Craves The Angst: REVIEW RECAP - CRUSH (Crash #3) by Nicole Williams:

Title: Crush
Series: Crash
Series Placement: #3
Author: Nicole Williams
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 23, 2013
Published by: Harper Collins
Format: eBook and Paperback
Pages: Approx. 389

My Goodreads Review Link

Book Blurb:
Football glory. A giant diamond. A wandering eye.

Jude and Lucy are happily engaged, but that doesn't mean life's a bed of roses.

Once again, Jude and Lucy are torn apart by football training and a summer job that creates new tensions. This time Jude's the one with trust issues. Will Lucy's life-changing news bring them back together or end their relationship for good? Can love triumph forever?

NOTE: I finished this read last year in September but never posted the review to my blog, so I'm doing it today as a Review Recap. Hope you enjoy :)

4 Exploding, Emotional Stars!

Jude Ryder, I Will Always Love You! Yeah, I'm A Total Cougar But Who Cares... Its JUDE FREAKING RYDER PEOPLE!

The Review:

I’ve loved this series from the beginning and though this book had its issues, I still love this story as a whole. I love Jude and Lucy’s story. I love their history and I love their relationship. Lets begin...

Characters...

You know the usual suspects in this line up. We have Lucy and Jude, Holly and Little Jude, Thomas and of course India, all of which I loved seeing again. We also get introduced to India’s bro, Anton and a new bff, Sybill. But lets talk about our mains...

Lucy...

I have adored Lucy from the moment we met her on the beach in the first book. She was strong, brave and a force. Yes, she was a bit confusing at times, but she’s young and just as hot headed as Jude so I was able to overlook some of the major conflict she seemed to create just by breathing. But in this book, its like our Luce was absent and this inconsiderate, selfish, whiny, fearsome, “its all about me” chick took over and stuffed Luce in a bag in the back of her tiny closet!

Jude...

I will forever and eternally love this character. His love for Lucy, even after everything she’s put him through, is so hot and passionate and just Uhhhhhhh! That boy/man melts hearts wherever he goes, draws attention from across an airport but he never sees anyone other than Luce. Ever!

Jude and Lucy.. Together...

Lucy and Jude are still stumbling along when this book opens up. They’ve been together for four years with their relationship and with all they’ve been through, all the history they have, they still have a huge mountain of uncertainty to climb over.

Jude is drafted to the NFL and he’s going across the country, wanting Lucy to hang it all up in New York and go with him but she wants to forge out her own path, maybe even dance after she finishes college. They clash about money, about the distance, their jealousies, their futures, basically everything. Jude wants her to commit to marriage and she’s ok with being engaged but she also wants to follow her own dreams instead of giving it all up for Jude's dreams.

I was conflicted as much as they were. On one hand I wanted Lucy to follow Jude to wherever his road took them because ultimately, he was working towards “their” future. She was all he thought about, all he cared about, all he wanted out of life. The money from playing football was just to set them up, have security, something he never had. But I understood her independence and her desire to follow her own dreams. Jude wanted to take care of her, provide and protect her. She wanted to know she could succeed on her own, be her own person. Their conflict was real, it was genuine and understandable. I got both of their points and was pulled in different directions just as they were. As a reader, I desperately wanted their HEA after all they’d been thorough. But the author proved once again she knew best because Jude and Lucy had a bit more maturing to go through before they reached their HEA, and I love all the angst ridden moments, all the tension filled circumstances and all the passionate embraces we got to have right along side them as they found their way to their happily ever after.

The Side Stories...

There’s romance in the air and its not just between Jude and Lucy this time. Holly finds an unexpected attraction and I think it was a perfect union. The little family that’s formed between all the friends is sweet and I love what their future looks like. Little Jude or LJ as he wants to be called now, is a hellion but so freaking adorable! Thomas proves how valuable he is to their group as he stands up and takes care of his girls. India is just as provocative and outlandish as always.

The Wrap Up:

Crush is the end of a beautiful, heartfelt journey. One for which I have lived, breathed, thought about, dreamt about, talked about and absolutely loved since the moment I picked up that first book, Crash, and read the first words ”Summers turn me into a sucker...”.

When that book ended, I felt like a piece of my heart had been ripped out and given to Jude Ryder and Lucy Larson and the journey they had embarked on. I couldn’t wait to read the second book, Clash, but there I was, teary eyed, heart pounded with nothing to do but wait. And wait I did. For months I checked and rechecked the release date for the second book and when it finally arrived, I grabbed it up and devoured all its angst ridden moments right along side this power couple who it seemed could literally get through anything.

And of course the wait began anew for book three. But as I just finished this last book and the last words, I question, was the torturous waiting worth it? Of course. I wanted, no needed to know the ending to their story. Jude is without a doubt one of my all time favorite book boyfriends. He’s got something special that I’ve never found in any other hero. There are some truly amazing fictional heroes out there and they have a permanent place in my heart but Jude Ryder carved out his own section, seared his story and his name into my mind and he will live with me, always. To have a relationship thats as passionate and loving even with all the crazy arguing and hot headed antics, these two are unique yet real and we should all be so lucky.

Four years together hasn’t tamed their relationship or their personalities. They are still hot headed, opinionated, passionate and in love and lust as much now as the first day they met and I fantasize they always will be. Its who they are, but they are maturing, they are learning, they are growing and they are trying to reason things out before exploding.

It may not have ended they way I expected or preferred or even wanted. And I hated the reason Lucy finally commits to Jude, which set me off in a mini-temper tantrum that this author, who I adore, would pull that card! But it was their ending and perfect for them. The last lines of the book were perfect. Jude and Luce... are perfect. I love them and I love everlasting HEA!