This was a really fun read from Lorelei Parker - video games, public speaking, romance, and great character development! I loved that the female main character had a profession and interests (video games) that aren't typically associated with women or depicted in their storylines - it was so refreshing and cool to see a strong woman being true to herself and her passion for this field! I also really enjoyed the concept of the competition at the bar to share your most embarrassing stories for a prize. What a unique idea! It was a great way to learn more about the characters' pasts and their personalities, as well as a great atmosphere to develop their relationships.

Video game developer Sierra wants nothing more than to present her company's new game at a major gaming conference in Europe. However, her major fear of public speaking is standing in her way, so her best friend suggests she face it head-on by entering a competition at their local bar to share your most embarrassing stories with an audience. Sierra digs up an old journal from college rife with entries about her crush on classmate Tristan Spencer - perfectly humiliating material for the competition. What she doesn't expect is for the emcee to call Tristan up to the stage right after her first performance. When Sierra and Tristan reconnect, she's caught up in her old crush, but he also reminds her of the horrifying incident that set off her fear of public speaking in the first place. Is he the right person for this new stage of life? And what about Alfie, the sweet bar owner who's been supporting Sierra every step of the competition?

I definitely enjoyed this read and thought Parker did an excellent job building the characters' backstories and relationships so the reader could fully understand their motivations and actions. Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

3 stars
This was something very different for me as I am not a gamer. That was the different part. The romance section was something I am used to. One guy who really didn't appreciate our gal and the other man who saw her as she was and appreciated her.
The focus was on her working on presentations for work and in her trying to speak in front of others. I knew from the start who she should be with and in the end her decision brought the HEA

I loved Crushing It by Lorelei Parker. This is the kind of book I’m still thinking about several days after reading it. Protagonist Sierra Reid moved to Atlanta after graduation with her best friend and roommate, Aida. Together they started a video game company and are about to launch a new game. Sierra would love to present it at a huge conference in Germany, but her fear of public speaking is putting this launch in jeopardy. Aida convinces Sierra to compete in a local bar’s cringe-y competition to get over her fears.

Sierra felt so real. I loved seeing her going after her dreams and going for the guy. I enjoyed the characters, conflict and hijinx in Parker’s debut novel. Descriptions and one liners especially stood out. Looking forward to reading more from this fellow Auburn alumna.

This book was an absolute delight! Sierra is a bad-ass video game designer (and co-founder of a company!) who is a proud nerd, competitive, who also hates speaking in public.. She was also totally relatable!
I loved Sierra's BFF, Aida, and her meddling ways. She convinces her to take part in a competition at a local bar as a way to get over her fear of public speaking and prepare herself to present at an international gaming convention. It just so happens that Aida (and her husband Marco) is sure that the bar's owner, Alfie, would be a good match for Sierra.
And then Tristan Spencer has to show up and turn it all into a love triangle. Although Sierra, Alfie, and Tristan all went to the same college, and even had classes together, they haven't seen each other in 10 years until the first night of the competition at Alfie's bar where Sierra reads a college diary entry admitting to the huge crush she used to have on Tristan. Who just so happens to be the next entrant in the competition. AWKWARD. Tristan then tries to get together with Sierra in hopes she will give him a job at her company, while Alfie uses his readings at the competition to send Sierra signals that he's into her. Sierra keeps getting more side challenges given to her by her investor/ kind of boss to prove she is the best person to present at the international convention. Honestly, I felt like that part was some real bullshit. I hated her boss. SO. MUCH. Although, slightly less than I hated Tristan who was a lying, self-centered, douchecanoe.
Alfie is just so sweet. A total cinnamon roll. I love how he builds Sierra up and supports her and her goals. Also, he sounds sexy as hell. And he has a dog! I also love that he and Sierra were secret late- night video game buddies. That was just adorable.
Overall, I thought this book was fun, I thought there was great development in the relationships between characters, and the amount of nerdiness was perfect. I will definitely be recommending it to friends!

