Summary: Haley Howell has always been a little in love with Jake Lexington. The only problem is that Jake is Haley’s twin brother’s best friend. Haley know that Jake will never notice her but then one night Jake sees her and the form a connection that neither of them can deny. Can the two of them find a way to be together?

Review: Sometimes I just want to a simple YA romance and The Crush Collision totally fit that bill. The Crush Collision is a super cute book about first love. Haley and Jake are trying to navigate first love while trying to hide their relationship from disapproving friends. The story has a familiar feel because we’ve seen this storyline before but that’s okay. This is a book about first love and how it can be complicated by everyone outside of your relationship. Their story is filled with lovely moments of them forming a connection while they grapple with issues in their life. Haley has never really been her own person instead being what everyone expects and Jake has always fit into the perfect star football player mold. They are the first people to really see one another and their story illustrates that of how you can gain strength when someone finally sees you. Their relationship and the book are sweet and simple and just kind of worked.

It is a cute story and I really enjoyed it a lot. Jake is a popular football player but he is struggling with guilt, drinking a lot, and pretty much trying to destroy himself. But he has friends and family who care about him and loves him dearly. Chris is one such friend. He has always been there for him and is trying everything in his power to save him from himself. Jake had always spent a lot of time at the Howell's and not only because of Chris. He feels at home when he is there and the Other Howell is not bad either. He doesn't know when he started having feelings for his best friend's twin but it just happened. Luckily for him, she seems to like him too. Unfortunately for them both they can't date. For one. Haley is Chris's sister, two Haley's best friend has a huge crush on Jake and Haley has known that for a long time now. It will be as if they both would betray their best friends if they decided to date. Not to mention the rest of the drama that will surely ensue.
If you like reading about complicated relationships then this book is for you. It is sweet, sad, and happy all at the same time. I quite loved the story and hope others do too.

I love books in this Impossibles Lovers with a lot of family and friends pressure and so so much romance and The Crush Collision brought drama, romance and a little suspense in the right measure.



Haley has always had a crush on Jake, but he has always been the popular her brother's best friend, and Abby, her best friend has a crush on him too, which makes him more than impossible for Haley.



But by meeting with him in community service in the same center where she volunteers, everything changes for them.



First of all Haley is the only one who can see beyond the bad boy image he adopted for himself and realize how broken and unfocused he is. So when she approaches him to try to help, this ends up making them both realize they have a lot of affinities.


The book is a tasty cliche, full of romantic moments and loaded with drama and a strong lesson at the end in a wonderful scene between Jake and his coach.



I liked to see their feelings growing and How they fight for their love.

4/5 stars

The Crush Collision is a standalone book that is a second in the series. I did not read the first one, and I do not notice anything that I may have missed in the first one. Although now I'd like to read the first book haha.

The story alternates point of view between Jake, the star football, and Haley, who is the twin sister of Jake's best friend.

There were things I loved about this book and things I questioned.

First off, the romance was sweet. Haley and Jake have known each other for most of their childhood, so definitely no insta-love happening here. Haley has had a crush on Jake for ages. He hasn't seemed to notice her as more than his best friend's sister until now he can't seem to stop noticing her.

Obviously, there are a lot of factors at play here, such as Haley's brother insisting she not date any football players ever. And Haley's best friend also has a crush on Jake and would be devastated to find out Haley also likes him. So, you know it's gonna hit the fan sooner or later right? 

There's a lot of teenage angst in this book and a lot of worrying about what friends will think. It definitely hits home with how dramatic things feel as a teenager.

Jake's brother had an accident months prior and lost his ability to walk. Jake carries a lot of guilt over it and begins drinking heavily.

Ok so listen, as a teenager I drank so I cannot judge for that. Teenagers try shit. What I struggled with is that Jake literally walked into a store and bought liquor and no one questioned a high school boy buying alcohol?

Also, he got into trouble for showing up to school drunk and verbally assaulted a teacher. And he was not only able to come back to school and remain on the football team, but all he got was community service? 

Maybe high school football players are protected much more than I think they are? 

Overall, I thought this was a book that was easy to fall into and get lost in.

