LISTEN: I get this says it's a different series than The Inheritance Games, I do! BUT, I personally recommend reading all the Inheritance Games books (yes, Brothers' Hawthrone IS included in that) before picking this up. Just my OPINION of course, but I feel like you really get a full sense of the book once you understand the 4 book backstory :) okay review time!

General Description: The 2nd annual grandest game involves a list of hand picked folks and those that were able to find their tickets in the wild. You follow the 3 perspectives of Rohan, GiGi, and Lyra, all who have a different connection to the Hawthrone family. The first task is a team task to escape the most elaborate escape rooms known to mankind. Who of our 3 perspectives will prove successful?

The goodies:
- i LOVE the multiple perspectives. Each voice is so unique, I always knew who I was reading even if I had to put the book down for a break.
- THE PUZZLES. Top tier. I absolutely loved every single one of them.
- The pacing of this book has been my favorite of all of Jennifer's within the Inheritance Games world that I've read so far.
- I seriously CANNOT wait for the second book. I don't know how many will be in the series, but this feels like a perfect series starter (or even a duology starter) for me.

the loss of a half star:
- Some of the scenes were just tough to visualize and as a visual reader, I feel it took me out of the book quite a bit.

Overall, if you're an inheritance games fan, you should absolutely pick this up. If you haven't read the inheritance games, read that first and decide!

Note: there are no spoilers in this story, but if you read it, there will be spoilers for Forget Me Not in the actual book. But you're fine to read this review :) 

General Description: Gwen has worked her way up in the Manhattan Pops Orchestra and is offered the role of first chair, something she has been working for since she first picked up a violin. With no formal training, Gwen feels extremely proud. However, someone is not please with this offer and that is cellist/rockstar Xander Thorne. Gwen is not sure why Xander is so upset, but they must work closely together in their roles within the orchestra. As Gwen and Xander gets closer, Gwen realizes that first chair may not be all it's cracked up to be, and that Xander might be looking out for her instead of being jealous. How will Gwen and Xander develop their relationship and will Gwen stay on the Pops?

The goodies:
- The spicier scenes in this book made complete sense and did not pull me out of the storyline at all.
- I just love what Julie does with her main characters' relationships with older adults. It adds such depth to the novel.
- There was so much research done into this book, you can tell Julie put her heart and soul into getting in the mind of a musician.
- This was extremely fast paced, I did not want to put it down!

The loss of half a star:
- Xander definitely was not my favorite MMC. It just didn't hit like a 5 star romance does for me where I love both main characters.

Overall, if you haven't read Julie's contemporary romances and you're looking for one with a bit of spice, please pick this up!

General Description: A school trip goes horribly wrong when Brooke, Charlie, and Dale find themselves through a portal and in the land of Uland. However, they don't all arrive together. Brooke and Dale get the help of a woodsperson named Willow, while Charlie finds himself among some trolls. Brooke and Dale have a time limit on their mission with Willow in order to make sure the land of Uland doesn't fall into complete chaos. Oh, and they must find Charlie. Can they accomplish it all?

The good:
- This gave me Pendragon vibes in the absolutely best way (if you know you know)
- This was extremely fast paced.
- I absolutely loved the world building and travelling you see in this book.
- I thought the creatures were unique and fun to see how they interacted with humans.

The loss of a star:
- I feel like the action overwhelmed the worldbuilding in the beginning. I just wanted a bit more worldbuilding in the beginning.

Overall, if you're a fan of the Pendragon series, you need to pick it up!

Note: This is the 3rd book in a trilogy, so there will inherently be spoilers in the description. Proceed with caution!

General Description: Zelie, Amari, and Tzain all wake up on a ship and they have no idea where they are going. The skull masked men are brutal to everyone on the ship. Once Zelie discovers the skulls plans for her society, she can't sit ideally by and unleashes more power than ever expected. How will Zelie save her people?

all the goods:
- I do feel very resolved at the end of this series, which is something that doesn't always happen with series finale books.
- Zelie's journey to power was incredible to witness and it was not easy, which I appreciated the journey for.
- Your side characters of Amari and Tzain's perspectives were extremely welcomed to give us a full view of the story.
- I absolutely loved the additional worldbuilding, but...

the loss of a half star:
-...this felt way too short. We got introduced to so much of the world but hardly got to spend any time in it! I wish it was longer!

Overall, if you've read the first two, how could you stop before the third?!

General Description: Kat Roberts blames Meg Williams for everything wrong in her life. When Meg randomly reappears in Kat's area as a real estate agent, Kat knows it's time to exact her revenge on Meg. Meg has no idea about Kat, because Meg has one goal: take down the man who ruined her left. Who will be able to get revenge on who?

The goods:
- The scams were pretty clever.
- The twists in this book (especially the end) kept me on my toes and engaged in the book.
- I enjoyed the dual perspectives we got in this book.

