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siriuslyreads · 2 years

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Crave by Tracy Wolff: A Review

Title: Crave

Series: Crave, Book 1

Author: Tracy Wolff

Genre: YA Supernatural/Paranormal Romance

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Release Date: April 7, 2020

Format: Audiobook

Synopsis:

My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.

Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.

Which could spell death for us all.

Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait.

Review (with potential spoilers):

Think Twilight, meets Harry Potter, but not in a good way? I struggled with this one. The dialogue is very very juvenile, and the plot is pretty predictable. I stuck it out, and am currently waiting to read the second book, but I could have skipped this and still been happy with my life.

Let’s look at the characters first:

First, we have Grace, newly an orphan, she moves to the middle-of-nowhere Alaska ot live with her uncle and cousin at a boarding school

The cousin: Macy. Honestly, I love Macy. The first time we meet her she is open and warm and loving to her cousin who is grieving and very much does NOT want to be in Alaska.

Then, Jaxon, one guess as to who the love interest is. Did you guess Jaxon? You would be correct. This is mr sexy AF himself (gods it killed me to write that). Jaxon is like every other annoying, over possessive, way too hot for a teenager, #bookboyfriend. He’s nothing special tbh.

Flint, oh Flint. I love you, Flint. You deserved more than the way you were written. Flint is written to be Macy’s endgame, that much is obvious from early on. He is also meant to cause a strife between Grace and Jaxon. That’s all he is given in the book and honestly, he deserves more.

Lia…Lia from the first moment we meet her gave bad vibes.

These character exist at Katmere, a secluded school in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness. The worldbuilding for this was a major plus for me. I do wish we saw more of it, instead of seeing all the Jaxon pining, but I digress. I loved the idea of a secluded school; it’s always been a favorite of mine. I mean I loved Hogwarts as a child and the Scholomance is one of my favorites now. I loved the Alaskan setting. It was interesting to get even a little bit of it. There were brief mentions from Grace of the indigenous peoples of Alaska and their languages and cultures, but none of it was explored. I hope in the latter books there is some explorations of this.

Another portion of the world building is the supernaturals. Grace is pretty stupid, and she knows something is up, but refuses to ask about it and refuses to investigate it. She is blind to the vampires, shifters, dragons, and witches around her. But, when she does find out, she just accepts it. I highly doubt that would have been anyone’s reaction, but alrighty then. The school, Katmere, is actually a school for supernaturals. This means that there are constant conflicts between the various factions and those factions don’t really mix. Again, there was not a whole lot of exploration as to these different beings and how they interact, what powers they have, etc. How can there be a 600 page book lacking in these world building things? Don’t ask me, ask the author.

The story was not bad. But it wasn’t great. The romance was pretty basic and YA, she falls in love with him after merely days and of course he loves her back (after warning her off multiple times a la Edward Cullen). The villain is pretty obvious to see, there is a red herring to try to draw attention away. But is it really a red herring if that person is ALSO trying to kill Grace?

Ok, I confess, I don’t have much to say about the story itself. If you took the ‘romance’ and pining out of this book, it would be about 150 pages, and honestly it might be better for it. I am very conflicted on this book. I have read spoilers for the latter books and that is the ONLY reason I stuck with it and did not DNF this, so I guess you could say I am biased.

Don’t read this, or do. It’s not terrible, it’s not great. I really hope the second book is better.

#crave series #tracy wolff #jaxon vega #yabooks #grace #flint #macy #lia #ya romance

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alesreadings · 3 years

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Crave by Tracy Wolff.

2.5 stars.

“There’s not much to be afraid of when you’ve already lost everything that matters.”

I'm warning you: if you haven't read the book and don't want any spoilers, don't read further, because my review is filled with spoilers and sarcasm. I am conflicted with this book. I hated it, it was cringey and the romance was ugh (but I shelved as romance, AND as "this shit has no romance"), the characters were stupid as fuck and the plot was not interesting but predictable, and the villain, oMG, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT??? However, it was fast paced. It took me a while because I was on a reading slump and having constant breakdowns, lol. Anyhow, it amazed me how quick I read this book and how fast many chapters went... Which is good, because my reading slump was stick to me, and I guess I gotta say thanks to this book ¿? Ok, let's start the review! Grace lost her parents due a mysterious accident (as your typical avergage normal YA girl) and she has no more family, except her uncle, who lives in Alaska and runs an Academy. So, Grace moves on to Alaska to live with him and her cousin, Macy. Everything is normal, until Grace realizes that something is not right. Surprise! Vampires, dragons, witches and shapeshifters are real! And she might be one of them! Plot: It was predictable as fuck. I could guess many things that were going to happen and I wasn't surprised. Also, there were many plotholes, that left me with many many many questions that were not answered in the entire book. Lia killing Grace's parents has no sense. I mean, beside of being senseless, it's stupid and has no point. No one could saw that coming (let me explain you why before you think "uhm, yeah, well, that's the point of a plot twist") because there was no hint that Lia had something to do with it. Lia is barely in the book, and appears only when it is convenient for Grace, not to give us hints that hello! she is the "villain". Lia being the villain is a crime. I'd rather be a good villain for this book. I mean, I get it, you want your "mate" *insert gags* back and you're suffering, but, sweetie, why you didn't kill Grace inmediately? It was ridiculous and lame. Why Grace was left alive? What specie does she belong? Is Hudson alive? Why is she a gargoyle now? Why we had Jaxon's pov? (I dind't read them all tho, lmao) What was the real purpose of Lia for wanting Grace, a simple human, to her sacrifice? Will Grace have some braincells in the second book? We'll never know. Also, I think everything goes really quick in the span of 2/3 weeks. And I mean it: everything. Characters: Oh, this one is gonna be amazing. Get ready. Grace: I always liked to think: "what would happen if I find out that vampires are real? how would I react?" and the answer it's totally the opposite to what Grace did. Grace isn't smart, let's face it. Any of the mc with vampires involved is it. They're more interested on the hot dark haired guy who's telling them to stay the fuck away from them because, they're dangerous. *stares at Edward Cullen* But, the girl is drooling for the vampire since the moment they make eye contact and then it's insta love. uGH. I mean, Jaxon is telling you to stay away from him, to scare you and in the first moment you're touching him because why not? he's hot and totally not like the other guys you've met before, and oh, also the scar that makes him look like a true fucking bad boy. Yeah, no thanks. For some reason, she's the one who summons problems and Jaxon is "saving" her. She's convinced to it and despite of what he's done, she thinks he's the good guy, the victim, the hero and the most powerful dude in the world. Ugh, ugh, ugh, cringe. What amazes me of Grace is the fact that she wasn't scared to see what Jaxon can do... Sweetie, are you ok? Anyone in their five senses would have left the dude when he warned the first time. Anyone. And you can think "if a guy like him told me to stay away from him, I wouldn't do it, because he's hot", yeah, but hE'S CREEPY AND A STALKER AND A MURDER, WHAT THE HELL!?!?!?! I can't blame Grace for all the shit going in her life tho. I feel pity for her tbh. The fact that she said "Jaxon was never

