Crushed

Name: Crushed
Rating: 3.5999999046325684 (5 reviews)

Isabel Jolie

Jan 2022 · The Twisted Vines Series Book 1 · Noctivity, Inc.

5 reviews

Ebook

346

Pages

Tools

Eligible

About this ebook

What happens when the person who knows you best is someone you've never met?

He's a hacker in hiding, living off-grid in a Sonoma vineyard safehouse while he and his friends build a security firm designed to take down the cybercriminals they once worked for.

She's a struggling bookshop owner—or that's what she lets people believe. In reality, she's an heiress to one of wine country's most powerful families, and she's learned that anonymity is the only way to know whether someone wants her instead of the Rossi name.

For fifteen years, their friendship has lived online—two avatars, two aliases, and a safe distance from real life.

Until Erik walks into Vivi's bookshop to finally put a face to the name.

His plan is simple: one look, stay hidden, go home.

Then he sees her.

Meeting in person changes everything. Attraction wasn't part of their friendship. Neither was falling in love. And neither can afford to tell the other the full truth.

Because Erik's past is hunting him. Vivi's secrets make her a target. And the closer they get, the more dangerous it becomes to protect the one person who knew them before either knew the other's name.

Why readers will love this book:

Online best friends meet in real life after fifteen years

Dual hidden identities

Hacker-in-hiding hero

Secret heiress/bookshop-owner heroine

Small-town wine country setting

Found-family security team

Slow burn to steamy, open door

Dual POV

Standalone romance

Book Details:

Heat Level: Steamy, open door

Vibes: Online best friends-to-lovers, secret identities, wine-country romance, found family, and dangerous cyber-suspense

Setting: Sonoma wine country

Tropes: Hidden identity • Wealthy heiress • Fugitive hero • Found family

Ending: HEA, standalone

Comp authors: For fans of the high-stakes romantic suspense of Adriana Anders and K.A. Tucker, with the small-town warmth of Devney Perry.

Crushed is a standalone romance and the first book in the Twisted Vines series.

What happens when the person who knows you best is someone you've never met? He's a hacker in hiding, living off-grid in a Sonoma vineyard safehouse while he and his friends build a security firm designed to take down the cybercriminals they once worked for. She's a struggling bookshop owner—or ...

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Ratings and reviews

5 reviews

THERESA NATOLE

January 27, 2022

Vivi and Erik have been friends for over 10 years but never actually met. They are friends on an online game. A friendship has developed between them, but they don't even know each other's real names. With Eric’s skill with cyberspace he's able to find out where she lives. When he walks into her bookstore and sees her, he is pleasantly surprised. Whatever he imagined real life is so much better. But he doesn't tell her who he is. Security is a big thing to him and when he looks around her store he notices she's hardly protected. He feels protective of her and wants to keep her safe even though she has no clue who he is. Eric and his friends are trying to stay hidden because of an ex-partner who was after them. Eric feels if this partner finds him and realizes what Vivi is to him she is in danger just by association. Crushed is a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat just waiting to see what will happen next. An enjoyable read.

Sally Baumann

September 13, 2023

Not my favourite book by this author Unfortunately I had a hard time settling into this book. I kept waiting to feel a connection to both the story and the characters but felt as though I was being kept at arms length. I was longing to really get to know the main characters but the writing style unfortunately hindered this. It came across as rather choppy and disjointed and I was just hoping for more. I wanted to see things work out for Erik and Vivi but I can't say I really felt much chemistry between them. I was curious to see how it would all work out with the threats that they were facing but would have liked it to have been more suspenseful. This was the first book in the Twisted Vines series and I don't think I'll continue reading the rest of the books. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Kristen Lewendon

January 31, 2022

This book, and especially the ending, all make the book worm, the gamer geek, and the nerd girl in me “squee!” in delight. The suspense held me at the edge of my seat, and I was constantly wondering what would happen next. I loved that we got this opportunity to see why Erik operated the way he did. After reading his sister’s story in “First Light”, I knew there had to be more to him then what we'd been able to see so far. Vivi both was and wasn’t what I expect from a gamer girl. She has the introverted nature, but her family dynamic threw my expectations for a bit of a loop. I adored this pair together. The way they took care of each other and looked after one another made my happy heart sigh. I'm not sure how they'll deal with the shadow that still looms over them however, I'm dying to see what the author brings us next. I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book from the author.

About the author

Isabel Jolie, aka Izzy, lives on a lake, loves dogs of all stripes, and if she’s not working, she can be found reading, often with a glass of wine in hand. In prior lives, Izzie worked in marketing and advertising, in a variety of industries, such as financial services, entertainment, and technology. In this life, she loves daydreaming and writing contemporary romances with strong heroines.

Sign-up for Izzy’s newsletter at https://isabeljoliebooks.com/#newsletter to keep up-to-date on new releases, promotions, and giveaways.

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