Found it hard to relate to the protagonist who was geek one moment then girl-about-town the next - it made for a confusing read for me... While I appreciated that the author tried to break away from the mouse-like computer geek stereotype, her attempt somewhat fell flat for me because the character went outright slutty, which is something that makes me cringe in any book, let alone in this construction. So consequently, wasn't an engaging or satisfying read for me

Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this early. I have never read anything by this author so i was excited when I was granted access. I struggled at first to get into this one but am happy I gave it a chance. It was such a fun read :)

Thank you NetGalley and Lorelei Parker for a chance to read and review this book.

First of all, I loved the cover. That's why I wanted to read this book in the first place. But other than that the blurb was pretty awesome in itself. A heroine with a fear of public speaking? - yes please. The protagonist reminded me a lot of myself and the situation in which she finds herself is not only relatable but also hilarious. The romance was so cute! This was my first Lorelei Parker book and I just couldn't get enough it! Of you are looking for a good romantic comedy then go read this book. I can't recommend it enough and I don't regret reading it either.

Happy reading.

I'm so glad I kept going with this one!
I REALLY struggled getting into the book at first, I just wasn't enjoying it, but I really enjoyed the gaming aspect & am SO glad I read this one. Fun & quirky, once it got to about 20% it was a quick read full of relatable characters and I really enjoyed it!

This book wasn't bad but i found Sierra had all the quirks to be a fun character, but she ended up being a bit annoying, self centered and too focused on sex...her school girl crush on Tristan was too immature for her. She was supposed to be around thirty and she swooned whenever he so much as looked at her.  All in all it wasn't bad but just okay.

I love video games so i really loved that the mc, Sierra, is a game developer. For the most part, I thought she was pretty relatable, especially regarding her fear of public speaking. However, her infatuation with Tristan had me wanting to knock some sense into her while hoping someone gave him a good smack. I thought the stories in the challenge could have been more cringe inducing, that was a let down.

Overall, it was entertaining and mostly fun.

Thanks NetGalley for the preview!!

I loved this story! I loved Sierra and Alfie so much and their story immediately drew me in. The humiliation contest was a fresh idea that I'd never seen before. Tristan was an easy to hate villain and I so wish someone would have punched him in the face!

Even though I'm not a gamer by any stretch of the imagination, the blurb for Crushing It sounded interesting enough for me to give it a chance. Unfortunately, beyond the set-up, there's nothing revelatory about this book. The romance is lacking, the side characters (and even some of the main characters) were basically cardboard cutouts, and in a story where the cringe level should have been 100, it was only at about 15. There were a few times where I wanted to give it the old "game over," but for some reason, I hung in there. I'm not sure it was worth it...

Sierra Reid is a game developer and part-owner of Extinction Level Event Game Designs (again, not a gamer, but this is a LONG company name), a video game development company she started with her college bestie, Aida. Sierra and Aida spend their days as some of the few women at their office and go home at night to their shared townhouse, which is getting pretty crowded considering Aida's husband Marco also lives there, and their new baby should be arriving any day now. Sierra knows that she needs to move out, but can't seem to leave the security of her shared nest considering she doesn't have many other friends or a significant other to lean on.

Our story begins with Sierra failing miserably at pitching her new game to an audience. Her stomach gurgles, her words get jumbled, and she gives up. And this was only to a few of her coworkers...chances of her succeeding with the same pitch in front of a REAL audience at a large European convention are slim to none. Aida, who would typically be the voice of Sierra's creations, is about to pop, so Sierra is seemingly the next best option. If only she didn't have that pesky crippling fear of public speaking. She hasn't been able to speak to a crowd since a horrifying public speaking experience in college, and after this failed trial run, all signs point to NOT HAPPENING.

To "help", Aida encourages (aka pretty much forces) Sierra to enter the Chagrin Challenge, a contest at a nearby bar that pits contestants against one another as they share their most embarrassing stories. She’ll get practice speaking in public and possibly win $1,000 for her troubles, which would help fund that plane ticket to the convention. Reading a page from an old journal she kept for one of her college classes, Sierra reveals the unrequited, cringe-inducing crush she had on Tristan Spencer, college heartthrob. He barely registered her existence at the time, but it didn’t keep her from crushing on him hard or writing about him almost daily in her journal. Caught up in the moment, Sierra makes it through her performance and is exhilarated as she exits the stage…until she hears the announcer name the next contestant: Tristan Spencer.

The set-up is good. It would have been so fun to intersperse these embarrassing stories throughout the book to anchor the story. Unfortunately, none of them were remotely funny and most weren't even that embarrassing, especially Sierra's. Beyond the disappointment of the Chagrin Contest, the writing was often clunky or confusing, the secondary characters were basically Sims (see? I know something about video games!), and the romance was unintentionally the most cringe-y thing about this book.

Crushing It unfortunately crushed me. There are a lot of other small details I could get into that baffled me, but I think I'd rather just learn how to play video games and crush those instead.

