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ASIN B00WR39T50 moved to the most recent edition here

Sometimes you have to run away to find what you're looking for.

Maddie Lambert is a rising pop star struggling with fame. Tess Copeland is a country girl trying to save a family tradition.

Sparks fly when their worlds collide, but can they overcome their doubts to discover what really matters?

184 pages, ebook

First published April 26, 2015

26 people are currently reading
262 people want to read

About the author

S.R. Silcox

14 books21 followers
SR Silcox grew up in small-town Australia. A child of the 80s and a teen of the 90s, it was a multi-coloured, fun-filled time of hypercolour T-shirts, Slip’n’Slides, outrageously teased fringes, MC Hammer and Dunlop Volleys. She played cricket in the summer and soccer in the winter, all while wearing shorts and T-shirts with a cap glued firmly to her head.

She loves team sports, barracks for the underdog, and believes that everyone makes the right choices given the right set of circumstances. Most of all she believes that re-making movies from the 1980s should be made illegal.

A lesbian herself, she’s passionate about the importance of diversity in fiction and the media, especially for LGBT+ teens.
A voracious and eclectic reader, among her favourite authors are Becky Albertalli, Clare Lydon, Hugh Howey, and Malinda Lo.

A former accountant, SR Silcox left her job in 2012 to write full time. She lives in sunny Queensland with her wife and two dogs, and writes fiction with lesbian main characters for tweens, teens and adults.

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5 stars
45 (26%)
4 stars
48 (28%)
3 stars
52 (30%)
2 stars
17 (10%)
1 star
6 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
Profile Image for day.
64 reviews6 followers
February 22, 2017
unbelievably cute!!!
i dont remember buying this on my kindle app but i'm so glad i did it's such a sweet story and it doesn't involve any coming out and no one is homophobic and the girls get to like each other and flirt and become good friends while still hoping for more
the main Plot things were pretty easily identifiable early on but for me that made it a lot of fun just cuz u get to anticipate everything and u KNOW it's coming but its still so good and sweet
not to mention the tess's dude best friend knows she's gay and isn't ever rude or gross and everyone in this book is just so supportive of them and it was super refreshing.
would highly recommend to any gay girls looking for something sweet
Profile Image for C.
737 reviews78 followers
July 26, 2017
A very low key nice read 3.5*

Came across this book creeping on my Goodreads friend's account and was happy to see it was free kindle read. Also, I enjoyed reading it. It's a simple story of two girls who meet and fall in like with each other. Its relatively drama free which I think hurt the book in my opiniom because issues were glossed a bit over. For instance, arguements with Maddie's dad were stated as a yelling match instead of having the scene actually play out. Little things like that could have ramped up the depth of the characters but in no means takes away from the overall book. Its a lighthearted, happy read. That doesn't make a big deal about two people falling for each other and hiw friends can come through in the end.
Got time, read it.
Profile Image for Ted.
560 reviews89 followers
August 2, 2017
Nice light read. I really liked it. I think I would have loved it had it included the epilogue which is Maddie and Tess one year later. But I get the draw of signing up for her newsletter. Once you do that you do in fact get that epilogue :)
Profile Image for Elisha.
609 reviews68 followers
August 10, 2016
This is a short, sweet, summery book about two girls who lead completely different lives meeting by accident and falling in love. It's cute, it's fun, and it's free to read on Kindle (get it on Amazon US here and Amazon UK here). If you're looking for a fun f/f romance which can easily be read in one sitting, then this one is definitely worth checking out.

Crush takes place in Australia and follows Tess - a small town girl looking forward to her hometown's annual Crush Festival - and Maddie - a girl with a secret who comes to Tess's town with the intention of getting away from it all. Tess and Maddie have undeniable chemistry and the romance between them is very cute indeed. The Crush Festival plotline which drives the story is also fairly interesting, and all of the side characters (especially Tess's best friends Lizzie and Will) are good fun. There's plenty here to keep you entertained and it's very easy to find yourself flying through the pages.

