**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**
I love Karen Gordon's books. Her writing is always solid, her characters are always so unique and interesting and as a character driven reader, I find everything I have read from her to be super engaging. Fearless Flying and the Vivienne Series is no different. I really enjoyed this book. Fearless Flying is the first book in a seven book series (and each book is coming out one month after the previous book- how is that for instant gratification!?). The series centers around the main character Vivienne. I adored Vivienne. I could see so many aspects of my personality in her, but I think that is part of her magic. I think tons of people will be able to see themselves in this introverted perfectionist that decides to switch things up in her life and take charge. Even if at first glance, that doesn't sound like you, you will be surprised at how very relate-able Vivienne is.

What I loved about Vivienne and Danny is that he is not some random guy that falls into her path on this new journey of hers. He is someone that has always been a good guy in her life, and that is always so much fun for me to read about. I love seeing the great friend become something more. It was really interesting watching Vivienne clash with what her personality wants her to do and what Danny needs. Watching Vivienne struggle with maintaining her independence and giving up some control here and there was really interesting to watch.

I read this book in one shot because I couldn't stop. There are no good stopping points in Fearless Flying! I kept finding myself having to read just one more page, then just one more chapter, and you know how that goes. I had to eat my dinner at 9 at night because I didn't realize it had gotten so late! I read through dinner, which is something crazy if you know me. I don't skip meals. haha

Fearless Flying is a great read. It has all the things I love in a good romance. It has excellent characters that you can't help but like and root for, it has great writing and it has a winning combination of humor, sexiness and realistic tension and drama. I can't wait to see what is going to happen with Vivienne next.


This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

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Breaking Cage is a lot of things rolled into one book. First and foremost it is a standalone contemporary sports romance by author A.J. Pryor. But it is also a mystery and suspense story. I think this will have crossover appeal to lots of people. I think both fans of new adult as well as adult romances will enjoy Breaking Cage. I also think that fans of both mysteries and sports romances will enjoy this story, even if you only consider yourself a fan of one or the other. This is my first book by A.J. Pryor and I think she does an excellent job blending the genres together to make a really great story.

Breaking Cage is Hannah and Derek's story. I have really been into reporter stories this year. I think this is a new thing in 2016 because I have been reading tons of new adult newbie reporter stories, where hte main character is trying to land a job or trying to get their first big break of their career, and I have to say I have enjoyed them all. (some others I have read lately are: Lessons In Gravity by Megan Westfield, and Playing By Her Rules by Amy Andrews) There is just something special about Breaking Cage and about Hannah and Derek. They drew me in right from the very first page.

What I really liked about Hannah and Derek is that they put their cards out on the table for everyone to see. They weren't keeping a bunch of secrets or hiding the ball as to what their end game was. Derek knew Hannah was trying to put a story together, and I really liked that. So many times I see people keeping this secret that just snowballs and always caused more problems than were necessary. What was a surprise was the mystery/suspense element thrown in. I really enjoyed that in this sports romance. I am not sure I have ever read that genre combo in a story, and I really dug it. I thought it was super well done and it has made me want to come back and grab another AJ Pryor book. I did notice a few sports related discrepancies throughout the book, but they didn't bother me too much. (I can see this being a bigger problem for a die hard sports fan that is picky about team matchups, rivalries and things like that.)

Bottom line: I loved that this was a character driven story. If you are a fan of character driven sports romances with a little mystery and suspense thrown in to keep things extra interesting, Breaking Cage is a great book for you to add to your TBR list. I really enjoyed this one.

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

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"Fat-free cheese is okay--unless you've tasted real cheese." This line always cracks me up. I don't know what it is about it, but something about the title of this book and starting off your summary with that very true and hilarious line drew me in. I am not afraid to admit that I picked up this book for review just based on that line alone. And I am so happy that I did. Love and Fat-Free Cheese was a hilarious and en aging read. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Cheese lovers will delight over the cheese references, so grab a pizza, or a grilled cheese or a mac and cheese and sit down to enjoy Love and Fat-Free Cheese. (not to mention it has a pretty goo thriller element as well.)

