“Crushes were a curse, shutting down brain cells, derailing plans.”

This was absolutely adorable. The Bookworm Crush was such a cute read. It had a sweet slow burn, fake relationship romance with two adorable characters and a very fun plot. I loved how the story highlighted both of the main characters passions - romance books and surfing. It was super fun to be able to relate with all the book loving references!

Amy McIntyre is adorably shy and reserved. She’s a hopeless romantic, a dreamer, but most of all a reader. And she has the hugest crush on the most popular surfer in Shady Cove.

Toff Nichols is extremely good looking and popular. He’s the top surfer in Shady Cove and total troublemaker and player with a heart of gold.

“She rolled her eyes, but he pulled another smile out of her, which felt like a win. Weird. She was the one trying to win something, not him.”

Being the booknerd that she is, Amy enters a competition for a chance to meet her favorite romance author, however, she lacks the confidence to complete the prompts on her own. Enter Toff, who is pure confidence. Amy takes a risk and ask for Toff to help her win the competition. Here begins the cutest relationship ever. I loved how their relationship progresses from friends to more. The story is told in dual POV so we get to be inside both Amy and Toff’s heads as their feelings for each other grow - especially Toff’s.

If you enjoy the fake relationship as well as friends to more trope, you’ll definitely enjoy The Bookworm Crush!

*A huge thanks to Entangled Publishing for providing me with an eARC for review. All thoughts are my own.*

I missed the Replacement Crush so I didn't know the backstory of Amy and Toff but I need that book in my life ASAP!!

I LOVED everything about this book. Usually YA tends to be lighthearted and low in angst but high in drama. There were so many times reading this that I forgot that these were high school students. There is so much emotion that I read this book in one sitting. The strength shown by these characters sucked me in and wouldn't let go. I can't wait to go back and read The Replacement Crush!!

What I liked

This wouldn’t be me writing this review if I didn’t talk about the writing style. It was amazing. Easy to read, easy to get through and this book was so fast-paced that you can easily finish it in a few days or even on the same day if you have nothing else to do. But don’t do that! This book is so good you need to read it slowly so that it will never be over! Unfortunately, the end came pretty fast.

I also loved the storyline. I mean of course as a bookworm you can be pretty sure, that I will pick up a book if there’s the word bookworm or something else related to it. And you can also be sure that I will at least like the novel. I’m glad that I did because the idea of this book was amazing and I loved every single thing! The romance was perfect, the characters were great, everything was relatable and it was such a cute book! So sad that it’s over but I will read more by Lisa Brown Roberts in the future. The Bookworm Crush won’t stay the only book!

The Bookworm Crush is the perfect book for us bookworms and that’s why it’s worth more than 5 stars!

Overall, this is the perfect book for you if you are an avid bookworm like everyone in this book blogging community. If you liked The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Nina Waxman then you will also love The Bookworm Crush!

First of all, I had never heard of yarn bombing or “kniffiti”. I absolutely thought it was a joke. I felt silly googling it, sure the author had made it up. You could’ve knocked me over with a feather when I discovered this is a actually “a thing”.

This was a cute teen romance. It wasn’t really my style and I found it a bit of a struggle to get into, but it was okay. I think I wasn’t really the target audience for this one. I think teens would really enjoy it, though.

OMG! I loved this book to death! This is the book written for book bloggers and readers alike. Especially those in love with romance books. Amy was so much myself as a teen, except it was just reading in my teenage years, and now as an adult there is all the social media and blogging that I totally would have been into back then, since I'm loving them now. Reading about all the assignments Amy had to complete in order to win the contest to meet her favorite author was just like hanging out with my fellow book bloggers. I loved how all the supporting characters were just as vivid and interesting as the main characters, and having them there really just enhanced the story and filled it all in. I have to say that sometimes it is nice to have what you think of as normal families like Amy's, because there are still families out there like that. Parents that are happily married, a younger brother that is a normal younger brother, etc. But to have real life issues right along with that. As someone who grew up with a pretty normal family, issues like one parent losing a job and needing to find one actually is something I did deal with. So it was nice to read about that, and get a chance to read of a teen with a similar lifestyle and dreams as when I was one.

I was supposed to read the book that this is a companion to when it came out, The Replacement Crush, but I never had the time. After meeting Viv and Dallas in this one though, I know that I need to make the time to go back and read their love story as well. I'll be sure to share this book with my readers and bloggers in the school where I'm a librarian, and to recommend it at the bookstore where I work.

Amy is all about books, and especially, romances. She adores HEAs and debating whether beloved characters are OTPs. She has a blog where she shares reviews, runs a book club and works in a book store. The girl is a total bookworm. And when her favorite author's publisher holds a contest for the honor of interviewing the author herself, Amy is beside herself and knows she has to win. However, she feels like she's missing some key ingredient: a confidence, a spark, a swagger. And it just so happens that she she knows someone who is an expert in all three. Toff is a surf god. He's won all sorts of competitions and he's desperate to go pro. Girls fall all over him wherever he goes, and the little kids on the beach beg him for lessons. He hasn't ever taught someone how to channel his swagger before, but he's pretty sure he can handle it. And if he gets to spend more time with the adorable redhead with sparkles in her hair, he's in. He may not be much of a reader, but if anyone can coach someone how to win, it's Toff. Soon he's just as invested in the contest--and Amy--as she is. Will the bookworm end up winning more than just an interview with her favorite author...could she win her hot surfer boy's heart?

This is the second book in a series, but it's my first read by Lisa Brown Roberts. This story absolutely works as a standalone, though I enjoyed it so much that I'd like to go back and read #1 (about Viv/Dallas, Amy and Toff's BFFs). I will say that I wasn't totally sure about this one when I started it. Amy seemed like such a prudish goody-goody, even though she's supposedly committing a crime in the very first scene --spoiler alert, it's decorating a sidewalk bench with knitting designs. See what I mean? That's like the tamest crime ever! I was a little worried she'd be too in love with the magical world of books to really be relatable in the real world. HOWEVER. I'm glad to say I was wrong. Amy absolutely grew on me as the story progressed, mostly because she turned on the sass and charm that was in her all along but that Toff gave her permission to set loose. And Toff is the cliche, cocky alpha-guy who is totally used to getting what he wants without having to do much work for it. He just smiles and people (mostly girls, yes, but even Amy's little brother....their little bromance is so cute). But it turns out that there's a lot more to him than just that charming exterior, and it was great to see him develop as a character, too.

This is a fluffy YA romance, but it did tackle some more serious issues, too. Amy's dad is unemployed and the family is worried about making ends meet. Toff lost his mom to cancer at a young age, and his heart has never recovered. With Toff's dad planning on getting married again, Toff has a lot of feelings about whether moving on means leaving his mom behind. There is also a lot of discussion about the downsides of social media and whether what you see online is actually real. I liked the addition of some of these more complex topics because they added depth to a simple, sweet story and made it feel more complete.

What a fun read! It was a great escape, and I'll definitely be looking for more from this author.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.**

4/5 stars!

I adored this book! I have never read a novel that was written for a book blogger, but I felt like I was watching a documentary--well, sans a hot surfer dude, of course (insert sneezing emoji here). I loved Toff and Amy and their sweet romance. And I really, REALLY loved the Pride and Prejudice references. That scene where Toff and Amy watch Pride and Prejudice (the 2005 version with Keira Knightly--THE BEST VERSION) I fell head over heels!!

This was such a sweet read, I loved it! The only thing that didn't make this five stars was Toff character was a little inconsiderate of Amy sometimes and it threw off the cozy vibes for me. But, other than that, I would recommend this book to any hopeless romantic bookworms out there (you now who you are (insert winking-face emoji).

The Bookworm Crush is such a cute book. As a bookworm and bookstagrammer myself, I loved the whole premise of this story. Fun bookish and pop culture references, talk about book reviews and arcs, book bloggers and vloggers- if it made my heart happy at this age, I can’t imagine how much I’d love this as a teen-age bibliophile!

For the most part, this was a light-hearted, fun read that any bookworm will enjoy.
But there were also some heavier, more emotional parts dealing with, and coming to terms with, grief. I thought I was safe reading the last 15% at work, but man did Toff pull at the heartstrings!
I loved that we got both Amy and Toff’s points of view in this book. It made some of the things Toff did a little easier to accept, being in his head and knowing his reasons, instead of just seeing them from Amy’s pov.

I liked seeing how Amy really blossomed in this book. It was partly thanks to Toff’s coaching, but mostly just on her own, as she grew more confident and more sure of herself. I enjoyed the back and forth between her and Toff, and how he helped her see what was inside her all along. And I loved how Amy made Toff see that romance and relationships weren’t a bad thing!

I think all bookworms will enjoy this one, no matter your age!

This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Entangled Teen!

The Bookworm Crush is a Young Adult Contemporary about Amy, a bookworm, and Toff, a surfer. The Bookworm Crush is a spinoff of The Replacement Crush, but can be read as a standalone.

The Bookworm Crush is the first book I’ve read by Lisa Brown Robers and I really liked! I love reading books where the protagonist is a bookworm and I’m a sucker for the fake dating trope! The book was such an easy and fun read.

I really liked the main characters. Amy is such a book nerd, and she wants to win this contest to meet her favourite author. I think it was so cute how much effort she put into the contest. Toff is your typical surfer guy but he’s also really nice and wants to help Amy. I think Amy and Toff had an amazing connection.

The Bookworm Crush was a good Contemporary read and I didn’t expect anything else because it’s published by Entangled: Teen. I really like their books. I recommend The Bookworm Crush when you’re looking for an easy read with some cute romance!

Surfer Boy + Bookish Girl = Cutest Story Ever!

I laughed, cried, sighed and fell madly in love, so it's no surprise that The Book Worm Crush became an instant favorite! This story was the perfect mix of being cute and fluffy while also being deep and emotional. And with characters that leaped off of the pages and easily stole my heart, sigh, I absolutely loved this book. If you're looking for one last summerish read or if you love ya romance that is swoon worthy then definitely pick this one up!

God, he was a cliché . So was she, with her ridiculous crush on him. Maybe they belonged together after all, like the Instagram commenter suggested.
Yeah, right.


Amy is a heroine everyone can root for. She was sweet, shy, loved books, and she was not only a book blogger, but a bookstagrammer too. So I understood how she felt about wanting to win a contest to meet and interview her unicorn author. She knew that she had to step out of her comfort zone if she wanted to win. And who better to help coach her on winning and being confident then local surfer celebrity, Toff. It shouldn't matter that she'd crushed on him since they were little kids. Or that she got even more shy and nervous when he was around. But after the book started off with a huge bang, go raccoons lol!, I knew Amy had it in her to step up to the game and even possibly win.

She wasn’t sure how much longer she could pretend to be immune to Toff— fake, real, and everything in between. Her resolve was fading, which was no surprise.


When Amy and Toff were together, I couldn't stop laughing. There was a whole lot of banter and joking around going on. And even though Toff was the confident, flirty one, I couldn't stop grinning any time Amy would throw him off his game. Their interaction was smile inducing and I felt like I was in on all of their inside jokes. Btw Bonnie and Clyde was the cutest nicknames ever! As Toff helped Amy with the contest challenges and becoming more confident, I loved watching their friendship grow. Even if there were a lots of bumps along the way.

He willed her to look him in the eye, hoping she could tell he was serious for once. She took a breath and met his gaze. The energy between them shifted, like an electrical storm descended right over their table, crackling with lightning bolts.


Toff was charismatic, insanely talented, and absolutely gorgeous, but he had a guarded heart. He got through life joking around and not being too serious. And surfing, competing and girls were his life. But when Amy came crashing into it, she started to shake everything up. And as we slowly got to know Toff inside and out, I found myself falling even harder for him. Yes Toff had some growing up to do, but his progress pulled at my heart and made me love and root for him that much harder.