meant to be the hero of my story... because I was always meant to be the hero of his." killed me, but not in the good way. For some reason that is beyond of my comprehension, it's like Grace believes that she can fix Jaxon, that she can make him see that he's a "good guy" and that he doesn't have to carry the weight of the world. (what the actual hell??) Jaxon: The great, handsome, vicim, hero, powerful, hot and mysterious Jaxon Vega. He's a fucking dick. He's a stalker (in his chapters he clearly says it) and a prick. Oh my gods, I truly hate him. The only good with him is his taste in music (because it's written by a women), but the rest? ugh, he reminded me of the average vampires who think they're the heroes of the story and the world depends of them (Edward, Hawke, Rhys but he's a fae ik, and who knows who else, ewwww). He's disgusting in so many levels that I can't explain. I still wanna know something: what had to do Jaxon in Lia's plan to kill Grace? I know that boy ain't something good. My ace ass was cringing everytime he appeared in front of Grace and I was relieved when he was gone. I don't have much to say about him, beside that I don't like him and hIS ONLY EXISTENCE IS A FUCKING RED FLAG. My boy Flint deserved better tbh. I was most interested on him beING A FUCKING DRAGON, THAT'S AWESOME, that in Jaxon being a typical vampire. And I will never get tired of say that Flint is way fucking better than Jaxon. He's my boy, ok? ok. Macy was irrelevant, even tho I loved her a lot, even more than Grace. She deserved better and if she is not endgame with Flint, I'll riot. Romance. Nope. No. NO. nO. The fuck no. How you can fall in love with a guy you barely met 2/3 weeks ago? And even more, say that you love him. On the first day in Alaska, Jaxon warned Grace to stay away from him, and she touches him like they're something ??????? And on the third day, she's drooling at the sight of the guy because he "saved" her. Everything was so rushed and it was like it existed a "love triangle" bUT FLINT DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE LIKE JACOB IN TWILIGHT, LOL. We all know from the beginning that Jaxon (Edward) is gonna be the champ, the winner and the endgame. You can predict that from the beginning of the book. Also, MATES???? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??!?!?!??!?! This trope is so used and boring that makes me sick. I mean, please, give me something built from zero. Not the "they're meant to be and that's it. suck it" nOPE. Give me plot twists. Hype. Like with From Blood and Ash this book is so overhyped. I mean, I read it because I like vampires and the academy trope. But literally, many people told me "this book is everything" "you're gonna love it" "Jaxon is so wonderfu, sexy and you'll love it"... Yeah, well, you can see now how it went. This book isn't thaaaaaaat bad, but isn't good either. It's fast paced, yes, but not something that I would recommend. You know? I think age is hitting me like a bitch and saying that many of the YA vampire books are not my thing anymore, and I really love vampires, lol. ANYHOW. This is my opinion, I'm not saying that this is purely trash or something like that, and you know why? Because I'm gonna read the second book of this one to see if my boy Hudson still alive, yep.

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bookloveravenue · 4 years

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Crave series (book 2): Crush by Tracy Wolff

Everything feels off—especially me. I’ve returned to Katmere Academy, but I’m haunted by fragments of days I have no recollection of living and struggling to understand who, or what, I really am.

Just when I start to feel safe again, Hudson is back with a vengeance. He insists there are secrets I don’t know about, threatening to drive a wedge between Jaxon and me forever. But far worse enemies are at our doorstep.

The Circle is caught in a power play and the Vampire Court is trying to drag me out of my world and into theirs. The only thing Hudson and Jaxon agree on is that leaving Katmere would mean my certain death.

And not only am I fighting for my life, but now everyone else’s is at stake—unless we can defeat an unspeakable evil. All I know is that saving the people I love is going to require sacrifice.

Maybe more than I’m able to give.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52778479-crush

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September 24, 2020

My Review: 5/5 Stars

WARNING SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW!

