I was intrigued by the premise and summary of this book and felt it promised a lot. Unfortunately the execution was not for me. Thank you to the publisher for the free ebook to review.

Well, this book made me really thankful to be single, so there’s that at least. Also, I read a review before I started the book that talked about the overuse of quotes by other people, and it was all I could see when I started reading.

I liked the writing, but thought this novel would have been better as an essay/nonfiction/memoir. It had some informative musings about love, romance and crushing, but I felt that I was reading a philosophy nonfiction after a while, and it would have benefited from some editing of that filler and more focus on the narrative. I’d give this an author another try in the future but this was interesting, but not a great story.

I hate to write bad reviews but Crush is getting one. The entire thing was about characters who thought they wanted polyamory but really just want license to do what they want. No one is happy. No one is likable-not because I have any issue with people choosing to have any kind of relationship they want but because they aren't doing this openly. Not really.

The book had no narrative. It read like a list of boring flirting and sexual encounters. This is a book that could do with a reminder to show not tell. There was no plot. Just miserable people pretending they are happy.

I tried. I truly sincerely tried because I don't like giving bad reviews. This came across as so pretentious and there is very little actual creative writing going on here. It is more a series of long, interconnected quotes that go on and on. If this author got a dollar for every reference to a book or poem, I think she could retire. I jest...sort of. I just found this hard to slog through.

Ada Calhoun writes so beautifully. I enjoyed her previous book and was excited to read Crush. Unfortunately, I did not connect to these characters or this story. I went in thinking this was going to be a story about a crush, and it was to an extent, but it felt more like witnessing a train wreck of a marriage struggle and then collapse. It felt less like a novel and more like an essay... I was hoping for juicy, but instead felt sad and disappointed by the story and the people in it.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Viking Penguin for this ARC.

Crush by Ada Calhoun was a captivating and unique read.
An amazing exploration of marriage, yearning, and identity. About a married couple that opens up their marriage.
A witty novel that pulled me in immediately and kept me glued to my kindle.
This was an interesting and engrossing story.

This book was a solid 3-3.5 for me. It was expertly written and clearly Calhoun is very well read. The book is overflowing with literary quotes and references and commentary on relationships, polyamory, the effect of childhood on your adult relationships, and finding happiness. As many other reviewers have noted, I kept having to look at the cover to remind myself that this wasn’t a memoir - Calhoun did an excellent job really getting us into the main character’s perspective and mind to the point where you really believed everything was real. And I adored her best friend Veronica - what an insightful and thoughtful friend she is. That was so entertaining to read. I got lost at some parts in the middle where things just dragged, and felt like the impact of the ending on her son was not fully addressed/explored. And also, as I do judge books by their cover, this cover is so mismatched from what the book is about

Crush can't decide if it's a novel or a collection of quotes and citations. This is supposed to be the story of a married couple deciding to have an open marriage and explore polyamory, but it never really reads that way to me. It felt like an excuse for cheating instead. There is no build up to get to know the characters and I found I did not care what happened to them.

I think overall I am glad I read Crush. I found it to be an interesting take on a romance (yes it has a HEA), but I found that the numerous references to be a bit burdensome, and the portrayal of the main characters exploring an open marriage to be kind of problematic? This is addressed in the book, but it comes of as anti- polygamy and an excuse for the characters to cheat on each other. I think there are a few people that would like this, but a lot of the book gave me the sense of ‘let me show you how much I know.’
Thank you to Viking and NetGalley for the advance copy!

DNF'd at 31%. It reads more like a memoir than fiction. It felt too self-indulgent and navel-gazing for me.

It would be easy to be judge-y about the protagonist of this novel about a woman who finds herself overwhelmed by a crush on a man who is not her husband but give it a chance. She's lived a virtuous life (sort of) but then her husband tells her he enjoys watching her flirt and that perhaps she should go a little further. Next thing she knows, she's in an emotional relationship with David, a relationship that doesn't involve touch or even being together. But then....and she's got to cope with the aftermath. This is long on quotes about crushes and love from other authors, which enhance the strong sense of abandon. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Calhoun has hit on something many (both men and women) experience.

For so long there were hardly any novels with female midlife protagonists. Now, the ones that are suddenly surfacing seem to all revolve around sex. Even if a woman writes them, they are so depressing.

Fun and witty, but I admit I did not resonate with any of the characters and found myself unable to finish. That's just me -- I did not find anything particularly bad about the writing or plot.

