Cait’s Review of “Carpool Crush” by Rachel John

By: Cait Marie

Blurb

She’s bad at reading signals. He’s sent all the wrong ones.

Jenny… Of course Noah would come back, and right when my life is a mess. I swear we had the best carpool friendship. Until he asked me out, then changed his mind, and then asked me out again, only to ghost me. I hate him so much. Almost as much as I love him and miss him—the old him before he became the worst ever.

My crush on him may have been obvious and embarrassing, but now that he’s in carpool again, I’m making sure the only thing getting crushed around here are his hopes for making things right.

Noah… I’m the worst. I chose my job and my assignment over the best person I’ll ever know. I have so many secrets I might as well be an international spy. Except there’s nothing glamorous about me. Especially my career. I’m working in phone support just to be in Jenny’s carpool again.

It’s not a great plan, but at least it’s taking me in the right direction—towards a future with Jenny. This time, I’m not going to screw everything up. Hopefully. 

Review

I was so excited when I found out Jenny got her own book. After meeting her in I Hated You First, I really wanted her story and to find out what exactly was going on with her and Noah. This book did not disappoint.

Jenny and Noah were co-workers and shared a carpool, but then he up and moved away because he got a promotion. Now, he’s back but not with their company. He cannot return to that job for spoilery reasons, so instead he finds the closest job he can… so that he can join their carpool group again. Because he misses her.

And it’s honestly adorable.

She’s, of course, wary of letting him back into her life because of the one date they had before he left… when he asked her because someone else said no, and then that person showed up anyway. Jenny was heartbroken for good reasons. But there’s an undeniable chemistry between them, and he’s trying so hard to be friends again that she’s having trouble pushing him away.

Their friendship is so fun and cute. At one point, he sneaks into her work, acting like a spy and everything, just to see her and bring her lunch. It involves hiding under a desk. It was so cheesy and perfect; I couldn’t stop smiling. Most of the book was like this.

Like I said with the others in the series, I do think the story could have been expanded a little more, especially with the backstories, side characters, etc. It felt very surface level with some of these elements. I was given enough to love those side characters and such, but there’s still so much I don’t know. This might be because the author plans on continuing the series about all of them, but I would’ve liked for things to be a bit more detailed to really understand their actions and the world.

Overall, it’s a very enjoyable book that was easy to read. I think I read it in two sittings, or rather, listened to it. Once again, I used the audiobook and thought the narrator did a great job. This is a wonderful, light romance that is perfect for those who prefer clean stories.