Crush is somewhat cliched and predictable, and it was a little cheesy for my personal taste, but if you like your romance fluffier than I do I'm sure that you'll love it. And, no matter what I may think, I really enjoyed reading Crush. This book brought a smile to my face and it was exactly the kind of read that I needed at the time. This is such a happy little book and I would thoroughly recommend it, no matter my personal opinion of it.

Crush is the first book in S.R. Silcox's Girls of Summer series - a series of books about young girls falling in love with each other during the summertime, which Silcox promises will all have happy endings. I'll definitely be checking out After Summer: The Girls of Summer at some point in the near future and hopefully I'll enjoy it just as much (if not more) as I enjoyed Crush.
Profile Image for Kexx.
2,337 reviews103 followers
August 28, 2020
One of the problems of downloading "free" books is you (well, I) don't know what will be arriving, and I went on the name old SR (can I be that informal?) as I loved her Amy's Rest but this is clearly for young adults so quite why I read it I'm not sure - very airy-fairy, smooth and vanilla - all very age appropriate.
Profile Image for M.
71 reviews
June 15, 2017
"You’re not a threat, Tess."
"What am I then?"
"You’re someone I’d like to kiss."


Crush is a sweet summer love story for girls who like girls.

Tess, a small town girl, meets Maddie, a city girl running away from her problems.

My favorite thing was how well the cliche was used in this book, it really feels like one of those cheesy romcoms for teens done right. From the first meeting to their final happy ending, their interactions were always so adorable and made me feel warm inside; falling in love with these characters was easy. There are also friendships and family relationship being used as good subplots that added even more to the story.

A short and feel good book to read for everyone out there who loves F/F romance.
4 reviews1 follower
December 2, 2020
Predictable but good

Easy quick read about 2 girls with different lives sharing an experience. I appreciate that their relationship wasn't over sexualized and the moments between them were sweet and did not need to be exaggerated. I loved the friendship bonds in this book, I enjoyed this read
1,125 reviews6 followers
January 26, 2021
This is a sweet, low angst, YA story that makes for a pleasant read. There is a decent supporting cast to help tell the story. The experience loses points when the reader is required to join the author's mailing list in order to get a copy of the epilogue. This has become an all too frequent marketing ploy that lost its' charm some time ago.
Profile Image for Elizabeth Tanner.
212 reviews8 followers
November 10, 2019
Excellent YA novel of two young women meeting in Australia. Tess and her friends struggle to help the annual festival survive. When all seems lost the new neighbor may have some friends of her own. Great book for High School students. Thank you to the author for writing stories for the YA crowd.
1,188 reviews5 followers
February 6, 2021
My first thought on this book was, wow, farm life in Australia is a lot easier than anywhere else except maybe Sweet Apple Acres!
Sometimes you just have to step back and enjoy a cute little book, sweeten the lemonade.
Thoroughly enjoyed it and heartily recommend it
75 reviews
December 14, 2017
I really enjoyed reading the book.

Started as a secondary book but become main quite quick
Profile Image for Skye.
387 reviews16 followers
August 21, 2020
Not something I'd necessarily pick up usually but sweet!
Profile Image for Ellie Mackin.
117 reviews4 followers
August 21, 2020
A gentle little bit of YA ff bubblegum romance. The plot twists were visible from a mile off but it still had a sweet ending.
Profile Image for ErinTurnsPages.
607 reviews6 followers
January 23, 2021
Cute quick read. I'll have to pick up book two!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Steph Cat.
36 reviews
February 26, 2017
I loved this book!

Tess has lived in Chesterfield her entire life. Maddie is trying to hide from her past. A chance collision changes both of their lives.

The unfolding relationship between Tess and Maddie is that tentative, sweet build up that makes your heart melt. Tess is a completely believable character, going through worries, doubts, and family troubles in a very realistic way. Maddie is secretive without being over the top, or in anyway that makes the reader want Tess to run away.