Wow. So much to unpack after reading that book. So much happened. And so many questions are still running through my head. Gonna try and do this review with the least amount of spoilers possible, but I will still mark the review with spoilers because even though key things are revealed early, I don't want to not warn anyone. Gonna be tricky cause dang this was a lot. So Grace returns to Katmere and when I say returns, I mean she finds a way to turn back into her human form after being a gargoyle. But there are some unexpected things for Grace. The first being that she has been gone for months and she has no memory of her time being gone. She still thinks it was two days since the incident with Lia. So the girl has lost some time. And the other thing everyone is wondering, what happened to Hudson? And (sorry spoiler!) turns out Hudson is now stuck in her head. Yep, he is just chilling there talking to Grace. And she is the only one who could hear and see him. So the story really centers around finding a way to get Hudson out of her head. And together with Jaxon and her friends, they have a plan that involves finding some magical objects. The objects aren't easy to obtain and that is just one layer of the story. Another big thing that goes on is Grace trying to figure out her gargoyle side. That was definitely neat to see the the author play with gargoyle mythology. But one of the most intriguing threads to this story is Hudson. In the last book we knew him as the villain. But as one of my favorite quotes goes, there are three sides to every story. Two sides and the truth that lies somewhere in the middle. And as Grace and Hudson interact with one another, you can't help but wonder what his side is.

So, I will admit I had a lot of ups and downs with this book. Getting a little annoyed at some things but was still intrigued. Ugh, there are just a couple of things I wasn't a fan of but by the end and maybe the next book can change my mind about these things. This I definitely won't spoil. I had some theories as I was reading the story and some proved right. But I was still left with a ton of questions. And of course, there is yet another bit of a cliffhanger. Overall, I really did like the book. I mean I finished the 700 page monster in barely two days. I appreciate it being super long and that there are going to be two more books. I really need to know how certain things will play out. I'm definitely looking forward to the next one!

#book #books #i love books #my review #book review #crave #crush #tracy wolff

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vrenaewrites · 4 years

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CRAVE by Tracy Wolff thoughts: Chapter 0 - 21

Full video here.

In which a mortal girls goes to her uncle’s boarding school after the death of her parents, and finds it full of creatures.

CH 0 for some reason: if you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space

“Try my hardest not to freak the eff out” - if you’re gonna use expletives, use them

Immediate info dump of “if you’d told me two months ago i was gonna be in fairbanks alaska to get a puddle jumper to denali, the highest mountain point in north america”

CH 1: landing is just throwing yourself to the ground and hoping you don’t miss

I thought these quotes were weird self help quotes but then i realized they were probably the chapter titles

The fog is referred to as “civil twilight” - this weirded me out because civil blood and twilight, idk if this is a real thing? Will look it up if i remember: it is the brightest of the 3 twilight phases and it is ABUNDANTLY clear that she added the civil part to not make it straight up twilight because this book is unwitting twilight satire

He tells her it’s a short runway “because it’s hard to keep a long one clear of snow or ice for any amount of time” HE’S IN THE MIDDLE OF LANDING A PLANE ATM BRO WE DON’T NEED ALL OF THAT INFO ATM

Grace is kind of funny if not a little cheesy

“Textbook landing” - maybe if that textbook is a horror novel he’s reading upside down and backwards - i don’t know if by listening to this i’m missing the line breaks and short sentences that would make this funny, so if i am lemme know but if she didn’t break this up it’s clunky

Her uncle is headmaster of the boarding school she’s being sent to

“Despite being a year younger than my own 17 years” - did you not read this out loud? Did no one hear how redundant that was?

“According to wikipedia, heeley - hailey? - has only one major road” she’s mentioned google and wikipedia at this point and idk if i’m the only one who finds that type of thing annoying af

“In weather that’s 20 degrees below freezing, if the app on my phone can be believed” THIS IS SO ANNOYING

“The insulated helmet will keep you warm as well as protect your head if we crash” yes macy we know what helmets are and also insulation, again the redundancy

CH 2: Just because you live in a tower doesn’t make you a prince

“Is that kadmere academy?” i shout - not, is that it? They’re on a snowmobile, with helmets on, and macy understood her...and she understood macy saying they’d be there in five minutes

She couldn’t google the academy

“I half expected quasimodo to be waiting for us when we got there”

It may be a castle but at least there’s no moat or dragon

Macy has short rainbow-colored hair

She’s wikipedia’d and googled her life away but didn’t expect to not be able to breathe since she’s coming from sea level and is now up in the mountains - i’m from florida and even i know what altitude sickness is

She sees a flash of red in the window “i don’t know who it is or why they even matter” ...what does that mean?

But she doesn’t see them when she looks back and she’s disappointed, which she acknowledges makes no sense…

“I should be bowing and scraping right about now”

It’s a castle with an xbox and giant flat screen, and they have wifi AND cell service up in the desolate mountains. I went to cossayuna - 476 feet above sea level, 7 miles from a town - and NONE of us had cell service the entire time

She picks up a chess piece and it’s a carved vampire, then a dragon

Then she comes face to face with the most intimidating guy i’ve ever seen, not just because he’s hot, there’s something different and powerful though i don’t have a clue what it is”

Face too intense to be beautiful, skyscraper cheekbones????, red lips, stone-cutting jaw, bottomless obsidian eyes, obscene lashes

Trapped by his stare, hypnotized by the sheer magnetism rolling off him in waves

“Annoyance flashes through me”

He’s blocking her view of anything else - did he step between her and the chess board?? Confusion, but because of this she has to look at his long lean body

“Double-wide shoulders” gross

“Nothing to do but admit that this boy is sexy AF - a little wicked, a lot wild, and all dangerous”

“Seriously, when exactly did i become the heroine of some YA romance? The new girl swooning over the hottest, most unattainable boy in school?”

