Crushingly Close

by Stella Torres

At twenty-four years old, Agnes Escueta has risen from the ranks to become a producer for Sports Tonight. No one can touch her, it seems—not even crush-worthy anchorman Daniel Ferrer, who she gets to work with every single day. When a road trip to Indonesia throws Agnes and Daniel together, they find themselves working in close quarters. It doesn’t take long before Agnes finds herself being charmed by Daniel, and her defenses start to melt with his touch. With deadlines looming and a big game coming, Agnes must figure out how to let Daniel into her life without risking her professional reputation—and without breaking her own heart.

Genres: Romance

Unknown Binding

Published July 19, 2016

About the author

Stella Torres is the author of Save the Cake, Crushingly Close and the short story "Be Creative from Kids These Days (Stories from Luna East Arts Academy Vol.1). In her previous life, she had worked in public relations, taught English as a second language, and even attended graduate school (twice!). She has lived in Indonesia, Honolulu, and Quezon City before moving back to her hometown of Los Banos in Laguna.

When she’s not writing romance or geeking out on the craft of creative writing, Stella can be seen taking walks around the UPLB campus and browsing bullet journal layouts on the Internet. She loves dark chocolate, hates flyaways, and is constantly searching for comfortable shoes.

Stella loves to hear from her readers! Visit her blog and Facebook page, or follow her on Twitter for more details on her upcoming work. You can also sign up for her mailing list to get the low-down on her latest projects!

Reviews

[Ana Tejano]

* Also posted at It's Time, Ana

It's been a while since I've read something of Stella's, and I was really excited for her when she gave me a sneak peek of her new cover last AprilFeelsDay. It felt like a step up from the sweet vibe of Save the Cake, her first book, and the plot also seemed something fast-paced and exciting, too.

Crushingly Close is about Agnes Escueta, a producer for a sports news show, and her hard work had given her a reputation of being a no-nonsense woman that no one could mess with. Until she gets sent with the rest of her team to cover a football event in Jakarta, and sexy anchorman Daniel Ferrer gets a little too close with her. Sparks fly as Daniel's charms gets under her skin, but Agnes needs to focus on the job ahead of her. But how can she, when just one touch from Daniel breaks through the wall she had carefully built around her?

I used to want to be a journalist when I was a kid, thinking that it's the only career a writer can take, until I realized that I was more of a features/fiction person than news. But journalism still fascinated me in some way, and I knew that it's not one of the safest jobs in the world. While the characters in Stella's book are not current events reporters, I felt the genuine rush of news producing within the pages of Crushingly Close. Some of my favorite scenes in the book were when Agnes and her team were together, trying to be one step ahead of the news and the team that they were covering. I got a little lost with the football stuff, I admit, because I'm not really a fan of the sport (or any sport, for that matter, haha), but their knowledge in it and sportscasting felt genuine that if you're like me, you'd just sit and go along for the ride.

I really liked Daniel here - he seemed very sincere, despite giving off an arrogant vibe at first. Agnes took a while for me to warm up to, but I was fond of how she watched over her family. Families in fiction is something close to my heart as I liked writing about them, too, and the Escueta family here is one for the books. The romance had just the right balance of sweet and hot, and I love how there's a lot of vulnerability to the love story, including the people around the Agnes and Daniel.

Crushingly Close  is a solid follow up for Stella Torres, and if you're looking for a good (and sizzling!) journalist romance, this is the book for you. :)

[Charlie]

Read more book reviews at The Perfictionist.

What's a woman to do when she's fiercely independent, and love comes knocking without warning? I think this pretty much sums up our main character, Agnes Escueta's, predicament in this brand new offering from Filipino #romanceclass author Stella Torres.

I think every woman goes through that moment where she has to choose between her hard-won independence, and the stirrings of her heart, thinking that choosing one is equal to losing the other.

What I like about this story is that it is character-driven. There are no super villains plotting the demise of our main character. There are no uber rich, snotty and all-powerful antagonists, who can ruin someone's life by waving their money and influence. I think this is where the the beauty of this story lies. It is relateable, and it is a slice of life. It can be anyone's story.

