“The Crush” by Allyson Kennedy

Hi there! I’ve got another book review to share with everyone today!

4.5/5 stars (rounded up to 5)

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Emery has a goal in life: she wants to find a love like the love between her grandparents. However, the people in Emery’s small town don’t care for her family too much. It doesn’t help that Emery has an old soul, discouraging most people from being friends with her. Suddenly, the Alston family moves into town. Emery meets Sawyer, a boy who no longer believes in love after the disastrous marriage of his parents. With his disbelief in love, he couldn’t be more opposite from Emery and her dreams of a beautiful romance. Despite her desire to stay away from him, she can’t help but want to get to know him. Emery soon has a crush, but she’s not sure how she could ever have a love like her grandparents with a boy who has given up on love.

This book was enchanting and heart-breaking and beautiful all at once. I fell in love with the setting and the characters pretty quickly. This book is definitely an emotional roller coaster though, rapidly going through highs and lows. The author handles some dark, difficult concepts very well and balances them out with the love and forgiveness of God. I also really liked how we get to see Emery’s romance while getting glimpses of the romance between Adeline and Amos. Also, be prepared to cry. I was expecting fluff, but like I said, there’s a lot of dark and difficult things in this book that will most likely break your heart. The ending was quite unexpected and that’s all I can say without spoiling things. God’s love is interwoven and demonstrated throughout the story as well, which I greatly appreciated. This book is definitely worth a read for anyone looking for an old-fashioned, beautifully-told love story.