Miriam Stern's Reviews > A Sudden Crush

Meh. I'm actually quite disappointed with this book. It had such high ratings and it was definitely not what I expected. Here are the reasons why *** beware spoilers ahead ***

1. It didn't make me laugh as much as I thought it would. It's supposed to be a 'laugh out loud comedy' and, well, it's not. Let's start with the fact that the plane crash is not funny at all and then it's all about Joanna trying to battle her depression and getting back on board with life. After she and Connor are rescued, she finds she's been replaced by her husband, fired from her job. I mean... what says 'haha' in all of this?

2. Connor is not charming/is an asshole. I'm sorry, yes, there are a few times where he's likeable, but most of the time Connor is the farthest thing you'd want in a guy. He's sexist, rude and honestly, what's his appeal? Yes, he helps Joanna survive because he has some expert level outdoor skills but other than that? How is this man a positive model for a hero? I absolutely despise that he keeps calling her 'Anna' when she says, at the very beginning, that she doesn't like it. So no. I couldn't fall in love with him. There's also the fact that he's absent for at least 50% of the book. I miss listening to the guy's voice in these types of novels.

3. What was the novel trying to do here? I think I would have preferred just them stuck on an island, falling in love with her being single (she does mention that maybe there was an alternative reality with this scenario - and I would have preferred it so much). As it is, when Connor and Joanna are stranded, she's just married to the man she thinks is the love of her life, so obviously, nothing really happens between Joanna and Connor while in the island. It's the type of scenario where, as the reader, you're screwed either way. If she sleeps with him, you feel bad because she's a 'cheater', if she doesn't... it's just... boring. Even when she returns and discovers that her husband 'annulled' their marriage (because it wasn't consummated - this is the excuse, I kid you not... I don't think this is even accurate unless you're in 19th century England) and married someone else, she still pins for him and loves him and misses him and thoughts of Connor are mostly gone or too subtle for the rest of the book until she writes her novel about the events that happened in the island. Only then (76% of the book) does Connor return.

Again, just not my cup of tea unfortunately.