I just want to say I enjoyed this book. A lot! There are parts of the storyline that I wasn't always comfortable with. Those are probably more the Mom side of my brain talking then anything else. First there is Jake's abuse of alcohol especially given his family's painful history. Second is the fact that Haley and her best friend are both crushing on the same guy = Jake. Yet since Haley has never told anyone I guess that really shouldn't be an issue. I have to admit though both these issues are what makes the story ring so true. Jake's struggles will pull your heartstrings while the slow building romance between Jake and Haley will have you smiling. In the end you have a heartwarming emotional read that will give you hours of entertainment. I definitely recommend it.

Two words perfectly describe Jake: hot mess. He parties too much, he drinks too much, he gets into trouble. Cue community service with his best friend's sister. Haley couldn't be more opposite from Jake. She's the quintessential good girl. But the more time they spend together, the more they realize that there is more to them than meets the eye (cue closing monologue from The Breakfast Club).

This was my first book by this author and it definitely won't be the last. I loved the connection, the angst, the story. There was so much packed into this story. I'm definitely adding the first book from this series to my TBR!!

*This is my voluntary review of an advanced reader copy*

I'm going to go ahead and say it ahead of time that I didn't read the first book in the Southern Charm series, but I have it on my list to read it soon because I did enjoy the second book in the series. The Crush Collision is all about a crush, but this crush deals with a kind of forbidden crush.

Hannah Howell is the twin sister of the star quarterback of the high school football team, and she's had a crush on his best friend since she was twelve years old. Unfortunately, it will only be a crush because she can never have anything else with Jake Lexington since her twin brother Chris Howell will have a fit if his best friend, so much as looks at his sister. Hannah wants to change that though, and she's determined to win over Jake somehow and also show the world that Jake is more than a jock who gets into trouble.

Jake Lexington is the typical football player in the story with his popularity and good looks, but he also has some bad traits. He loves to party too much, and he tends to get in trouble quite a bit, especially after what happened to his brother. Ever since the car accident that both he was in and his brother was in, Jake has gotten worse with getting into trouble and one stupid mistake ends up making him do mandatory community service. His community service leads him closer to Hannah, and he becomes attached to her in the story. A crush ends up turning into so much more with these two characters.

I enjoyed The Crush Collision because of it as all the elements of a young adult contemporary story. This genre is what got me reading in the first back in the day. (Nope not telling when then you could figure out my age.) I enjoyed getting to know the characters and how they finally got together, especially when characters can change other characters for the better. I didn't like certain characters in the story and how they reacted to the relationship between Jake and Hannah, but it's how they found out too in the story, which didn't help. I won't go into details though because it's a must for readers to find out for themselves.

The author wrote a charming small town romance story between two characters who made each other risk takers in their ways. I love these types of stories, and I look forward to reading more from this author and reading the first book in the series, which sounds interesting too.

Fair warning though that the book does include a lot of teenagers doing quite a bit of underage drinking and quite a bit of swearing in the story, but I know it didn't stop me from reading the book, and I don't think it should stop you from reading it either.

Story Rating: 4 stars

Standalone or part of series: Part of series, but can be read as a standalone.

Do I recommend this book? Yes. If you are a fan of YA Contemporary.

Will I read other books from the author? Yes.

Trope/Elements: Unrequited love ends up requited love; Small Town Romance; Off Limits Romance; Hero: Football Jock, Best Friend of Heroine's Brother, damaged due to what happened to his big brother; Heroine: Twin Sister to QB, has always been on the sidelines of her twin brother, Southern Belle, and has a crush on brother's best friend for years now.

Overall I had a hard time reading this book. There are two main characters, Jake and Haley, and I just don't feel like I could connect to either of them, and since this is a character driven romance with minimal plot, I just fell like the book didn't work for me. Jake was a very unlikeable character, one who had a terrible thing happen to his family (due to his drinking and poor decision making skills) and then he just turned into a raging alcoholic who needed to drink to get through the day- keep in mind these are seniors in high school, FYI. And then there was Haley who was a very nice girl, but that was basically all she was. She was a very bland character, and even she was aware of it, so it was pretty easy to overlook her, and her goal was to learn to be impulsive- even if that meant being bad.

