Picture this: you’re a gorgeous sexy woman on a hardcore tactical game show with a sexy mountain man that won’t stop staring at you? Ummm count me in! I knew from the moment I read the synopsis that I would adore this book. The characters, Amity Rose and Easton Cooper had the perfect amount of depth to them. Their relationship is a little strained and at times reminded me of two 13 year olds in a relationship but it got better and better with time! The plot was exciting and engaging with the twists and turns of the game show aspect. The descriptions of the outdoor scenery were picturesque. The miscommunication trope was frustrating but worth it! The ending was adorable and we all need a man like Cooper. I 100% recommended this read.

Crush in the Cascades by Lisa S. Gayle is focused on a TV reality show: similar to Survival. It's an enemies to lovers romance, which is one of my favorites. Extremely spicy- if that's your thing.

I really enjoyed Amity, she was amazing in pretty much all the ways. Super talented, thoughtful, forgiving, and sweet. Easton Cooper, on the other hand... not so great. He was hateful and ugly from the beginning, almost shockingly so. To me, they weren't a good match. Their relationship felt forced, quick, and unrealistic. Their banter seemed immature like teens vs adults.

I did really enjoy the reality tv show and that is primarily what held my attention throughout the book. Good little action packed show with some great challenges.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and I am thankful for the ARC to Net Galley and the author for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Allow me to preference this by saying I was so excited for this book and had high hopes for the plot. I really gave it my best to read it in a timely fashion, but the plot was so bad that me reading it dragged on for weeks. The only reason I didn’t DNF it is because it was an ARC. I read the first 40% then skipped to the 88% mark to see if it got better- it sorta did, so then I jumped back to the middle and finished it off.
I was so excited for the premise of the book but it was executed so poorly. All of the characters were melodramatic, repetitive and poorly fleshed out. I was rooting for absolutely no one. All of the ‘romance’ felt forced and was just not something I could get behind in rooting for. Even the few smutty scenes suffered from poor execution. Would recommend you skip this one.

I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Reality TV meets enemies to lovers trope. Amity and Cooper are amongst the contestants joining the show The Race to Riches or Romance. Set in the picturesque Oregon, these contestants will partner up, doing physical and mental tasks opening them up to their weaknesses and strengths. Amity proves to Cooper that she is in actual fact not as out of place as he thought. With Cooper's eye on the prize for the winning money, what will it take for him to potentially win it all? As always reality TV provides some popcorn-worthy entertainment and drama.

At first Cooper's behavior really rubbed me the wrong way and I was on the verge of DNF this book but I stuck around and I'm so glad I did, his portrail in the beginning made me understand his determination to win. My favorite character was definitely Bria. Who doesn't love a happy ending too.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so cute. I am officially obsessed with the reality tv trope, especially with forced proximity. I was a little unsure about Easton in the beginning, he seemed annoying and a bit arrangent but he eventually grew on me. Amity was an awesome female mc and I thought she was so relatable and funny. I loved the story line and the characters. I did struggled a little bit with the writing style and flow of the book but I think that’s just personal preferences and it shouldn’t take away from the book. Overall it was a super fun read, if you are looking for a good romcom to read this summer I’d definitely pick this one one up!

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Crush in the Cascades is a cute rom com that delivers a satisfying HEA, but not without some drama and bumps along the way.

Lisa S. Gayle does a great job with this book. The book is written from the perspective of both main characters, Amity and Easton. However, there is no head hopping. The book does contain a lot of internal monologue, but I understand that this may be because of the general premise of the book. It is difficult to relay this information in another way when the characters are on a reality tv show competition.

I wasn’t thrilled with how quickly the couple got physical after they had been sniping and bickering at each other. It felt a little fake. But, again, the author tries to show that both characters wanted to take advantage of the time they had with each other.

This book was reminiscent of another book I read with a similar premise. Therefore, I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. There were some interesting side characters and, as I said, it was a satisfying HEA in the end.

I am interested in reading the second book to see how things turn out for the next contestant (no spoilers) on the second season of the reality show!

