Review: First Crush, Last Love by Elizabeth McKenna

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Standalone
Release - August 1, 2017
Genre - Contemporary Romance
Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat - 1.5 out of 5
Length - 316 pages

Back in high school, Lee Archer had the power to make Jessie Baxter’s cheeks flush and her heart race. But the popular athlete never wanted to be more than just friends. Ten years later, after a failed marriage and with her journalism career on shaky ground, Jessie’s come home for her high school reunion—and Lee still has the power to make her knees weak and her pulse pound.

Lee's teenage years were filled with more trauma and drama than anyone guessed. Though his damaged past has helped make him a successful police detective, it's hurt every relationship he's tried. But seeing the grown-up, stunning Jessie might just change his commitment-phobic mind.

Jessie’s psycho ex-husband had her convinced no one would ever love her, but Lee is ready to step out of the friend zone and into her heart. Can she learn to trust again before she loses her chance to turn her first crush into her last love?

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MY REVIEW

Remember your first crush? How your heart raced and your cheeks flushed whenever you saw him? Jessie Baxter does, and it’s happening again. Ten years ago, despite her best efforts, Lee Archer wanted to be just friends. Now, he wants more, but Jessie's still recovering from a psycho ex-husband. Can she learn to trust again and make her first crush into her last love?

I’ve had so many crushes over the years and I honestly can’t remember who my first one was. However, I do remember all of the feelings that went along with it, such as the nervous excitement, the blazing inferno of every encounter, the youthful joy of it all. Each look, each touch, each whisper was life-altering. At least that’s what it felt like at the time. While Jessie was pining over Lee, I kept waiting for her to stop being so pathetic. Were we all like that? While I like that Jessie finally got her chance with Lee, I was disappointed with the lack of its authenticity. So much time was spent on Lee with other women and his love for them, and not enough on his thoughts and feelings towards Jessie. Although we get an inkling that he had some sort of feelings for her in high school, they weren’t strong enough for him to ever put her or her heart first. On more than one occasion we saw him neglect and hurt her. So I wanted to see more of how deep his newfound love for her really ran and I wanted to see more of their relationship’s development.

Overall, First Crush, Last Love was sweet and heartwarming. There was an added element of suspense with Jessie’s ex-husband that gave this story its dramatic edge. This story was a touch nostalgic with its ‘80s and ‘90s theme and its charming happy ending. It was easy to read and hard to put down.