While the story line is obvious for Tess and Maddie, you still can't help falling in love with the girls and hoping their story has a happy ending.

Definitely give this a shot!
Profile Image for J. Peters.
175 reviews13 followers
February 8, 2017
This was a short, light, and fluffy novel.

After reading 'Lies We Tell Ourselves' it's more or less exactly what I wanted. Sometimes you have to break up what you read, and I knew going in that this was going to be a short read and that everything would end well.

Tess and Maddie were fine, though I think the book needed to go more into Maddie's head. As it stands, most of the book focuses on Tess, and never really gets into the nitty gritty of why Maddie does what she does, nor does it ever really show any of her family, despite the fact that her dad is kind of the shadowy bad guy lurking in the corner. It makes mention of him, and there's Skype calls, but he never appears, and I don't think there was ever an actual conversation. It was a bit disappointing - after all the build up, I was expecting him to show up at some point to try and cause trouble in person.

The side characters are decent enough. Pop and Gran are fun, as are Lizzie and Will. Adam and Freya get much less focus, but that makes sense, since they don't show up until towards the end, and most of the focus is on Tess and her hometown.

There wasn't much substance to be found. Their relationship just kind of happens. There's nothing really deep or meaningful about it. And that's not necessarily a complaint - but if you're looking for a romance that delves deeper into characters and their motivations, this isn't the place to look.

I did like the fact that it wasn't at all a coming out story. I don't believe a single character even raised a question over the fact that they were both girls. And that's definitely a nice change of pace.

It's nothing special. It's a fun, quick read, with some endearing characters and a quick moving plot. I gave it 4 stars, but realistically, I'd say it's closer to 3.5 or even a 3 - I just didn't feel like giving it a lower score. The fact that I read this after an emotionally draining book might've had an impact in that regard, so take that into consideration as well.
1 review
March 1, 2017
Ok

It was ok. A fun read with no big surprises and a satisfying end. Will definitely be checking out the others in the series.

Profile Image for Isaiah.
101 reviews4 followers
September 10, 2016
A wonderful book for a quick summer read. Yes, it was a little cliche and predictable, but it's only short (I read it in maybe 3 hours) and very, very sweet. The character's are likeable and, while not completely relatable, did seem rather honest and realistic. The whole time I was waiting for that moment of angst, typical of every LGBT novel, where someone turns out be homophobic and drama ensues. Without it, it became a wonderful story of teenage romance and trying to keep tradition alive.

Definitely an underrated wonder, which I hope gains a lot of traction in the future.
Profile Image for Savannah.
12 reviews
October 22, 2016
I downloaded this as a free book on my Kindle and I am so happy that is did. I finished in one day because I was hooked from the beginning! It was such a sweet love story with lovable characters. The chemistry between Tess and Maddie made me smile so much while I read it. And I loved that their friends and family were so supportive of their relationship. It was the picture of how m/m and f/f relationships should be treated, as nothing less than normal because that's what they are. I loved this book!
Profile Image for Emmie.
187 reviews
February 26, 2017
This book was great for so many reasons. Yes, it was predictable but as it turns out the old cliches actually do become new again when you add lesbians. It was adorable and sweet and there was absolutely no angst of any kind. No one in the whole book blinked twice about the fact that they were both girls! It was just fantastic. I want more stories like that. Like run of the mill, teens falling in love stories where they just happen to be girls without that creating any extra drama. Just this.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
398 reviews6 followers
February 6, 2017
Got this for free and it was a pleasant, short read of young summer love with a little teenage angst but no real drama. No real character development but then that wasn't really the purpose of the story. I'd read more by this author I think
Profile Image for T.
46 reviews
July 27, 2016
A really sweet, enjoyable read. I devoured it in one sitting. Can't wait to read more by this author in this genre. Beautifully written.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews

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