CH 3: vampire queens aren’t the only ones with a nasty bite

He quotes hamlet to her, and she corrects him for fucks sake

“I warned your uncle you wouldn’t be safe here, but he obviously doesn’t like you much”

“Welcome to alaska?” “more like welcome to hell, now get the fuck out”

“Ignoring the pterodactyls flying around in my stomach” - this is a great line if it didn’t take you completely out of the action, which it does

This whole exchange about big bad monsters is soooooo fucking cliche

And he’s talking about the chess pieces the whole time????? Am confusion.

She’s so horny for this insane man screaming at her and cornering her

She says she’s lost everything that matters and he changes, his agony visible behind “layers and layers of defenses he’s erected”

It’s calling to her own agony

They're soooo connected and staring at each other

He pulls on one of her curls and it makes her super horny

“Five minutes ago he was being a total douche to me”

Pushing him is like pushing a wall of granite

He’s got a scar down half his face that she didn’t notice until now????

“A fallen angel with a bad boy vibe for miles”

She’s touching his scar…

“I don’t understand you”

AND SHE QUOTES HIM QUOTING HAMLET IN RESPONSE

CH 4: shining armor is so last century

“Mr. tall dark and surly” would be more snarky and cute if she didn’t just have an ~earth-shattering moment of connection~ with him over their agony or w/e

Some weird instinct i don’t understand tells me not to mention that guy - the amount of times this girl has acknowledged something she doesn’t understand is so redundant and weird.

She keeps referring to the guy she spent half the last chapter basically falling in insta-love with as “tall dark and surly” as if that didn’t happen, as if he was just a dick and then he left without all the insta-love shit

Uncle finn and flint is a student...couldn’t pick any other name?

“A smile in his eyes that’s as different from the other guy’s iciness as the stars just outside the windows are from the endless midnight blue of the sky” and i’ve fallen asleep while she was spinning this long unending heavy-handed metaphor

His eyes blaze with sympathy

He offers to give her a piggyback up the stairs…

“You’re so little i won’t even notice” not lyk other girls guyz

Four guys open the door and they’re all sexy AF, tall dark and surly is among them ofc

“I couldn’t help but wonder why the icy guy made me hot and the one lending me his warmth left me cold” WE GET IT WE FUCKING GET IT WE DIDN’T NEED YOU TO SPELL OUT THE ALLUSION

“I want a name to go with his insane body and even more insane face”

CH 5: things hot pink and harry styles have in common

Macy is a cinnamon roll i love her

His name is JAXON VEGA...JAXON. G2G

Macy was so nice to her that she finally starts crying because macy is the BEST

Grace puts on a harry styles t-shirt and macy is dancing around to watermelon sugar when she comes back. This book already feels dated and it came out last month

CH 6: no i don’t really want to build a snowman

She wakes up in the middle of the night thinking about jaxon and almost has a panic attack

I hope in the actual book there is a tw for panic attacks because when i see / read about the symptoms of one or a description of one it triggers one for me

She goes exploring the castle in the dark to avoid the attack

Some guys come in wearing like concert tees and ripped jeans and she wonders if they’re ghosts, like how hogwarts has ghosts

I could swear he was sniffing me which was totally bizarre and not ghostlike behavior at all - this was cringe except i was listening to it at like 2x speed so when you hear it fast it’s actually funny

The guys corner her

They say something like “show us what you can do” and they seem to smell something about her…? They’re werewolves maybe??

CH 7: Something really freaking wicked this way comes

Hate these titles sfm

“With my thin california blood, i won’t last in the snow”

Jaxon saved her ofc and makes the guys apologize

“The moon is doing its thing” they’re totally werewolves

She thanks him and he’s like “i just made you a pawn in a game” and she’s like dude what but he’s staring at her and it’s making her hot and bothered

He wipes blood of her bottom lip and sucks it off and she finds it SUPER sexy

“This isn’t like your old high school”

He whispers in her ear “you have no idea what i know” and i’m like..okay dis kinda hot or whatever

She wonders when she’ll see him again and why it matters so much to her - bitch because he makes you horny!!!! Just say that!!!!!!

CH 8: Live and let die

It’s at this point that i stopped for the first round, and i had to ask: why the FUCK didn’t macy or the headmaster tell grace that this was a school for - obviously - vampires and werewolves? Is macy one? Is it genetic? Grace is a mortal according to the back of the book.

Grace tells macy what happened minus jax

She mentions to macy the boys didn’t have cold weather gear on and macy’s like hmmm weird idk anything about that

And they’re going to a party tonight and grace is like i don’t wear makeup i only own makeup and lip gloss and i’m like...did i accidentally re-download AFTER because here we go with the NLOG syndrome

The party is a welcome party for grace - and it’s actually a high tea??? Tf?

“I’d die without netflix”

“Have you seen this show legacies? It’s about a bunch of supernatural creatures that go to a boarding school! Isn’t that silly??!”

And then macy says, “who can resist a hot vampire?”

Guys….are we SURE this isn’t satire?

