The only thing headier than wine is lust.Ryan Royer thought his business trip to California’s Napa Valley would be easy. Land a new client. Taste wine. But when the client is a free-spirited bombshell who presses all of his buttons, Ryan’s world goes sideways.Kenzie Balfour is entirely irresistible. She’s the fourth generation to run The von Eck Estate Winery and she’s more intoxicating than any … more intoxicating than any award-winning cabernet.
Ryan has been working hard for a promotion at one of the world’s top investment banks. If he can close this deal for her legendary winery, he gets the job. He can’t let a gorgeous woman with a great laugh get in the way of his goals. Even if she leaves him love drunk.
From a trouser-tightening almost-kiss at a restaurant to a seductive walk through a vineyard at sunset, can Ryan keep his crush on his client under control or will a taste of Kenzie be his downfall?
Escape to California’s wine country in Crush.
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Mae Wood has crushed it with this book! The words, the scenery, the insta lust, the emotions and let’s not forget about the wine. It all blends together to create an amazing bouquet that is heaven to your reading pallet. So get comfortable with a big glass of wine l because once you start this book you are not going to be able to put it down.
And check out the audio book version of Crush, it’s available now to.
Like a superb wine, CRUSH by Mae Wood is an indulgence best savoured. Not only does Wood have a way with words but her stories contain characters I can admire and relate to. The book contains themes and situations that often have me wondering what I would do if I was in that character’s shoes. I become immersed in Wood’s books and want to live in them.
I really enjoyed Kenzie and Ryan’s story. I felt there was a balance between the dialogue, their inner thoughts, their physical chemistry and the external forces that made them question their actions and choices. The pacing of this story spot on; it’s a slow-burn read that held momentum from start to finish.
The characters are relatable, the situations are credible, and there are several secondary characters who need their own stories (Charlie, Elsa and Sugarbear). I’ll start petitioning the author soon.
A highly recommended read! Now I’m off to download the audio version . . .
Utterly sweet and to the point. CRUSH is aces! This story involves Kenzie and Ryan. If you’ve read Mae Wood’s Plus One, you’ll know that Kenzie is Drennan’s cousin. Crush reads as a perfect standalone and/or prequel to Plus One.
This book was scorching! I’m a sucker for insta-love/lust and Crush delivers. Kenzie and Ryan’s story is full of tension and angst with the right amount of heat and love.
”Even if this was a mistake, he was the best mistake I’d ever made.”
This story is primarily a forbidden romance as Ryan’s firm is hires to head the financials for Kenzie’s family winery. No mixing business with pleasure and all that. With a slight age gap, and a great love story, Crush has everything I love in a romance!
This book really was like the best glass of wine: intoxicating and delicious. Ryan and Kensie are electric from the moment they meet and I felt their infatuation so much they gave me butterflies. This book swept me off my feet big time and I devoured every word. My first book by Mae Wood and I’m kicking myself for waiting so long. Five stars all the way!
I am crushing on Crush! McKenzie Balfour has wine making in her veins. Born into a family legacy of vintners she lives and breathes for the land that grows her family’s wine. Ryan Royer has worked had to be almost to the top in investment banking with his firm and has no other plans other than reaching the pinnacle at work before crossing paths with Kenzie at her family’s vineyard. What they both assume to be a mutual crush on each other develops to so much more as they spend time together. They both have very different life plans but as we all know, the heart wants what the heart wants. I loved reading about them working through those obstacles knowing that their lives could be so much better together than apart. Crush was told from dual POV and it was loaded with the lushness of Napa, the heat of young love and the heart of forever. I cannot recommend this book enough!
Loved this!!
McKenzie & Ryan…she’s a client, he’s a finance/business man. A relationship of any kind would be bad – for both of them.
Even though they have an 8 year age gap, the connection between them is strong, undeniable. They can’t stay away from each other. The sparks between the two are sizzling.
They had that pull, that feeling they’d met before, knew each other somehow. The author made ME believe they’d previously met, I felt that connection.
Even though she’s young, McKenzie made it hard to tell because of her knowledge of the land, the grapes, the wine, the process. Her confidence and her strength and her go-for-it attitude was endearing. I adored her.
This story is full of humor, love, and so much heart! I was drawn to McKenzie & Ryan right away. Their cuteness, their quirkiness, their passion, their more-than-just-lust attraction to each other.
