***4 Stars***
There are a multitude of reactions when I read a description that range from “Oooohhhh. Gimme. Gimme” to “Huh? Mmmmm Maybe….” to “Meh. Nope” and all kinds of messy combos in between and I will be honest that Crazy Stupid Love fell into the middle grouping. I was intrigued but didn’t know if I was ready to read about a girl going all insta-twitterpatted over a guy and tripping over herself to get him. But after seeing the cover, which I really like, and checking out a cross section of the reviews, I decided to give it a go and found that while there was a good dose of insta-ness and angsty-ness going on, it was an engaging and quick read with interesting characters and a lot of heart.
I’ll admit that I judged a book by it’s cover, or the blurb in this case, when it came to Kimber and will say that I was wrong. She’s a young woman who has finally broken the bonds of a very controlling family and trying to find out who she really wants to be. She isn’t taking extreme risks, just following her heart and her gut and seeing where it leads. I must say that I loved Kimber and found her to be extremely determined, realistic and kind. Despite her upbringing she is not naive I loved seeing her stand her ground on the issues that were important to her.
A tragic accident has taken Decklan down a dark path where he is simply existing. He indulges in excess and is relentless about his own culpability over what happened all those years ago and refuses to allow any happiness and light into his life. Decklan. Beautiful, broken boy. His self hatred is potent, smexyness undeniable, but there is a compassionate heart that beats beneath it all that, when allowed to come out to play, is a sight to behold. His journey to forgiveness was painful, but entirely worth it to see him finally start to heal.
Their journey to their HEA was a bumpy one filled with quite a bit pushing/pulling going on and yet it wasn’t as angsty as I thought it would be. Oh, there’s angst and there were times when I wanted to shake some sense into both of them, but it was real and they were fun to watch as the danced around their attraction. Decklan’s belief that he only wreaks havoc on those he loves causes him to switch from hot to cold with such frequency that I got whiplash, even though I could empathize with his reasoning if not fully agree with his methods, thankfully Kimber evened things out. She was very much a newly become 19 year old with her doubts and insecurities, but I loved how she fought for what her heart wanted, and put herself out there, without stripping herself of her sense of self that helped to even things out. Things between them do happen quickly, but it’s not an insta-love situation. They go through the stages of attraction, lust and all the fun stuff in between to finally get to a place where love could be a reality.
Crazy Stupid Love is my first read by Ms. Toppen and I really enjoyed it. The writing was engaging, the pacing good and the dual 1st person POV was well done. There were a couple of secondary issues that I’d’ve liked a bit of closure on when it came to Decklan and Kimber, but nothing major in the big scheme of things. And I enjoyed Decklan and Kimber’s friends. They were well written and peaked my curiosity as to what their backgrounds are and just what their futures hold, especially Harlee and Gavin whose rocky relationship began in this book and have me wanting to see how things play out between them.
~ Copy provided by Book Enthusiast Promotions ~
Crazy Stupid Love
A Bad Boy Romance Novel
I want him…
Unlike I have ever wanted anything before in my entire life.
I knew it from the very moment his eyes met mine; the way my skin burned under his dark gaze.
I knew nothing would ever be the same again.
Decklan Taylor isn’t just tempting, he’s dangerous; a storm who destroys everything in his wake. But even as I stand in the path of his force I can’t turn away.
While he may be the very thing that breaks me, he’s also the only thing that has ever made me feel alive.
Crazy Stupid Love is the first of three standalone novels in the Crazy Love series.
Book Summary
Genre: Contemporary Romance/New Adult
Published By: April 19th, 2017
Release Date: Daft Empire
Pages: 350
Series: Crazy Stupid #1
Melissa Toppen is a Reader's Choice Award Winning and Bestselling Romance Author of New Adult, Contemporary, Erotic and Romantic Suspense. She is a lover of books and enjoys nothing more than losing herself in a good novel. She has a soft spot for Romance and focuses her writing in that direction; writing what she loves to read. Melissa was born and raised in a small town in Ohio and now resides in Cincinnati with her husband and two children, where she writes full time. In addition to spending time with family and friends, Melissa loves going to concerts and is obsessed with the T.V. shows: Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Once Upon a Time and Outlander.
Comments
Post a Comment