***Disclaimer: I received this book via Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. Any thoughts and opinions are my own.***
Book & Author Details:
Alexa Crushed by T.R. Cupak
(Alexa Crushed #1)
Publication date: May 20th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Synopsis:
Alexa Morgan lost her mother when she was two. At eighteen, her father and stepmother died when a devastating earthquake hit the Bay Area. Only one person has remained a constant in her life: Devin.
Devin has been Alexa’s best friend since childhood. The two are inseparable—or they were until Devin declared his love for her at sixteen. When Alexa can offer him only friendship in return, Devin retreats, brokenhearted.
Alexa, on the other hand, longs for Ethan, the boy next door. Four years older than her, and with an ever-changing roster of girlfriends, Ethan is everything Devin isn’t: wild, sensual, and unpredictable.
In the aftermath of the deadly earthquake, Ethan makes his move on Alexa, who reciprocates in a confused whirl of grief and desire. When Ethan leaves town shortly after, Devin comes back into Alexa’s life, offering support and expecting nothing in return.
Alexa begins to see the advantages of Devin’s quiet, stable love. But just as her feelings for her old friend begin to blossom, Ethan returns. Now Alexa must choose—the perfect boyfriend or the wild, thrilling bad boy. It’s a choice that changes her life forever.
Purchase:
Review:
I give this book 3 & 1/2 stars. I didn't LOVE it but I didn't hate it. I'm somewhere in the middle with it. And I think it's because of the way the love triangle played out.
Alexa has dealt with a good bit of loss in her life. The one person who has always been in her life is Devin. They've been besties since they were kids. And guess who falls in love with Alexa? Devin. Guess who Alexa couldn't be less interested in? Devin. And then here comes Ethan, who was a well-written character, but I just didn't like him. I had already made my mind up that Alexa and Devin needed to be together so any scene that had Ethan in it I just kind of sneered at.
T. R. Cupak is a great writer, though. This book is beautifully written even if there are a few scenes that I didn't like in it. These kids are young and just really experiencing life but I felt like sex was a little too casually used for this age group. (But, hey, maybe I'm a stick in the mud?) I also felt like the death of Alexa's family just kind of fell the wayside once the story started picking up speed. I didn't expect it to be the main focus but I did expect it to effect her more than it did. The ending of this book is really what did it for me. I really liked the way things wrapped up. And that's all I'm going to say so that I don't give anything away!
This is a quick read. I think I finished it in about three days but it was worth reading. I did enjoy the characters and Cupak's writing. I'd be open to reading more about these characters and more by this author.
AUTHOR BIO:
T.R. Cupak was born and raised in the suburbs of a Bay Area city in California. She was the closet nerd who hid her love of reading and writing short stories and poetry when she was younger. Back then it wasn’t considered cool to be into those types of activities for pleasure, whereas today you have TV shows, movies and books that glamourize that being a nerd is actually cool.
T. lives in a quiet, little, country town south of where she grew up. She is happily married to an amazing man who supports her in everything she does and spoils her rotten. They have a crazy little Shih Tzu named Harley. He's their fur-baby and even though he’s a pain in the arse most days, they love the little guy. She has an obsession with cars, especially fast ones. She enjoys her music louder than anyone should. Admittedly it’s to drown out hearing her own singing voice, or lack thereof. When she’s not at work or busy writing you can find her curled up reading a book on her Kindle with a glass of wine or Dirty Shirley.
T. lost touch with her creative side and stepped off the path of all things written in her early twenties. Six years ago, her passion for reading was rekindled. She began to utilize reading as a way to escape everyday chaos. Late 2013 she began journal writing. After a couple of months of journaling T. realized that this form of writing wasn't keeping her interest nor was it helping her to relax. After that realization settled in she changed the direction of her writing. Her creative aspirations were flowing once again and she happily embraced it. As her fingers started to dance across her keyboard she began to see her fictional characters begin to breathe life. Writing was only supposed to be a way for the new author to relax, but a story was born and T.R. Cupak is excited to be releasing her self-published debut novel, Alexa Crushed.
