My rating: 2/5 (it was okay, I guess)

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story is written through Sierra perspective. Through the story she tries to gain her confidence in public speaking. The story didn't held my interest. Most of the people surrounding Sierra loved games or knew a lot about games. That was bizzare. Because in normal life I don't find people talking about games when they meet others.
I'm not a game lover so I wasn't able to relate with her love for video games. And I found myself skipping the parts where she gave too much information about games.

Tristan shows up on the same competition as Sierra. She finds that Alfie is Parzival, the boy with whom she loves to play online. And talking about coincidence, Tristan and Sierra were from same collage, Tristan applied for work in the same company in which Sierra was working, they were the participants of the same competition. This was too much of coincidence, which made the story feel unreal. It was like the author made a web of coincidences which was anyhow going to bring Sierra and Tristan together.

The story was very very slow. Halfway through the book I felt like adding this book to my DNF pile but then Alfie and Sierra started hanging out together which was a bit of cute and I started craving more of them together.

I hated Tristan and Sierra, together they were infuriating. In his company, she acted totally stupid. She says that she in not going to hold grudges against him but when they start talking about the past, she starts crying. And I was totally clueless for why is she crying because till that point the story hasn't revealed what had he done to her (turns out he hadn't done anything to her, someone else has). She acts like a child infront of him. She could have taken some of Aida's advice. And as for Tristan, he's lame. I don't know what she saw in him other than his looks.

Tristan, Sierra and Alfie. What kind of weird love triangle game are they playing. Sierra is so stupid. Tristan keeps on manipulating her and she "forgives him" everytime. She just keep swinging between Tristan and Alfie. What are they, some stupid teenagers? I just wanna tell them to get a life.

Alfie was CUTE!! From convincing Sierra to not leave the competition to motivating Sierra, I liked him the most. But even he couldn't hold my interest. So, anyhow I just wanted to get over with this book. Though the author has used good words and perfect narrating style, the story didn't work out for me. The title of the book was appealing and I really wanted to like the story but unfortunately I don't. I may have liked it if I was a gamer but I'm not.

Something about Crushing It didn't really click for me. I struggled to connect with Sierra, and I wasn't particularly interested in the info about video games. The novel also felt like it moved too slowly. Overall, it was "meh" for me.

Thank you @netgalley and @kensingtonbooks for approving my request to read and review “Crushing It” by Lorelei Parker! Pub date is June 30th 🤗
It’s been awhile since I’ve read and reviewed a book on Netgalley and this was a great one to read.
Sierra is a game developer who wants nothing more than to present her new game at the biggest convention in Europe. The problem? She has massive anxiety with public speaking. To get her over her fear her business partner signs her up for a “embarrassing story” contest at a local bar. There she runs into Tristan from college who is the reason she hates public speaking in the first place, and Alfie the bar owner who becomes a fast friend and confident.
Okay to be completely honest, this book is insanely predictable. It uses every single rom com cliche there is but I almost didn’t care. It took a minute, but once I got into the book I really enjoyed it. I really liked Sierra’s character, I thought she was quirky and fun and relatable. I liked how she was a gaming developer, while not insanely different, it did change up some gender cliches that tend to come with these books.
Even though I knew exactly what was going to happen, almost from the first chapter, I still enjoyed this book! It was light and fun and I really loved Alfie and his connection with Sierra. It was a quick and mindless read- which I needed- and it was a solid rom com!

I really enjoyed this book, it's one of those where love is staring the characters right in the face and they don't even know it. Well, in this case Sierra doesn't even recognise it... The fear of public speaking is very common and something I'm sure we've encountered on a few occasions. I know I have, and I really don't like it, I'd much rather email someone than pick up the phone to call them!

Sierra is due to make a sales pitch for the new MMORPG that she's designed at a conference in Germany, the only thing getting in her way is her nerves. As soon as she stands in front of that microphone she imagines all the worst case scenarios and fumbles. This has all stemmed from an incident that happened 10 years ago while she was at university - I'll not spoil it for you but you do find out more about this as the story progresses.

In a bid to overcome this her best friend, Aida, signs Sierra up for a competition at their local bar - and yes it's speaking in front of others. But the whole purpose of this is to share your most embarrassing stories with the audience, surely setting yourself up to be embarrassed will make it easier to get up on stage? Still unsure Sierra decides to go along and see what it's all about. And that's where the fun starts, will she get up and read a journal entry about a long ago crush on the college heartthrob? I'll leave that for you to find out!

