A group of caricatures compete in a ridiculous wilderness competition television show for the prize of 1 million dollars.

There is nothing overly artful about this book but it was entertaining.

The characters in this story are hard to root for. Easton, the ‘hero’, is fairly judgmental and sexist. Amity, the ‘heroine’, is wildly insecure. Their relationship is practically instant — they are enemies for the total of what is maybe two days? Even then they are more immature differences than actual loathing or enemies. The ending is rushed and leaves the reader wanting more of the life outside of the television show than another running challenge.

Overall the dynamics in this book are as ridiculous and unrealistic as the television shows it is modeled after. It's a quick breezy read for when you want to laugh at some absurdity, which I imagine was the intent.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to the publishers & NetGalley for the ARC!

I was really excited to read this one - not only for the beautiful cover, but because the premise of a reality-adventure show. I love a good enemies to lovers trope & I loved the adventure aspects of the story too.

This is definitely a fun book to read for summer (or anytime of the year really)!

Reality TV, drama at ever turn, romance, comedy, enemies to lovers, PNW based, and a happy ending.

I appreciated the depth of characters and found them relatable. Although Amity and Easton’s relationship was rocky to start, and continued to see bumps in the road to happiness, I found myself rooting for them. I did feel like their passion and love was a bit forced, it kind of just happens after they started out so snippy with each other.

There are a few spicy scenes in the book that made some of the chosen descriptive words elsewhere in the book seem a bit childish (i.e. bottom instead of ass). I felt as though there was a bit too much ‘fluff’ in the story just to take up space which made this book probably 150 pages longer than it needed to be.

All that to say, I did enjoy that it was fast paced, resulted in a happy ending, and would most likely continue the series to see what happens.

**Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest review**

I enjoyed everything about this book, especially the concept, which I hadn't seen in any other book. I can't wait for the next series, and I want Easton Cooper in my life!!

This book was read thanks to NetGalley

They are part of a reality show, and at first they couldn't be more different, so they sort of become instant enemies, however I think that the author went a little too far with the enemies and make him kind of antagonize the lead character, due her being really girly, taking that, well the book is really enjoyable, and the idea of the reality show was amazing,

I was really interested in reading this based on the title, cover & summary. I love the enemies to lovers trope and the idea of a reality TV competition where two characters fall in love had me very excited. I feel like this book fell short with character development, I didn’t find myself interested in any characters and was not rooting for Amity and Easton to end up together as much as I typically am with other romance novels, I think that could be chalked up to the lack of character development and personality. I think what worked well with this novel was the adventure, atmosphere and the original concept of them being on a reality tv show.

Crush in the Cascades is a chick lit novel that is written in an ultra-light, heavy-character talking way. Amity is introduced as a "rich girl" and Cooper is an outdoorsy woodsman, and they are an unlikely pairing in a new gameshow that is an outdoor challenge with a romance aspect.

In general, the concept of a gameshow was unique to this story. However, I found that there were big underlying themes of misogyny and I was not a fan at how Amity was portrayed, especially as she was "falling in love" with Cooper. The men in the story were all jerks. And there were even some sections where the men became a bit physically aggressive with Amity without any of the gameshow staff stepping in to stop it. The story was very superficial, lacked character development and plot development.

I would probably not recommend this book to others.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance review copy of this book.

This is a contemporary take on enemies to lovers and I think it’s brilliant!! Being contestants on a reality show is such a unique idea that I’d yet to read before this book! I found that the plot moved at a fast pace and really enjoyed the love story between Easton and Amity. Can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Okay, I want to start this off by saying I got this book for free in exchange for my honest review and that will not reflect in this review at all.

I'll break it down into characters, plot, and overall because I have some things to say.

Character wise, they were so one dimensional. There was next to no personality to any of them and the only personality that showed was either assumed or just really toxic. The way Easton and Amity interacted was so off and on that it was annoying. On top of that it wasn't enemies to lovers really more like a childish teenager got into a relationship and it wasn't full grown adults. Then with a big selection of characters and all of them having zero personality it made it that much harder to get to know them or even like them. If I had to choose a favorite character it would probably be Bria because she was one of them who had some sort of personality, but even then that's giving major upgrades.

The relationship between Easton and Amity honestly felt really toxic. It moved incredibly fast and the way it went from "I hate you" to "I really really like you" to "I'm in love with you" in a span of three weeks max wasn't believable at all. They knew practically nothing about each other and barely knew each other before starting to date and even when finished at the end it was like they were still barely communicating about each other to the other person.

The plot was something I was excited for but it fell so flat. The way it was all written just couldn't be believable and then how it was written just rubbed me the wrong way. There were numerous times throughout the book that I had to stop and really think about what was said. One big thing I had an issue with was the fact that Amity called Easton bipolar just because of how fast his mood fluctuated which is really not a good term to use to describe someone. There's already a bad stigma around people who actually are bipolar and then using it outside of the context really made me dislike this book even more. Then the way it was written was if a cisgender white male wrote it and didn't know how to write anything. I know that sounds harsh but the girls were written in such an objectifying way that a male would've written it, but then the males were also written in such an objectifying way too.

Also, what the hell was with all of the men having fragile masculinities. It was as if they were in middle school fighting to impress the new girl. When most of them were in their 30s it seemed and probably should not be acting that immature.

Overall, was not an enjoyable read and I definitely would NOT recommend it to anyone because of all of this. This was not the vibes and I am kind of upset I wasted time reading this and finishing it just to be this disappointed.

Firstly I’d like to thank the publishers and Netgalley for the e-arc 🥰🥰

I enjoyed Crush in the Cascades, it’s my favourite trope!! Enemies to lovers will always draw me in.

