The parents of both the MCs in this book are absolutely bonkers. This is the first book from this series of stand alone books, so if you’ve read the first two this probably won’t come as a surprise. But BOTH FAMILIES are living on another planet. Every time one of James parents called him (or anyone else for that matter) “babe” I cringed on the inside.

My favourite part of the story was the relationship between James and Estelle. I enjoyed their banter and fighting and how James only ever flirted while Estelle tried to fight. The unicorn slippers, the creative crafts and the friendship group.

I didn’t understand the whole Elyse subplot or the whole China thing…

Thanks to #NetGallery and publisher for a copy of this book.

CN for parents asking their children when they are going to be having babies. Like, all the time. Constantly. If you’re getting that in real life, you don’t wanna read it too.

Genre: Romance
Format: Digital
POV: Dual
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
Age suggestion: 18+

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

After the company she is working with is taken over by her brother's biggest rival, Lady Estelle Foxbrooke knows that it's going to take everything for the festival to succeed. Estelle has enough on her plate to contend with, especially with her parents wild messes, so getting feelings for the worst person imaginable is almost too much to bear. But James Hunter-Savage is used to getting his own way, and he will do whatever it takes to succeed, even if that means pretending to be in love.

When I saw the cover for this book on NetGalley, I was immediately drawn in. I didn't know it was a part of a larger series, but other than a few remarks to the side character's romances, it was definitely readable as a standalone book. Estelle and James' relationship was not easy by any means, but they had chemistry which needed to be let out. I loved how they were open with each other when alone, and spoke about their true feelings and past. I wish they had broken down their personas quicker, and not let small niggles turn into full blown problems. Even so, the way they came together in the end, and were ready to be all in, was great, and I hope that their love for each other always stays true.

This book was very cute and I ate it up! It had such a good combo of tropes and when I thought the story was finally settling down, another one would emerge from nowhere to spice it back up! I really enjoyed that Estelle had her life fairly together and was able to take the lead on a big project. It was just nice to see the FMC get to be a bit of a girlboss. James Hunter-Savage can get it. Good gracious he was fabulous and he just kept doing things to make me love him. This is book 3 in a character series but I had no problem picking it up and knowing what was happening. Very light, fun read that was a pleasant surprise.

Although this was marketed as being able to be read as a standalone, I don't think that really holds true. I felt like I was missing quite a lot about the buildup to Evie and James's story by not reading the rest of the series first. I also might not have picked this up if I realized it was almost 600 pages long - there is a lot of unessential fluff going on here.

This book was captivating and funny from the beginning! I loved the settimg of the English countryside and the quantity of british humor used by the Author! And can we talk about the characters? They were perfect! I’m totally in love with them ( and I’ve a big crush for James) also I loved the slow burn and the banter!

So I totally recommend this ! 4 stare!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'The Upper Crush' by Evie Alexander.

This book is the third book in the Foxbrooke series but as someone who has never read the first two, it is perfectly fine to just dive right in with this one. The way Evie Alexander wrote this story was so interesting to me. I loved the characters on their own and how they flowed and interacted with other characters. I also enjoyed the romance however I did not expect sex scenes in that capacity - but its okay, it was written well. I would definitely read the first two in this series in the future.

This was the first book I read by this author, and I enjoyed it very much!

I did initially find it a little difficult to get into, as although it's advertised as a standalone, I definitely felt like I was missing a lot of background information.

By about 20% in, I was invested in the characters so much that it didn't matter that I was coming into the series part way through.

I loved the banter between Estelle and James, and that it remained consistently witty and funny.

I wasn't the biggest fan of James constantly having to explain and defend himself, because of Estelle misunderstanding or assuming things about him. Then again, his actions were a little questionable at times, so it did all make sense.

Everything was just so delightfully British, I loved all the side characters and small town setting - perfection.

Overall, everything was well balanced and included the best parts of a romcom - an engaging plot, a little drama and tension, amazing spice, banter, and a satisfying epilogue.

I definitely need to read the rest of the series, and this author's other work in general, as I loved her writing style!

* I received a copy of this book via NetGalley *

The Upper Crush was a fun spicy romance with an enemies to lovers trope. While this is book three in the Foxbrooke series, I hadn't read any of the others and had no troubles. I really enjoyed Estelle's sparky character and James Hunter-Savage was the perfect love interest to get under her skin! I adored the setting and the concept of them planning and throwing a festival. It really added to the romance Arc and provided lots of entertainment along the way! This book was an easy read and one I hated having to put down. I've knocked off a star as I sometimes found the miscommunication between them to be a little too frustrating.

It's a really fun romance that I would recommend to anyone and I'm looking forward to exploring more of Evie Alexander's books in the future.


Thank you Netgalley for a free copy of The Upper Crush in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 🌶️ 1/5
Tropes:
💌Enemies to lovers
💌Slow burn
💌Forced Proximity

I really enjoyed Estelle and James’ dynamic and their battle of wits. Truly a slow burn but once it starts developing it is pure fire 🔥. Estelle is a strong and independent women who is used to putting everyone else’s needs before her own. James always puts himself first and is trying to prove himself after losing his big boy finance job.

I’m a big slow burn fan and the wait was worth it, Estelle and James may burn brighter than a star ( if you know you know).

The Upper Crush is the third book in the Foxbrooke series but was able to be read as a stand alone, I devoured this book and will be adding the next one in my tbr.