Like I've said I really enjoyed reading this and was really urging Sierra on, as someone who can sympathise with a fear of public speaking I really wanted to see her conquer these fears. Originally the big goal is to impress her 'boss' Reynold so that he asks her to do the sales pitch in Germany but you soon discover this isn't the only goal involved.

I would definitely recommend reading this, it's a feel good book that makes you feel better about a lot of things. It made me wish there was an event like this somewhere near me, not so that I could get up on stage but because of the great friendships that can be made.

Sierra has a fear of public speaking because of something that happened 10 years ago.

She needs to become better at it and joins a fun evening of reading from her journal to an audience...until the person who is the reason of her fear is also there.

This story was a little hard to get into. Tristan was just a jerk and it takes Sierra a moment to realize that.

All in all this was a good read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sierra can’t speak in public after a bad incident in college. But she wants to be the one presenting her game in the convention in Germany. she can try overcome her fears entering a contest in a bar. But when she meets Tristan, her crush in college and the one that made the prank that blocked her, she is not sure she can do it. But then Alfie, the bar’s owner and a former college student too, will show Sierra what it’s important in life. Will help her overcome her fears and see herself and him. I received a free copy of this book by NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review

This was a fun book with an original premise and setting - gaming and public speaking contests? Sign me up! I enjoyed the pacing and the twists and turns. The characters were likeable, except the ones who weren't supposed to be, and although I wished the love story was a little more developed and fleshed out, I rooted for the inevitable happily-ever-after.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I saw so many glowing reviews for this book and it did not let me down.

I would recommend if you're looking for

-Friends to lovers
-Second chance romance
-A gaming obsessed, insecure heroine who hates public speaking with a refreshing and honest voice
-An insecurity contest
-A college crush that turns out to be not who he seems
-A sweet bartender, who loves his dog and appreciates Ed Sheeran
-Gaming lingo and fun
-Slow burn

I truly enjoyed reading this book and had a hard time putting it down. Sierra is a game designer in a world of misogynists trying to get over her fear of public speaking. Her insecurities are real and honest. She's not perfect. Her journey in this book is honest. And don't get me started on Alfie who I just want to slow dance to all the Ed Sheeran songs with. The supporting characters are well drawn and the overall competition idea is fun and propels the story forward. If this one isn't on your radar it should be.

Trigger warnings: public speaking anxiety, misogyny, sexism

Rating: 4.5 stars
Steam: 4

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Crushing It is about a video game developer who needs to overcome her fear of public speaking in order to go present her video game at the biggest conference of the year. Her friend suggests entering a contest at a local bar to share your most embarrassing stories to get over your fear. Of course the story she shares from a college writing class and mentions a guy she had a huge crush on is in the audience and contest too.

So I'm not into video games at all, but I read a lot of books about different people and I wasn't drawn in from the start of this one and I'm not the biggest fan of love triangles in relationships so I struggled a little bit with this one. Also there were a few plot points that seemed a bit far fetched with the journal from the college class. I did enjoy Lorelei Parker's writing style.

Imagine if ten years have passed since a public humiliation gave you an intense fear of public speaking and all of a sudden you see the root cause of your humiliation standing before you? And he looks gorgeous? Welcome to this book. Laugh-out-loud funny, even to jokes I knew were coming, with more depth as the story progresses. The first half of this book gave me a bit of a struggle, as every character seemed to be a bit of a walking stereotype (gamer girl, skater boy, creepy coworker, etc.) and the plot left little room for twists and turns. However when I thought the story was finished and realized it was actually only halfway, I knew that I was in store for a better narrative than expected. The book ended up exceeding my expectations from the first few chapters and clawed its way out of cliché and into charming. A sweet rom rom with a woman in STEM at the lead (yay!) that made for a fun, easy read, I just wish it would have had a stronger start.

I would add that the cover of this book doesn't seem to match it's contents--there is no way our quirky gamer girl heroine with multi-colored hair would wear a blue paisley dress with an orange clutch. Would love a cover that gave us a better taste of what was in store!

Thank you to Netgalley, Kensington Books, and author Lorelei Parker for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review of this book! It will be released June 30th.

Title: Crushing It
Author: Lorelei Parker
Genre: Romantic comedy
Rating: Fiction

To pitch her new role-playing game at a European conference, developer Sierra Reid needs to overcome her terror of public speaking. What better practice than competing in a local bar’s diary slam, regaling an audience with old journal entries about her completely humiliating college crush on gorgeous Tristan Spencer?

Until the moderator says, “Next up, Tristan Spencer . . .”

Sierra is mortified, but Tristan is flattered. Caught up in memories of her decade-old obsession as they reconnect, Sierra tries to dismiss her growing qualms about him. But it’s not so easy to ignore her deepening friendship with Alfie, the cute, supportive bar owner. She and Alfie were college classmates too, and little by little, Sierra is starting to wonder if she’s been focusing her moves on the wrong target all along, misreading every player’s motivations.

Maybe the only winning strategy is to start playing by her heart . . .

I felt a lot of second-hand embarrassment while reading this. I can’t even imagine how horrifying reading your college diary in front of a crowd would be…much less reading bits about your college crush and then realizing he’s in the audience. Kill me now. The voice in this novel was on point and had me laughing quite a bit, which definitely fits the tone of this book.

Sierra isn’t the deepest of characters, but she was fun to read and watching her grow and learn from her experiences was great. Tristan was just about what you’d expect from someone like him, but Alfie was fun to get to know. If you’re looking for something fun and funny to read, this is an excellent choice.

Lorelei Parker is a computer programmer. Crushing It is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Sierra Reid needs to get over her fear of public speaking, and to get over it she signs up to compete in a diary slam. Her performance reminisces about her embarrassing crush on Tristan Spencer. Only, unbeknownst to Sierra, Tristan himself is at the performance, the very man who started her fear of public speaking. And watching it all unfold is Alfie, the owner of the bar and the man Sierra’s friends are trying to set her up with. An awkward love triangle ensues and you are cheering all the way for Sierra and Alfie.



Has anyone seen the Nexfix show or listened to the podcast Mortified? This was totally reminiscent of that and I loved every word!

REVIEW | CRUSHING IT by Lorelai Parker, release date June 30⁣
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𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐬⁣
Sierra is a video game developer who wants to pitch her latest creation at a European conference - there’s only one problem; she’s petrified of speaking in front of an audience. To overcome her fear of pubic speaking she signs up to a diary slam competition at a local bar owned by her old classmate Alfie. What can go wrong? Well, her diary gushes a lot about an old crush named Tristan Spencer, and guess who also happens to be in the audience that first night...😬⁣
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𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬⁣
🕹 Female video gamers are underrepresented in books, so in that respect Sierra’s character was a breath of fresh air. ⁣
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👾 I loved all the quirky references to gaming and applauded Sierra for unapologetically letting her gaming flag fly. ⁣
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🎤 I 💯 related to Sierra's fear of public speaking (it’s probably my least favorite activity in the world after child birth) and admired her for taking the bull by the horns by signing up for a competition to overcome her anxiety instead of allowing it to prevent her from attaining her goals.⁣
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🎮 Tristan was a douche, and it took Sierra frustratingly long to see it, but I guess we have all done our fair bit of swooning over the wrong guy.⁣
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Overall, a funny, cute and lighthearted romance.
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@netgalley and @kensingtonbooks gifted me with a copy, but all views are my own.⁣

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Kensington Books for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book was so fun. A very light hearted read. I flew through it, so if you want a funny romance pick this baby up!

All starts with Sierra a smart, sophisticated video game developer. After college her and her best friend couldn't keep jobs, so they started their own company. But in order to get to GamerCon and start the next step in her career Sierra has to pitch her new video game but has a crippling fear of public speaking because of something that happened in college.

So to help her out Aida hears of a fun journal slam competition at a local bar and urges Sierra to go. Little does she know this is also a setup for her to meet the perfect guy. But in comes Tristan her old college crush to throw a wrench in everybody's plan. Will she win the competition? Will she find love? Will she get over her fear of public speaking and finally get to GamerCon?

I loved this one. Sierra was such an awesome character and to see her go though these different challenges were great! Now Tristan on the other hand was a complete douche from the very beginning and I wanted to throw punch him half the time 🤣 But that also kept things interesting. Alfie was the character in all the books that everybody loves. You always have one I feel like when it comes to romance and he was it for me. This was a 4⭐ for me.

This book made me go through a whirlwind of emotions, a lot of them in the frustrated range. I try not to read (or remember) the synopsis when reading a book because I want to go into it entirely blind so it gives me a better feel whether the story is predictable, out there or confusing.