Debut author Lorelei Parker has written a contemporary romance novel about Sierra, a game developer who has some dragons to slay before she can find her HEA. You know, the concept and description of the story was what got me curious about this book in the first place. The cover isn’t really one of the best covers I’ve ever seen, but the synopsis got me thinking that this might be a fun book to read because I’ve never read a romance novel with a developer (female or male) as a protagonist. I decided it would be a great thing to read something I’ve never read about before, even though I’m not really big on video games, I’m not a developer or even a gamer. Well, you might be asking yourself why the hell I even read this book, right? After all, I don’t share with the protagonist any of her interests. Well, I think it should be encouraged that we step outside of the boundaries of what we know and love and just because I’m not a gamer, doesn’t mean I won’t understand what it means to be one, or understand all the enthusiasm that Sierra feels while playing video games.

Anyhow, my curiosity was picked and I was excited to delve into this reading and get to know Sierra while she found her one true love. I guess we can cut the story short and get to the point: I was not disappointed with this reading… but I also wasn’t completely blown away with this love story.

I enjoyed Lorelei’s writing: it was consistent and interesting throughout the whole book and that made my reading experience a pleasant one. The story itself is super real – you really have the feeling that these characters could be anyone you know and cross paths with in your own life. So, the story was realistic enough to keep me invested in the story and I never once thought things like: “oh, this could only happen in fiction…”. Points for relatable characters and interesting writing, then. The story itself was also enjoyable and kept me glued to the page – I was never bored while reading this book or fed up with the story. Quite the contrary: I think the author’s idea was an original one and I think it was one of those ideas that worked on the page.

What I really didn’t enjoy that much was the love story and some other details. First of all, I don’t enjoy (almost always) reading about love triangles. It’s not that I have a serious problem with it, it’s more that I got seriously fed up with love triangles while reading YA novels – this is OLD. And boring. And not for me. That’s one of the reasons why I stopped reading some YA novels, because that became such a common trope that I couldn’t stomach reading about yet another love triangle. Ugh. I prefer that my adult romance novels focus on two people finding love (all the while overcoming different obstacles) rather than having one person that doesn’t really know what to do with more than one love interest. In my mind, love triangles have become a staple for childish behavior, typical of people who still don’t know themselves well enough to trust their own decisions in life (I realize this might be an unfair correlation but that’s what reading too many YA novels focused on love triangles did to me!).

Finally, the romance was cute and sweet but, for me, it lacked intensity, it lacked passion and those were the main flaws in the book, in my opinion. If only the romance were more intense, more passionate, more…something, I think I would’ve enjoyed this book more. Even so, it was an enjoyable and entertaining reading and, if the author ever publishes another book, I would like to read it!

Many thanks to netgalley and Kensington for providing this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like this was one of my winners for summer reads. From the cover to the story itself, I absolutely loved it. It helped me get out of my reading slump, and was just a refreshing read overall.

DNF @ 65%

I really wanted to enjoy this book. This started well and my expectations were high after reading the blurb, and for a solid minute I was entertained, but then it all went downhill.

I just want to say that my favorite aspect of this book, from what I could read obviously, was the writing. It was captivating, but even that didn't give me enough strength to continue because the characters were too annoying for my liking. At first, Sierra and her problems were quite relatable, but later her immaturity and naivete were too much, and her love interest was just not, seriously why would someone settle for a guy like him??? everything about him was full of red flags.

I really want to thank the opportunity, but this wasn't for me and I don't like to force myself to finish books that I'm not feeling. Anyway I'm not closed to the possibility of reading another work by this author.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Seirra is a self-professed gaming geek, but as you read you find out she is much more than that. She is funny, smart, talented and driven. She also has a crippling fear of public speaking, intimacy and trust issues. She is still dealing with events from her past – where she was left humiliated by the very boy that she was enamoured with.

She must overcome her fear of public embarrassment if she is to fulfil her personal and professional dream of attending Gamecon in Germany to launch the very game she has created. With her best friends urging she enters a diary contest where she will reveal her younger selves most cringe worthy entries. She is surprised by the re-surfacing of two men from her past. One the object of her past affection and the other someone she doesn't quite remember but sparks something in her heart.

I really enjoyed this story. It was fast paced and didn’t leave any lags in the flow of events. There are a few twists and turns but nothing that feels out of place. You feel for the characters and are routing for them to come out on top. I might have developed a small crush on Alfie along the way.

This is definitely a fiction novel intended for an adult reader. It has multiple sexual situations, coarse language and alcohol consumption.

