Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books 
 I really struggled with how to review and grade Crosstown Crush by Cara McKenna because I personally found that the kink described in the novel was not for me. Despite that, the book is well-written with likeable characters and I thought that McKenna did a good job of explaining that kink to people who are unfamiliar with it. 
 The book centers around married couple Samira and Mike. Mike has a very particular kink-cuckolding. For those not familiar, Mike's fantasy is being shamed by Samira having an affair with another man. At the beginning of their marriage-before Mike was honest with her-he and Samira struggled. Unable to express his desires, Mike turned jealous and overly sexually aggressive. When they finally did communicate, they found a situation that worked for them. 
 The sex scenes themselves didn't work for me. One thing that Bern initiates in the scene is something called "forced bi" in which he makes Mike lick Samira's residue off his penis in a particularly humiliating way. There is also something called sloppy seconds. 
 The conflict comes when Samira and Bern start to have feelings for each other-not endless undying love feelings, but feelings nonetheless. And that feels like real cheating to Samira and Mike, which is not part of the deal. 
 So while the kink didn't work for me personally, I could admire a lot of things about this book. First of all, no one is broken or fucked up. There is no correlation between being kinky and being damaged. Secondly, Samira and Mike are 100% in this together. In fact, she really has the power in her relationship with both men-ultimately a lot of the fantasy involves her pleasure. 
 I could appreciate what McKenna was doing here, especially considering how she subverted typical gender/power dynamics. The writing was flawless and the characters were likeable. I decided to give Crosstown Crush a B because while I could appreciate good writing and a daring narrative, the kink just wasn't my thing. 
 - Elyse