Review: Red Velvet Crush by Christina Meredith

Red Velvet Crush
Teddy Lee’s mother ran off when she was in second grade. And ever since, Teddy Lee, the often-overshadowed middle kid, has tried to keep her family together. But her older brother Winston usually keeps himself busy with smoking, drinking, and girls, and who knows what else. Her younger sister Billie is occupied with her shoplifting habit and boys . . . and who knows what else. So when Teddy Lee finally takes the songs she’s always written and forms a band, maybe it’ll bring everyone closer together, maybe it’ll be her time to shine. Unless Billie steals the spotlight—and the boy—just like she always does. Christina Meredith explores the complicated relationship of sisters—both the unconditional love and the unavoidable resentments—in a novel full of music, urgency, the first blushes of love, and the undeniable excitement of hitting the road.

Red Velvet Crush is a bit of a non-story really, because despite the fact that the blurb offers all this tour excitement and drama, not a whole lot happens in this book. The main point of this book is that it's about two bickering sisters who never really get their issues sorted, so there wasn't even any real resolution.

The main character, Teddy, is a songwriter who joins a band her brother is putting together with some guys and her sister and they go on a tour to get their name out there. During the trip, Teddy 'falls in love' with Ty, a brooding musician type, there wasn't a whole lot of chemistry there and all I saw was some kind of physical attraction and then the whole book plays on the 'bad boy musicians break your heart' trope. I didn't really care for Teddy and Ty as a couple.

The main point of this book is the tension between Teddy and her younger sister Billie. Billie is an attention hog, Teddy wants to sing her own songs but Billie wants the spotlight, mean words are said, Billie does some really stupid things and then the book ends without these issues really even being addressed. I did love the way Meredith was so honest about Teddy's feelings for Billie, the way she both cares for and ultimately resents her little sister. It was so candid and that was the best part of the book, but really I just wish it had really been dealt with.

Overall, red Velvet crush was a slow and at times downright boring read, it's okay for a quick pick up and some people might like it more than me, but if you're looking for books about music and bands I can recommend many that are far better than this. 

Book released June 14th 2016 by Greenwillow Books
Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review

1 comment

  1. I don't think I'll be picking this up. I hate spoiled characters. Thanks for sharing, potentially saved me from buying this in the future. :)

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