Crush

Grace wakes from a four-month coma only to discover she is now…a gargoyle. Yes. A gargoyle. Because apparently, being bitten by vampires wasn’t enough trauma and we needed actual evidence that the MC was super special and "not like the other girls" for reasons better than being not magic at magic school. Meanwhile, the love triangle has officially evolved (actually, it's a love V. It's always a V....) : Jaxon and his brother Hudson both want Grace, but only one can have her at a time (not like that). Also somehow we are still in this V despite the existence of fated mates (because fated mates are absolutely serious business)? oh, the absolute teen drama of it all.
Sorry, have to come back to this: the gargoyle reveal is not cool, show more not scary, not clever—other authors didn’t write gargoyle MCs because it’s dumb, not because no one had thought of it before. But here we are.

I hate this, I love this, I laughed, I groaned, and I am entertained.

Those familiar with my reviews may note that I gave the first book in the series 2 stars and now we have dropped to 1. Those even more familiar with my star rating system will note that this actually signals an improvement of sorts as 1 stars for me are when we have now descended so far into bad it's come back around again to being good-- so bad that my ironic love and my passion for camp overrides my rational analysis. I guess we are here for the ride now. show less

My whole world feels off--especially me. My return to Katmere Academy is accompanied by memories of days I cannot recall living and a struggle to understand who I am.

Just as I feel safe again, Hudson resurfaces. His insistence that there are secrets I don't know threatens to drive a wedge between Jaxon and me. There are, however, far worse enemies at our doorstep.

The Vampire Court threatens my world, and the Circle is engaged in a power play. The only thing Hudson and Jaxon agree on is that I will die if I leave Katmere.

It's not only my life at stake, but everyone else's, too-unless we can stop an unspeakable evil. There is only one thing I know: saving the people I love is going to require sacrifice.

I can give more than I can.

This is show more my reaction of reading the second book.



What a waste of my time. Someone told me that it gets better in the latter book, but I don't see any improvement.

How is it possible to write nearly 800 pages of nothing? A book of 800 pages dedicated to spitting out ideas without a connection, with childish characters and an incoherent plot, where the author throws out ideas without finality.

Although it is a young adult book, I still find the language to be horrifying, since it contains a thousand everyday expressions. Even the phrase "Don't doubt it, baby" seems tacky at times! Really? I am reading the diary of an incoherent 14-year-old. It would have been enough to have 200 pages.

The book begins at a different point than the previous one, as if the author changed the ending after publishing the previous one. The first fifty pages of the book probably confused me already.

To figure out what had happened to Grace, it took me almost 150 pages. That's a lie, because she doesn't tell you what happened. It does, however, tell you that she has been "missing for four months." After this unbelievable nonsense, the author turns this human into a mythological creature. That's all.

A series of things they need are described in the remaining six hundred pages. A poorly woven story, flat and bland characters make it tedious. Grace is a dull and uninteresting protagonist. Her insta-love disaster in the first part has left her clueless about everything.

She spends the book snubbing the man she claims to love. Jaxon's toxic behavior hasn't changed. Though he was portrayed in the first novel as a very dark and withdrawn vampire, now he's as sweet as cotton candy to Grace. My stomach hurts when I think of how many times he tries to love Grace and how she consistently rejects him. How about his irrational hatred for his brother... huh?

Flint, the mean, almost-killed antagonist in the previous book, is now friends with the main character! The best of friends. It only takes a conversation about an apology for them to return to the clique.

The urge to cry is so strong in me that I want to cry.

We know little about Hudson's story because it wouldn't fit into 800 pages. He has a past with Grace. He hasn't had time to share it with us. The only thing he has going for him is that he's funny and acts more coherently than the others.

I'll proceed now. What's the point of this love triangle the author has conjured up? I thought you told us a story of true love with a brother in a previous book, and now here you are with another one.

What was the author thinking? It's like they're trying to confuse us on purpose. One minute, we're rooting for the brother, and the next, we're supposed to accept this new guy? It's just too much.

Just thinking about it gives me a headache. It's a certainty that I won't continue this series. The author's inconsistent storytelling and unnecessary love triangle have ruined the series' appeal, making it unworthy of continuation. show less

This books was absurd, but so much fun! It felt like a strange mix of Twilight and Harry Potter to me and I loved it. Crazy, unrealistic, unconvincing - and yet I couldn't stop reading it. It's like candy, not healthy, but yummy. Four and a half stars.

Second time reading this and I have to say I love it even more, weirdly enough I read it two years ago in the same month.

The crap that Grace has to endure is intense.. but aside from that her inner banter with Hudson was truly the highlight for me. I absolutely love Hudson and could not get enough of him. His sarcastic witt and banter is so entertaining, sometimes sure he's an asshat but I guess I am attracted to asshats LOL. Jaxon probably annoyed me a lot through this book being overly protective as if Grace was some weakling.. so glad she proved him wrong, the girl is a badass.

5 stars again because I just love love this book.

Okay so it was every bit as bad and as good I thought it was going to be. The action and the non-romance related story stuff was actually pretty good. The romance stuff in book 1 and this book was so over written I could barely cope. Exhibit A (from book 1): “He turns me inside out with a look, destroys me with a kiss.” There was so much heart exploding, melting, squeezing, and racing in books 1 and 2 that I seriously think whatsherface needs to see a cardiologist. Exhibit B (from book 1) : “I want him to look at me like it physically hurts him not to be touching me.” Umm you want him to look constipated all the time? It's just way too over the top and frankly annoying. But hey, I'm pushing 50 so I know I am not the target show more audience. The story itself was a compelling read and I did enjoy the dynamic between Grace and Hudson but I guess this means we are in for a brotherly love-triangle show down. I'm going in for book 3 because I need to know how this paranormal creature war pans out. show less

This series has become an addiction, it's so good, Crave was such a fantastic book I was worried to see how the story was going to developed, I never ever thought it would be so much more. Crush is a book that has so many things happening at once, yet you just can't stop reading, I need the next one asap, I know I have to wait, but seriously this series is an epic masterpiece, I can't wait to see it on the big screen, but while we wait to see that. This is a remarkable story full of phenomenal characters, swoony heroes, all the paranormal fantasy characters combined that will have you on edge through each chapter. I am in love with the series, and I am sure you will fall in love with it too. Tracy Wolff you are a genius writing this show more story, the world-building is outstanding, each character unforgettable, and every chapter full of banter, funny moments, heart-wrenching, and simply a roller-coaster that will give the best theme park one a run for its money, or should I say it's simply like riding a dragon. show less

4.5 Stars

The only reason that this isn't a full 5 stars is a) the unnecessary length of these books and b) the first 15-20% of the book, or the part before Hudson showed up. Otherwise, this was miles better than the first book. I'd go as far to say that the first book was almost entirely unnecessary, with the exception of introducing Grace to the paranormal world.

This was so hard to put down, and the twists in the last 100 or so pages had my heart racing. Yes, it was somewhat predictable and had some classic tropes such as the mating bond breaking and love interest switch-up, but it was still such an entertaining, "guilty pleasure" level read. Definitely one of my favorite reads of the year so far. ...I need more Hudson now k bye.