Rush (The Boys of RDA #1) by Megan Matthews – Review by Ashleigh Whitwell

Rush by Megan Matthews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Rush is the first in the ‘Boys of RDA’ series by Megan Matthews. Written in first person, we see the story from Aspen’s POV, which I felt really enabled me to connect with her character. This was my first read of this author’s work and I absolutely loved it!

After completing grad school, Aspen is starting a new chapter of her life in San Francisco. She has a new job, new apartment and a solid life-plan; she thinks she has everything under control. A control is exactly what comes with the lease on her new home, along with a list of ridiculous rules she has to follow. Alongside this, her best friend requires support through a nasty break-up, all while sticking to her plan of having no new relationships for the first year in this new city. Everything seems do-able, apart from the last past. Why can’t she seem to control her feelings every time her new neighbour is around? Hot, smart and always around when she needs someone, Finn is like her own personal hero. With a geeky-yet-hot-as-hell style, this video-gamer is not included in Aspen’s life-plan. But while he seems to get more perfect by the day, can Aspen trust he is who he says he is? Or is Finn playing her, just like he plays one of his games?

I’ll go right ahead and say it: I LOVED THIS BOOK. I only stopped reading this book for sleep, and that was because I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. I really could not get enough of Aspen, Finn and their relationship. Aspen is one of my favourite I have read this year. She is a strong, independent female lead and I just adore reading these characters. She also had a really interesting backstory and her relationship with her brother, Ben, was one of the highlights of the story for me. Her relationship with her friends was also something that stood out, as so often with romance novels the girl is so in love with her hero, she forgets all about her friends! Yes, I know this happens in real life too, but I just hate to think of people doing this! Aspen was not one of these people, and that only added to her likeability. She felt real, believable and someone I desperately want to be friends with (if we ignore that fact that she doesn’t actually exist).

And I think her character was balanced perfectly with Finn’s. My favourite thing about him? He is not your stereotypical hot-guy hero. He is a video-game playing, computer obsessed geek; and I love this (I realise I love a lot things about Rush). He is totally not what you expect from a romance-story, and this makes the book so unique. While it makes me sad that this is so unusual (I want more geeky heroes!), it’s also what makes Rush so special and enjoyable to read.

Along with these fantastic and well-written characters (supporting ones like Ben, Marissa and Trey included), the story has a brilliant plot; there are some shocking revelations, so be prepared! I also want to do a special shout-out to Jake the driver, as I think he is a majorly underestimated character; I want more Jake! Overall, I really cannot recommend Rush enough. I will definitely be reading the rest of the Boys of RDA series, and urge others to read them too. Thanks to the author for such a fun read!

Review by @ashleighw

View all my reviews