“I can’t help remembering what those guys said about the moon doing its thing when i see the werewolf on the show…”

CH 9: Even hell has its factions

Omg her dress is showing off too much of her big boobs, maybe the jeans she originally wanted to wear will be better

Macy calls her beautiful and then we get a full “with my curly hair and freckles and this color eyes i’m so not beautiful, i’m wallpaper next to macy”

“We could be fashionably absent” lol

The beads on the door don’t shock grace but they shock everyone because she is NOT LIKE OTHER GIIIIIIIIRLS

This castle is goth chic baybeeeeee the light fixtures are downturned thorny black roses where can i cop these

“The pterodactyls in my stomach are now butterflies”

She says FML. did a 50 year old woman write this. Edit: i looked, i cannot find how old this author is

Velvet wallpaper, wall sconces shaped like dragons, LET ME IN

“Self-imposed isolation” lol little did she know what a phrase in the lexicon this would become in 2020

Cliques include muscular people near the windows, soft flowery delicate people in the back of the room which are macy’s friends, super-tall literally hot people in the middle, and the black-or-white money people that seem to be more formal

She says “basketball anyone??” re the tall people lol

I am going to guess: werewolves, witches, dragons??, and vampires

Macy keeps having coughing fits?

Hot redhead - simone, hot dark girl - lily, hot asian girl - gwen

“Simone’s just bitter all the guys are looking at you”

Grace loves dr. pepper so i fuck with her

Macy’s boyfriend is cam and his friend is james, who looks at her like she is food?

“I’m just not that interesting”

CH 10: turns out, the devil wears gucci

Would i have probably picked this title as well? Yes. did it make me cringe nonetheless? Fer shure.

“Do i need some jerk trying to make me his afternoon snack?” huh???? As far as you know these are normal boys...make it make sense

Jaxon makes his ENTRAAAANCE BABY

Dressed all in gucci black - she can tell from across the goddamn room

“Jaxon is anything but regular, anything but ordinary, even here among the blatantly extraordinary”

Icy blank stare soooooo much

She calls his voice low wicked and wild

She can’t stop thinking about “running my tongue over the perfect bow of his upper lip, dragging is lower lip between my teeth”

Idk where these thoughts are coming from!!!! Baby you 17 c’mon now

I try to think of anything else, snow!

She takes a drink and it goes down the wrong pipe lmaoooo

“At least if i find a bathroom i can die in peace” lol

But he touches her and she stops choking and she’s like “he couldn’t have stopped that, i know, but…”

He stares at her as he bites the strawberry and she takes it as a threat

CH 11: in the library, no one can hear you scream

“His moods change more quickly than my bffs instafeed” I -

Oh so NOW she’ll say “the fuck you in his eyes” but she was saying freaking and eff before...did her publisher tell her only x amount of fucks per book?

She goes into the library and her body is like RUN, but she ignores it…

There are beautiful gargoyles and ornate shelves and...stickers fucking everywhere?

The gargoyle is pointing to an secret room that says students needs permission, but she hears chanting and decides to check it out since it might be one of the native languages spoken in alaskaaaaaaaaaa

“Especially because some of them only have less than 4,000 speakers left in the world” okay gracie-pedia tf?

CH 12: it’s all fun and games until someone loses their life

She meets a girl named Leah - who was the one chanting

Okay but i do fuck with the horror movie quote pillows…

Damn leah’s boyfriend died…

“Tea from homemade leaves” again...read this out loud before you put it in a published novel...do you mean loose leaves? Do you mean homegrown leaves?

Is she gonna poison her????

“What do you guys have to lie about that’s so important?” “Everything”

CH 13: just bite me

“Lol jk”

“Finish your drink” BITCH IT’S POISON

Macy and leah are being soooo weird about what could have happened to grace on her own

Apparently leah is super popular and secretive so it’s weird she took to grace so fast - is this a NLOG sitch or a “come into my web little fly” sitch?

She pukes because of “altitude sickness” aka poisoning i bet

CH 14: knock knock knocking on death’s door

This theme of bastardization of guns and roses songs is really....something.

Grace takes a mental health day because she’s still feeling weird

Flint comes to check on her and invite her to a snowball fight…?

If your character’s name is grace, i feel like you can’t use gracefully as an adjective, the same way you wouldn’t say Rue said something ruefully.

Flint kisses her cheek and i’m already waiting for this Great Value Edward/Jacob triangle

But he makes her feel ~nothing~ compared to jaxon

CH 15: so hell actually can freeze over

Macy likes flint, uh-oh

But the different groups don’t mix

“What is this, mean girls alaska edition?” - stfu

Omg her uncle checks on her and he reminds her of her dad and :(

We get sooooooo much detail about how to dress to go out into the wilderness...here is one thing i was able to find out: tracy wolff lives in texas. So i feel like she did ALL this research and then was like y’all gonna LEARN ABOUT THIS I SPENT TOO MUCH TIME!

As a girl who has never ever seen snow, i felt this fascination

She finds a gnarled up weird tree guarding a trail

“A weird sense that i should turn around - like the feeling in the library - came over me but i knew i was just being silly”

The lack of survival instinct henny

She comes across a gazebo where leah and jaxon are sitting

CH 16: sometimes keeping your enemies close is the only thing that prevents hypothermia

That’s not a chapter title, it’s an entire sentence…

Ooh they’re having an angry, intimate convo

And leah slaps him!!

“They’re looking at me like they’re the predators and i’m the prey they can’t wait to sink their teeth into” we get it, first of all. Second of all, what is with the long-winded metaphors

“Every time i catch sight of him i feel something tug at me i can’t identify, something i have no ability to explain” it’s horniness.

Then she just leaves but he catches up to her

With his sexy af hair blowing

“Trying to run away from all the thing he makes me feel when really i just want to grab on to him and hold on tight” - so what is the truth?! You keep acting like you don’t know what the feeling is but clearly, YOU DO.

