Bad-Boys and Dark Secrets Are Tough To Keep
Serena DuPont isn’t interested in falling in love again. Been there, done that, and she has the pulverized heart to prove it. Leaving behind those sucky romantic choices, she transfers to a new college her sophomore year. All Serena wants to do is pledge a sorority, stay focused on her classes, and swear off sexy players. 



Tell that to Cole Prescott, the incredibly gorgeous complication that threatens to crush her newfound resolve. Keeping him in the “friend zone” won’t be easy, especially when the sizzling chemistry between them is so damn combustible. But that’s not Serena’s biggest problem...



While pledging Zeta Beta, her life gets flipped horribly upside down by a series of ominous threats, nasty rumors, and even blackmail. And the only place she finds comfort is in the arms of the off-limits frat boy she should be avoiding. 



Unless Serena can prove her innocence to the ultra-saucy sorority that’s accused her of being involved in a lewd sex scandal, Serena is at risk of losing the future she’s fought so hard to rebuild. Resigned to the fate of the Greek gods, Serena might not be able to lie her way out of this epic disaster.




ARC provided by the author for an honest review - thank you kindly!
Spoiler-free review


I read this book fairly quickly and for starters, I will say that it was good as a whole. I liked it. It's about a college romance and a girl attempting to get into a sorority on campus, Zeta Beta. Of course, the American college experience is something we've all read about before, especially in the New Adult domain. If those kinds of stories are something you enjoy, we think you'll like Smash Into You.


It has the basic NA formula and structure - namely, the protagonist with a secretive past (although when we finally find out what happens, it's certainly more than I thought it would be), the handsome love interest who charms the main character, and the various different personalities of campus sorority girls and tragic family members on top of it all.



Cole Prescott, the guy in the story, is of the likable sort. With his charming personality and obvious good looks, he's enough to charm any girl. I'm no exception. When our protagonist finally spills the beans on her past, Cole is supportive and kind, which scored him extra points as a NA love interest. There are so many other stories where the love interest might have responded in a douchebag sort of way. In Smash Into You, however, Cole was respectful and comforting, which made me love his character more than one can usually hope for.



Our main girl, Serena, I feel was an interesting character to read about. She was asked by Zeta Beta to do some harsh things while rushing the sorority, and I like that she didn't just do it for the hell of it. She always considered what was being asked of her. And near the end, she is required to perform a task that is very likely detrimental to someone else. I admire that she did what she felt was the right thing to do, and not to ruin their life for her own gain. That was admirable, and I respected her for it. On top of that, being able to pick herself up and dust herself off after a horrible experience in her life is something all NA protagonists need to learn quite badly. And Serena had it down.



The reason I took some stars off was because I thought it was a bit slow, mostly around the midpoint. I felt myself looking at the percentage on my Kindle, wondering how much I had left and when something juicy would happen. I  got impatient with how long it took Serena and Cole to start connecting, as well as with the long wait for the big reveal regarding Serena's past.  I'm quite an impatient reader, so for me, the pacing could have been better. Also, another reason I took a star off was that some of the situations did feel a little too dramatic for my liking, but what do I know? I'm not from the U.S. and our schools don't have Greek sororities. This could be the norm. As an outsider, however, it was just a little too much. 



And while this isn't a particular fault of the book, since I know people who do this in real life too, but people saying 'hashtag' in everyday conversations make me angry! Jade, why do you do this...?



With great writing, enjoyable characters - and some we loved hating - and a regrettably slow plot, Smash Into You is a good read. It offers some interesting insight into campus life, and I think if you enjoy the 'forbidden love' aspect of a story on top of reading about university life and sororities, you'll like this one. 


GoodReads:



 Will you be reading Smash Into You? Author Sherry Soule has written many other books, so share with us your thoughts on her other books as well as this one. If you wish to contact us, you can find us at any of these places, we love talking to you all and meeting fellow readers.