Crush follows the story of a middle aged woman whose life takes unexpected turns. Happily enough married and with a teenage son readying for college she takes her husband up on the offer of an open marriage. Things become messy quickly, but this story is less about a marriage in crisis and more about a woman's self discovery and learning to choose herself and accept pleasure. Told in the first person this is a novel that reads like a memoir and undoubtedly falls into the autofiction genre. The narrator is a writer and the story is dappled with literary quotes, references, and ruminations, which I actually appreciated. I know this book will not be for many readers, but I think I'm the exact target audience. It's not a perfect pairing, but I'd shelve Crush alongside Miranda July's All Fours as these works explore similar themes.

“Why am I telling you this?” he often asked after a story about his day. “Because I want to tell you everything.”
- “Crush’, by Ada Calhoun

As a life long romance reader, I am fascinated when authors experiment with the form.
And that is the most interesting reading of what this book is: a romance novel. It features a married female protagonist, who, in the process of opening her marriage, exposes cracks in her relationship with her husband. I think it pushes the boundaries of how a romance novel can be written in a way that the genre really needs. It pulls from literary fiction, memoir, ‘cultural history’, and more to create a book that, I think, is fairly unique.

Personally, I think the romance genre could use some innovation and I think books like this are a step in the right direction.

I have a few criticisms with the writing. I found some of the refences to be gratuitous. I’m specifically talking about every time the author described something as ‘like this movie’, ‘like this song’, etc. (The narrator and her new love fall for each other via their love of literature and books. Those are not the references I’m referring to.) I read an ARC of this book. Perhaps some of these were cut in the final edits.

That is mostly a nit-pick though. My main critique, and where I feel the book fails to live up to its premise, is in its depiction of our narrator’s husband and her new lover. Both characterizations read very flat to me. The husband was reduced to only the base characteristics that made him a difficult partner and the new lover (apart from the last few chapters) was exalted as her perfect ideal. This book is fiction, however, it was heavily inspired by the author’s real life and our narrator is unnamed and speaks in the first person. I don’t know where real life ends and fiction begins, but it seems strange that both these characters read so flatly when at least on is based on a real person. Perhaps, there were emotional places she didn’t want to go in the writing with these characters…

(Plus, I have a specific aversion to any usage of the term ‘asexual’ in a negative context. This comes up later when our narrator starts to see experience some of her new lovers less than ideal qualities.)

Overall, it was a worthwhile read to me and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in exploring the edges of romance.

[This review is based an advanced reader copy, provided by NetGalley. Thank you, NetGalley!]

In Crush, Ada Calhoun delves into the complexities of modern marriage with a sharp and introspective narrative. The story follows a woman who appears to have it all—a fulfilling life filled with a loving spouse, a child, a career, and supportive friendships. However, when her husband challenges her to examine what might be missing from their relationship, the conversation ignites a whirlwind of emotions that leads to unexpected revelations about desire, intimacy, and self-discovery.

As the couple navigates the turmoil that ensues, they confront the chaotic interplay of passion and heartbreak, ultimately rekindling the love that drew them together in the first place. Calhoun's personal experiences inform the narrative, providing an authentic lens through which to explore the liberating yet dangerous pursuit of desire in a world that often feels constrained by societal labels.

Crush offers a compelling examination of partnership in the context of contemporary relationships, particularly in the wake of the pandemic. With wit and poignant insight, Calhoun crafts a story that resonates with anyone questioning the intricacies of love, ambition, and identity. This revelatory novel invites readers to embrace the full spectrum of human connection, making it a thought-provoking read that will linger long after the final page.

Crush is a novel that reads like a memoir. Our protagonist (and I'm just realizing I don't think we learn her name.) is somewhat happily married with a teenage son and a successful writing career. Her husband brings up the concept of polyamory, and she starts exploring. I could not stand her husband from the start. and it was hard to see why she loved him. But fun to read other parts of the book. I can't totally relate, but still interesting to read!

I’ll start by saying this novel isn’t for everyone. It takes on the line between polyamory vs. cheating. The writing feels very honest and hilarious at times, but it fell just a tad bit short for me in the end. One thing that stuck out to me is that “crush” can certainly have a double meaning, and this book does a good job of illustrating that.

Delighted to include this title in the February edition of Novel Encounters, my column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national lifestyle and culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)