Crossed by Eliza Crewe

War is here.

Full-scale war has erupted between the Crusaders and demons and even Chi has to admit isn’t going well. Like any sensible rat, Meda’s eager to abandon the sinking ship but, unfortunately, her friends aren't nearly as pragmatic. Instead, Meda’s forced to try to keep them all alive until the dust settles.

As the Crusaders take more and more drastic measures, the tables turn and Meda suddenly finds herself in the role of voice of sanity. No one is more horrified than she is. When old enemies reappear as new allies and old friends become new enemies Meda has to decide—again—whose side she’s really on.

And then the Crusaders decide that Meda should go to Hell. Literally.

Can’t a monster ever catch a break?

There is something about an unapologetic character that gets me every time. Meda is consistently and completely amazing in all three books, and this conclusion was perfect for her story.

Meda and Jo are the ultimate in friendship goals. I want to be in their squad, and I’d be happy to take Armand off of Meda’s hands. Meda really stayed true to the kind of character she is and her progression was very organic from book one to book three. Jo had significant character development in this book, and I mean significant. I wasn’t sure how I felt about a certain development in her character for a little bit, but in the end it was both brilliantly done and also felt really genuine and authentic.

Jo is a badass in the extreme.

Actually, I think Jo overshadowed Meda a little bit in this book. She’s a really powerful side-main character and even though Meda is certainly the clear primary character, I couldn’t help the excitement I had each time Jo was front and center.

“You look like you think you’re leaving.” The words contain a silky threat.

Jo rises to the bait. “And you look like an asshole.” I squeeze her arm in warning. “What?” she says to me, “I thought we were stating the obvious.”

Oh, Jo. I love you.

Another thing to love about this installment, though really the entire trilogy, is that romance never even once becomes the primary focus of the story or any character. Crewe is an author that knows how to craft a story that can stand on its own without falling into that trap and I love that! Sure, I love me some sex in my stories, I’ve never claimed otherwise but it gets tiring to read books that pretend they’re not romance. Stop lying to yourselves, books!

If you haven’t yet picked up Cracked or Crushed then you are sorely missing out. These books are about the strength of friendship, the power of belief, being true to yourself, and sprinkled with wicked fun and a dash of depravity.