“Everyone answers to me, eventually.” - we found the line used in the adverts guys!

Oh my god, what an asshat. Asshole, i would have laughed. Asshat is stupid.

It’s annoying af

Doing my best dory impression: just keep walking

“Making friends with a dr - a guy like flint” CALLED IT, he’s a dragon

Leah’s boyfriend was jaxon’s brother

Neither leah nor jaxon was wearing a jacket. BOOM

CH 17: it’s discretion, not diamonds, that’s a girl’s best friend

Not only cringe but grammatically incorrect…she coulda just said “discretion is a girl’s best friend” and we woulda got the reference….

Grace mentions jaxon in front of macy and she’s supes weird and grace is FINALLY like wtf is the secret you’re hiding from me

“She looks at me like i’m a few snowflakes short of a snowball” SOMEONE. READ THIS OUT LOUD. WHERE IS HER EDITOR I JUST WANNA TALK.

The order?! “Just a nickname for the popular boys” bullSHIT

Macy FREAKS OUT when she realizes grace has been alone with jaxon

She says he was interesting and “macy looks at me like i said i wanted to bodysurf the alaskan tundra”

Macy “We’re talking about jaxon right? Arrogance of a rock star?”

She didn’t mention “the scar that turns him from to pretty sexy af, and scary af”

“He’s not the one who tried to kill me” “you’ve only been here a few days, give it time” get her MACY!

HE WAS LISTENING!!!!

CH 18: how many hot guys does it take to win a snowball fight?

Ooh jaxon mad that grace is going to flint’s snowball fight

“His breath is so warm and soft that i can feel it everywhere, even deep inside” okay you horny bitch!!!!! Was this cringe or did i like it or both?

“The orange and dark water scent of him” ...what? Dark water is a cologne? Or does she literally mean like the dark water of the ocean? What in confusion

Her throat is always tight and dry around him, all the time, every day

Flint pops up and he is wearing a dragon beanie…

The rest of the order shows up and “For the first time the phrase got your back makes sense” to grace...are you kidding me? You never understood a very simple common phrase til now? Sure jan

SEXUAL TRIANGLE TENSIOOOOOOOOON

But she only has eyes for Jaxon...they both reach to touch each other.

“Grace” it’s barely a whisper but i feel it all the way inside myself BITCH

“Something tells me this boy and his world famous disappearing act is going to be the death of me”

CH 19: we came, we fought, i froze

Civil twilight AGAIN.

“I didn’t think screwed up and obnoxious was your type” me-OW

The snowball fight happens

Sounds like fun, the designer faction isn’t there

“Did she just do parkour against that tree?” re: Macy so close to being funny. I did exhale through my nose. Then “did you just parkour that tree?” i DID laugh

Flint climbs the tree with grace over his shoulder ‘like spider man’ and all i can think is “you better hold on tight spider monkey”

The wind is so strong it knocks her out of the tree…

CH 20: there’s never a parachute around when you need one

Flint catches her in mid-air...this man… #teamflint2020

“You’re heavier than you look” dead

He has shame in his eyes? Why?

Because JAXON IS THERE AND HE IS MAD!

And flint is SUPER MAD!!!!!!!

Jaxon puts himself between grace and flint so grace can’t touch flint

“Can i just say i’m feeling a lot like alice in wonderland here? Things get curiouser and curiouser.” stfu

I was laughing because she was like “so much for fitting in, now i might as well be painted biohazard orange” but then she said fml. Stfu

Jaxon picks her up

CH 21: I like standing on my own two feet, but getting swept off them feels surprisingly good, too

If it takes up more than one line of a google docs page IT’S NOT A FUCKING CHAPTER TITLE!!!!!

Ooh and his arms feel really good around her, REALLY good

Now he smells like orange and snow and it’s making her crazy

Macy looks at them like she’s getting punk’d

“Grace.” “what?” “shut up.” i’m dead

“I sprained my ankle, i’m not dying of consumption” “yeah well, the night is young” this made me lol despite it being more of macy’s voice than jaxon’s

Jaxon is blaming grace for falling? “You don’t see macy falling out of her tree” is he negging her rn?

She’s called him super-sexy twice in a paragraph

Macy goes to get ice bc she’s scared of Jaxon and grace says, “Et tu, brute?” lmaooo

“I can do it myself” “maybe i wanna do it for you” and macy squeaks LMAO

His scar makes his smile a crooked little smirk...who else had a crooked smirk...the vampire this is 1000% based on, maybe?

“I find myself relaxing despite myself” guys. Reading is power. Read your work out loud so you can hear when you use the same word twice in a sentence, like this.

“My whole body lights up like the aurora borealis i’m still dying to see”

