by Lorelei Parker
Kensington Books
2020
336 pages
ISBN: 9781496725714
Available June 30, 2020
Gamer and coder, Sierra Reid is dying to represent her company at a gaming convention in Europe, but boss Reynold has the final say, and he is unsure Sierra has the gift of public speaking. In a presentation for him, Sierra is so nervous, her stomach rumbles loudly enough to be heard across the room. Mortified, Sierra turns to Aida, her best friend, coworker, and roommate for ideas.
Aida suggests they go to a local bar where they are hosting their first ever annual Chagrin Challenge night, a competition where anyone can bring their most embarrassing stories and diary entries and read them to the audience. Aida pushes Sierra to read a an embarrassing diary entry from college. She'll get practice speaking to an audience. Sierra goes along with the idea and nearly chickens out, but in the moment she stands before the room and reads an entry about a college crush named Tristan. The audience laughs at funny, heart on her sleeve college Sierra, and this Sierra feels pretty good about everything until the next person up is TRISTAN! Her Tristan. Sierra looks for an exit, but Tristan is flattered. The night couldn't go any better, and the top performers advance to the next round in a week. Sierra and Tristan both advance.
Sorting her feelings out for ex-crush Tristan, overcoming her anxiety and speaking in front of an audience, and discovering new (crush) feelings for someone Sierra never saw coming is enough for anyone to handle. On top of that, she must convince her boss she knows more about Castle Crush (her game) than anyone else, and she does. But is knowing the game enough to conquer her fears and present it to a room of international gamers?
Recommended for romance fans and gamers and book clubs. A fun read with enough comic moments to entertain. Women in gaming need representation in print and movies, and Crushing It answers that need.
