\\ Blog Tour \\ Review | Crush Control by Jennifer Jabaley

Title: Crush Control by Jennifer Jabaley
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult - Romance
Publication: June 9, 2011 by Razorbill
Format: Paperback
Source: Book Sparks
Rating: ★★★★

Synopsis: When Willow Grey was nine, her mom dropped the bomb of ultimate betrayal: they would be moving from their small town in Georgia to glitzy Las Vegas. Willow was devastated to have to leave her best friend, Max, behind. So she decided to take control of the situation: she told Max to relax, to let his eyelids droop and then she said: "Max Montgomery, for as long as we live, you and I will be best friends..."

Now, at seventeen, Willow and her mom move back to their hometown and Willow is determined to pick up where she and Max left off. But even though he's still her best friend, his heart now belongs to someone else—and Willow realizes that what she feels for him is so much more than just friendship. For the second time in her life, Willow finds herself using hypnosis to get what she wants. But what starts off as a harmless experiment soon spirals into chaos and Willow is forced to wonder: Is the heart really something you can control—with mind control? Cover: I like the colors, but I wish Willow eyes looked the way they were described in the book.

Thoughts: I wasn't too sure what to expect when I signed up for this book tour because I must admit, I didn't remember if I read the summary or not. So when I finally got this in the mail, I was pretty excited to read it. I have not read Lipstick Apology like many others have, so this author was new to me. I was happy to find that Crush Control was a fun and sweet story that I really couldn't get enough of.

Willow and Max have been best friends since before they were born. Willow at nine years old, hypnotizes Max that they will be best friends forever before she and her mom move to Las Vegas to start a new life. Now, eight years later, Willow and her mom return home and Willow is ready to pick up things with Max where they left off and maybe even start something new. What Willow didn't expect was Max to have a new girlfriend and that all she would be was the best friend. Determined to win Max's heart, Willow thinks of a plan that only a teenage girl would be convinced of working: she hypnotizes the hottest guy in school to fall head over heels for her, to make Max jealous. Everything spirals out of control pretty quickly and Willow must figure out how to fix everything she's done.

Willow is a fun and wacky girl that I liked from the start and her different successful attempts at hypnosis had me laughing out loud. I got sucked into the story pretty quickly because of the ease the story was written in and the great relationships Willow has with her loved ones made me adore the characters. Not only does she have an awesome relationship with her mom, but she makes unexpected friends who care about her, and her relationship with Max is really sweet. And although we didn't get a chance to see the "real" Quinton, his part was pretty funny, if not a bit ridiculous.

The story moves along quickly enough and I was engaged the entire time. I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next, and everytime Willow tried something new to change her situation, I was enjoying myself. I was pretty satisfied with the conclusion, and there were a few sweet surprises that I really liked. Overall, this is a great beach read that I'm sure many will enjoy. I definitely had a good time watching Willow grow as a character and even found some interest in hypnosis, which I am still not sure I believe actually "works". I will definitely be reading more from Ms. Jabaley and recommed Crush Control to all YA lovers out there looking for a quick, fun read!