Being with her felt so good. Easy. Fun. Fiery.
Safe.
Right.


You guys, I loved every single tiny thing about The Book Worm Crush. Not only did we get to switch back and forth between Amy and Toff, but there was also so much book talk. And while this story was absolutely adorable, it had a strong emotional side too. I kept finding myself getting hit with all of the feels. I was sitting on a beach reading and couldn't stop crying. And then later on I was not just crying, but hard core sobbing. This story truly has it all!

As Toff sat across from her, she drank him in. Suntanned and smiling, blue eyes sparkling, he made her heart skip a beat. Confused or not, she was going to enjoy this. Enjoy him. Them.


So if you're a fan of ya, romance, gushing about books or falling in love then definitely add this one to your tbr. With all of the book love sprinkled throughout the pages, I think book lovers will be just as obsessed about this book as I was. And while this book is a spin-off from The Replacement Crush, you definitely don't need to read that book first. This can easily be read as a standalone, but I fell madly in love with that book too. So I recommend them both! So when you pick this book up please come and obsess with me. I desperately need to talk all about Amy, Toff and of course penguin too!

PS I loved Amy's younger brother, Brayden! He was sneaky, hilarious and constantly cracked me up. He is someone I'd love to read about when he's older. I can't even imagine all of the trouble he'd get into as a teenager lol.

Happily Ever After, Happy for Now, whatever this was, Amy was embracing it.
No regrets.


PPS There's a video scene and it was so funny that I re-read that chapter four times. Yup, it was that fabulous!

The Bookworm Crush was a completely adorable and heartwarming YA romantic comedy. If you’re a bookworm, you’ll definitely recognize some aspects of yourself in Amy. I actually hadn’t read The Replacement Crush prior to reading this one so I can vouch for the fact that you can still understand 100% of the events in this book without that background. But there’s a decent chance you’ll want to go back and read it afterward.

I wasn’t quite sure about the romance at first but, as the characters started to open up and grow, I adored it. Plus the plot was completely charming. I’m always a sucker for the fake romance trope and this book did a fantastic job of utilizing it. It was also unexpected deep, dealing with grief, family relationships, and having the courage to reach for what you want. I also loved the positivity regarding romance books!

So if you’re looking for a book that will make you smile (okay, and maybe tear up just a bit), definitely check out The Bookworm Crush!

*Disclaimer: I received a digital advance copy of this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Excellent book!!
I adore that it started with a Harry Potter reference, and then proceeded to make its way through all current pop culture for the remainder of the novel! The author even snuck in a to all the boys I’ve loved before reference and I died!

Anyways the book was incredibly well written and had an excellent plot, the author certainly has a way with words and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!

I had to quit. This book was just not good. The writing was simplistic and choppy, the characters were dramatically cliche, their main qualities (book-nerdy/bookworm & surfer bro) were reiterated MULTIPLE times (not so subtly) and it was just so ...bad.

I wanted to love this. This is something I would love if someone else had written it, but holy cow the author seemed way out of touch with relevant YA audiences. This was just ...bad.

