Crushed

Author: Eliza Crewe
Series: Soul Eaters, #2
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: September 22, 2014

Meda Melange has officially hung up her monstrous mantle and planted her feet firmly on the holy and righteous path of a Crusader-in-training. Or, at least, she’s willing to give it a shot. It helps that the Crusaders are the only thing standing between her and the demon hordes who want her dead.

The problem is, the only people less convinced than Meda of her new-found role as Good Girl are the very Crusaders she's trying to join. So when a devilishly handsome half-demon boy offers escape, how’s a girl supposed to say "no?"

After all, everyone knows a good girl's greatest weakness is a bad boy.

Way to pull on my heartstrings, Ms. Crewe. I hope you're happy, perhaps smirking behind a computer screen out there, while somewhere, one of your readers is—er, was doing everything from shouting profanities to making soundless expressions at an open book in the middle of a lecture hall.

Which is a good thing, I guess.

If the message wasn't clear when I wrote my review of Cracked, you, dear reader, need to pick up the Soul Eater series right now. Almost everything I loved about the first book carried on to Crushed—engaging writing, complex relationships, exceptional character development, characters diverse in race and disability, and fast-paced, action-packed plot. And it's just so nice to indulge in narrative that isn't so serious all the time. How do authors manage to do this so effortlessly?

No, Meda, you can't eat that guy.

Meda is back, bitches. She may have saddled herself with the Crusaders—with good intentions and as a true Beacon, this time—but she's not about to let herself be held on a tight leash. And she'll be damned before she becomes a pet for these goody-two shoes humans, ready to bark and roll over at their beck and call.

I am what I am and I am not ashamed.

But if the Crusaders are going to trust her, she'll have to keep her head bowed or lose the only protection she has against the army of pissed-off hell spawns who want her and their revenge. Or she could run away with a hot demon halfling for a weekend of superhero antics. Which sounds pretty good too. If a war's coming, might as well cherish these moments while it lasts, eh?

Meda's been through her share of growth, but that journey of hers is far from over. The demon and human halves of her personality still struggle to fit together. She feels guilty for causing her friends trouble, but she can't quite resist the temptation of being bad, which she doesn't feel sorry for and doesn't need to. If her friends are in a pinch, she'll stay good and true, being loyal to a fault.

No one else will know I snuck out, but [Jo's] stellar bullshit-o-meter always knows when I'm up to no good.

I can't ever get enough of Meda and Jo, one of the best friendships I've ever read about in literature. Their friendship, thankfully, wasn't torn apart over trivial matters. Jo still calls her out for her bullshit and Meda for hers. Honestly, I liked that these characters were so multi-layered. You can't really hate anyone for anything, even the villains.

"Well, if it isn't the delectable Meda Melange." [...] His name isn't nearly as memorable as his face, so I just gasp "You!" Rude, maybe, but I figure "half-demon-boy-from-the-demon-dungeon" would really give my ignorance away.

Smooth-talking Armand makes a comeback! Totally called it. But whenever he came into the picture, though no fault of the author's, I kept on thinking about this motherfucker. Not the same name, but similar enough. It was hard to imagine Armand being seductive and charming when I keep hearing Takahata101's voice from TeamFourStar's Attack on Titan Abridged. Still, the flirtation between Meda and Armand had me struggling to hold back a smile.

He grins at me and I grin at him, two Cheshire smiles brilliant in the dim and dingy living room...

I wish Armand and Meda had been given more scenes together to drive home their feelings for each other. I believed in it, but I felt like something was lacking.

Can we talk about that ending? Armand's betrayal and Meda's resolve hurt so much, but I'm a true masochist that eats these kinds of things up and I wouldn't have liked it more any other way. But I would totally take Armand back as a love interest. In the realm of fiction, of course. Anyone who does what he did in real life should be punished, no question. I may be sick, but I do have standards. Somewhere.

"How exactly do you see this..." I wave between the two of us, unable to come up with a descriptor.

"Beautiful friendship?" he supplies with a devilish grin.

"...going?" I finish, ignoring him. "Us being mortal enemies and all."

"I prefer the term 'star-crossed lovers'."

I snort. "Regardless, it can't end well."

"The best romances don't."