The Replacement Crush

by Lisa Brown Roberts

Romance book blogger Vivian Galdi is a girl on a mission: the Replacement Crush Mission. After Jake the Snake pretends their secret summer kissing sessions never happened, Vivian creates a list of safe crush targets, determined to avoid anyone who pings her zing meter. But nerd-hot Dallas, the new guy in town, sends the mission and Vivian's zing meter into chaos. While designing software for the bookstore where Vivian works, Dallas wages a counter mission, analysing his target and taking advantage of the tactical errors in her strategy. Does Dallas just like a good game of Replacement Crush Battlefield, or is he on his own mission to prove to Vivian that true love can't be strategized? And how much collateral damage can they both sustain during the heat of battle?

• ISBN10: 1725060310
• ISBN13: 9781725060319
• Publish Date: 11 August 2018 (first published 6 September 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 380
• Language: English

Reviews

[liz089]

I REALLY REALLY liked this book!! More like 4.5 stars, but rating it with a 5 would have been too much. Great, flawed main character and stubborn, cute male love interest made a great romance. I got sucked into it and felt along with Vivian and her quest to logical love. Loved that her mother owned a bookstore and together with the reviews and book club it made a cool addition to this novel. Cute, nerdy and very lovable story. You should read it.

[whisperingchapters]

This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.


Would I finally get my happy ending or was this going to be an ugly-cry ending?

Vivian is a book blogger, book nerd and Star Trek geek. She has every book lover's job: working at a book store, owning a successful blog, and holding book club meetings. Her mom is an author who writes Mystery novels and is the owner of the book store. Viv had a great summer with Jake. Unfortunately, when classes start, he "dumps" Viv by appearing with another girl in his arms. This is when the Replacement Crush mission comes to live. She wants someone she can crush on, but not develop feelings for. Suddenly, a new student arrives and Viv's mission may just go down the drain.

"Guys shouldn't become an obsession," [...] "Think of them as sprinkles on the donuts of life. Fun, but not necessary."

I wasn't sure if I would like Viv. For someone so young (in her teens), she was very...obsessed when it came to guys. She blamed it all on her hormones so she needed a "cure" for them. I also found her to be a bit shallow. I'm happy to announce that Viv had a major growth in character that could be seen through the story. She had help from her friends and Dallas, the new student, but she realized her mistakes all on her own and took responsibility for them.

I'd hurt too many people, pretending I was the star of the show and others were just minor characters without real feelings.

Dallas, also known as Vespa Guy (he rides a Vespa), is the new guy in town and all the girls take notice of him. He's also a nerdy guy, just like Viv! He meets Viv at school, but they spend lots of time at the book store since Viv's mom hired Dallas to set the book store in the 21st century (or 20th century). Viv wanted so badly to ignore Dallas. She wanted to be unattached and not have feelings, but Dallas made it impossible. He's a great guy who's so kind to his family and little sister. Dallas' intentions in the beginning had me confused because I wasn't sure if he liked Viv, but his feelings for her started to blossom and I was so shipping this! The romance is so shippable, innocent and oh-so sweet!

Something needed to happen to refocus my hormones, and fast, because right now they were way too focused on Vespa Guy. And his mysterious tattoo.

Viv's mom was amazing! I could see so much of my mom in her. She's very responsible over her daughter, always watching out for her, but at the same time, she's Viv's friend. Their relationship was so beautiful to read and her mom gave awesome advice. Also, her mom's a mystery author so reading about ways she should kill someone off had me laughing, especially if a person had hurt Viv. She really had her daughter's back.

"So many ways to die, so little time to write about them."

The friendships in this story had me grinning so hard. I need to start with Jaz. I don't think I've ever read a character similar to Jaz. She's so unique, it's not even funny. At the same time, I think we all have a Jaz in our lives. She's out-spoken, bold, loud. She's also that type of friend that you tell to not look at your crush, and she'll make a big show of staring. But she'll be there for you no matter what and I loved that about her. She knew Viv's RC mission wasn't a great idea, but she supported her friend and even gave her ideas.

Toff is Viv's step-brother and their relationship was the highlight for me. They have been best friends since they were kids and their friendship has only grown over the years. They are so close and count on each other a lot. Toff is also a unique character. He's cocky, but in a good way. He loves to joke around a lot. But when things get serious, he'll be the guy you want to call. I was so happy to see Toff being there for Viv when she needed it the most and he did a great job at supporting her.

Overall, The Replacement Crush is a light, page-turner, feel-good story that will have you grinning so much, your cheeks will hurt.

I received an eARC from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.