Love and Fat-Free Cheese is an adult romantic comedy thriller by author Crissy Sharp. Calling a book both a romantic comedy and a thriller feels a little strange to combine, but in this case it really worked. I loved both the suspense aspects and I really loved the humorous aspects. I liked the humor more, because I just love to smile while reading a book. Juliet's story is totally big screen worthy and I personally think it would make for a great made for tv movie or a movie in the theaters. I would go to to see it in an instant.

What I loved the most about Love and Fat-Free Cheese was how conversational and witty the writing was. This is the first book I have had the pleasure of reading by Crissy but I know it will not be my last. I loved her characters and the plot surprised me. I had some elements figured out but the twist was a cool surprise. Cheese lovers- rejoice, this book will have you cracking up and craving cheese (which is just about every day for me.) and if you are not a cheese lover....I don't even know what to say here. Do those people exist? I think even Lactose intolerant people like and long for cheese. (ok, enough of my cheese tangent.)

Bottom line: Read Love and Fat-Free Cheese It is a super cute book that will have you laughing and I think the mystery/thriller plotline will surprise you. This was a very good read.

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**
Life in the Lucky Zone is the second book in the Zone series, by Patricia B. Tighe. The Zone series are each young adult standalone novels told in dual narrative. While you can read these books by themselves, if you are given the chance, I think it would be nice to read them ion order. They follow a group of high school friends, and I loved the first book in the series. I liked this one too, but I think I enjoyed the couple from the first book, Life in the No Dating Zone, just a little bit more. However, the writing in Life in the Lucky Zone is very solid, and the romance will grow on you just as much as the characters will.

What I found to be really interesting about Life in the Lucky Zone, is that we not only knew the main character from the first book, but she was in a serious relationship at the time. I was expecting the second book to be about one of the other friends, Not Lindsey. Not to mention, Lindsey was not the nicest of friends, so I wasn't sure how she was going to be in this book. Turns out, I was really happy to get to see her grow and get to know her a bit better. She has layers and complexities to her personality, and I was very pleased we got to explore them a bit more. She surprised me.

I liked Trey so much. I went into the book thinking that he was going to be my favorite. (and I was right.) He hates Lindsey right off the bat, so watching them interact was pretty darn entertaining. Seeing their attraction and connection with one another grow and grow as the story went on was very satisfying. They ended up being a couple that I was rooting for much more than I initially thought I would be.

Bottom line: Patricia B. Tighe has done it again. Life in the Lucky Zone is a feel good romance if there ever was one. You will enjoy this lighthearted read if you are a fan of young adult contemporaries and like the bantering couple dynamic. If you enjoyed Life in the No Dating Zone, then you should pick up this next installment. Even if you are like me, and didn't like Lindsey from the first book, give this one a try- I think it will surprise you.

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

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Life in the Danger Zone is the third book in the Zone series, by Patricia B. Tighe. The Zone series are each young adult standalone novels told in dual narrative. While you can read these books by themselves, if you are given the chance, I think it would be nice to read them in order. They follow a group of high school friends, and I liked both the first book (Life in the No Dating Zone) and the second book (Life in the Lucky Zone) in the series. The writing in the Zone series is very solid, and the romance will grow on you just as much as the characters will. I think this third installment is my favorite couple yet!

Life in the Danger Zone is a story told between Rose and Sam. What I really loved about this book was the fact that it takes place on a cruise. For some reason, I have been really into cruise books, and that might be why Life in the Danger Zone is my favorite book in the Zone series to date. I also really enjoyed the little mystery thrown in. Rose is on a cruise with her grandparents and she has big plans of lots of relaxing and reading. (which sounds like my kind of vacation!) but what she gets instead is being stuck in a teen group and being accused of stealing. I liked that this was a mystery on a cruise ship. And the romance was super cute as well. I liked Sam, though Rose was my favorite of the two. Sam is a good guy, even though he sometimes struggled with thinking of himself that way.

