The conclusion to the Crash trilogy.
A football fantasy. A giant diamond. The modern-day Romeo and Juliet are taking their relationship to the next level. . . .
Jude and Lucy are happily engaged, but that doesn’t mean life’s a bed of roses.
Once again, the hottest couple around is torn apart, this time by football training and a summer job. Now it’s Jude with the trust issues.
Will Lucy’s life-changing news bring them back together or end their relationship for good? Can love triumph forever?
Find out in the best installment yet in Nicole Williams’s racy and romantic Crash trilogy!
Personal Thoughts:
Crush is the third and final installment of Lucy and Jude’s story, a story that feels like I’ve been living right alongside with its characters. I’ve seen Lucy and Jude through the ups and downs of their relationship. From the moment they met up to the epilogue of their love story I’ve felt every smile, every joy and heartbreak they went through. It is a crazy ride of ups and downs that snatch my emotions and bring it to the same ride that Lucy and Jude boarded. These characters become so close like a friend I’ve been monitoring and rooting all the way. In a span of days I have lived their story and now that it comes to its end I feel both happy and sad. A bittersweet feeling of knowing the characters ending and bidding their story goodbye.
“We fought; we made up. We messed up; we apologized. We lived; we learned”.
Lucy’s line above pretty sums up this book, or even the whole Crash series. A three sentences consist of few words explains so much. But let me give you more details than those. From the last part of the previous book, Clash, we are rewarded by Lucy and Jude engagement after all the drama they went through. Now in this book, they are both weighing their next moves in life. They are living together in a rented apartment in New York until Jude is drafted for San Diego Chargers, moving him across country. With his blooming career, he can now provide for Lucy in the way that he always wanted. Money and lots of things are now coming easily to them but Lucy is afraid of the changes those things will make them especially to Jude.
At the first chapter of this book, I thought money will play the big issue in Jude and Lucy’s story. I expect it to be one of the major problem of their relationship, because of how Lucy view it. She treat money as one big problem, she is so afraid of it, how it will change them, and other things that will concern money and their relationship. But as it turns out, money is not the real issue, it is not even affecting their relationship that much, and it feels like Lucy is just trying to make it a big deal. Money should never be the issue in any relationship, no matter how much or less money anyone has, it can never be a problem if not for the persons who has the power to handle the money.
All those things that Lucy is afraid of might happen to Jude because of money and popularity doesn’t even exist. Yes, there are changes in their lives as they have to live separately while Jude is working for San Diego Chargers, Jude also become famous that wherever the guy goes there are cameras and reporters. But all those changes are outside Jude, they don’t even leave impact to Jude. They don’t changed Jude at all. He is still the same guy who will do anything he can for Lucy. Lucy is just projecting things that is not happening yet, she’s making her own nightmare out of things from her head and her fears. Her tendency to be paranoid is what really the issue in their relationship. She is overthinking of things again just like in the second book.
Jude has grown so much throughout this series. I’m so proud to see him from the poor and lost boy that he is from the first book, to the successful and famous football player that he is in this final installment. He still the possessive when it comes to Lucy, he still have anger issues but compare from what he is in the first book, he made real changes and improve for the better. His love for Lucy is undeniable and unquestionable. He will do anything for Lucy, anything that he thinks will make Lucy happy.
When he was given the opportunity to enter the NFL he grab it for Lucy. For a chance to give Lucy a better life, but somehow Lucy doesn’t see it that way. She only see the changes it will bring. Jude wants to give the best to Lucy, but he couldn’t get anything right because Lucy is too concern with all the changes in their life. As much as I understand where Lucy is coming from I just wish that she at least appreciate what Jude is doing for her. There are changes in life and sometimes she need to accept those changes and let things be.
It took awhile before Lucy see things in clear sight. With Jude efforts to prove to her how much he is willing to give and sacrifice for their relationship, with their friends help, and another person who have to challenge her and Jude, Lucy finally understand and accept things around them.
“I didn’t have the answers yet, but I wasn’t terrified of them anymore.”
Nicole Williams beautifully portrayed a realistic story in Lucy and Jude complicated relationship. It is well written and well-developed that makes it so easy get lose in the story and care for the characters. Despite of all the heart-ache and low moments between Lucy and Jude I wouldn’t change any single bit of what happened to them. All the hardships, heartbreaks, misunderstanding are worthwhile because it leads them to what they are now.
“What made you fall in love with him?”…
“It wasn’t so much what made me fall in love with him…” I began, staring out the window. “It was more that couldn’t not fall in love with him.”
“That whole, ‘the stars aligned and fate predestined it’ kind of thing?” he guessed, his smile telling me he thought he’d gotten it right. But he was wrong.
“No. More like we made the stars realign and fate had nothing to do with it.”
With its ups and downs, Crush will elicit a flood of different emotions to its readers. All the gut-wrenching and heart-warming moments will makes you ache, hope, and believe in the beauty and hardships of love. Lucy and Jude are both broken pieces in the start of this series, they are both a work in progress but together they are a beautiful masterpiece. Crush is the fitted conclusion to Nicole Williams’ Crash series.
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