Agnes, the protagonist, is smart, successful and driven. She's also hard-working and family-oriented, and most of the time, logic dictates her actions rather than her heart. I love that Agnes has her priorities straight. Filipino family values were clearly showcased in the story through Agnes' constant worry for her sick father. I also love her voice, because she sounds stable and thoughtful. She sounds like someone who has had her character tested, but still remains standing.

As for the love interest, I was picturing Atom Araullo as Daniel Ferrer the whole time I was reading the story. He was my LI peg right from the very start. (hihi) I think it really takes some serious balls to go after the affections of a fiercely independent woman. Major thumbs up for Daniel for stepping up!

The way Daniel sees through Agnes' walls, and the way Agnes calls out Daniel's BS speaks volumes about how they see each other. I loved the gradual development of their connection to each other. It was like a push-and-pull between two people who are clearly into each other, but things kept getting in the way, and priorities had to be sorted. It would have been easier to let things die down, but I really liked that they made things work.

All in all, I really enjoyed this story. It has no grand and unrealistic gestures, but its beauty lies in its simplicity. And hey, giving in to the stirrings of your heart does not necessarily mean relinquishing independence. The two are not mutually exclusive, and author Stella Torres shows just that in this story.

[April ~ The Reading Belles · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Originally posted at b i n i b i n i

Sports news producer Agnes Escueta has been working with sports news anchor Daniel Ferrer for four months now. A football game in Indonesia set them to work together with just two cameramen. But what seemed to be a casual work turned into something more when Daniel started to do weird things for Agnes. But is Agnes ready? Her career is her top priority after all.

I love that Stella chose sports broadcasting as background and that it was football because even I know little stuff about the game, it didn’t make me feel like a stupid stranger. It wasn’t too technical that you’d be left out wondering what jargon was which. I love that I got to somehow see how things were behind the scenes and again it was written in a way you’d understand things right away. Never imagined it was that busy and there’s so much pressure! On the other side of this bustling life of journalists, however, was the homey feel because the book focused on Agnes’ family.

I love Agnes. I admire her laser focus with her work so much. It helped that she looked so independent, ready to conquer anything. And her love for her family shone throughout the entire book. I have a soft spot for characters caring for their families.

Daniel, on the other side, was such an endearing character as well. The little things he knew about Agnes levelled up the kilig meter. He’s not a d-bag, not a cheater (yay) and understands Agnes in a lot of ways. I love that even when he has feelings for her, he wasn’t pushing it. He genuinely cared about the girl. And it clearly showed.

I guess I wanted to know more about them in their four months of working together instead of just few snippets that were mentioned in the book? I got lost a few times because I wasn’t sure where the feelings were coming from.

But overall, it’s got a strong writing and a storyline (sexy times included) that kept me going until the end.

[Carla Guzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a review (then went ahead and bought the book when it came out!).

Stella Torres' Save the Cake was the first Filipino-authored romance that I read, and when I heard that Crushingly Close came out, I immediately grabbed it and never let go. :)

I love Agnes as a character. I always relate to characters who really put their lives on hold to take care of their family, and her relationship with her parents and brother was something I liked about her. But it was her dedication that shone through the entire book. She's the kind of girl who always goes for what she wants, even if this time, it was a little harder for her to process. Stella really did her research on this one--reading about how they did their jobs and what they had to do left me a bit lost at times, but I understood why it had to be done.

And then there was Daniel. Daniel with his fancy schmancy French Press and sexy grin (is that just me?). He had the perfect balance of being forward but not being pushy. He knew when he had to persuade Agnes and when she had to think things through for himself. What a supportive guy.

This book is a wonderful, solid read. Be sure you have it on your bookshelves!

[Aira Irish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the approach the story it was captivating and flirty. Damn, Daniel what I love about him is he's direct in expressing his feelings towards Agnes. Definitely, He's sweet, caring and his witty nature is sexy.

I love about Agnes being driven and passionate towards her work. Her love and devotion to her family is priceless.

I love the glimpse of the world behind sports new it felt like I'm also with them living and capturing moments with them.

In totality, I love it!

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

We have choices that life always present to us and it is how we choose from these that we get our life, our happiness. It has always been in our power to be happy. And we should always choose to be happy and live in love.

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