Bottom line: Patricia B. Tighe has done it again. Life in the Danger Zone is a feel good romance if there ever was one. Not to mention a good mystery. I liked the combination of the two. You will enjoy this lighthearted read if you are a fan of young adult contemporaries. If you enjoyed Life in the No Dating Zone and Life in the Lucky Zone, then you should pick up this next installment. Patricia B. Tighe writes really cute romances and Life in the Danger Zone might be my favorite one yet!This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**Stroked is a new adult contemporary romance by Meghan Quinn. It is the first in a new series by the same name and I am pretty stoked for Stroked! With the summer olympics coming up, it is the perfect time to find a hot new swimmer as my next book boyfriend and that is exactly what I found in Reese!

Stroked is told in three point of views- Reese, Paisley and Bellini. Bellini is so over the top, that even though she is awful, she is hilarious! She is a rich reality show royalty and she has set up a publicity relationship with Reese, who is known as the Silver Stroke because he has been unable to win a gold medal so far, to help both of their public images out. I got such a kick out of Bellini. The author's tongue in cheek style, along with the crazy rediculousness that is Bellini paired really well. But obviously, this is the story of Reese and Paisley. I really enjoyed them together. I liked that Reese knew he liked her off the bat- not in a creepy insta love kind of way, but in a this seems like a cool chick that I would like to get to know better- kind of way. I respected his dogged attempts to continually chase her. He did not give up. And Paisley is great. Reese did win my heart more than her though.

Stroked has everything that I look for in my romantic comedy books. It made me laugh out loud so many times, there are really great characters, who have out of this world chemistry and I love the Olympic theme. I think Meghan Quinn has a gold medal series here! (sorry, I couldn't resist.)

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**The Dare and the Doctor is the third book in the Winner Takes All series by Kate Noble. It is the first book in the series I have read and I really enjoyed this one. I don't read too many historical romances, but when I do, I tend to be very picky. The Dare and the Doctor stood up to my strict scrutiny. I found the characters to be a breath of fresh air. I especially loved the witty and snappy Miss Margaret. She was delightful. I do think that readers would be best served reading the books in the Winner Takes All series in order to fully appreciate the stories, but if you really want to you can read the books out of order. Kate Noble does an excellent job with her writing. It is what sold the book for me. All in all this was a very enjoyable read. I think it will be a hit for fans of time period romances with witty writing and sassy characters. Well done Mrs. Noble.

Praise for The Dare and the Doctor

“A thrilling and absorbing tale about two people who find so much safety in each other that they’re able to take the biggest risk of their lives. Not to be missed.”

—Kirkus Reviews (STARRED REVIEW, The Dare and the Doctor)

“Noble asks “Can men and women just be friends?” in the third Winner Takes All installment, and the answer is an enchanting tale filled with poignancy and wit…readers will be caught up in the plot as the hero and heroine’s letters reveal more and more about themselves and their relationship…secondary characters enhance the storyline and propel the romance. Noble crafts a lovely, easy-to-read story.”

—RT (FOUR STAR REVIEW, The Dare and the Doctor)

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

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The Best Possible Answer by E. Katherine Kottaras is a young adult standalone contemporary. I think a lot of high school students will be able to relate to some aspect of the story and of Viviana's character. I really enjoyed this story. There were some things I absolutely loved, and there were a few things I thought detracted from the flow of the story. Overall, it was a very good book, and I think a lot of people will really enjoy the story and be able to relate to it.

Let's start with the things I liked. I was able to put myself in Viviana's shoes pretty easily. (for the most part.) I was an overachiever in high school too and I was very concerned with grades and doing everything perfect. Everything seems like such a big deal back then. One bad test score could ruin my GPA and ruin my chances at college or at scholarships, etc. I got what she was going through. And with the pressure of getting into a good school even greater than it has been in the past, I feel like a lot of people will be able to relate to the stress Viviana is under. I also loved that each of chapters started out in the form of a multiple choice question to show something Viviana was going through in her life. It was hilarious and so very accurate for standardized testing answers. Which made it even funnier. I also really liked the overall plot line. There are some of the smaller side plots that I thought took away from the overall flow of the story, but in general I really liked the journey Viviana went on.