Beautifully written, deliciously steamy, adorably charming, and I thoroughly enjoyed every word.
That moment when you meet someone for the first time but swear you somehow know them… that’s what the beginning of Kenzi and Ryan’s story was like. Insane attraction, connection, and heat defined their first meeting even when everything about the timing of it was wrong.
I was glued to this story from the second I started. I was so entranced that I fell asleep on my kindle. I loved Kenzi in Plus One and loved the rewind to see what life was like before taking over von Eck and the beginning with Ryan.
I love every visit to this P&B world and can’t wait to see what’s up next for this amazing family!!
I adore insta-love stories! Ryan and Kenzie’s story was amazing! I love Mae Wood books and Crush is no different! Amazing characters and a wonderful storyline! Beyond an instant connection this story really developed the characters – you can’t help but fall in love!
Here is what I love about this author, she writes characters with real feelings, with normal everyday obstacles that we all face in our everyday lives. Her characters are believable even when it’s insta-love, they aren’t melodramatic. They’re just real…
There is no slow burn with this book, you basically dive in head first to insta-lust that rolls into a relationship. The slight age difference was the perfect setup for how the couple reacts to certain situations. Both Ryan and Kenzie are strong characters that can hold their own. I was hooked right away and their chemistry is undeniable. It’s a well written story with witty conversation. Most of the story takes place in Napa, and the author did a beautiful job describing the scenery. I now want to go back and read Plus One, Drennan’s story, which timeline wise happens after this book. I think I might see some things in a different light.
There’s just something about the way Mae Woods writes that really resonates with me. I fall into her stories and I’m enraptured all the way until I turn the last page. This time around we spend this story at the picturesque von Eck Estate Winery with McKenzie and Ryan, and boy howdy the sparks fly with these two right from the start!
What I loved about this story is the way Mae pulls the reader in and has us totally invested in the relationship between Kenzie and Ryan. Two people who are seemingly total opposites, Ryan who is focused on facts and figures and his career and Kenzie, who is a free spirit but still knows what she wants in life. The way that Mae writes the bits of push and pull between them was just delicious and it evoked quite a lot of emotions from me, rooting for them every step of the way, both of them knowing they are meant to be together even when so many things dictated they shouldn’t be.
The sexy times between Kenzie and Ryan happened pretty quickly and I’m not usually a fan of insta-love or insta-lust but their relationship just “worked” for me. There was a depth to their relationship that was more than just attraction and sex. Mae is truly a master at writing a complete story and these two characters felt real to me. I lived vicariously through them. I worried for them, I cheered for them, and ultimately I closed the book with a ridiculous smile on my face and a sense of loss that the story was over!
I absolutely plan to do a re-read of this book so I can get lost in the beauty of the winery and Kenzie and Ryan again!
Insta-attraction!
The insta-love trope is alive and well in the wine country of California and I love it! Ryan and McKenzie “Kenzie” both experience a sense of home or familiarity in their first encounter. Both believe they have met before, although neither can recall the event. Both have an immediate and visceral attraction to each other and both have no idea what to do about it. Some might call it souls reconnecting or hearts acknowledging their other halves; I would call it kismet.
The two do not fight the pull toward each other. Rather, they both jump into the water and trust the current will connect them, bind them and keep them both safe, with each other. Ryan Royer cannot fight his feelings and as an investment banker, he continually uses his logical side to talk himself out of the relationship. McKenzie Balfour is an old soul who loves her vineyard and only wants to make wine. As a student at UC Davis, she doesn’t define herself by her grades, but it does make her unsettled. In the end, Kenzie wants what she wants —damn the consequences or obstacles — and that tenacity is what had me rooting for this couple. While there is an 8-year age difference between these two characters, love doesn’t care and it doesn’t hold water with these characters.
Ryan and Kenzie fight for love, for the vineyards and for their forever. The story will make you believe that perseverance is a value worth exploring. The author writes really good stories, making the reader invest their own emotions into it and rooting for them in the end! Definitely worth your consideration.
CRUSH is as lush and delicious as a glass of California’s best red wine. In a romance novel vibrating with steamy, insta-lust scenes, Ryan and Kenzie are hot and obsessed with each other and I was 100% here for it. Mae’s gorgeous descriptions of Kenzie’s vineyard, her love of the land, the crush of the grapes, the smell of Napa fields at sunset…I was transported. Hot, fun and sensual – what’s not to love?