#CrushintheCascades #NetGalley

Amity Rose is going on an adventure. A new reality television show is just the thing she needs to break out of her comfort zone and experience some excitement. She went in authentic and, unfortunately, everyone got the wrong idea of her as a spoiled rich girl. Especially Easton Cooper. He needs the money the win could get him to help someone he loves. Too bad he has to pair up with “princess” Amity. Can they navigate their differing personalities and the show’s twists and turns to get to the finish line?

I was really looking forward to this book. I thought the reality television plot was done in such a fresh way. Unfortunately, it felt incredibly rushed and cheesy for me. There was no character development and I felt like there were so many opportunities for stellar character enhancement. It was still good and I wanted to finish the book to find out more about this story line so it definitely wasn’t all bad. There are also many people in my life I think would greatly enjoy this book so I would still recommend it to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

“Crush in the Cascades” by: Lisa Gayle was a fast-paced and overall enjoyable Action Adventure Contemporary Romance novel. The story follows our main characters Amity Rose and Easton Cooper as they embark on their journey on a new reality television show called The Race for Riches or Romance. Each of the contestants on the show is fighting for the grand [prize of a million dollars. It is immediately clear that “Crush in the Cascades” is an enemy to lovers novel pretty much from page 1. Gayle makes the tension between Easton and Amity crystal clear from the very first page. The main characters as well as all of the supporting characters work very well together and for the most part, have very realistic and entertaining interactions throughout the book.

As stated above this Romance is 100% enemies to lovers; the only thing that sort of blindsided me was how quickly Easton and Amity went from enemies to lovers. It felt as if the tension between the 2 characters had only just begun to brew before it was already quickly switching to lovers. The novel could have benefited if they explored the tension between the main characters and added more depth to their eventual relationship had they not fallen so hard so quickly.

I absolutely ADORED Amity Rose as our female protagonist. She was witty and driven and she knew what she wanted. She went into her journey on the reality television show with a specific goal in mind (to have an adventure) and in the end, she was able to achieve that and I felt she stayed true to her character. So many times throughout the story Amity is torn down by others and she continues to push forward and proves to herself and to those who would doubt her that she is a force to be reckoned with. It was her determined personality and general fight to show who she truly was that made her such a strong female protagonist.

Easton Cooper our male protagonist didn’t feel as well-rounded, he came across as very 1 dimensional with a bit of depth thrown in for good measure. I couldn’t help but relate to Easton’s overall hatred of reality television and I did find his reason for going on the show to be a noble cause but he never felt fully fleshed out throughout the novel. It wasn’t until around Chapter 22 that we really start to get a true look into Easton Cooper.

This was a very quick and enjoyable read. It hit all of the boxes it should have in a contemporary romance and I found the overall reading experience to be very enjoyable.

ok, this was slow to get into at first but then once I got into it, I really got into it. I love the idea of a book/reality show mix up and it was exactly what I'd needed! Some enemies to lovers and then WOW he falls hard and fast for her.

I loved the idea of the show too, like yeah I'd watch it?? The characters were well made, the storyline easy to follow and believable. The only downside was the miscommunication so if that isn't your thing or it annoys you then this wouldn't probably be the best book for you.

We have some outdoor spice too which is a bonus.

Overall, I would recommend this book to a friend and I look forward to the next one!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, easy read. The action was quick off the mark and I enjoyed Amity and Easton’s initial love/hate relationship set amongst an outdoor adventure challenge. Amity is a brilliant long distance runner but is still girly and confuses the other contestants by appearing to come from money. It was good that the story had a proper epilogue.

An enemies to lover romcom, set in the wilderness, during a competition on reality TV, that has elements of The Bachelor/Bachelorette mixed with Survivor, what's not to love?! Overall, I found the story to be as adventurous as it's setting in the Pacific Northwest! The characters were likeable. The challenges were invigorating.There's even a bit of unexpected steam in the book. I always enjoy reading a light-hearted romcom to break up my usual intense thrillers or emotional historical fiction reads, and this one delivered for me!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this one in exchange for an honest review!

This is a very interesting book to rate. On the one hand, there were a couple things I wasn't a fan of. However on the other hand, especially after a certain point, I couldn't put the book down.

The race aspect of the book really added an adventurous element. I was super intrigued through each leg of the race as I really wanted to see how it would all play out. I proper was hooked at some point and read the last 50% of the book quite quickly.

My absolute favourite part of the book was seeing how the audience put a spin on a negative phrase often said in the race which they used for posters supporting Amity. It really had me smiling from ear to ear!

Onto the things I wasn't a fan of.. I found most of the characters quite immature, especially Cooper and his relationship with Amity, which was also quite cringe at time. The writing and dialogue also wasn't the greatest.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lisa S. Gayle for the eArc!

First of all, I have to confess that enemies-to-lovers is my favorite trope. This book won me after only reading the description!

The book follows Amity and Easton in a reality show called “The Race for Riches or Romance” where the winning team will win 2 million dollars.

Here is Amity who’s in for the adventure and the thrill she would have loved to share with her beloved father, while Easton is ready to win this contest to save his best friends’ life.

I really enjoyed the setup and the idea of an outdoor couple contest. All the ‘legs’, as mentioned in the book, were thrilling. I really liked, that, besides the romance, Lisa really highlighted the importance of team work.

I would have liked to have more enemies in the beginning and less love, because it would have built more their story, but overall, Amity and Easton were super cute. There were some moments where I really disliked Easton as we discovered throughout the book that Amity is a gem of a girl and he was acting really bad towards her, but in the end, they both got the happy ending they deserved!

I’m excited to follow Hannah’s story in the reality show! I think it’ll be amazing!

Thank you NetGalley & BooksGoSocial for the copy of Crush in the Cascades! I really enjoyed the adventure!

The first half of this book went so fast and I was hooked. I grew up in Colorado and currently live in Oregon, so I loved all the connections to places I had while reading this book. The competition was totally believable and I was interested to find out who would win. The characters became very serious too suddenly and I was confused as to why they were acting like they had been in a long term relationship after only 3 days.

Review posted via Goodreads.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4737109570
Enemies to lovers paradise.
Easton Cooper and Amity Rose couldn't be more different. She is a girly girl from California. He lives in a cabin and knows his way around the mountains. The attraction and hate spark at once. As the two are forced together can they work together without falling for each other?

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The chemistry was instant and I loved it. The story was unique and kept me intrigued. Even with the elements, I did not like, I still enjoyed the book enough to rate it a 5/5. Moving on to the things I did not like. The Language. So much cursing. I found it to be unnecessary. Also the sexual content. It was not needed and could have been toned down. Overall I really enjoyed this novel and am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Crush in the Cascades is an enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity romance novel about two contestants in an adventure-style competition reality TV show. Easton Cooper and Amity Rose have very different reasons for being on the show, and first impressions aren’t necessarily accurate. When they are paired together for the first task all hell breaks loose, but a spark of attraction has them growing closer through the competition.

I used to watch Survivor and I love competition shows, but I’ve never been a big fan of Big Brother or The Bachelor/Bachelorette. I was excited to see how the competition aspect played out, and I thought it was a pretty unique setting for a romance. However, with so many competitors, there were a lot of characters that kind of got lost in the mix, although a core group was the focus. I also didn’t love the forced drama aspect of the reality show premise. In the end, I liked the book, but one of my least favorite tropes is the miscommunication and there was so much of it through out the story it turned me off. But if you love reality TV and the drama of it all, you might love this book!

Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanna start off by saying that i LOVE the premise of this book! It gave me MAJOR NBC’s “Survivor” vibes. A group of adults put under extreme circumstances racing for a million dollar cash prize! I really enjoyed the first few chapters of this book, the fire challenge was intense and the way characters handled things was unexpected!

Something that makes this book stand out to me was the aspect of suspense that the race and challenges brought! There were lots of different characters within the race that raised the stakes and it was fun to see all the different personalities, you kinda had people you were rooting for and people who you hoped amity would never have to partner with again.

I think what ruined this book for me was the miscommunication trope. Normally, i can handle it, but the MC’s were already declaring their love for each other (in there heads) within a few days of meeting each other, and they didn’t even really know anything about each other. To me, that’s just lust and it started to get annoying. The whole time they never communicated and thought the other person lived this whole other lifestyle and made assumptions and decisions about their relationship without ever talking it out! I don’t know how you could love someone if you can’t even communicate with them. There were also quite a few times where the MC’a just talked like high schoolers and made me cringe.

Overall i LOVED the idea of the book and if you like a romance with some high stakes then give it a try, but i personally will not read a sequel to this series

The premise of this book caught my attention to read it. A reality tv show of outdoor challenges? Enemies to lovers? Forced proximity? Yes yes yes. But it took me a few tries to finally get through the book; it was difficult for me to get into, particularly because of Cooper's first impression of Amity. That girl did nothing wrong, she wore a dress and high heels because she doesn't get the actual dresscode memo and that isn't her fault, but he misjudged her in a misogynistic way. Let a girl be girly.

The characters were bland, I wanted to like them because (I assumed) they'd be getting their own books, but they were all annoyingly alike to me. However, the characters of Amity and Cooper remind me of Piper and Brendan from It Happened One Summer, especially in terms of appearance and the nature guy x high maintenance girl dynamic. Cooper also reminds me of Ryke Meadows as a rock climber, I'm expecting the author highlights that aspect of him more.

Now, I'm not sure what Easton really wants. One time he hates Amity and constantly insults her, then he becomes infatuated with her as if he's been in love with her for a long time and wonders why she doesn't reciprocate his feelings. Man, try to figure out what you actually want first. And Amity needs to let the man grovel before she actually forgive him, she deserves better.

I can deal with third-person POV, but this book has a lot more tell than show. The story is flat since it uses repetitious descriptions and too many details. I still enjoy the adventure portion of the book; it's entertaining to read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Received and reviewed a copy of Crush in the Cascades by Lisa Gayle. Thanks to NetGalley & BooksGoSocial. All views are my own

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A romance set against a reality competition show - sign me up! Crush in the Cascades is a delightful romcom that had me wishing to go a on reality show but without the desire to run 13 miles or start a fire 😉 I adored Amity because I too would’ve dressed for the occasion; Cooper took a bit longer for me to warm up to but he got there in the end. Was a great escapist read & look forward to Tangle in the Tropics and the next installment from Lisa 🏕💫

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for allowing me to get the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Crush in the Cascades follows a story of Easton Cooper and Amity in an adventure/survivor TV show in nature wildlife. Exchanging a not so nice first impression of each other, and it turned quickly into an attraction and develop feelings towards each other as they went through all of stages of the game while guessing everyone's motive for joining the show. Was it for money, romance, or fame?

First of all, I like the challenges in the competition. Combining the outdoor skills and brain squeeze one, showing us the glimpse O the characters' way of thinking and solving problem. The author did a good job for describing the background of the woods, mountain, and all the nature setting this story takes in. It's a fun show, and give us a glimpse of behind the scenes of the TV show in general.

About the characters, I really like how Amity keep proving other contestants' perception or prejudice against her wrong! She have been through a lot, and I do really think she deserves to win than anyone! Though I must say, sometimes I'm not a big fan of Easton Cooper's decision or opinion (the one that judge Amity would survive or not based on her looks), but I'm glad to get his way of thoughts from his POV and understand him better. Love how the author provides us with dual pov! I love how they relationship grows and although it's not all about honesty yet, but they way they act like a lovesick teenagers made me giggle. And I absolutely love their banters

Overall, it's a fun book to read for me, I like some of the lines between Easton Cooper and Amity when they opened up to each other. Though the ending was sort of a it rushed for me. I can't wait for the season 2 of the show and how Hannah Cooper would handle the show!

This a book for those who enjoyed an enemies to lovers and forced proximity trope!