Review | Crushing It by Lorelei Parker

Star Rating (out of 5): ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spicy Rating (out of 5): 🌶️
Publication Date: June 30, 2020
Page count: 336 pages
Content Warnings: panic attacks, sexism

Overall, I liked the book though I found the story a bit slow-moving. I really appreciated that Sierra was in the tech industry. Being a part of the tech industry, I feel women in tech are very underrepresented. I enjoyed the videogame references (I got the strong urge to go play Crash Bandicoot again). I like that Sierra is often very relatable in her nerdiness and awkwardness.

On the other hand, Tristan was a terrible character with no redeeming qualities. Sierra’s entire interest/relationship with him was extremely shallow and based entirely on looks. I wanted to just shake her most of the time — girl, why are you doing this he’s such a terrible person!

I’m also just not a big fan of the “nerdy girl that just doesn’t know how pretty she is but every man around her is in love with her” trope. Aida’s character didn’t seem like a great BFF but rather a mom character that I didn’t like. She was constantly telling Sierra what to do, when to do it, and reprimanding her for her poor life choices (to be fair, Sierra made a lot of poor life choices but she’s an adult. Let her live her own life if she’s not hurting anyone). Anyway, Aida is just the nagging friend.

All that being said, I did enjoy the book. I liked some of the everyday, real-life situations that happened to Sierra. Some of her embarrassment was like chicken noodle soup for my soul. I would recommend it as an easy, upbeat, rom-com read.