OMG! This book is written for me, it’s written for all of us, all the bookworms in the world. I loved it so much. And I definitely ship “Tamed.” 😉 It’s a very well-written story that captures the heart and soul of being a book lover/fanatic. It talks about all of my favorite books. I’m a romance lover and there was no way I wasn’t going to like this book. I can honestly say that this book is one of the best YA romance novels I have ever read. It’s going to my favorites shelf.
Amy is a typical bookworm. She loves to read. She is obsessed with her favorite characters and writers. She is an introvert who hates to leave her comfort zone. Now, she is about to do something that will test her in a way she has never been tested before. She will have to do things she couldn’t even dream of doing but it is all for the best. Because if she won this competition then she’ll get to meet her all-time favorite writer. And for a bookworm, nothing can be better than that.
Toff is a typical jock. He is good at the sport of his choice aka surfing. He is good looking too. And girls gravitate towards him without him making any effort. You can say that he is a player but he doesn’t cheat or mislead anyone. So, he does have a few lines he won’t cross.
Amy and Toff have known each other for a long time. Toff is best friends with Viv who is Amy’s best friend too. She is also a book lover like Amy. And two friends even have a vlog together. They both live, breathe and eat books.
Amy has always had a crush on Toff and now, thanks to this new project she has taken on, she is spending a lot of time with him. Soon, they’re both going to realize that there is more between them than ‘just’ friendship.
This is a really fun read. The characters are awesome and the story is so cute. I enjoyed every second of it and would recommend it to all the bookworms out there. Trust me, you do not want to miss this one unless, of course, you hate YA romance then, it’s your loss. 😉

The Bookworm Crush is a light-hearted YA novel about a bookworm (Amy McIntyre) and a surf god (Toff Nichols) joining forces to win a social media contest in which the prize is meeting Amy’s favorite romance author.

Amy has been secretly crushing on Toff since kindergarten. He’s everything she’s not - vivacious, competitive, everyone’s friend, flirty. When Amy decides she’s going to pull out all the stops to win the contest, she decides she needs a coach to teach her how to up her game on social media, someone to push her outside her comfort zone, someone to give her some swagger. After Toff rescues her late one night after a yarn-bombing gone awry, Amy decides Toff is the answer.

Amy hasn’t been on Toff’s radar except as a friend to his soon-to-be step sister. But when he rescues her, he is unexpectedly charmed by her freshness and nerdiness. When Amy asks him to coach her, he agrees and throws himself completely into the project, learning about her bookish world and teaching her how to swagger online. Along the way, Amy ends up helping Toff examine his priorities in life and come to a better place with his father’s impending re-marriage.

Amy and Toff are having a wonderful time posting messages for the contest, posing as a couple to attract more buzz. But is it all just an act or are Amy and Toff becoming their own HEA?

Both are sweet characters and a cute example of opposites attracting. Toff hasn’t read a book since his mother passed away nine years earlier, and Amy’s life is full of books from her job at a bookstore, her reading group, and her book review site. He can’t understand how she lives so much of her life between pages and she can’t understand how he thrives on all the attention as the local surf hero. It’s entertaining to watch them try to understand where the other is coming from.

The other characters in the book act in somewhat predictable ways. Amy’s younger brother has a fairly large role and I found him to be annoying - but I guess that’s what most little brothers are.  We see Toff and Amy maturing along the way - Toff recognizing that there could be more to him than just surf god and Amy realizing she has her own store of swagger already. I’m glad there was a growth trajectory for them but it took a long 400 pages to get there.

The Bookworm Crush is full of book references as Amy relates more to fictional characters than real life people sometimes and I enjoyed that. It is also full of social media references and hashtags which may be less appealing to a more mature reader. It’s definitely a YA book written for a YA audience.  Readers who enjoy light YA romance will enjoy The Bookworm Crush, although I found it a little too predictable for a full recommendation.

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This was a fun YA romance between a bookworm and a surfer. The book hooked me from the start with a funny meet cute involving kniffiti (vandalism but with knitting; the knitting version of graffiti) and the police. I stayed up way too late, interested in how our superdorky protagonist, Amy, was going to win a social media publishing house competition with the help of her confident surfer friend, Toff (LOL @ name). Toff becomes Amy’s “swagger” coach, and boosts Amy’s self-confidence, while Amy helps Toff cope with some personal problems.

I got invested in the pretty plot-heavy story, but a few things about it did bother me. Although the author did use some slang properly (such as “shipping”), she wrote some dialogue that felt awkward and dated. The pacing at the end of the book was also a little off, with many plot lines quickly getting tied together in a bow. Still, this was a romance novel and I know that most of them end in a happily-ever-after.