I loved the Southern charm that oozed off the pages, be it the dialogue or the customs, making it almost another world from what I know. My favorite part of the book was the relation dynamic between both the main character's and their respective siblings. I did find it slightly unrealistic that the parents do not exist basically at all in this book though.

Overall this was not a book for me but I can see others really enjoying the redeeming aspect of the love story.
I reviewed a complementary copy of this title to review.

Super cute YA book. This is the tale of finding yourself after grief, letting other help you but not be your crutch. The characters were great and the book was awesome, there is solid writing behind this story and all it's characters, The chemistry that makes the characters click is evident, and it was just a flat out good story, I thoroughly enjoyed. This story is told in alternating views.

This is the second book in the Southern Charmed series. I really enjoyed the first book so I was glad to see some familiar faces back in this one. The main characters are Jake and Haley. Jake is a hot mess at the beginning of this book. His brother was in an accident that changed things for him and he has not been dealing with it at all. Instead, he has chosen to drink and avoid the things as much as possible. He drinks a lot throughout the book. If underage drinking bothers you, this might not be the book to read.

Haley on the other hand is the sweet girl who has had a crush on Jake, her brother's best friend, for forever. She volunteers at the rehabilitation center for kids where Jake has to do community service. As they start to get to know each other outside of Haley's brother, they learn they have a lot in common. When Haley decides she wants to stop playing it safe, she turns to Jake help.
There are some sweet flashback moments at the end of the chapters. There are also some more serious ones, but I liked what they added to the book.

While I enjoyed this book, it is not a light read by any means. It is heavy and there are a lot of serious issues dealt with in this book. I really appreciated the growth that Jake went through in the book. The kids from the rehab center were sweet and I really loved most of those parts of the book. Jake and Hailey brought out the best in each other and it was sweet to see them grow into better people because of each other, but also for themselves.

I voluntarily read and reviewed and advanced copy of this book from Entangled Publishing, LLC via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Honestly, I didn’t love this one. I wanted to because it was so well written and contained so many elements of a great romance but I just couldn’t get myself to like either character. If you like really angsty broken characters, you will love this book!

Jake never got a break from being asked about his older brother Jamie. This was a party and suppose to be a break a couple days before senior year started. But Jake is worried about Jamie the last text he had showed Jamie was worried about Jake. Jake feels Jamie should hate him he hated himself. He told Jamie Howell was with him and wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him. Abby waves to Jake. She wants to be with him and Jake told her he’s not interested but she still hangs on. Jake told Abby he wasn’t worth her time but she said he was wrong. That’s the thing with people especially on culler they only see what they want. Jake feels he only ruins things especially other people’s lives. The football team gather around the fire even the JV football kids. This is their night. They know once they get back to school Monday they will start their time as town heroes as Culler was all about football and the HS players. Ever since Jamie, Jake has felt like more of a villian. He can’t handle being around his older brother and seeing him in the chair. Haley is Abby’s best friend and she even sometimes has to step back from Abby as she gets these huge ideas and lets them grow in her head. Abby is in love with ideas and dreams. Haley needed Abby and her whimsy in her lie. Haley had a crush on Jake since she was twelve years old. Haley has tried to get over it. Haley wants to be able to see him and not have the urge for him to touch her or say her name or smile. Haley had heard Jake tell her twin brother -Chris nothing would ever happen between him and Abby. Haley didn’t have the heart to tell Abby and break her spirit. Than Shelby and some girls were talking trash about Jake and his family and Haley tells them to shut up, they don't know anything. Than Jake is there apparently not as drunk as they thought. Jake then says did he hear the other Howell cuss out Shelby Kramer in his honor? Haley just said “ she was out of line, they all were.” Jake then thanked her and hugged her. He then adds “You’re amazing.” Jake wakes up outside the next morning and Howell made sure his keys were in his truck with his phone. Jake would be lost without Howell. Jake had come to school hungover most days last semester and one of them he cussed and threatened a teacher. Coach had intervened and Jake wasn’t expelled but he did have community service - eight Saturdays starting this weekend. Football was all Jake had now. The team was his family. Jake will do whatever he has to in order to stay with them. They had won the state championship and Jake was drunk and Jamie came for him and he left the party as Jamie promised him Taco Belle but than Jake wants to go back to the party and grabs the wheel Jamie yells and cusses at him. Than there are bright lights coming toward them and and the truck is flying through the air. Than there was a loud crash, glass shatters, than a thud, something pops against Jake’s face and they hit the ground hard. Than it’s all dark. When Haley wakes up Jake is on their couch. Jake is there so much it might as well be his couch. Everyone loves Chris and there isn’t much he can’t do. Raymond and Nanette were Jamie’s aides and at the house more than Jake was. While at home Jake goes up to the bathroom and looks at himself he looks as exhausted as he feels. Jake doesn’t think he has had a good night sleep n the five months since the accident. His hair is too long. Jake can’t seem to shake the feeling he will never be what he once was. Haley volunteers at The Wyatt Health and Rehabilitation Center. His was Haley’s favorite place in Culler. Haley’s role is working with Ms. Nichols who is in charge of of organising some events and programs for the kids. Than Jake comes in as he is now doing his community service at the Center. Jake has a panic attack and Haley helps him through it. Jake finds he really likes Haley. Haley asks Jake to help her take risks even though he knows he shouldn’t he agrees to help.
I really enjoyed this book even of it was wrote for a younger reader it didn’t matter to me. A good book shouldn’t. I loved Haley and Jake together and how they interact. I really enjoyed the plot and the pace and read this in one day. I loved the small town ways and how the author portrayed it and the people. It was great! I think Abby especially over reacted when she found out about Jake and Haley. Jake was never hers. Also Chris said some pretty rotten things to a guy who was his best friend and having a rough time. I loved Chis and Haley’s closeness even though he did almost cause her being happy. But he did realize his mistake and changed his way. I loved seeing Jamie also change and coming out of his shell and solitary way. I loved that Jake and Jamie talked things out and Jake no longer felt guilty. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this novel and I recommend it. I wish I could have rated it a 4.75.