They almost kiss but don’t bc macy comes back

~~~

#crave #tracy wolff #jaxon vega #katmere #cringe books #book review #reading #fiction #negative review #booktube

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whatanerdgirlsays · 4 years

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When we initially booked our trip to Seattle, I admit that my mind did think of visiting Forks. I’ve been on a Twilight nostalgia kick lately, especially with reading the ARC of Tracy Wolff’s new novel, Crave, which comes out in April and gave me super Twilight vibes. However, when I saw how far Forks is from Seattle, I thought, okay well maybe not. Then a friend of mine told me how she and her husband rented a car for the day when they were in Seattle. They said it was a doable day trip.

I. Was. In!

We spent 3 full days and 2 half days in Seattle and decided to rent a car on Friday, our second full day there, and make the trip out to Forks, about a 3.5 hour drive there and back.

Now I definitely hit up some of my Twilight friends before going. I knew ahead of time that most of the movies were filmed in Oregon and British Colombia and absolutely none of it was filmed in the actual city of Forks. Going into Forks – you wouldn’t really recognize anything. But as a book fan, I wanted to go to the actual place that the story took place and I think because I went in with that attitude and the advice of my Twilight friends, I had such a wonderful time.

First off, the drive from Seattle to Forks is definitely long. We also took a longer way to avoid the ferry – we heard the ferry was really cool but it was expensive and because we were renting the car for the day and spending money on gas, we were trying to save money and so we took a roundabout way. So the drive was definitely a long. However, I’ll preemptively say that it was worth it – and what was super important to note that is the drive was worth it just for the drive itself. Washington is absolutely gorgeous! The colors are just something we don’t see in California and as someone who has lived on the outskirts of Los Angeles her entire life, I just found NATURE so gorgeous. Our route took us into the Olympic National Forest and right alongside Lake Crescent, where we took some time to pull over and take pictures and just admire the beauty.

The first stop when we finally made it to Forks was the welcome sign! This was one of the few things that was definitely recognizable. Though the actual sign was not used in the movie, a replica was made down to the details so I admit, when we reached Forks and I saw the sign, I squealed so loud!

The next stop we made was going to the Forks Visitors Center – definitely a must when you first get there. The lady working there – I feel so bad now that I did not get her name! – was so incredibly nice and helpful. As soon as you walk in, you can tell this is a place that has embraced the Twilight world and fandom. There were shirts and sweatshirts to buy, books and postcards and they were so helpful! They gave us a map for a self-guided tour around the town and let us know we needed to visit the Chamber of Commerce to see the mini museum there which holds a TON of props.

There’s also the plus of seeing Bella’s truck outside front, which is a wonderful way to feel welcomed there. The one to the right is close to screen accurate – it very well might be screen accurate – and I’m not sure about the one on the left. Either way – very cool and a great photo op.

When we came out of the visitors center, we saw a sign for a half mile native trail. Since it had taken us a lot quicker to get there than we expected, we decided to check it out. We weren’t equipped nor did we have the time for a full hike – though we do love to hike – but this would be a great way to check out some of the absolutely beautiful forest that Forks is surrounded by. It was a short little loop and I loved it – it helped me get into the Twilight mood and it was just gorgeous.

After that, we headed down to the chamber of commerce to check out the props and collection there. It was so cool to see – things donated and bought by fans, some on loan, some not. There were all these different editions of the books, which I loved, and a TON of costumes used in the actual movies. They had Bella’s quilt given to her by her mother (where I actually recognized one of the places!) and even the creepy animatronic Renesmee that was originally used in the Breaking Dawn Part 2 movie.

But honestly, what was so great about the little collection there was the people! There were too older ladies working – why did I not get any of their names?! – who were so helpful and had so much information. They told all kinds of stories and had little tidbits and were just so so cool. I really felt like I was in a place where I fit in, not just the weird girl who drove 3.5 hours to see Forks. They even told us some cool stories about when Stephenie Meyer came to visit, stories that really solidified my opinion that she’s such an awesome person.

After this, we checked out the various sites in the town…

First, we went to visit the high school. This was another little thing a fan will recognize from the movie – the sign! It as a completely different high school used in the movie but they did make a replicate of the sign so it was a must to take a picture of. I did feel a little weird being on campus – though barely and only for a moment – while teens were there for school but it was cool to see something I recognized!

After, Bella’s house. I learned later that this house is owned by a fan and is used as Bella’s house for fans to visit – the outside only!! While it doesn’t match what’s in the movies, obviously, but it was what I would imagine the house would look like in the books. I also think it is kind of like the one in the movie too. I think its really cool that there are fans that have moved to Forks and have really helped to build the community there.

Forks is so small that after Bella’s house, we swung around to Forks Hospital, which is so tiny, I still can’t believe it’s a hospital. They had a sign for Carlisle, which is so awesome.

We made a pit stop at Forks Outfitters, where Bella works in the books. Small towns are so cute to me – it was a combination grocery store, cafe, clothes store and hardware store. I needed to pick up a Forks sweater or hoodie – it was an absolute must.

Another great stop on the self guided tour was the police station/utilities department. I was able to take a picture with a police car that is not unlike the one that Charlie would have driven in the books. The self guided tour information told us to go and visit the water department to get a special treat and honestly it was so cute – I love the small things. They gave you a receipt for paying your water bill and I shall treasure it always. I also purchased a cute little Forks pin there as well.

Just next door to the police station is a little bed and breakfast that is touted in the town as the Cullen house. The Cullens name is on the mailbox and there’s a little note on the porch for those coming to stay.

I purchased some postcards and made a pit stop at the Forks Post Office and sent one off to my best friend Meghan and another off to myself from Bella and Edward because, well, apparently I’m a dork.

That’s when it started raining and I’m not a big fan of rain but it just worked so perfectly for a visit for Forks, just the way Stephenie describes it in the books. It made for such a beautiful drive down to La Push and First Beach, which is only about a twenty minute drive from Forks.