Overall, this was just alright—not groundbreaking, but also not terrible.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. *

After having read The Replacement Crush last month and enjoying the cute rom-com feelings I gave TRC 4 stars and I was excited to have more of a focus on the bookish side of things. That bookish side bumped this book to 5 stars for me. This is a book for bibliophiles about bibliophiles.

Audibly laughing out loud in spots and having that sense of connection to the protagonist Amy, as she attempts to navigate a fake relationship (fake dating trope will always give me life) with her ‘forever’ crush Toff. Amy is an avid romance reader that advocates for romance novels and seeks assistance from Toff, the alpha-male to provide her with the confidence she needs to reach her goals. I loved her character and her development and the pop culture references were amazing. Subtly and explicit. However, if you don’t enjoy pop culture references, just be wary there are a lot in the first section but they do taper off as the plot picks up.

Toff is struggling to come to terms with his dad taking new steps in his relationship as Toff is still grieving the loss of a parents and I felt it was dealt with really positively. Also, yes, Toff is mega-hot surfer dude that is 100% not my type but I fell for that cinnamon roll anyway! Can he get any cuter? Probably not. I’d burst.

One final thing that cemented this book home for me was the use of consent was so prominent and the conservations around it were fantastic! I want to sing the praises of consent and how important it is to have on page for readers. Thank you Lisa for adding such a crucial component to the story!

Adorable. And a bookish girl's dream come true.

I smiled and fangirled all throughout this story because it is sweet and relatable on so many levels. The first chapter is hilarious and throws the main characters into a whirlwind of a totally serendipitous, unexpected and charming relationship. He is a hot surfer with more charisma than a hypnotist and she is a redheaded booknerd in need of swagger. In the most spontaneous yet perfect match, they embark on a mission together to win a book contest on social media in order to meet the girl's unicorn author.

Oh, the swoony plot. Loads of literary references, a pedestal for romance books, a girl who breathes book reviews and recs, the world of hashtags and bookstagram come to life. That's something I am also very much into, so it made me sigh and smile and just gush a bit.

The contest takes Amy and Toff on photography missions and dares, along with flirty dialogues and embarrasing instances for the poor shy girl. I loved everything. The total crush she has on him but tries to hide, and the easy-going and lovable temperament he shows as well as his athletic good looks.
It doesn’t stop there, though. He is going through a tough emotional time, and this girl and her books are going to be there for him. Just as he is for her with confidence boost and megawatt smiles. There are plenty of adorkable moments filled with bookish delights, romance genre talk and surfer boy seduction. Touching moments too, about family and love and anger and friendship.

I'm sad to say that the swoony guy started to behave too much like an alphahole and a whimp towards the end, instead of the other way around as it should. That killed the mood somewhat.

However, it matches with his teen problems and angst, and it shows off Amy 's new vigorous swagger. Good for her! She really spreads her wings and even gets not only what she deserves on her own merits, but the book-worthy boyfriend she wanted, flaws and good deeds and all.

A perfect homage to book-loving fantasies with a healthy dose of empowerment and romance.

As a librarian, any book with a main character who is a bookworm is an obvious "YES PLEASE". It was a cute book, and an easy read. Amy was a really well rounded character that wasn't a total "nerd" trope. Toff was fun, and I loved their interactions.

When shy bookworm Amy whats to step outside of her comfort zone in order to win a contest to meet her favorite author, she enlists the help of confident surfer boy, Toff (who just so happens to be her lifelong crush, it's fine). As Amy gains traction in her online contest, she also has to confront the unavoidable tension between her and her "coach". Life doesn't always hand you your Darcy. But sometimes it does.

What a cute read! I haven't read Roberts other novels, but this story was really easy to read and fun. I really enjoyed the characters and the alternating perspectives of Amy and Toff. I was able to read this one basically in one go, and it hit all of the contemporary romance checklist items that I needed. There's humor, book references galore, great family dynamics, and of course plenty of romantic moments. This plot was done very well. I will be recommending it book lovers, bookstragram addicts, and those looking for a breezy romance with heart.