Rating: 
Summary: Not one of her best
Review: I waited on this book to come out and rushed to the book store when it did . Boy was I in for a let down . I buy S.B. books for the mix of steamy romance and suspense.This book had lots of suspense very little romance.I would not recommend The Crush if your looking for normal Sanda Brown romance.
Rating:
Summary: Long but entertaining
Review: Ricky Roy Lozada is and has always been a killer, yet when Dr. Rennie Newton served as jurywoman on his trial for manslaughter, she felt conscience-bound to press for his acquittal. All through that trial he stared at her and now, only a short time later, Rennie's rival for the job of chief of surgeons at her hospital is silently and brutally murdered in the parking lot, a vase of red roses mysteriously appears in Rennie's locked apartment, and Lozada himself is calling ... and following her. Seems he has a crush on her.Cop-on-leave Wick Threadgill has had his own run-ins with Lozada over the death of Wick's brother Joe and would like nothing better than a piece of this psychopath. That's the only reason Wick accepts his partner, Oren's, plea to come back to Fort Worth as a favor and help out on this case, surveiling Rennie from afar since Oren can't believe she didn't hire Lozada herself to bump off her competition. It isn't long before Wick too is watching Rennie, then following her, then calling on her. Seems he too has a crush on her. And Lozada won't stand for that. If THE CRUSH was about a hundred pages shorter (it's 474), and if Lozada was less of your stereotypical monster (who keeps scorpions in his apartment, has been killing playmates since childhood, and stays scrupulously clean), it would be a four star novel. The romance is well done and neatly woven into the suspense of catching Lozada, and the characters are interesting enough to carry the story. Still ... I got tired of Wick's constant unprofessional behavior (I'm sorry, but cops, even ex-cops, don't let their feelings for a pretty woman distract them while they've got a stone cold killer sniffing their heels),and I tired of the way Sandra Brown clogged the entire novel with background info, rather than fitting it in early on so I could use it as a foundation on which to build my assessment of the characters in their present lives. I ended up skimming rather than reading word for word. Still, when I put THE CRUSH down at bedtime, I was eager to wake up in the morning and finish it (and Lozada!) off. For readers who enjoy entertaining novels of romance and mystery and aren't neccessarily put off by multiple background segments and inner monologues, THE CRUSH is an excellent choice.
Rating:
Summary: Tedious and Drawn out.......Not up to Brown Standard...
Review: Mediocre at best. I love Brown's books, but this one was boring and dragged. Too much info into the character's pasts and the male lead of Wick was unlikeable in my opinion.
He seemed too 'hick' and unintelligent to do the job he was sent to do, keep an eye on a murder suspect for the detective he was friends with.
Being an ex-cop and all, I figured he would know the 'ropes' so to speak and not get sidetracked by stupid things, but not here. Wick kept 'checking' Rennie (the doctor and murder suspect)out and missing vital clues in the surveilance.
Funny thing was, I almost heard myself muttering about the detective that sent Wick to do the job to be the hero.
He was stable and intelligent. He was married, so it kind of ruined that idea, lol, but still, I enjoyed his interaction with Rennie far more than Wick. At least he knew what was what and didn't get sidetracked by a great pair of legs. Basic story of a woman who served Jury Duty and helped get the killer off simply because there wasn't enough evidence. Soon she is stalked and tormented by the obsessed man(Lozado)Which by the way was more interesting than Wick too, but anyway...
Wick is sent in to watch her and keep an eye on her since she is supected of the recent murder of a fellow surgeon she didn't see eye to eye with. What he doesn't expect is to fall for her and be caught in a web of past hates, obsessions and lust. Lazado wants the doctor for himself, he doesn't need Wick in the way... Tracy Talley~@
Rating:
Summary: Nice try
Review: I love Sandra Brown's novels. And I quite liked this one about a defendant that falls for a juror and the investigation of police afterwards, the guy (a policeman) is really sexy and all. The love story is a good one, better that the last novels, I guess, although I'm a little bit tired of those women so cool, so aloof, so misterious. But there were moments in which I came out of the fantasy because of the terrible methods the hero -a policeman- uses. He did not looked as a hero for me anymore, no matter how sexy. If something like that is written in a Spanish novel, we would consider the author a fascist fron the very right wing. I guess it's not what Sandra would want me to believe from her, and I really don't think it, it only shows the kind of society she lives in. There're not psycopaths like that one described in the book in my country, so I guess it all just goes together. It's nice but for the first time, some ideas came to my mind to make it a better history, for instance, keeping some mistery to the end, I knew what was going to happen afterwards, and I didn't like it, either.
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling adventure
Review: Wick Threadgill lost his brother, his job, and his sense of self-worth thanks to a brutal killer--a killer that Dr. Rennie Newton just let off of a sure murder conviction when she took charge of the jury and voted for acquittal. Now, killer Ricky Lozada has a crush on Rennie and intends to add her to his list of possessions. Rennie has run from romance, from men, and from life for twenty years, ever since her teenage wildness caught up with her in a huge way. But nothing in her life has prepared her for this. The police suspect her of complicity in the murder of a rival doctor, Lozada is stalking her, and Wick is lying to her, playing with her mind, and generally making her wonder about everything she has always believed. Author Sandra Brown has created a powerfully evil character in Lozada--a worthy rival for Wick and Rennie. To this, she adds the painful history that neither Wick nor Rennie has ever been able to escape. It all adds up to a first class adventure and a sizzling romance.
