Series Review: Is this series worth your time? Does it get better as the novels progress? Or does it get worse? Find out below:

Just a Little Crush by Renita Pizzitola | Crush Series

Other books in the series:

Series: Crush
Author: Renita Pizzitola
# of Books: 3 (Just a Little Crush, Just a Little Flirt, Just a Little Kiss)
Book Order: Connected
Complete?: Yes
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Drama, Contemporary, College
Heat Rating: really warm
Point of View: First Person, Single; Alternating (Just a Little Kiss)

Thoughts:

**This post was originally posted as a Fresh Friday review of the first book of the series. It has now been updated to include the newest publications in the series.**

Yet again, I picked up Just a Little Crush after randomly browsing the new additions on my library’s website. But the synopsis really drew me in: it sounded like a great combo of all my favourite New Adult plot devices and I couldn’t wait to get started.

The synopsis though is a little misleading: I was expecting alternating POV between both characters but instead we just get Brinley’s POV. In the end I think it was a good call just to have the one POV to give the book some mystery regarding Ryder and his actions/past.

Perhaps it is just a byproduct of reading so many New Adult books, but I did find certain plot aspects to be overly predictable and frankly I’m quite embarrassed for Brinley that she didn’t figure it out on her own.  However, even knowing what was going to happen I really enjoyed reading the journey it took to get there. It has quite a few plot elements that layer each other so I found that there was always something happening that captured my attention. Add to that that Ryder and Brinley were great characters and despite their almost insta-connection love, I really liked the relationship they had with each other. I also really liked the other characters we meet and I hope that there will be a few more books in the series because I would definitely read them!

I’m super excited for Just a Little Flirt. It sounds like it will be really interesting based on the character we have already been introduced to plus the synopsis doesn’t seem like anything I have read before which is an added bonus!

–April 16, 2015– Book 2: Just a Little Flirt

Just a Little Flirt was a super sweet read and I totally found a new book boyfriend 😉 It was light-hearted, had great sexual tension and chemistry but also had great character development. I never felt like it dwelled on one thing too long so the plot moved at just the right pace. Some of the drama aspects were a little over the top (mild soap opera antics).  Despite the fact that the romance essentially takes place within 6 weeks, it didn’t really feel like a love-at-first sight situation which I appreciated. I don’t mind quick romances (they just aren’t my favourite thing to read) so long as there is an adequate emotional connection between the characters and in this case there definitely was! I loved watching this couple fall in love and do it sensibly–i.e. they actually communicated and talked about their feelings! *gasp*

I’m looking forward to reading Just a Little Kiss. I completely forgot about this character but I’m excited to read his story 🙂

–October 1, 2015– BOOK 3: JUST A LITTLE Kiss

Because I really enjoyed Just a Little Flirt, I was a little worried about reading Just a Little Kiss. I wasn’t a huge Mason fan in the first book and Cade (Just a Little Flirt) is a hard act to follow.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. While it suffers from some of the same over the top drama (I call it “communication assumption” drama) that is almost soap-opera-y, it still has a great coming of age aspect.

I really feel like this is Felicity’s story more so than Mason’s. I found a lot of the focus was on Felicity learning to become confident in herself more so than Mason coming to grips with his past. Which was fine, but it took me a long time to connect with Felicity since I didn’t particularly like her attitude towards dating and the like. I definitely grew to like her though as her character developed.

The romance is a little fast but I think it is also realistic in how they deal with it. I thought they had a great connection and chemistry so it was fun to watch them fall in love.

Series Rating: 4/5

Just a Little Crush 3.5/5 | Just a Little Flirt 4/5 | Just a Little Kiss 3.5/5

If you enjoy New Adult romances about reunited High School Crushes or layered New Adult romances, this is a great choice. Just a Little Crush and it’s sequels are cute, often swoon-worthy and super quick to read! They aren’t heavy on the sex but have enough sexual tension to keep the sizzle alive! They are perfect for fans of New Adult romance, but don’t want a particularly dark or tragedy filled NA novel.

Read if You Like: coming of age new adult stories, sweet romances
Avoid if You: don’t like unnecessary drama

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Synopsis for Just a Little Crush (from Goodreads):
Good girls stay away from Ryder Briggs . . . or, at least, they try to. In Renita Pizzitola’s emotional novel of heartache and seduction, one college freshman just can’t get enough.

Brinley Dawson doesn’t drink, she studies—and despite the accusations of her alcoholic mother, she’s still a virgin. But if Brinley’s life is so put together, why is she freaking out to be going to college with the gorgeous, green-eyed jerk she kissed on a stupid dare in high school? Ryder Briggs can have any girl he wants . . . and the rumors say that he does. So why, after publicly embarrassing Brinley four years ago, is he suddenly acting like he’s interested?

Ryder never forgot Brinley. In fact, those perfect seven minutes permanently raised the bar for what a kiss could be. The truth is, Ryder doesn’t dare get too close to anyone. He knows how that worked out for his parents. But when his roommate takes a shot at Brinley, Ryder can’t contain his jealousy. Now he must do the hardest thing he’s ever done: forget about sex and convince Brinley his feelings are real.

Brinley isn’t sure whether she believes Ryder, but for the first time, her body isn’t playing by the rules. Then she discovers that she’s an unwilling part of a cruel game, humiliating her all over again—and Ryder might be to blame. Has Brinley’s little crush turned into a huge mistake . . . or has she found the one guy worth trusting with her heart?