Amity is such a brilliant MC, I absolutely adore her spirit 🥰❤️ She’s so likeable and even if I did find the plot a little predictable she totally makes this book worth a read!! She drew me in with her warmth, charm and loving character and I really enjoyed her banter with Easton ❤️❤️ I also enjoyed the forced proximity thanks to the brilliant idea of the being set over the television show.

There were elements of the of the book that I really enjoyed but there were also elements of the book that I found a little tedious. The sections where it described the challenges, for me, were a bit too long and I was more interested in the romance between Amity and Easton so I wish that there was more romance scenes and less actual description of the challenges (but thats just me). ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I absolutely adored this novel! Crush in the Cascades by Lisa Gayle is easily one of the most fun books I have read in quite some time. The story follows Easton Cooper and Amity Rose as they compete on the reality tv adventure competition, Race to Riches or Romance. We get to see their relationship evolve from enemies, to reluctant friends, to lovers.

The story is highly entertaining from the challenges, to pairings with other competitors, to the banter between Easton and Amity. Both characters are relatable and fun to read as they navigate their evolving relationship and the competition. I love that we also get to see the story from each of their perspectives as it gives us so much more insight into each characters feelings and motivations. The story is also emotional at times because of the stakes of the game and how certain decisions affect the relationship between the two main characters.

I have zero complaints about this book and cannot wait for the next book in the series. Gayle will definitely be an auto-buy author or me after this excellent read. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially readers of romance.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this romance story with all of the characters. The two main characters were Amity Rose and Easton Cooper.

Amity, Easton and others are in the mountains of Oregon to participate in a reality show that is being filmed. They all want a chance to win one million dollars. They all find out that they will be partner as one woman and one man. After they been partnered Easton not sure that the woman that been partnered will be able to win the first challenge.

This was a fun story to read. It has action, adventure,  and drama throughout. It has quite a bit of funny parts that had me giggling and laughing to.

I received a complimentary copy via Booksprout and also Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinions.

Crush in the cascades is a book about Amity and Cooper who are participants in a reality show: rags to riches competition but with romance.

I found most of these characters to be in likable. I was not invested in the characters nor the show. I was rooting for Amity not because I connected with her but because all the other characters were over the top horrible people.

I struggled to make it through this book. I just did not find the plot nor characters interesting.

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with this version of Crush in the Cascades.

Crush in the Cascades takes enemies to lovers to a whole different level with an original and refreshing plot when Amity and Cooper take part in an adventure game show, providing them with the ideal setting to find a partner. Their chemistry is definitely something, and while I really didn't like Cooper all that much in the beginning, once his reasons became clear, I rooted for him to succeed.

Amity is by far my favourite character with her wit and general badass-ness. I rotted for her from the get-go, and felt for her all the way through. She's kind, compassionate and selfless to the bone.

I can't wait for the second novel, telling Hannah's story.

3.5 stars/5 (rounded to 4). This book had some of my favorite tropes, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, & grumpy/sunshine, but missed the mark on the actual romance for me.

I loved the premise, I've only read one other book with a reality TV plot so I thought this was really creative. It didn't feel like a book I've read a billon times before. Somehow, I couldn't connect with the characters and honestly, I wasn't rooting for them to end up together. The connection felt forced and pages-long inner monologue felt fake to me.

I did really enjoy this book, I loved the plot and the tropes included. I wanted to love it, especially since it was an ARC and I feel grateful to have been given a copy, but the romance felt so forced and I didn't find myself loving the characters.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this was promising, I love a good book about reality TV. Sadly, the premise was not enough to keep this book interesting for me.

Gayle switches between two MCs Amity and Easton, with the latter being extremely unlikable. The whole "mysterious rude" guy is fine as long as he isn't a total ahole (which Easton was!). His attitude made me soooo uninterested in continuing with the story.

My other gripe with this book is that it's written in once voice. Half the time I couldn't tell if I was reading Easton or Amity's POV. I'm sure this is a lot of people's cup of tea, but it wasn't mine.

Crush in the Cascades is a fun and quick read. Amity and Easton are contestants on an outdoor challenge reality show and their banter is great. I really enjoyed the backdrop of the Pacific Northwest and enemies to lovers theme. While the enemies to lovers seemed a bit rushed I did enjoy the various challenges they had to face and overcome working together and on opposing teams. If you want a quick beach read with a happy ending, this definely fits the bill.

This combines two of my favorite things- reality competition shows, and rom-coms.
I love the whole premise and would definitely watch the series. I DO wish that the "riches OR romance" played a bigger part in the competition itself, but I am a sucker for a happy ending and feel that everyone that deserved one, got it.
Except- can we get an update on Justin? Can he come back later in the series? Would have loved to get to know his story more.

As soon as I read the synopsis of this book I was really excited to read it - I absolutely loved the concept of being based around a survivors style reality show especially one set in the Oregon wilderness, I thought the author did a great job of setting the scene and I really enjoyed reading the challenges the contestants faced.

I did struggle a little bit with the characters and didn't really connect with them. I found it a bit odd how fast Easton & Amity went from enemies to friends, and then how quickly that then developed in a relationship -especially when their seemed to be so much unnecessary miscommunication between them which I thought threw off their dialogue quite a bit.

Crush in the Cascades is a fun rom-com set in a ridiculous Reality TV show….The Race for Riches or Romance. Contestants compete in teams of two and the winning team members will each win a million dollars. Easton Cooper is desperate to win so he can pay for lifesaving heart surgery his lifelong friend. Amity Rose wanted an adventure to fulfill the dreams she had with her Dad before he died. Can they work together to win, fall in love or both? Many other contestants also want to win, so the challenges are many.