Review--Crush by Tracy Wolff

Everything feels off—especially me. I’ve returned to Katmere Academy, but I’m haunted by fragments of days I have no recollection of living and struggling to understand who, or what, I really am.

Just when I start to feel safe again, Hudson is back with a vengeance. He insists there are secrets I don’t know about, threatening to drive a wedge between Jaxon and me forever. But far worse enemies are at our doorstep.

The Circle is caught in a power play and the Vampire Court is trying to drag me out of my world and into theirs. The only thing Hudson and Jaxon agree on is that leaving Katmere would mean my certain death.

And not only am I fighting for my life, but now everyone else’s is at stake—unless we can defeat an unspeakable evil. All I know is that saving the people I love is going to require sacrifice.

Maybe more than I’m able to give.

 

Tracy Wolff really packs a punch with her followup to the smash hit Crave, with Crush! Vampires are truly back baby! And now we've got GARGOYLES! Crush is the all mighty sequel that does not fall into any middle book category, especially since this is a quartet series (like a few other vampire series, ahemVampireDiaries!)! This book is definitely a game-changer for Grace and her friends and holy wow I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!

When we last left Grace and Jaxon, Hudson's spirit was going to attack Jaxon and Grace unleashes a power she didn't know she had to rescue him. She transformed into a gargoyle and trapped Hudson inside her stone body. Then three months later, she awakens and has no idea that time has passed her by or that she was stone for those three months. But something is definitely not right with Grace and everyone seems to know it. Honestly, I pretty much guessed it right off when Grace started waking up feeling exhausted and noticing strange evidence that suggested Grace was off doing "other"things. And it's not long at all before it's revealed that Hudson's spirit is still trapped within Grace.

Now Grace and Jaxon are trying to figure out a way to remove Hudson's spirit from her body. But Hudson is a force to be reckoned with. He's inconveniently popping up at the wrong moments when Grace wants her alone time with Jaxon or just have a peaceful moment to herself. He's constantly there, constantly chattering in her ear...he almost seems normal an not like the power hungry monster that she was led to believe. Honestly, his first reaction to Grace "hearing" him had me questioning everything! And everything continues to be questioned throughout the book!

Wow. Just WOW! This book is massively huge, deliciously huge and yet it only encompasses a week or two at Katmere and soooo much happens in this one! So much! This book totally blew my mind and just ahh! You know that feeling you get when you just finish an amazing book and you realize you have months to go until the next book? And then you learn that the series is actually a QUARTET and not a trilogy? That's where I'm at now! Lol. 

Honestly this book was just amazing, but I started to get a little fearful when Hudson started popping up in Grace's mind. She "sees" him sometimes too, it's like he's a ghost, except not one. His essence/spirit or what-have-you is trapped inside her and she somehow sees what he looks like and has a conversation with him. They banter quite a bit too and it started getting me worried. Were we entering a bizarre and twisted love triangle here? And it's honestly a tough call.

There are still many things we don't know about when Grace was frozen as a statue. I won't get into details and the truth is there's very little we know. What we do know is that there is something to know and it's driving me crazy not knowing! Time will only tell I suppose.

The action in this one was a sort of crazy nonstop kind and I loved it! Grace is struggling to adjust to coming back and missing three months and when she tries to get back to some sense of normalcy, Hudson is usually there to ruin it. She very rarely gets romantic time with Jaxon and that had me near tears.

We also start to see a greater conspiracy at work here. It was perhaps hinted at in the first one, but I felt like the first book was more about Grace learning about the supernatural world and then you know, trying to figure out why students are trying to kill her. In this one we start seeing more sinister plans in the work from an unseen enemy...who we do eventually see in this one, but was unseen in the first book! As previously mentioned, Crush is a game changer! All bets are off in this one!

Crush was an absolute delight to read and omg my brain is still whirling through all the twists and turns. The emotions this book put me through, it really did a number on me because seriously! There were laughs, tears, heartbreak, heart-racing moments, shocks and surprises...murderous desire to rein unholy terror on a few characters who I just do not like! There was a wide variety of emotions to be had in this book and I enjoyed every minute up until the last page because, you know, it was the last page. Crush was a book that gripped you tight on the best reading adventure you could take and being let go with an ending like that was, dare I say, crushing? The word crush can mean at least two things here! Lol.

If you're like me and are a fan of the vampire world, this is a series you will definitely want to get into for not only are there vampires but other supernatural creatures. Did I mention GARGOYLES?! This series has it all and I cannot wait to read the next book!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars