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
True
True Believers #1
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Source: Checked out from library
Rating: 4 Bookworms
Goodreads
Synopsis
When Rory Macintosh's roommates find out that their studious and shy friend has never been with a guy, they decide that, as an act of kindness they'll help her lose her virginity by hiring confident, tattooed bad boy Tyler Mann to do the job...unbeknownst to Rory.
Tyler knows he's not good enough for Rory. She's smart, doctor smart, while he's barely scraping by at his EMT program, hoping to pull his younger brothers out of the hell their druggy mother has left them in. But he can't resist taking up her roommates on an opportunity to get to know her better. There's something about her honesty that keeps him coming back when he knows he shouldn't...
Torn between common sense and desire, the two find themselves caught up in a passionate relationship. But when Tyler's broken family threatens to destroy his future, and hers, Rory will need to decide whether to cut her ties to his risky world or follow her heart, no matter what the cost...
Oh, the emotions this story evoked! Watching Rory evolve from this awkward, closed-off young woman into a vibrant, more self-assured one - all while staying true to herself - was wonderful.
Rory is a girl I immediately connected with. I, too, was always the girl on the outside, watching everyone around me. I have trouble letting people in as well. Witnessing Rory go through this transformation - seeing her great epiphanies about human nature and relationships - well, it touched me in a significant way.I did not identify with Rory's logical side, however. Math and I are not good friends. :) But I appreciated how McCarthy used it in developing Rory and explaining how she approached life.
Tyler - of my goodness. Now only is he a tattooed bad boy, but he knows his literature equally as well as he knows his way around the family body. ;) He had me mooning over him just as much as Rory. And when he said:
"It was never about sex for me, it was always about me wanting to be with you, getting to know you."
I was a goner! He's absolutely right and being a part of he and Rory getting to know one another - showing parts of themselves they've never shown anyone - EVER - made the foundation they were building all the stronger. The odds were definitely against these tow making it. They are very different, from two different worlds. But they seemed made for one another.
"Because we both see beyond what other people see about us. We both know that sometimes the best things are below the surface. When I look at you, I see this amazingly smart, funny, generous, and beautiful girl. Did you know that?"
Rory learned some lessons about living that even in my 40's, I need to heed, like:
"Being a loner was ultimately selfish, and if you never gave of yourself, you never got in return."
True also introduced us to the characters we'll be learning more about in the series. I'm not sure what I think of Rory's roommates Kylie and Jessica. In so many ways, I see the do care about Rory and were acting in her best interests. But the ways they behaved were befuddling - especially the vulnerable/confident flip-flop. I'm eager to see them grow.
On a personal, and geeky, note, I was delighted in how McCarthy used literature to teach Rory. For instance, this epiphany occurred while she and Tyler were discussing A Streetcar Named Desire...
"All their relationships are delusional, from what I can tell. Blanche hides in the dark so men don't guess her real age, she and her sister pretend that nothing bad has ever happened, Stanley doesn't do anything but play poker and boss Stella around. If they would just like communicate with each other, they could resolve all their issues in ten minutes."
"That's what makes the book so realistic," he told me dryly.
"Real people don't discuss shit with each other."
He had a point. I didn't really discuss my emotions with anyone, either. I had spent most of my life being a silent observer. "Oh."
In one fell swoop, I got it. Literature wasn't intended to be about perfect people, it was about flaws, very real and very deep human flaws.
Crash by Nicole Williams
