October 13, 2014

ARC Review: Adrenaline Crush by: Laurie Boyle Crompton

Adrenaline Crush by: Laurie Boyle Crompton (Sept. 23, 2014)
192 pages
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Source: I received an e-ARC from the publisher through Netgalley. This did not affect my honest review. Thanks Farrar, Straus and Grioux and Netgalley!
Goodreads Summary: When a daredevil teen pushes herself too far, she must choose between two boys: the one who wants to keep her safe, and the one who dares her to return to her old self.

Seventeen-year-old Dyna comes from a family of risk takers and is an avid thrill-seeker herself, until the day she splinters her ankle in a terrible fall. Her whole life goes from mountain biking and rock climbing to sitting at home and attending group sessions at the bizarre alternative healing center that her hippie mother found. The boy who witnessed Dyna’s accident believes her injury is a wake up call and he encourages her mild new lifestyle, but a young Afghanistan War veteran she meets at the healing center pushes her to start taking chances again. Forced to face the consequences of her daredevil impulses, Dyna finds herself in danger of risking the one thing she’s always treated with caution—her heart.

My Review

Adrenaline Crush should have made my heart race. It’s just too bad it lacked the uniqueness and excitement I was expecting from the cover and the description of the synopsis to do so.

Adrenaline Crush is a good book, but it didn’t leave any lasting impression on me as a reader. I read about 100 books a year and Adrenaline Crush isn’t going to be one I’ll remember, it just didn’t stand out in the crowd. It was average.

I liked the main character, Dyna, a great deal. She is a crazy fun daredevil who must deal with a big change in her life after she splinters her ankle one reckless afternoon. Even though I liked Dyna, I couldn’t relate to her very well. I’m not an adrenaline junkie nor am I a daredevil in any sense of the word. I hope to one day maybe do some bungee jumping, but that is about it on my risk taking. I just don’t see the point. Now, I have absolutely no problems with people that love a good risk and are daredevils, it was just hard for me to understand Dyna because she seemed reckless to me.

I also liked the supporting characters in this story. Dyna’s parents are pretty sweet, and her older brother is very much an older brother. I even liked both of the main love interests in their own way, although I never really cared much about any of the romantic relationships that formed in this novel. I did however like Dyna’s support group friends.

Adrenaline Crush is really well written and I plan to give this author another chance to wow me, because I believe that she could have if only I would have connected more with the characters. The only other qualm I had with this book was that I also wasn't a big fan of the length of the novel. At only 192 pages I felt like the story was lacking sustenance, but at least it was a quick read. I love a good quick read when I'm having a busy week.

Would I recommend this book to my fellow readers? Sure. You may have better luck connecting with the characters than I did, and if you do, I think you would appreciate this book a great deal. It was a good book, it just didn't leave a lasting impression.

6 comments:

  1. I've had experience with Laurie Boyle Crompton before with Blaze and it wasn't a really great experience either. I just couldn't connect with the main character like you couldn't with Dyna's daredevil antics. I love both of Crompton's covers though. Adrenaline Crush looks so pretty <3
    It's so weird that the book was only 192 pages... that never happens with a YA book.

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    Replies
    1. I think not connecting with the characters is one of the hardest things for me to overcome when it comes down to liking a book. :/ I agree though, I love the cover.

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  2. I'm sorry this one didn't have the impact you were hoping it would. I do hate when that happens. In all honesty, I'm not sure if I would pick this on up. Sounds like it has a love triangle, and if the love triangle isn't well written, I cannot support them! Not a fan of the dreaded love triangle at all!

    Glad you did enjoy it some!

    Great review!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! I wish I could have loved it but I just couldn't. :( I'm not a big fan of love triangles either. I try to avoid them for the most part.

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  3. I think i'll pass on this one. I doubt it will leave a greater impression on me than it did you.

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