This enemies to lovers in the English countryside is the mix of a fun and hilarious dish, which leads to a forced closeness and a false relationship. This dynamic has been fun and has brought us a romance that is easy to read.

So here we have something that develops with every interaction that we are shown as this romance where they are looking for a common goal while having to surf through family problems and relationships that gives drama to the whole thing.

It's not really my style of romance, maybe I'm not completely in the mood for the genre yet, but I still enjoyed this story.

Do I recommend it? Yes, if you're a fan of romance and an English setting, give it a go without fear.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to this ARC, the opinions expressed here are entirely my own and can be found on Goodreads as of 03/07/2024.


#TheUpperCrush #NetGalley.

this was fun! I didn't think it would be my favorite with the whole horse thing but it was fun! i liked the characters and energies a lot and the writing was good

I couldn't put down this book, it's utterly hilarious and so much fun.
Evie Alexander was a new author for me upon reading The Upper Crush, I was convinced to read it purely on the beautiful cover but I definitely stayed for the amount of fun I had reading it. I was giggling like a schoolgirl reading TUC, Estelle and James were so easy to love - albeit James took me around 70% of the book before I loved him. (He has great character development!)

It has all the romance tropes I adore; enemies to lovers, he falls first, forced proximity and fake dating! There is fun family dynamics, angst and a whole ton of spice which was very welcome.

I really enjoyed Evie's writing, the words just flow so easily and I think it is safe to say, I have found a new romance author to adore. I'm currently reading Love ad Lib, as soon as I finished The Upper Crush I knew I wanted more!

I believe not every book is made for everyone, and this happened to me with The Upper Crush. I read about 38%, but I just couldn’t bring myself to finish it.

When I first saw this book on NetGalley, I really liked the synopsis, it was appealing to me and I got very excited to give it a chance, but the writing style was just not for me, and I had a hard time connecting with the main characters and the story.

However, the banter between them was really fun though, and I really liked the idea of the plot and the British setting. I simply didn’t connect enough with the book to continue reading, but I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity of this ARC provided by Victory Editing and NetGalley. I’m open to know more about the author’s work and hopefully I’ll get the chance to read more of her in the future!

I love this story and the cover is super cute and fits right in!
The banter between Estelle and James was amazing and I enjoyed their story, that made me laugh and cry.
I loved the tropes presented in this book, if you like enemies to lovers, small town romance with some spice, this one is for you!

I have just discovered Evie Alexander’s Foxbrooke series, and each book is just funnier than the previous one. All the characters, both main and secondary, are hilarious and the stories completely crazy but in the best way possible, making me laugh so many times.

In this one (which can be read as a standalone but then you would be missing out on the previous stories so why would you), Estelle agrees to take on a job that will help bring money in and save the family estate that her… euh… wild and free parents have left in dire financial state. Unfortunately, she didn’t realise the job came with James, her twin brother’s enemy and an arrogant asshole. Luckily, Estelle is not the kind of woman that he can mess with, and she’s going to make his life as miserable as he makes hers. Working together to set up a festival, with all odds stack against them, they start to realise there is more to each other than they thought at first.

But importantly, apart from the funny banter between Estelle and James, it was also a story about personal growth - letting go of old grievances, reimagining yourself, finding how and where you fit in.

This book was a perfect representation of enemies to livers and I ate it up! I haven’t read anything else from this series and I wish I had so I could understand the background and characters better, but it was still very enjoyable. The romance was perfection!

OMG I am obsessed!! For starters, I was already a big fan of Evie's books, so went into this book excited. But it exceeded my expectations! Enemies to lovers perfection. Seeing two strong, clever characters with so much chemistry hide what they feel for each other, grow together and become vulnerable - this was so fun.

Really enjoyed this book!

How fun is this book! It is the enemies to lovers trope played out in the British countryside. Estelle and James are forced to work together to create a music festival in order (unbeknownst to the other) save each of their families’ estates. The banter is top notch British humor (no u I am too American). Estelle was a bit off the handle in the beginning, at least for a stand alone, I suspect if I had read the earlier books in the series, I could have been just as rash about James. But the awesome this is she gradually let’s go of the hate and opens her heart. The reader gets to go through that journey with them. The side characters are a hoot. And reading it just made me smile. (I received an ARC.) Can’t wait for the next one!

Loved this newest book in Evie Alexander’s Foxbrooke series! This is the story we’ve been waiting for since book 1, and yet still managed to be surprising and unexpected. Estelle and James are incredibly fun to read.
Can’t wait to read more from this universe!

The Upper Crush is the first book of the series I read. I think you can read it as a standalone, however, I felt there were parts of the story that may have been explained in the first book about James and it would’ve helped me empathize with the feelings of hatred from Estelle.

Estelle is a lively girl, loyal to her love ones, and honest to a fault mixed with a strong personality. She also can be a little childish when dealing with problems. She is the twin of Henry from the first book, “Love ad Lib”.

On the other side is James, her twin’s all time bully who by circumstances of life ended up as her next door neighbor. Forced to work together in order to save their parents’ states and finances, they have to learn to put the differences, insecurities and feelings apart to succeed in their endeavors.

Expect great chemistry between the main characters. Lots of steamy scenes and opportunities to grow and change to become a better human being.

I just reviewed The Upper Crush by Evie Alexander. #TheUpperCrush #NetGalley