There are a couple things to check out on the way to La Push. First, you must find the Treaty sign at the treaty line. Seriously what a cool thing! I love that this was added at some point. There’s also a house you can stay at, along La Push Road, that is modeled after Jacob Black’s house in the movies.

Then you get to First Beach and…there are just no words to describe it. We didn’t stay long because it was absolutely pouring rain but I NEED to go back. We turned it the corner at one point and I literally gasped out loud – it was just absolutely beautiful. I’ve seen a million beaches here in California, all up and down our coast and even the ocean from Mexico and all of it was gorgeous but this beach was just so different from what I know. It was absolutely beautiful. Truly just so gorgeous and worth a trip. I would’ve stayed and looked for hours if I wasn’t getting drenched more and more by the second.

The last thing on our list was to stop at Port Angeles on the drive back to Seattle. We checked out a bookstore, which was super super cool, and I felt exactly like Bella in the first book for sure and then we went to have dinner at Bella Italia just like Bella and Edward. They even have Bella’s Mushroom Ravioli on the menu, which, unfortunately I did not try because I absolutely detest mushrooms. But the food was delicious and our waiter was so nice and it was great to visit.

All in all, I honestly thought it was absolutely worth a trip from Seattle and back, if you’re a big Twilight fan. I saw a lot of bad reviews for Forks and stuff, saying they didn’t recognize anything and there was nothing to see but I 100% disagree with all of it. If you go in knowing that this is NOT a visit for a movie fan and more for a book fan, you’re going to have an amazing time. Forks is so cute, there’s plenty of places to visit and La Push is a thousand percent worth the short drive from Forks. If you add in the fact that the Olympic National Forest is amazing and seeing more than just the city of Seattle makes it even more worth it.

If you’re not convinced by all of that, let me tell you this. One of the supremely nice ladies I was talking to at the Chamber of Commerce told me something that really stuck with me. She was telling me how Twilight the movie came out in 2008 along with the Twilight craze, and it was all right at the beginning of the super bad recession we had. She told me that without that craze and fans flocking to Forks to get a piece of the Twilight town, the town might have fallen under and might have become like so many of the other ghost towns across the nation. That seriously resonated with me and furthered my belief that visiting Forks was a super great idea.

If you’re thinking of visiting Forks in the future, please definitely get in touch with me! I can try and answer as many questions as you can. I also super recommend checking out the official Forks website and definitely definitely definitely go to the visitors center!

Twilight Day Trip: Visiting Forks, La Push and Port Angeles! ~~~ #twilight #forks #lapush #portangeles #fandomtrip #geekfieldtrip When we initially booked our trip to Seattle, I admit that my mind did think of visiting Forks.

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siriuslyreads · 2 years

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Crush by Tracy Wolff: A Review

Title: Crush

Series: Crave Series

Author: Tracy Wolff

Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Release Date: Sept 29, 2020

Format: Audiobook

Synopsis:

And not only am I fighting for my life, but now everyone else’s is at stake—unless we can defeat an unspeakable evil. All I know is that saving the people I love is going to require sacrifice.

Maybe more than I’m able to give.

Review:

I went into this book confused. Not about the book itself but about my feelings for the book/series as a whole. I can tell you whole-heartedly I enjoyed the shit out of this book. Grace was less annoying, and the other characters were much more well-rounded. I could not stand Jaxon though. And I think that was the point, he gets to a point in this book where he is so dead set on protecting her that he ignores her when she tells him that she can handle her own. The whole “damsel in distress” trope is one I cannot stand, specifically when the damsel is indeed not in distress and is far more powerful than the rescuer.

Overall this book felt like it grew up a bit, not a ton; it is still definitely YA, but less in the cringey way that Crave was.

The best addition in this book was Hudson. Obviously, we see things through Grace’s eyes, and we see her fear and hatred of him, specifically because he is in her head. But his wit and sarcasm made this book so freaking good. Add into it that Hudson very clearly was in Grace’s corner from page one and knew she could take care of herself, and he is just wonderful. There is a strange dichotomy between the Vega brothers. Jaxon is focused on protecting Grace, to the detriment of himself, and wants to coddle and protect her. Then we see Hudson, who does want to protect her, but knows that a part of that is allowing her to come into her full powers, even if it is not easy and even if it means she gets hurt along the way. I’ve seen a ton of division between fans of the first book hating this book, and I believe the ultimate reasons is that readers want a certain type of love interest. Some are ok with the overbearing love interest who will drop everything to protect his mate. Others want a romance that acts more as a partnership with both partners protecting the other. The ones who want the first are team Jaxon and probably did not like this book. The latter are team Hudson and love this book far more than the first. (You can take a guess as to which I am, it should be easy)

Her ’relationship’ with Hudson leads to so much world building. Some of it good and some of it absolutely heartbreaking. We got to visit the Dragon boneyard and lose a precious member of the pack along the way. We see the unkillable beast and find out how and why he was made the way he is. And we get to see the Ludaris tournament played twice! The first game I was honestly pretty bored. I am not a sports person and while it was interesting, I just didn’t care much for it. The second game however, when Grace is one her own facing her classmates for a place on the circle, that was riveting, and I was metaphorically on the edge of my seat. Again, this instance brings in the dichotomy of the Vega brothers. Jaxon very much thought that Grace was crazy for requesting the right of her place in the circle. Hudson knew it was necessary and did what he could to help her.

The twists in this book were honestly unexpected (though I did read some spoilers beforehand, I had to know if I needed to stick out the first one ok!). These twists also happen pretty close together and to the end of the book, meaning that there is no break to process. I was so grateful that I could pick up the third book immediately.

I reluctantly read the first book, rolling my eyes multiple times. But ultimately this book entranced me and did not let me go. I hope the rest live up to what this was!

#crush #Tracy wolff #crave series #hudson vega #jaxon vega #Grace foster #ya books #ya paranormal #ya romance

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