Enjoy being taken back to the years of school and college, reminding you how things were back then, how you would second guess what people were thinking, the unknown of what to do and how to behave, did that look mean what I think it meant or was it my imagination? Then of course you have your first crush, your first boyfriend, those that thought they were better than you and those who suffered because they were different. This is where we first meet Jessie and her first crush Lee, even though competition was high for his attention as he was infatuated with wrongly suited Tina, never giving Jessie more than a second thought at the time. I felt myself willing Lee to notice Tina yet he was having none of it, but as the time rolled on things have a way of changing....

Turning to the first page brings you straight into the beginning of Jessie's roller coaster life and the start of events that take their toll on her as she feels that she has to make do with second best and then sadly has to suffer from the consequences of her choices. After the senior year of high school, the story is then divided into Jessie and Lee's separate lives after college and of course the 10 year reunion that marks the change of their past giving them a second chance of love that could have been so many years previously.

The authors writing easily draws you in to the story as you anticipate what will happen next in the lives of the characters. I immediately felt a connection with the them, feeling their emotions, or the atmosphere in which they were creating. I felt a mix of their feelings as I followed their stories and their burdening secrets, I felt their sadness, grief, their anger and frustrations, glimmers of hope, excitement, and of course their happiness.

First Crush, Last Love was a tale that took hold of me as I followed the numerous and emotional events, events that felt very real, it's one of those books that will have you picking it up whenever you have spare reading time to connect with the characters that you have felt a bond with. I enjoyed the mix of romance, suspense and in parts humor, and I am really looking forward to another chance of reading more from the author. ( )

My Thoughts…

A romance novel set in the 80’s & 90’s is right up my alley. I grew up in this time and loved flashing back to my high school years. The clicks, the attitudes, and the crushes were all perfect for the setting and the characters. While in high school who hasn’t hoped that a couple would break up so that she could jump into the open spot in the relationship? That is exactly what Jessie spent her entire high school hoping would happen with Lee.

It was refreshing to see a friendship between Lee and Jessie. There was more than just hormones and lust. Their friendship was true to their age, with the witchy girlfriend being jealous and the other friends looking at them like they were hiding something. At some points in the story I was hoping Jessie could move on, forget Lee, and just get on with her life. Until she did… then I was screaming for her to find Lee and get back to the good things in life.

I really enjoyed First Crush, Last Love. It was fun to reminisce about the high school years. ( )

First Crush, Last Love by Elizabeth McKenna
Story starts out with her finding Martin, pill bottle on the floor. He had overdosed but she got to him in time.
Jessie doesn't understand the pain he is in. She is attracted to Lee and follows him around year after year as he dates others.
Story also follows Lee as he leaves home the day of graduation and starts a new life. Like his choice and why.
Turmoil on the engagement day but she goes ahead with the wedding despite Sarah's point of view.
Up to date circumstances and occur in everyday lives.
Class reunion and misundertandings and fear, stalking. Love the dog and German used and locations described.
Excerpts from other works are included the end. Would love to read more from this author-really enjoyed.
Received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion. ( )

The premise of this book can be easily summarized by the title alone. Told from alternating perspectives and over the course of a decade, this romance novel tackles a variety of topics, childhood abuse, suicide, AIDS, and domestic abuse. Those themes are threaded throughout the novel as Jessie and Lee grow apart and live separate lives after high school. After her teenage crush went nowhere and Lee disappeared after high school graduation Jesse married the next guy that gave her the time of day even though there were warning signs that the relationship was anything but healthy. Lee on the other hand escaped his abusive stepfather and became a cop in Chicago. While their lives couldn't be anymore different, they are about to align again at their ten year high school reunion. Is that spark still there? Have the two changed too much in their time apart? A pretty standard romance novel with a few "romantic" scenes (nothing too steamy), a damsel in distress, and a hot troubled lover. Romance fans will eat this up. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. The author infused lots of life into the characters, which in turn made the storyline come alive. This book is broken out into three sections...Senior Year, Marriage Interrupted, and 10-Year Reunion. Not a lot of time is spent in the first section. Yet, the story starts out fine. It was frustrating that Jessie was all about Lee and he did not reciprocate the feelings. Well maybe a little but he did not act on them.

The second half of the story was hard to read. This is because while Jessie saw some of the signs that Billy was the jealous type and she was warned by her friend; yet, she still proceeded to marry him. This is when the abuse got worse. While the scenes were few and far between and not very graphic, it is still hard to read about anyone...woman or man being abused by another. Jessie may have been married to an abuser but Lee did date one as well with his old high school girlfriend.

The final act was short as well but it felt as if Jessie and Lee had been interacting with one another for a long time and not just reconnecting for the first time in ten years. I am glad that Lee and Jessie found their happy ending. ( )