Rating:
Summary: satisfyingly good
Review: In this book virtually all three of the main characters, the villain, professional hit man Lozada, the protagonist, Wick, a hot-headed and suspended police officer, and the object of Lozada's obsession, lady doctor Rennie, are all victims, mas o menos. Each has had a major traumatic experience of one sort or another than seriously affects their lifestyles, but Brown has managed to bring them together artfully. She also avoids the pitfall of so many authors who use superflous characters as walk-ons that only cloud the machinations of the plot. By using very few supporting players, such as Wick's best friend Oren, a cop who seems to have the only normal psyche and familial relationship in the bunch, she keeps the story line "clean." The concept, like most of Brown's books, is elegantly simple: Bad guy stalks woman, hero falls for woman, they both suffer a bit as he becomes her protector, both struggle to outwit the bad guy. It would seem almost trite except for the introspection and delving into each personality just enough to give them some depth and a consequent sense of reality. One begins to care about their fates because, as in all good writing, the author makes them come alive off the pages with bits of homily, such as Rennie's barrel racing expertise, or the reaction to her mean-spirited and ruthless father whom she adored as a girl. At a pivotal point in her life when she is at her most impressionable age, she discovers the truth about him, i.e., he's a real bastard. She then becomes the small Texas town's reigning punchboard, her slutty behavior her only weapon to show her disdain and anger, hoping to hurt her father with the only weapons at her disposal. How she changed and altered her life into an adulthood of self-denial toward love and sex, turning instead to her beloved horses, made her story and ultimate fate much more interesting to this reader.
Wick, a man who lost a brother through what he interprets as his own fault, an inability to control his temper, is equally marred, but in his case by guilt and sullen resentment at his own faults and the world in general. His character seemed more two-dimensional to me, a little too predictable as the (what else?) lanky, boot-wearing Texas hardbody who fights at the drop of a Stetson, but that is to be expected when female authors attempt to write from a man's perspective, just as the opposite is true. How these two get together to combat the insidious and crafty artifices of Lozada, whose main problem aside from being a complete psychopath, is his rabid rationalization in thinking Rennie returns his feelings. Brown is good at letting the reader know that self-delusion is almost always a factor with stalkers. Lozada cannot really love anyone else but himself, yet he rationalizes his need to control and take what he wants as honest caring. By throwing a little extra effort into such insights, Brown makes her characters more intriguing, and thus the relatively straightforward, by the numbers plot becomes a richer backdrop for the antics therein. My main criticism is that the sex scenes, (I hesitate to call them "love" scenes) seem too contrived and raunchy in places, almost as if the author felt she had to throw them in for prurient titillation to fulfill the publisher's quota of "sex sells" criteria. I notice this trend among other top female authors, seemingly wanting to get it out of the way as quickly as possible so they can go back to writing the more important scenes. Being a romantic, I would enjoy it more with a slower buildup, little signs of caring that grow at a normal pace, more innuendo and less graphic description of the act. But that aside, the overall plot, pacing and action sequences were excellent and there is a modicum of violent confrontations that are welcome, especially to male readers who often decry "chick" books as being too weepy and boring. Not this one. I enjoyed it and recommend it to fans of this genre.
- Barker Reviews
Rating: 
Summary: The Crush
Review: I have only read two of Sandra Brown's novels, 'THE CRUSH' and 'ENVY' but already I would say that she is one of the few authors whose novels I would rush to buy as soon as it came out. Brown combines romance and suspense in a way that very few authors before her have been able to. In 'THE CRUSH' Dr. Rennie Newton has just come off a lengthy trial in which hired hit man "Ricky Roy" Lozada was acquitted for the murder of a wealthy businessman. Lozada, who had not hidden his fixation on Rennie throughout his trial, would now like to show her his appreciation for having been forewoman on the jury and the main advocate for his acquittal, . So when one of Dr. Newton's colleagues, who had just won the position of chief of surgery, a position that Rennie had also been up for, turns up dead, Detective Oren Wesley automatically suspects that Rennie hired Lozada to take out the competition. Once Detective Wesley's suspicions of Lozada's involvement in the murder are pretty much confirmed he enlists the help of former partner and long time friend Wick Threadgill. Threadgill, who has taken an extended leave of absence from the police force, is enticed back into the line of duty having his own personal score to settle with Lozada. However, Wick is not prepared for the strong attraction he feels toward the reticent Rennie Newton, who's damaged past causes her to hold her privacy to the utmost and has allowed no one to get close to her in twenty years. 'THE CRUSH' is a very fast paced story with a good mix of suspense and romance without being overly maudlin. I would highly recommend 'THE CRUSH' to anyone who likes reading a good suspense novel. 4 ½ stars!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Story
Review: This is a story that shows how experiences can paralyze and control a person's life for years. But, it also shows how one can work through those painful experiences and go on to make a wonderful life. I loved every bit of the book. I could relate to Rennie Newton's character, as I'm sure anyone can who has experienced hurt and disappointment. Wick Threadgill is every woman's hero (and example of a man). He was wonderful. On the other hand there were others in the book that were simply put, creeps, for example: Ricky Roy Lozada. He had to be the devil's twin. He was as evil as a human can be. Read the book. You will love it too.
Rating:
Summary: SANDRA BROWN DOES IT AGAIN!
Review: As usual, Sandra Brown succeeds! I could not put the book down after the 19th chapter. No way could anything interrupt me from finishing the book. Now that I'm done, I am glad to say that Sandra Brown once again fooled me with her multiple storylines. Great job, Sandra! I also recommend THE SWITCH. My all time favorite book by S. Brown. Get The CRUSH, you won't regret it!
Rating:
Summary: Oh My Gosh: WONDERFUL
Review: I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK SANDRA
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