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BOOKWORM REVIEW: Crash by Tamara Lush

 

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
SPICE: 🔥🔥.5

Evie Cooper has a lot on her plate. She just graduated from college and is trying to survive a corporate marketing internship. Let's not forget that she's basically raising her younger sister who is in high school.

The last thing she needs is to catch the attention of billionaire, corporate heir, and notorious risk taker Alexander Jenkins. 

Alex needs someone to lift his image and reputation. The former motorcycle racer is not given a lot of faith to helm his family's business by his own grandmother. When he mistakes Evie for his new temp assistant, he comes up with a plan. He proposes a fake relationship that would get him the CEO job and get Evie the money she needs for herself and her sister Sabrina.

This book is a light read if you're into fake relationships or workplace romance. I like the easygoing chemistry between Alex and Evie, and it made the instant connection believable. I did feel like their relationship's arc was not developed enough, and I would have traded the chapters dedicated to establishing who they are for that, because the moments we get when they were "faking" their relationship were so cute. As someone who has an irrational fear of sharks and loathe the aquarium, this book may have changed my mind on the latter. (I still hate sharks.)

I have to give credit to a side character who stole the spotlight for me when she was around. Kudos to Gram; that character is fantastic and deserves some love. 

This book is the second in Lush's The Pretenders series, but it can be read as a standalone. 

** I am voluntarily reviewing an advance copy of this book. Thank you to Tamara Lush, Wattpad Webtoon Books, and NetGalley for providing an ARC. **

ABOUT THE BOOK

Alex Jenkins, an ambitious ex-motorcyclist and heir to billions, fakes his engagement to Evie Cooper to claim his inheritance. But with a single kiss, everything changes.

Alex Jenkins has a reputation: he's Atlanta's most eligible bachelor, a former competitive motorcycle racer, and a man who isn't afraid of a bit of a challenge. But when the off-limits marketing intern Evie Cooper catches his attention, self-control has a whole new meaning.

Both Alex and Evie attempt professionalism but their undeniable passion pushes them further to the edge. Between in-office outfit adjustments and late-night secretarial work, their close proximity is pure torture.

The suspense builds as Evie is reluctantly drawn into an engagement-for-show so Alex can secure his place as the company’s successor. His reputation as a bad boy is not exactly on brand and a serious commitment could prove to his family that he is mature enough to take over. With the engagement comes family drama and the ever-present eye of the matriarch, Alex's steely and strong grandmother, Eleanor Dorothy Jenkins.

As Evie becomes immersed in the Jerkins clan, her humble origins come into stark contrast with the snobbery of the billionaire lifestyle. Awash in new-found lust and overwhelmed by a world of luxury, Evie struggles to decipher between what is a ruse and what is real.

Can Alex exchange his love for the chase for real love? Can Evie’s spunk and personality win over Alex’s family? Can their raw passion transform their fauxmance into a meaningful relationship?


MEET TAMARA LUSH

Tamara Lush writes steamy and emotional contemporary romance stories set in tropical locations. Her book Constant Craving was a 2018 RWA RITA® finalist in erotic romance.

She's married and lives near a beach in Florida. For many years, she was an award-winning newspaper journalist. In 2017, she was one of 24 writers chosen by Amtrak to ride around the United States on a train and write fiction. She also writes cozy mysteries under the name Tara Lush.

Tamara's a fan of vintage pulp fiction book covers, Sinatra-era jazz, 1980s fashion, tropical chill, kombucha, gin, tonic, seashells, iPhones, Art Deco, telenovelas, coloring books, street art, coconut anything, strong coffee and journalism.

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