This story is set in a very realistic world and I found the lead character, Sierra, very relatable, having trouble with public speaking myself unless I can just talk about a passion project. It helps so much.
Tristan, oh sir, where do I even begin. He's a horrible and sadly, totally realistic, human trash bag and I was so frustrated with Sierra until she started to fight back.

All in all, I do really like this book and the writing. The actual love story and Sierra learning to stand up for herself is great. I have some issues with it, but nothing too grand that it took away from my enjoyment of this book.

Crushing It follows the story of Sierra, a female video game developer. Her company is set to present their new game at a European convention, but Sierra get extremely nervous during public speaking. She competes in a local bar’s competition, where she meets some of her college classmates. She learns more about events that happen throughout college and what truly happened between her and Tristan Spencer that brought her into this position in the first place.

I read this book a lot faster than I thought. I had not idea that I was almost done it until I reached chapter 30. So I will say that it kept my attention, and I didn’t want to put it down. Given that I’m a sucker for cute stories, that doesn’t surprise me. But I’ve read a lot of cute romances lately, and I know what I like and what I don’t like. The whole misunderstanding plot line, I’m pretty over that. I’m starting to dislike that trope, and having them reconnect after years. It’s just not my thing. I did enjoy the parts where that wasn’t brought up though. I found certain parts of Sierra’s character relatable and I’m actually glad I read this. It was just a quick, fun read!

A huge thank you to Negalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC to review. The opinions in this review are honest and mine.

4 shiny, happy stars!!

I thoroughly enjoyed Crushing It!!

I really loved Sierra and found her so relatable!! Alfie was completely adorable, and had me smitten!! I thought their relationship was great!! I adored the two of them together!! They were so sweet I think I might get a cavity!! I also really liked the gamer aspect of it!! I’m not much of a gamer myself, but it made the story feel unique to me especially without some of the toxicity you find in books about female gamers.

The conflict was resolved a little too fast and neatly for my taste but all around I really enjoyed this book!! Crushing It was a fun, feel good read!!

This was a really fun read from Lorelei Parker - video games, public speaking, romance, and great character development! I loved that the female main character had a profession and interests (video games) that aren't typically associated with women or depicted in their storylines - it was so refreshing and cool to see a strong woman being true to herself and her passion for this field! I also really enjoyed the concept of the competition at the bar to share your most embarrassing stories for a prize. What a unique idea! It was a great way to learn more about the characters' pasts and their personalities, as well as a great atmosphere to develop their relationships.

Video game developer Sierra wants nothing more than to present her company's new game at a major gaming conference in Europe. However, her major fear of public speaking is standing in her way, so her best friend suggests she face it head-on by entering a competition at their local bar to share your most embarrassing stories with an audience. Sierra digs up an old journal from college rife with entries about her crush on classmate Tristan Spencer - perfectly humiliating material for the competition. What she doesn't expect is for the emcee to call Tristan up to the stage right after her first performance. When Sierra and Tristan reconnect, she's caught up in her old crush, but he also reminds her of the horrifying incident that set off her fear of public speaking in the first place. Is he the right person for this new stage of life? And what about Alfie, the sweet bar owner who's been supporting Sierra every step of the competition?

I definitely enjoyed this read and thought Parker did an excellent job building the characters' backstories and relationships so the reader could fully understand their motivations and actions. Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

3 stars
This was something very different for me as I am not a gamer. That was the different part. The romance section was something I am used to. One guy who really didn't appreciate our gal and the other man who saw her as she was and appreciated her.
The focus was on her working on presentations for work and in her trying to speak in front of others. I knew from the start who she should be with and in the end her decision brought the HEA

I loved Crushing It by Lorelei Parker. This is the kind of book I’m still thinking about several days after reading it. Protagonist Sierra Reid moved to Atlanta after graduation with her best friend and roommate, Aida. Together they started a video game company and are about to launch a new game. Sierra would love to present it at a huge conference in Germany, but her fear of public speaking is putting this launch in jeopardy. Aida convinces Sierra to compete in a local bar’s cringe-y competition to get over her fears.

Sierra felt so real. I loved seeing her going after her dreams and going for the guy. I enjoyed the characters, conflict and hijinx in Parker’s debut novel. Descriptions and one liners especially stood out. Looking forward to reading more from this fellow Auburn alumna.