Reviewed by Dee
TITLE: The Crush
AUTHOR: Susan X. Meagher
PUBLISHER: Brisk Press
LENGTH: 334 Pages
RELEASE DATE: May 24, 2013
BLURB:
Aldo Bagnolesi finally has what he’s long wanted. Control of the family winery in Tuscany. The only little detail is that someone has to manage the place for a few years. He’s far too involved in his company to leave on such short notice, but his daughter…
Despite her worries, Nicola agrees to step up to the plate, even though her interest in Italy and wine is sorely lacking. Her father will relieve her in two years. How bad could two years in one the prettiest places on earth be?
The transition is tough and she’s achingly lonely. Nic knows nothing about running a winery and can’t talk to the workers or the wine maker. She’s desperate for connection; for any semblance of her former busy social life. The closest gay bar is in Florence. She heads out—determined to at least talk to someone she has one thing in common with. To her delight, she finds not just a willing lesbian, but a sexy one—who seems equally interested in her.
It’s crazy to put so much importance on a chance meeting. But sometimes, you have to throw your doubts to the winds and see what the universe has in store for you
REVIEW:
Being a lover of wine and vineyards, the cover and blurb to this story drew me in, not to mention all the outstanding reviews. The beautiful writing, the vivid descriptions and information on Italy and its history are most definitely worthy of high ratings.
I felt for Nicola and her situation, and rooted for her making the best of less than favorable circumstances. The romance between Nicola and her love interest (what’s her name?) is a slow burn, which I can’t say I cared about one way or the other.
I really dislike saying negative things about well-written books. There is nothing terrible about this story. As aforementioned the writing is impeccable, the issue I had, and it’s my issue, is I was so very, very bored. Twice, I set the story aside and read something else before I could carry on. Something I don’t recall doing in a long time.
There’re some bits and pieces on the operation of the vineyard, but for the most part things are taken care of by staff. A few of them caused problems, which upped the pace for a short time. Other than that, Nicola spent a great deal of her time lazing around in the swimming pool.
I read on in the hopes that the ending would be satisfying. For me, the best part about the end was the horse crapping in the church and people swooning because of it. The tradition/belief made me chuckle, especially when they started tossing coins in the pooh. Before that I didn’t feel much of anything. And I need the ‘feels’ to become invested in a story.
If you enjoy stories rich in detail and languid in pace, you’re bound to get a lot more out of ‘The Crush’ than I did.
RATING: 
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