Review – Crush by Eve Ainsworth
It’s no secret that I LOVED Eve Ainsworth’s debut 7 Days when I read it last year ( you can find my review here ) so I was super excited and very lucky to have received a copy of her second book, Crush last year! Crush was released on the 3rd March 2016 published by Scholastic and I loved ever page of it!
I am so over the moon to be part of the wonderful blog tour for this book!
For my stop on the blog tour I am going to share my thoughts on the book and post a review!
A huge thank you to Faye Rogers , Eve Ainsworth and Scholastic for having me on this wonderful tour and for sending me the book to read.
Love hurts … but should it hurt this much? Reeling from her mum’s sudden departure, Anna finds the comfort she needs in her blossoming relationship with Will. He’s handsome and loving, everything Anna has always dreamt of. He’s also moody and unpredictable, pushing her away from her friends, her music. He wants her to be his and his alone. He wants her to be perfect. Anna’s world is closing in. But threatening everything is a dark secret that not even Will can control… Eve Ainsworth’s gripping second novel is a pitch-perfect exploration of love at its most powerful, addictive and destructive.
Publisher – Scholastic UK
Published – 3rd March 2016
Pages – 340 pages
Format – Paperback
Category – Contemporary YA
Source – I was sent a copy of this book by the wonderful people at Scholastic as part of the blog tour organised by Faye Rogers. This does not affect my review or my opinions in any way and am delighted to write an honest review. Thank you Scholastic for sending this to me to read and to Faye for organising!
** Please note Tales Of Yesterday Reviews are written as spoiler free as possible**
After reading and loving Eve’s debut, 7 Day’s, last year I could not wait to get my little mitts on her second book Crush and I have to say it did not disappoint.
A story about a toxic relationship and a reminder that domestic abuse is never okay in any way, shape or form.
Crush tells the story of Anna who, since her Mom has left home, is struggling to cope living with her Dad and her younger brother. Everything seems to cause an issue between her and her Dad and she is generally not happy at home. She then catches the eye of Will, one of the schools heart throbs, who whilst is slightly older than Anna she enjoys the attention that Will gives her and she can’t quite believe that Will would be interested in someone like her. Will makes Anna feel good about herself and gives her something to take her mind off things. Anna is so wrapped up in Will that she doesn’t see that the relationship takes a somewhat toxic turn.
The story is told from the perspective of Anna, but also at the end/start of every chapter we get a brief glimpse into Will’s thoughts and feelings with regards to his actions.
As a character I gelled with Anna and really wanted her to get out of the situations she finds herself in. As a character she is strong even if she does not believe that to be true. Anna’s feelings of love and being swept away by love are both endearing and heart wrenching because as a reader you kind of know what’s coming and you really want her to wake up and realise it for herself. The relationship between her and her brother, Eddie, was a classic sister/brother relationship. I loved Eddie a lot and loved how Anna and Eddie’s relationship develops over the course of the book.
Also I loved Dan…..I think there’s a story in Dan somewhere! Hint Hint Eve!
I found Will harder to like as a character and rightly so. I already felt quite reserved and a bit hostile towards Will mainly because of my initial thoughts to the blurb of the book which gives a good indication of what is to come. In fact I really hated him but he has been designed by Eve not to like as a character. He treats Anna badly….very badly and whilst, as mentioned above, we get a glimpse into his reasoning’s behind what he does and his thoughts and feelings I found it a very hard lump to swallow especially with one explosive letter that he writes (I don’t want to say which one due to spoilers but my mouth dropped wide open and I felt so so angry). But Eve’s writing as always is very clever. It’s willing you to feel something for this character that you hate and I found myself constantly reminding myself of the wrongs he has done. His reasoning does not justify his actions in anyway, and the letters sort of try and justify things and reasons why he is like the way he is, but as a reader you know that this could never excuse his behaviour. It’s evident that Eve, like in 7 Days, is trying to give both sides to a very complex and harrowing story.
What shocked me about the story is that as a reader you can see the small things that begin to happen to Anna and it makes you angry that she can’t see it, but that just proves how realistic the words written in this book are. In real life when you are in a situation like Anna finds herself you may not necessarily want to believe it’s true or you may not recognise the signs.
I loved how Anna lived on the same estate as 7 Days was set. In fact the same tower block as 7 Day’s character Lyn. This paved a way for Lyn to appear in Crush and I loved it and him even more so. I love it when books cross over like this. It was almost like visiting an old friend and finding out how he is doing and what he has been up to since the end of 7 Day’s. I also loved the caring way he is with Anna, his genuine concern …. Oh how I love Lyn.
The ending, whilst I won’t spoil it, gave me as a reader some closure. This is Anna’s story and Anna as a character deserved some closure. Eve gives us as a reader room to think about the events and the characters.
Again Eve has tackled a raw, hard hitting subject and has done it fantastically well. Eve’s writing just flows across the page which makes this book quite a quick read. I really believe, like 7 Day’s that a book like this could help somebody who needed it or who maybe wasn’t aware that their relationship maybe potentially be toxic.
Well done to Eve for another brilliant powerful book. I’m excited to see the conversations this book will spark and waiting in high anticipation for Eve’s next book as I know it’s going to be brilliant.
I award this book 5 out of 5 Tales Of Yesterday Books!
You can buy Crush by Eve Ainsworth here
Or why not add it to Goodreads here
Check out my review of 7 Days by Eve Ainsworth here
Or a Q&A with a character from 7 Days and Crush, Lyn, here
About Eve Ainsworth
Eve Ainsworth has worked extensively in Child Protection and pastoral care roles, supporting teenagers with emotional and behavioural issues. Her debut novel Seven Days was released in 2015 and has been nominated for a string of awards including the Carnegie Medal. Her second novel, Crush, is out March 2016. She lives in West Sussex.
You can find out more about Eve on her website here
Or why not follow Eve on Twitter – @EveAinsworth
Blog Tour
You can catch up or follow the rest of the blog tour at the following stops
Monday 7th March
Tuesday 8th March
Wednesday 9th March
Thursday 10th March
Friday 11th March
Saturday 12th March
Sunday 13th March
Have you read Crush or 7 Days by Eve Ainsworth? What did you think? Has this review made you want to go grab a copy? I would love to here from you! Why not leave a comment using the reply button at the top of this review or tweet me on twitter using @chelleytoy!
Happy Reading!
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