The loss of 2 stars:
- Someone needed to be like run over by a truck in this book and I seriously feel like the tension was all that was built and the vengeance was not truly delivered. 
- The first 1/3 of this book is spent in the past, which is a long backstory for a 300+ page novel. It definitely dragged the book down because I wanted to get to the main scam.

Overall, if you like scammy, psychological thrillers with minimal physical violence, you'd enjoy this book. 

Warning: This is the 7th book in a series, so there will be inherent spoilers in the description. Proceed with caution!

General Description: Bobby gets his personalized invite to Quillan in order to play some games. However, the games are typically played with your life (or at least some injuries). Bobby must play the games in order to hopefully lead to an uprising that will turn Quillan on its' head and free themselves from the nasty corporation that is Blox. Will he be able to do so?

ALL the stars:
- I absolutely love the games, even though they are dangerous.
- Veego and Laberge (while terrible) are side characters that continue to push the series into new depths.
- This has some of these BEST twists in the entire series.
- The Courtney/Mark storylines you get to follow are SO intense, it just adds so much depth to the series.
- Give me a reflective main character that doesn't always win and I will be sold. That main character is Bobby Pendragon.

Overall, if you've read the first 6 books, literally don't stop now! How could you!

General Description: Amelia (Rae) Rose is taking a break from the pop star life by channeling her inner Audrey Hepburn and heading to Rome (Kentucky, not Italy). When her car breaks down in Noah Walker's yard, Amelia finds someone who has no interest in her celebrity status. However, the town itself is very interested in Rae Rose. As Amelia insists on not being treated like a celebrity, Noah finds himself more and more attracted to her. How will their relationship be affected when Amelia has to go back to the 'real world' and go on tour? 

All the goods:
- The sisters in this book were honestly my favorite part. They made this book a step above other romance books for me.
- Your classic grumpy-sunshine trope is living its' full life in this book.
- I enjoyed the dual narration in this book, which made it very enjoyable to listen to.
- I feel like it was very cute, however...

The loss of a half star:
-...the overall quirky-ness of some of the situations was a bit much for me. I feel like we'd be in very deep moments then switch to something quirky just a bit to quickly for me.

Overall, if you don't like quirky rom-coms, skip it. But if you like quirky rom-coms, this is going to be one of your next top reads.

General Description: Helen's books are getting turned into a TV show (a common author dream, right?) However, one of the show writers is Grant Shepherd. Grant was involved in Helen's sister's suicide. Helen's sister took her own life by jumping in front of Grant's car, which makes Helen's perception of Grant very confusing. However, the show forces Helen and Grant to confront thoughts they both have wanted to hide from. How will working on the show affect their relationship?

The goods:
- I overall think the relationship between Grant and Helen is very cute.
- The complexities in the book really make you reflective on how relationships can form from trauma.
- I was very interested in helen's books and liked the insight into TV writing.

The loss of 1.5 stars
- These two do not address their shared trauma. It made me so confused because they know they have to handle the trauma together.
- This book did not need a spicy scene. It completely derailed the book.

Overall, if you don't mind the trauma in this book (check the trigger warnings) and you like heavier contemporary romances, this could be a good book for you. But please check the trigger warnings overall. 

General Description: Brie hates Fae, but when her sister gets sold the Fae King of the Unseelie court, Brie has no choice but to delve into the Fae world to rescue her sister. The Unseelie King makes a deal with Brie that she must steal 3 objects from the Seelie court in order to get her sister back. Brie has master thievery skills that even she doesn't understand, so she thinks the task will be easy. However, she gets derailed a bit when she's chosen for the potential bride for Prince Ronan. Who matters more in the end: her sister or her love?

The goods:
- I liked the amount of world building we got in this book, I felt like I was in the world without being overwhelmed by it.
- I like Brie as a main character, especially her thought process when dealing with all the court politics.
- There are so many twists in this book, I was surprised by like all of them.
- I really enjoy the magic in this book as well, I felt it was unique to me but I have not read a tone of Fae books.

The loss of a star:
- I was generally confused for quite a few scenes in this book. I feel like time hopped out of nowhere, or we traveled from one place to another without clarity. I did listen to the book so maybe in the physical book there are page breaks to indicated that change, but there was nothing like that in the audiobook.

Overall, if you're looking for a fantasy duology that has a lot of court politics, this would be a great duology for you to pick up!

General Description: Ali witnesses her sister being killed on Halloween. A year later, she's about to stand trial, and gets thrown back in time to that night to find out what actually happened to her sister. Can Ali find out what happened to her sister in time to make it back from the trial?

The okay:
- They plot was twisty, which was very nice.
- There is a time travel element that does get explained, which does make my 
- Once I was in the story (until the end) I was invested in discovering what happened to the characters.

The loss of 2 stars:
- I have a personal vendetta against how this book ended. It's on the same level as Allegiant for me (IYKYK). I cannot get over this ending.
- If you only read the reviews of this and not the description, I feel like you'd be very confused going in. I didn't realize what the book was truly about until way too late in, which I feel like was too much mystery.

Overall, I feel there are other YA Mysteries you could pick up before this one, but if you like the description, try it out!