I loved this book so darn much, it has everything that people that love romance novels like, Romance, getting over an old crush and crushing on another one, who ends up being the perfect match, finally finding everlasting love. And did I mention that Sierra is also a gamer, and a creator or games as well?? shes EVERYTHING!. From trying to gain confidence, to finding love. and finding yourself in the process?? Yes Yes Yes!

Ok first off- this is a contemporary romance with the MC, Sierra, being a gamer girl. So the cover of this doesn't fit at all. I need one of her gaming shirts mentioned in this book on the drawn model, k?

Second of all- is Tristan a douchebag name or what?! Reminds me of Chad Michael Murray playing a Tristan in Gilmore Girls!

Sierra had a thing for Tristan in college, very major crush. She sees him again 10 years later at a bar where she is entering a contest to win a prize for sharing embarrassing anecdotes. Plus the bar's owner is Alfie who also went to college with them.

Sierra, I wanted to drop kick her in the face most of the time in regards to Tristan! I could tell he was a douchebag from the get go (never got her name right... He thought it was Sara until he gets it phonetically but not from her 🙄), but she was still so enamored with him and it BUGGED me!

Now Alfie is kind of geek dreamy. He is the better person! That's all 😂

All in all, I enjoyed this one. Yes, even when I wanted to kick Sierra, I enjoyed it. Sometimes, I like being really mad at character decisions if it all ends up well!

DNF, this book sounded so promising but it just didn't work for me. I didn't really feel anything for the characters and it just wasn't working.

3 stars

Funniest book i have ever read so far in this month.
This about a gamer romance steamy book all in one! what more can you ask for!

While reading this i got to understand the BTS of the gaming world and how Sierra the main character was super shy in front of the public which i am too.

The fact that she knew when to play dirty and when not to was like amazing the competition between tristen and her was superb.

Having other peeps around to constantly support you is one of the most important thing and the face that you can find your love through this circumstances was everything! Do pick this book up if you are looking for some adult cute romances. Mind you when i say it is cringy it is

Thanks for the arc @netgallery

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Crushing It was different than I expected, I can´t really remember reading a book where characters are supposed to be embarrassing on purpose which was actually kind of refreshing. I did enjoy the character development, but I just had one issue with the book which was the excessive drama. I also don't find the insta-love trope to be realistic but I mean it isn't something I dwelled on much, Overall I enjoyed the book for its romance and witty prose.

To overcome her fear of public speaking, game developer, Sierra Reid, competes in a local bar's diary slam, regaling an audience with old journal entries about her humiliating college crush on Tristan Spencer. As luck would have it, the next competitor is announced as Tristan Spencer! Sierra also meets another of her classmate, Alfie, who is the bar owner. Sierra gradually realizes that she fell for the wrong guy at college.

This was an entertaining read. Sierra was a quirky character but naive sometimes. Overall, I enjoyed this book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Kensington Books, for providing me with an ARC of this book.

DNF @ 26%

I really do not like DNF' ing a book. I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately I just could not get into it. I struggled to connect with the characters and became bored with it quickly.

Crushing It is the first book I read by Lorelai Parker and I really enjoyed it! It was a cute story of a unique gamer Sierra who enters a contest where people read their past diary entries. I loved the romance and the cringe-worthy stories as well as the fun and enjoyable moments throughout! A romantic chick lit summer book that was worth the read.

Loved this one! My partner is very into gaming culture, and I felt like this book gave me a peek into the things he loevs.

What do you call a group of video game lovers? “A herd fo nerds” lol. I absolutely loved that this book combined two of my favorite things: romcoms and geekiness.
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The main character, Sierra, a video game developer is set on acing a work presentation but needs to over come her fear of speaking in front of people, so is signed up by her best friend in a journal slam contest at a local bar. The humor and struggle that ensues is too real, just when you think she’s getting ahead, there’s a new twist.
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She embarrassingly encounters her college crush that is the center of her journal slam, which becomes a main part of the story line as she learns to navigate old flames and what love, lust, and the seven other types of love are. Just goes to show that sometimes we have to have the bad relationships and the ones from our past tend to come back for a reason, or two; and that pushy (yet caring) best friend to help us along.
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There was a couple plot turns that I didn’t expect and was nearly upset with the book for going that route so early, then it all becomes clear and I thought it was a delightful variation to the story line so many romcoms tend to take. For a nerdy, self discovery, video game reference filled weekend read, this is it.

“Crushing It” by Lorelei Parker is a cute and quirky rom-com in which our main female character, Sierra, is an advent gamer and game developer. She has an opportunity to travel to one of the biggest expo to present a game she is working on, but has a fear of public speaking.

To get over her terrifying fear, her best friend signs her up for a local bar “diary slaming competition”. She picks a journal entry from college regarding her embarrassing college crush, Tristan Spencer.

Finishing on a high, she is utterly mortified when the very same college crush steps up on stage as one of the other competitors.

I adored the other characters, especially Aida and Alfie.

Book Rating: 4

[** I received a copy of “Crushing It” by Lorelei Parker via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Thank you to publishers and Netgallery for the opportunity to review this book.]

#CrushingIt #NetGalley

What a charming read! Delightful beach reading. I really enjoyed this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.