I received an ARC of this book for an honest review.
This is the book you can’t wait to read, but you never want to end.
Ryan and Kenzie are addictive. Their chemistry is off the charts hot, sweet, sexy and romantic! The pages seem to turn themselves. This story is that good. It deserves 10 stars at least! I don’t have the words to adequately describe how much you need this book!
One click it NOW!
Insta connection, steamy scenes and vineyards…what’s not to love! I loved Kenzie and Ryan and although they had a few ups and downs they did not waiver from their connection. Just as in real life….sometimes when you know you just know.
Ahh! What a wonderful story!
Kenzie is such a strong heroine. She has her eyes on her dream and is intent on working hard to achieve her goals.
Ryan arrives in Napa, thinking only about nabbing a client and scoring a promotion but is bowled over by a beautiful wine maker.
“My world that was built on science and facts now felt like it was floating on feeling and intuition.”
The romance went from zero to speeding in seconds! A bit of an insta-lust story that develops into so much more.
“I wanted to live in this fairy tale about a girl who sowed chaos and lived in peace with poems by her bed and wore my old jerseys to sleep.”
Crush is set in and around the lush vineyards of Napa Valley and the author really delivers the tastes, smells and feels of the area. The setting comes to life and really puts the reader right into the midst of this story.
-5 Stars!-
This was my first Mae Wood book but I’ve already gone back and put all her books on my TBR list. People have been telling me for awhile that I need to get with it…I’m just sorry it took me so long. I found this story to be super sexy with some great banter (Kenzie is a complete delight). Both Ryan and Kenzie feel like they’ve known each other before but neither can put their finger on it either…a lot of the suspense for me was HOW did they know each other…I’m not sure I got that answer except…maybe it was in a past life, or their souls were just meant for each other. The fact that there is an age gap AND that he is working for her family should deter them…and it does. Do these two have what it takes to work past all that in order to make it work?
Wood takes an interesting approach to storytelling. Where as most authors start at a slow burn, she goes full force. Crush attacks the senses and then works at claiming your heart. From the picture she paints, to the dialogue she writes Mae Wood sets out to get a reaction and she most definitely succeeds. Kenzie and Ryan are as flavorful as they are compelling. One taste is far from enough.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this.
I love the Pig & Barley world and while this isn’t 100% that, it is that.
I loved how strong and how self assured she is. He did piss me off and I wanted him to fight a bit harder and have her MAKE him fight, but when she got to why she didn’t I agreed with her.
You get a good look into what makes a bottle of wine. I loved that. I love that I learned something.
Kenzie and Ryan on paper appear to be polar opposites, but the moment they meet – they feel an instant attraction. They feel like they’ve known each other forever. Kenzie is young, but she’s learning the family wine business and is determined to succeed. Ryan is older and is in the finance industry. When Ryan and Kenzie get together things get HOT! You can feel their pull and attraction. You will cheer for them and feel their pain because as with all relationships nothing ever comes easy. Trust me the crush with Kenzie and Ryan is worth all the work!
Ms. Wood draws you into her books with love and poetry. I can’t wait for more titles from this author.
Crush is set in Napa Valley and the Von Eck Winery that Kenzie will one day inherit. This book is a few years ahead of this author’s book “Plus One” which features Kenzie’s cousin Drennan.
Ryan, a 30-year-old banker, meets Kenzie in the process of helping the winery secure financing for expansion. Kenzie and Ryan experience a love at first sight/instant attraction/magnetic pull toward each other. I really loved this element of the story. They each had this deep feeling immediately that they were meant to be more. I love Kenzie’s confidence and willingness to pursue a relationship that feels right even though the timing seems so wrong. I love that Ryan cannot help the way he feels about Kenzie, even though it could professionally devastate him. Yes, they have trials to get through. Yes, they each must grow a little. Yes, there are times when they need to prioritize other things over a relationship with each other. Yes, Ryan must overcome stereotypes he would like to apply to Kenzie.
This book was well written, and I really appreciated how mature Kenzie was dealing with Ryan regarding their age and life differences. I really liked how they communicated well except for the big black moment. I loved that that they dove into their relationship with both feet.
I am a sucker for a love at first sight book and this one did not disappoint me. The story and character development were excellent, and I could not put the book down. I always feel like the sign of a good book to me is if I want to read it again. I finished this book and I am already planning a reread in the next month. I highly recommend this book.