chroniclesofabookworm | [Book Review] Crush

BY: Tracy Wolff
SERIES: Crave (#2)
RATING: 1 out 5
RELEASES: September 29, 2020 by Entangled: Teen
GENRE: Fantasy Fiction, Paranormal fiction
AGE RANGE: 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: 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 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.