Love Conquers

Crush #0.5

by Elouise East

an alternate cover edition can be found here

Two men whose love has stood the test of time, through troubling times to defining moments, watch James and Rich as they hold on to the one person who means more than anything else in the world.

This is a 7,000 word short prequel into the Crush series.

Genres: M M Romance, Novella, Gay, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT

34 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 2, 2022

About the author

Elouise East writes sweet and steamy connections in gay romance. She also touches on taboo stories under the name Elouise R East.

Books that tell the stories where friendship and family are the focal point - be it blood family or chosen - are very important to her. That’s why she includes a variety of personalities, talents, ages, situations and abilities as she believes a story or character needs. She wants her characters to be real, to be relatable, to be free to have whatever views they tell her they have. And trust her, most of the time, she does not have any say in the matter!

Her characters come to life on the page for her as well as her readers. Their stories unfold in front of her as she writes, and she has very little input into how they want to be shown. Just like real life, the lives of her characters change with every choice, every interaction and every conversation. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.

She writes books that are emotionally realistic, even if liberties are taken with other aspects of the stories. She doesn’t know any other way to write. It comes from deep inside.

Who is she? A single parent to two children living in the UK. An avid reader who still tries to devour every book she can get her hands on. A student of learning about any subject that takes her fancy. An author of books she would read herself. And a romantic at heart who loves anything cheesy.

Who’s joining her on her journey?

Join my newsletter for regular updates, exclusive content and a free story being told chapter by chapter: https://elouiseeast.com/newsletter

She loves stalkers... ;-)

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Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw this series was leaving KU, so I borrowed the books I didn’t already own. The concept of the bar is cute, and I wanted to like this. I just really didn’t connect with the writing. There were some typos/sentences that didn’t make sense like: ache that nothing but time “with” soothe. Or repetition like the word “way” twice in the second half of a sentence. I understand there’s always some mistakes even after countless revisions, but this is a short novella.

There were also some inconsistencies. It said husband twice in the first couple chapters, but then Richard proposed and apparently they weren’t already married since the ceremony took place in the book. It said at the end of the book they met at 19, but it said earlier that Richard had been 1 year younger than James.

No fault of the author, but I also can’t with one of the character’s names. That was off-putting for me for personal reasons. I’ll try the first book of the series since this was a prequel, but this author’s writing might not be for me is the conclusion I’m leading towards. Maybe 1.5 out of 5 stars, and I guess I’ll round up even though not sure about it.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked James and rich romance and that it shows past and present of how James and Rich got together and it is spicy between James and rich and they own a pub in London and it for the LBGQT community and they are selling the pub to Tom and to start a new adventure and this was a quick spicy MM read and they have been together for a while and love that they got married at the end and Tom gave them a wedding reception after buying the pub and some old faces turn up as well

Spicy
Dual PoV
MM romance
Read as an ebook
Hurt comfort
Under 35 pages

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really sweet look into an established gay couple's relationship as they first sell their business and then get married legally after 30 years together. There are also some flashbacks to when they met at 19. It's a novella, so it's not that deep in plot or character development, but it's written well and works well as a prequel to a series.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief but oh so sweet prelude into a series set in a bar. In this we meet present owners Rich and James who, at 49 and 30 years together, want sell and relax. In this we get flash backs that explain their gorgeous love story from the age of 19 to present day, it's just a wonderfully cute tale and I look forward to the series, even if I'm several years late at getting here.

[Ken Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story as introduction to series

Set in Cambridge, East sets the stage for a series based at/around the eponymous pub Crush. As the original couple handed the inclusive watering hole to the MCs for their two decades of ownership, the series opens with a new transfer. Love is the lubricant of life.

[SJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

simply superb

I am so glad I found this short story by this new to me writer. It’s was just simply so beautiful. I was hooked from the first page, the love between James and Rich was so strong and beautiful, I love the then and now aspect and it gave me all the feels, I am a little overwhelmed at how touched this story made me feel, amazing absolutely loved it

[Zeoanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, this was faster than lightning but Oh, So Sweet! If it was a fully developed novel it would surely be a 5* IMO.

[Micki_1989 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool

Short, sweet, and leaves you wanting more, which is exactly what a prequel is meant to do not a fan of the time shift worked, but I still enjoyed it