauty of an F14, inverted, 4G dive."Say cheese."

~woohoo, buzzes the airport tower~ show less

Leah has always lived in run down trailer parks that happened to be near the airport. Her mom--when she bothers to stay home longer than a few hours--never stops complaining about the noise, but Leah can’t get enough. She takes advantage of her proximity to the airport and lands a job in the office at the age of 14. But still, this isn’t close enough. She doesn’t just want to watch and listen to airplanes take off and land, she wants to fly. She saves up as much as she can, forges her moms signature, and makes a deal with Mr. Hall for flying lessons. Three and a half years later she is able to get her commercial pilot’s license and can now be paid for doing what she loves. Unfortunately, Mr. Hall passes away before she is able show more to start working for him. His reckless son, Grayson, who is also just 18-years-old, decides he’s going to run the family business and he wants Leah to fly for him like she promised his dad. Leah refuses, but he isn’t taking no for an answer. He blackmails her into not only working for him, but also into dating his twin brother, Alec.

Such a Rush sucks you in from the start. Jennifer Echols just knows what she’s doing when it comes to contemporary YA. I loved reading about the whole flying and being a pilot thing. I think airplanes are amazing. Being able to get on and, a hand full of hours later, get off in a completely different country or continent is just...wow. Echols describes everything really well and it wasn’t at all that confusing. I had no idea just how dangerous flying one of those things actually is! But it does sound like a great adrenaline rush and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t love to try it.

Leah is a great MC; she is strong, smart, and driven. She has an irresponsible mother who thinks she’s the child which has forced Leah to grow up faster than she should have had to. She actually pays most of the bills, including half the rent, because her mom can’t keep a steady job. All of this is done without complaint as she spends every free hour she has working. With help from Mr. Hall she is able to find a way out of this life; becoming a pilot allows her to fly literally and figuratively. I almost wish there were a sequel so we could see where Leah ends up.

And, of course, we also have Grayson who I found to be quite pleasant when he wasn’t intentionally trying to be a douche. His feelings are obvious from the beginning and he says some really harsh things to Leah throughout the novel mostly because he is trying to push her away. I think she forgave him a bit too easily at the end...I would have made him grovel a bit. The tension between them was great. I read this so quickly because I HAD to know where their relationship was going. Besides these two and Mr. Hall, I didn’t really like any of the other characters. Alec was a bit too boring for my taste and Leah’s best friend, Molly, seemed shady from the start.

4.5 stars show less

So, I wasn't the hugest fan of Love Story, which is the only other Echols' book I've read. It was enjoyable, but I wasn't blown away the way everyone else was. But Such a Rush? Consider me blown to China.

Leah was different from other protagonists I usually read. She was smart and strong and fiercely independent. She learned early on to take care of herself, no matter where she was. Leah was also pretty confident in who she was, despite what other people thought of her (which I'll get to). I liked her determination and her spunk.

The romance in this book was very A Midsummer's Night-esque. All of the confusion and all of the difficulties and as that's the one Shakespeare play I've thoroughly enjoyed, I liked seeing it here too. No, this show more isn't a retelling, but it just kind of gives you a good comparison on the craziness. This book is much darker, not as fun, though it certainly has it's moments.

I loved how this book tackled bullying and some semi-slut shaming. Because Leah lives in a trailer park and a lot of boys are attracted to her and she dresses a certain way, she's a slut. Really it's a lack of funds and her just being an attractive person. Instead of shying away from that, she embraces what they believe is her reputation. She doesn't actually sleep around a lot, but she lets everyone thinks she does. She ignores the worst of her bullies and lives her life how she wants to, not caring how others may judge her. It was a good look at the problem and some of the background you don't really know unless you're close to the person you're calling...any name, really.

I also adored the different relationships developed in this book. There were a lot of people who were important to the story, even if they weren't there, and their relationships with Leah and the Hall brothers were all necessary and interesting and formative. There were a lot of different types of relationships looked at, as well.

Also, the ending? May have been one of the cutest things ever.

Basically, this book made me want more like it and while Echols' other books don't really sound like my things...I think it's now inevitable that I will read them someday. So if you're on the fence about her books like I was, I'd say start with this one. show less

My love of the gorgeous cover is the extent of my love for this book. It was slow paced, trashy, and full of annoying characters.

I couldn’t stand the main character of the book, Leah. While I admired her trying to make a better future for herself and get out of the trailer park life she’d grown up in, I just couldn’t stand her. She was always whining and complaining about being called the school slut (harsher word used in book), but does nothing to change it. In fact, she purposefully acts/dresses the way she thinks people expect her to. She gets mad at other people for thinking of her that way but thinks it herself.

If I could use two words to describe the romance in this book I would say messed up.This is not your typical love show more triangle since Leah doesn’t actually have feeling for both guys. Leah’s been in love with Grayson since they were fourteen years old, but Grayson has never given her the time of day until now, when he blackmails her into dating his twin brother Alec. While Leah & Grayson’s feelings for each other deepen, they start to see each other in secret, while Grayson continues to make Leah go out with Alec, which made me furious!

The one part about the book I did enjoy was learning about the planes and details of flying. While I myself am terrified of heights and am afraid to ride on a plane, never-mind fly one. I found it really fun to read about someone as brave as Leah and her flying experiences.

As for objectionable content, there was an abundance of foul language as well as some sex scenes.

Overall, I wish I hadn’t wasted my time with this one. It was all very trashy in my opinion. I definitely won’t be adding any of Jennifer Echols other books to my TBR. show less

I went into this book blind. I hadn't read any descriptions but had seen where it received a lot of great reviews; so when I came across it in a bargain bin, I had to buy it. This was a great romance. There was lots of tension and humor. I loved Leah and Grayson. Actually, I loved most all the characters. At times the story was heartbreaking and other times it was heart warming. I had a warm, gooey feeling in my stomach when I finished this book and wanted to read it again.