In this first person single POV narrative, Sierra Reid, a twenty-something white Atlanta-based video game programmer/designer/company owner, wants to be the one to present her new game at an upcoming trade conference. But after once being "the victim of a sabotage" in college, she's been left with "crippling fear of public speaking," and the venture capitalist who has invested in her firm is reluctant to trust the important launch to her. To help her try to battle her anxiety, Sierra's friend and company co-owner Aida suggests she go the "trial by fire" route to help her overcome her fear: participate in a local taphouse's "first annual Chagrin Challenge"—"bring your embarrassing anecdotes, diary entries, poetry, or other past shames for a chance to win prizes." After some resistance, Sierra finally succumbs to Aida's urging, choosing to tell the story of her unrequited college crush on gorgeous Tristan—only to discover that Tristan is the next contestant in the Challenge...

A high-concept start, to be sure. Parker's narrative voice is funny and engaging, and her depiction of both the self-involved Tristan and a third member of the college class, the taphouse owner, Alfie, are sympathetic and wel-rounded. The one downside—Sierra's wishy-washy personality. Early on, she confesses that "confrontation made my heart race in a bad way. Forced to take a side, I'd usually find some mealy-mouthed middle ground and then hide until the arguments blew over." It seemed highly unlikely that a woman with such a personality could be effective as the head of a company in the highly misogynistic tech field, and we rarely see Sierra interacting on the job in a boss-like way with any of her colleagues. And while I initially sympathized with Sierra's continuing fascination with Tristan, by mid-book her naiveté about what makes for a good romantic partner became tiresome. She's supposed to be in her late twenties, not a teenager! To her credit, Parker doesn't make any of Sierra's potential love interests one-dimensionally good or evil. Yet it will be clear to the reader way, way earlier than it is to Sierra just who is the better guy for her.

Lorelei Parker crushed it!

This book was so interesting, I couldn't put it down. I just had to know how it ended. The characters were well thought out and you could just see them come to life. The romance of it was pure and the story was amazing.

It was a beautiful read and I definitely look forward to reading another of Parker's books in future.

Crushing It is a contemporary romance centering around our main character, Sierra, and her quest to gain public speaking confidence to present a demo of a new game for her game development company at a popular gaming convention. To boost her confidence, Sierra's friend Aida enters her into a elimination style competition at a local bar that involves rehashing humiliating events in ones life for a grand prize of $1,000. Sierra gets wayyyy more than she bargains for by agreeing to go along with this scheme when it turns out that the object of her college obsession is participating in the contest as well. Oh, and a guy she sort of remembers from college owns the bar.

Great pros of this book: all of the gaming references, both old school and more recent games; Sierra's wonderful fashion sense; the lovely tone and writing of Lorelei Parker; adult Alfie is a gem

Sad cons: the whole implausibility of the premise kind of throws cold water on things - so, all 3 of these adults, a decade out of college, who were all in the same Comm class together, happen to move to the same town (Auburn grads transplanted to Atlanta - or is this a common thing that I'm oblivious to?), live in enough close proximity to each other to frequent the same bar in Atlanta, and are still holding on to a random journal assignment from said class that they all took one decade ago? Also, Sierra has a lot of very specific memories of this time period in her life but can never seem to remember the bar owner, Alfie, from her past. There are a few references to feeling deja vu, which I didn't understand unless Sierra hit her head from her multiple falls (seriously, I've never met someone in real life who falls down as much as Sierra) and had some amnesia issues going on. This weird disconnect gave me the feeling that some piece was missing from their relationship and lessened the overall romance for me. Also, I really wanted to like Aida, Sierra's pregnant BFF, roommate, and business partner, but I felt like most of their interactions portrayed Aida as super mean and judgemental.

Welp, even though it seems like I had a lot to get off my chest about my issues with this book, it's actually a pretty sweet and very well-written contemporary romance with a strong protagonist.

This was a cute rom com book! Sierra the main character "crushes it" in so many ways by the end of the story and learns a lot about life and love and forgiveness and overcoming your fears. Really enjoyed this one!