I really can't say anything other than that I loved this book so so much. This was everything I could've hoped for to find in a ya contemporary romance. I don't know if you've read the Field Party books by Abbi Glines? But this book had me feeling all the same feels as when I read those, and the Field Party are one of my faves within the ya contemporary genre. This was just as entertaining and amazing. So it's safe to say, that the Crush Collision ended up on that same favorites list. 

I love everything about this the story-line in general. It has angst, anxiety, romance, sports elements, some interesting and 'serious real life' issues that come to surface and the writing is just magnificent. This story is heartwarming, it's realistic and packed with all the frigging feels - tissues were definitely needed at some point, is all I'm saying hihi. 

The characters in this book are ones I found a connection with so easily. I think the author did such a wonderful job on writing them and their thoughts down. They felt so realistic and believable and I loved spending time with them so so much. Once I picked up this book and started reading, I just didn't want to put it down anymore.

Jake was such a lovable character. His struggles and thoughts about it all, the way he 'handled' things... It had me aching, crying, hurting all at once and it had me falling for him HARD. His character development was so beautiful to read. Sure, it had me crying my eyeballs out at one point or another, but I just love reading about a redeem worthy character like Jake.

And Haley was this girl next door character that I really enjoyed reading about so much. She's twin to the famous school quarterback and therefore she has the feeling of not being noticed for who SHE is. She feels like she's never been able to grow into a person of her own and I loved reading her 'finding out who I really am' journey in this story.

The falling for your brother's best friends romance is really well done in my opinion. I really liked that the characters in question have known each other for years because this gave a beautiful depth to their relationship. But I also really liked that there was still so much for them to explore about each other. Couldn't get enough of reading about them spending time together.

The slow burning part of this romance was so well executed. I loved seeing Jake and Haley's friendship being expanded and confirmed first and then this all seeing evolve into a beautiful, in depth romance that I couldn't stop swooning over the entire time.

CONCLUSION

This book had me hooked from beginning till end. It had me feeling all the feels. The romance is heartfelt, in depth and just so beautifully written down. But not only the romance...

If you like these kind of books, this is a MUST-READ in my opinion! I loved everything about it. From the characters, the story-line, the friendships, the angst and drama to the writing and the execution of it all... It was just amazing!

