Review ~ Crash ~ Nicole Williams

Crash by Nicole Williams
Crash #1
Release Date: December 18, 2012
Genre: Young Adult/New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Source: Purchased Paperback
Rating: 4.5 Bookworms
Challenges: #ShelfLove
Goodreads

Synopsis
Jude Ryder and Lucy Larson are this generation's Romeo and Juliet: Explosive. Sizzling. Tragic.

A steamy summer encounter with bad boy Jude means trouble for Lucy. Her sights are set on becoming a ballerina, and she won't let anything get in her way...except Jude.

He's got a rap sheet, dangerous mood swings, and a name that's been sighed, shouted, and cursed by who knows how many girls.

Jude's a cancer, the kind of guy who's fated to ruin the lives of girls like Lucy--and he tells her so.

But as rumors run rampant and reputations are destroyed, Lucy's not listening to Jude's warning. Is tragedy waiting in the wings? This racy romance is hot, hot, hot!

I've had Crash sitting on my shelf since RT 2013! I'm kicking myself for having waited so long because it was a fantastic read. One thing to note - although this is YA (the characters are 17+ seniors) it straddles the line between YA and NA, so it's meant for mature YA. There is no sex though.

Lucy has moved away from her childhood home into a cabin that was once her vacation home. She's startin at a new school in her senior year - public rather than private. If it sounds like her life is idyllic, it's not. And it wasn't even before the tragedy behind the reason for her family's move. Dancing is the only thing that keeps her grounded and sane. When she sees a guy playing ball on the beach, she gets a feeling - there's something about him that pulls her in.

Jude is a bad boy with a rap sheet to prove it. He doesn't do dates or girlfriends. He's drawn to Lucy but knows he's no good for her and warns her away. Yet there's something about her that keeps him near.

I adore Lucy and Jude. She's out to save the world. He's seemingly out to fill the role society has defined for him. Together they bring out the best in each other. But when they each learn something about the other unexpected, it threatens to destroy what they've built.

It's hard to say exactly why Crash resonated so much with me. Williams' writing is easy to read and the story flowed well. I was captivated by Lucy and Jude - wanting to know all they'd experienced which shaped them into the people they are. What I found endeared them to me even more. They each hurt and reacted to it in different ways. But they really did bring out better things in each other. Although they path they took put them through some heartache, I liked where they ultimately ended up. And I'm eager to see where they go from here.

Thanks to Teresa @Readers Live a Thousand Lives for the nudge to read Williams. We made a pact whereby she read one of my favorite authors and I read one of hers. :D