Friday, July 12, 2013

Crushing by Elena Dillon - Review

Crushing

As a pampered and adored daughter of a wealthy Southern family Rory’s life was seemingly perfect until her troubled childhood crush moves back in across the street forcing her to choose between him and the life that has been chosen for her.
As if that isn’t enough, her quiet island town has turned dangerous. A good friend has gone missing, lending truth to the rumors of a serial kidnapper. In her quest to help she becomes a target and will have to make choices about love, friendship and the inevitable sacrifice that they both require.
My Thoughts: I tend to lean towards paranormal and apocalyptic/dystopia books, but Crushing was a nice change from that. A thriller (another favorite genre) that intertwines the two (+) guys wanting one girl that seems so popular, Crushing had my attention from the very start. The characters have depth, the backstory is interesting, and the plot is definitely thrilling. The book starts with a rescue that had me entertained, and just kept getting more interesting. Since I live in the state the book is set in, I found it to be terrifyingly believable, with shots of romance and a good bit of male posturing.

I loved Rory. She’s short, spunky, and confused. She always finds herself in some kind of trouble, and she is always trying to help everyone. I usually pick a male character as a favorite (can’t help being biased for a good male lead), but Rory is by far my favorite in this book. I love that even in such a short amount of time we get to watch her character grow and mature. She has twin older brothers, who are awesome and protective. I thought the twins were great. Both were very protective but in very different ways. Bring on the multiple love interests.  Gage, Rory’s long lost best friend/crush, shows up in the nick of time. I don’t know if you can call him a white knight with his exciting past, but he is her hero of sorts. His protective instincts are both a blessing and a curse for him. Then there is Dominic, who is perfect. Never in trouble, loved by her parents, friends with her brothers. Yeah, he seems like the perfect guy. I tend to root for the bad boys though, so I leaned toward the exciting, and a little troubled, Gage.

I really like a book where I am unsure of the outcome. I kept expecting that I knew who the bad guy was in this book. I think I suspected everyone at one point or another. By the end, when the kidnapper was revealed I was very surprised.

I love a good thriller. Crushing gave me more than that though. Elena Dillon added in a relationship conflict between characters that had me just as invested as the kidnapper. Oh, and a very adorable and show stealing puppy. I would suggest this book to anyone who enjoys a thriller with a little clean romance. 
Rating:

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Elena lives and writes in a suburb North of Los Angeles.  She has never lived anywhere besides California which is probably a good thing since she hates being cold and is terrified to drive in the snow. She loves being a wife and a mother to her two kids and three dogs, although really the bulldog is the fourth child who has never matured beyond the toddler stage.
A self proclaimed nerd, she has been writing since she was a child. She has only recently, however, come out of the closet about this to her family and friends.  They now understand better, but not completely, why she talks about characters in stories as if they are real people.
I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

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