Crushing It has more than one meaning in this fun rom com. On one hand, 'crushing it' can mean doing something extremely well and feeling great about it. Crushing can also happen when someone has an infatuation or lust for someone. Crushing it could also mean obliterating someone or something. The main character does all of these things: she tackles her deep fear of public speaking, falls in love with a heartthrob, and annihilates her nemesis. No spoilers here though, because there are plenty of surprises. The main character (Sierra) would probably agree with Garth Brooks' song: 'thank God for unanswered prayers.' Sierra is a gaming whiz and co-founded her own gaming company - super cool! However, you don't have to know gaming to get the references. I did look up a few that seemed interesting (e.g., Leeroy Jenkins, Second Life, Easter egg, etc.). Understanding communication within a virtual world was insightful and made me think about how our conversational skills are impacted, as Sierra says, 'maybe life would be easier if it came with prewritten dialogue.' Is it easier to exist as an avatar, a pseudonym, or a creation of our own imagination? Parker does a nice job of showing the benefit of taking risks, being courageous, and having confidence, along with the power of friendship and mentors. Kudos to Parker's clever dialogue throughout, including: 'Do you know what you call a group of gamers? A gaggle of geeks. A herd of nerds.' Note: some open door scenes. Thanks to #NetGalley & #Kensington for an advanced copy.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cute novel about finding your voice, conquering a fear, and realizing what is truly important in life. Entertaining and funny.

Crushing it is a cute book! Lorelei Parker's voice is very easy to read. Great beach read for the summer if you're looking for something light!

**I've received this digital ARC from Kensington Books in exchange of an honest review**

I have to say that this book has been a real revelation.
I was captured by a plot a little bit different from all the other rom-coms I've already read this year and I'm satisfied beyond my expectations!
Crushing It is a funny romance that has the ability to handle some important themes without being boring or too tough.
What would anybody do to overcome a fear that is interfering with their own job and relationships?
The answer seems simple, isn't it? They have to face it.
Well, nothing is always as simple as it comes to fears. This book expresses very well that a good intention doesn't work alone if we can't see the real point of the problem and work on it.
Sierra is an extremely talented woman but can't speak in public without having physical reactions that are the expression of an interior anxiety that arises from an imbarassing accident in college years. She can live with it, but now she has the opportunity to go to a Game Com in Germany to present the new video game she developed with her company! But how can she convince their investor she's the right person if she can't speak in public?
So, her co-founder and best friend Aida propose her to join a sort of competiton which is taking place in a bar in the neighborhood where people will read or tell their best "worst debacles" of their lives. The winner would also gain 2 twosand dollars!
Sierra is reclutant but accepts to try and this is the turning point of all the story.
Her worst moment is linked to a boy she had a tremendous crush with and.. that same boy has unexpectedly joined the competition too! For Sierra it's time to face all her fears and maybe understand that talking in public is not the main and big issue she has to face.

I'm not a strong believer that telling the plot in a review is very useful but in this case the "incipit" will help to understand better my point of view.
I think this book oozes with love for video-games and I've LOVED it. I've read the author is a player (and a computer programmer) too and it can be well perceived during the reading. Nerd culture is not overwhelming but it's present and I've loved it. We have small references and Sierra herself embodies her love for games and coding in her way of thinking, and it has been amazing! A challange is a sort of game to win, new difficulities new levels to pass and trying to relax herself often comes with playing some videogames (or yoga).
It's funny, it's new since I usually see man playing video-games and it's so realistic I could imagine Sierra and her world from page 1 until the end, with her colorfull hair, nerd t-shirts and her 2 a.m. insomnia. And this can be applied to all the other characters as well. Everyone is well delineated with that 3-4 details that make the reader undestard almost immediately who they are and how they act: Aida is loving but strong person that won't ever tell Sierra what to do, but will always says what comes to her mind; Marco is a relatable, easygoing silent type but can be very frank too; Alfie is outspoken too but sweeter (and I could perfectly perceive the calm, reassuring feeling about his presence from the beginning, I'm madly in love with him), and so on.
That's what I like in a book: characters that seems to be alive and we could meet in everyday life! Pros and cons are displayed easily, showing even good people could make mistakes, but unlike some others they can undestand their wrong acts and be sorry for real.
This novel reminds us that our history doesn't define us if we can learn from our errors, and that makes a BIG difference.
Sierra herself learns that her attitude towards the other sex has been signed by thinking she can't have "high" standards because she isn't worth enough (and that's not true) and also not to trust people for real because she will be always hurt. That is true. People can hurt us and we can hurt people, but that's a risk we should take to fully live. The point is to give our trust to someone that really cares about us and make us feeling loved, listened and supported, and in exchange, to make things really work, we should do the same. We are our strenght, but with the right person we can discover a better version about ourselves. It's challenging and scary, but we can't be satisfied with a "safe relationship" that doesn't give us that spark.
I've seen the seed of all of this in the story and I've loved it SO much. I wish the epilogue would take us a few years ahead to see how things have "blossomed" (and I would have loved to meet Will! - who have read the book will know who I'm talking about!).