The Crush Collision was my first read by this author and it definitely won't be my last. With this book, this author has catapulted herself onto my favorites list when it comes to YA contemporary and I really cannot wait to get my hands on more of her work.

Grab a tissue and a some ice cream, you are going to need it.
This best friend's sister tale was an emotional ride unlike any I have read. With all the heartache from the past and present, how will two people find love with each other?
I loved Jake and Haley together. They were exactly what each other needed. I loved watching them become friends and then their love grow.
I hope there is still more to come from the town of Culler. There are so many more characters who need to have their story told.

3 1/2 stars

I liked The Crush Collision by Danielle Ellison, a YA romance from Entangled. All of the characters were well-drawn with no stereotypical mean girl or douche guy who is usually present in a high school romance.

Adding in Jake’s involvement with sick children because of his mandatory community service was a good touch because it allowed Jake to grow but also showed his sensitive, kind side that he doesn’t show when playing football or hanging out with the guys.

Haley was a sweet, wallflower of a girl who was only just beginning to show she had a backbone. I would have liked to see more of this throughout
The Crush Collision, not to mention that it would have been great to see that art came up as a passion for her and not as a second thought.

I am a sucker for girls having a crush on their brother’s best friend and am not let down, although a lot of “girl codes” and “guy codes” come up, which always leave me wondering why people just don’t communicate better.

The one difficulty I had with the novel was the underage drinking, especially Jake’s. It’s treated with such nonchalance that I had to double-check to see if 21 was the drinking age in South Carolina. No adult takes Jake aside or even mentions it until 86% of the way into the novel. 86% of the way! The reason why he has community service is because he came to school drunk and mouthed off to a teacher. This school has no counselors? No concerned teachers or principal? No parents of friends who wonder about his behavior? For this fact alone, I would not recommend this book for teenage readers who would get the impression that this is all “okay.” I get it; this behavior goes on, but its depiction should never be shrug-worthy.

If you’re a fan of YA romances, especially involving high school football, don’t mind the above described nonchalance of underage drinking, and love when an unrequited crush gets requited, The Crush Collision will be for you.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I personally think there are way too many flashbacks in the book which made it a bit dragged and bored to me! otherwise I liked this book and its fun to read how they both find who they are as a person, definitely recommend!

I had some issues with this one but it was still a good read. It seemed that from Jake's point of view that it was a sudden interest in Haley, let's say way more sudden than Haley's attraction to Jake. Chris and Abby's extreme reactions, first one way and then another, gave me whiplash and felt like it was just written that way for drama even though it didn't have to be that extreme. Jake's issues were realistic and I liked how he was not perfect in working through them. It was also nice to see a coach that was really there for the players.

The Crush Collision by Danielle Ellison a five-star read that will warm even the coldest of hearts. This is the second novel in the Southern Charmed series, and they can be read as stand-alone as I haven’t read the first novel and don’t feel like I missed out, I will be going back to read the first one as I am sure Georgia May has a great story to tell. This is a sweet, charmingly romantic and frolicking fun read, there are some great story lines in the novel and the characters are compelling some more than others and I can only hope that we get chance to read the other Lexington’s story. Haley Howell or the other Howell as she is lovingly known was a little wishy at the beginning but by the end, she showed us her true self and she blossomed as the story progressed. Jake may be the big player, but he becomes so much more. I can’t wait for more from this author, she made it fun and flirty without being over the top.

I really enjoyed the characters in this fantastic story. Everything flowed nicely and the pages flew by. The romance/chemistry was great too. An amazing read that had a little bit of everything you’d need. Would recommend!

A dash of slow burning romance, a tablespoon of forbidden love, a pinch of falling for best friend's sibling, and a cup of sports romance equals to a recipe of this lovely gem of a book.

I love a good slow burning romance book and I feel like the author went through a checklist of everything I love and wrote this for me. There was literally nothing I found wrong with this book. It just was super cute and fluffy and had lots of emotions.

And the romance, that was just perfection.

No complaints at all, and I highly recommend this book. It was a five star read and I enjoyed reading every moment of it. I am looking forward to going back to The Sweetheart Sham sometime. Thank you Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book!

A review will be posted to my blog tomorrow.