We have of course some abitual patterns and I've undestood some plot-twists before they were presented, but this hasn't been excessively obvious and didn't ruin the story. That's because the interesting thing is how Sierra reacts! She isn't predictable and she's not a girl too blind to see and read someone's true intentions, and that's one of the points I've appreciated the most. She's also totally serene about sex and expressing her desires and I've liked it (even if sometimes I was laughing surprisely like a certain person in the book..) since usually it's reversed. Not to mention the fact that she's a self-made woman and seeing how she defends her works and what cares her has been amazing and a good lesson to all of us.

So, I've been totally satisfied. It has been fun, full of hilarious moments but also thought-provoking, and the "slow burn" romance has been so magnetic I couldn't put the book down.
Can we have immediately another Lorelei Parker's book?

Thank you again #KensingtonBooks for the chance! It has been a real pleasure!<3

'As he skipped down the steps and disappeared into the darkness, I held my hand over my cheek, making sure nothing else had been stolen. Other than that kiss. And my rapidly beating heart assured me it was still there.'

This book was like a rollercoaster ride for me. I didn't anticipate in the beginning that I would like it. But oh boy, was I wrong.

Blurb - Sierra wants to go to the Gamescon in Germany badly. But there's a hitch. She needs to convince her colleagues that she'll be able to handle the presentation of their new game. It shouldn't be difficult apart from the fact that she has severe anxiety when it comes to public speaking. So she signs herself up for the Chagrin Competition at a bar and prepares herself to get humiliated for the competition. There she meets two people - one she failed to recognize previously and one who failed to recognize her. The catch is - was Sierra focusing on a meaningless target the whole time, misreading every player's action?

***
Characters:
First comes Aida because she was one hell of a character. And the best one if you ask me 😍
Then comes Alfie. Well, he sure is amazing, kind and supportive and I loved his character development.
Now comes Sierra. I liked her character a lot and her character development was also pretty amazing too but there were a few actions of her that were rather foolish and made me want to kick her.

*Spoiler Ahead*
Tristan is a dick. Oh, was I too straight forward? Because even if I was, I seriously don't care. If it's upto me... I won't mind killing him and feed him to pigs. Maybe I am being too harsh but he was one big douche bag.

So all in all, I wasn't that aggressive while reading this book but it sure made me feel a lot of things and I'm glad. The journal entries were nice to read and the setting was a good one too!

Note - I was provided with an arc of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Crushing It was a really good read. I wasn't sure about Sierra at first, but I Warmed up to her quickly. I fell in love with Alfie. Tristan was an asshole. Aida and Marco were adorable. I liked the concept of the character building contest. There was certainly growth in both Sierra amd Alfie, but stagnation with Tristan. The plot may have revolved around gaming, but it's a bookworm's delight.

I really loved how sassy Sierra's besties were in egging her on towards getting over her fear of public speaking. More so, I'm glad Sierra took the terrifying opportunity to get eventually become more confident by reading her (awkward) diary entries, because she was determined to let her talent at creating games be recognised and awarded. A really sweet rom-com which swayed to the beat of showing how sometimes the best things (or people) were by our sides the whole time... I'd say the only things that dampened my enjoyment was how bumpy the story and pacing could be - which fostered into clunkiness. Apart from that though. this was sugary cotton candy streaked with self-betterment.

Oh no! Sierra is talked into reading her old diary at an event in a bar- she's trying to get over her fear of public speaking-and regrettably, she reads a part about Tristan, her college crush. And he's in the bar. Sierra is a gamer who is smart, really smart, but shy. Tristan is, let's be honest, sort of a creep to her. Alfie, the bar owner, however, is not. He was also a college classmate and Sierra has, to be honest, pretty much taken him for granted. This is a love triangle where you know who you want Sierra to pick but Parker has thrown in a few curves. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Nice characters and storytelling make this a good read.