And now for the things I didn't love so much. I thought there was a lot going on. Some was very relevant to the story and some of it seemed surprising and out of place. Any one of these issues might have been ok on their own, and would have been a very nice complement to the stresses Viviana was under, but taken all together it seemed like a bit too much. I don't want to say what they are , but if you would like a spoiler you can see what I mean here-->

the thing with Viviana and her friend both crushing on the same guy, the big ole secret with her dad (having multiple secret families) the health issues with her mom, the naked pictures she sent to an ex; etc. See what I mean.

There is a lot going on in the sidelines of this story. I wish we would have picked one or two of those things and worked them into the story, but not all of them. As it was, it all worked well together but it did have my head spinning a bit as the reader.

Bottom line: I really liked Viviana, and her friend, and the writing for this story is excellent. I loved how relateable Viviana seemed. I think many readers will love The Best Possible Answer for that very reason. I loved all of the standardized test humor and questions that were woven into the story. I do think there were too many things going on in the subplots. It detracted from my enjoyment of the story, but not by much. Overall, The Best Possible Answer was a great read.

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

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Captivate is the first book in the Submerged Sun series by Vanessa Garden. The Submerged Sun series is a young adult paranormal fantasy featuring an underwater city and mermaids! As soon as I saw that I thought, Umm, yess! Sign me up please! I really enjoyed this one. It does have a love triangle, so I know that might be a turn off for some people (and full disclosure: if love triangles do bug you, this is a pretty big one, so you might want to skip in that case.) but I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to continuing the series.

I don't read a ton of mermaid books, but I do really enjoy them. I liked Captivate because a lot of it took place in the underwater world, and it was a very cool world, called Marin. Vanessa Garden did an excellent job with the world building in this novel. In fact, it was one of my favorite things about the book. Another great thing were the characters. I really enjoyed Miranda, Marko and Robbie. I am not going to talk about which team I am on for the love triangle. Partially because I don't want to spoil anything and partially because I am a little uncertain as to whether I will change teams in the next book or not. This love triangle had a lot of ups and downs and back and forths in it. And I do mean a lot. As far as love triangles go, this was not a bad one. Sometimes I find love triangles annoying if they seem contrived, but this one didn't bother me at all. I genuinely do see the upside to Marko and to Robbie. (I do kind of wish that Miranda would just choose a side and stay on. The part about love triangles that does become annoying as a series goes on is all the flipping back and forth. I just don't think that is fair to anyone and I don't like to see too much of it. But we will have to wait for the next book in the series to see if that is the case.

Captivate is a well written book with a very interesting concept. Vanessa Garden does some cool and new things with mermaids, which I really enjoyed. It was not like all the other mermaid stories out there, and the world she creates is something pretty special. The characters did fall into some of the more cliche YA stereotypes, so be warns about that. But overall, I thought Capitvate was a strong start to what could be a very promising paranormal series. I am interested to see where it goes next.

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**Crazy Pucking Love is the third book in the Taking Shots series by Cindi Madsen. I read the first book in 2014, Getting Lucky Number Seven before I knew this was going to be a series and I loved it! It was a flirty, fun friends to something more trope. When I saw that Crazy Pucking Love was part of the same series as Getting Lucky Number Seven I was both super excited to go back to the series and bummed that I had somehow missed the second book in the series (which I need to read ASAP). Each book can be read as a standalone and the characters are very different so you will be completely fine reading them each alone, but I really loved the first book in the series, so I am going to encourage everyone to read that as well. But you don't have to read it before Crazy Pucking Love.

Crazy Pucking Love is a contemporary romance of friends with benefits to something more, between Dane and Meg. There is the added trope of off limits love because Meg is Dane's best friends sister. Oh, how I love that setup. No matter how many times I read about it, if it is well done it is a winning formula for me. Dane and Meg have off the charts chemistry. Dane is a hot shot hockey player and Meg is a little on the nerdy side, which I just loved. Cindi Madsen does an excellent job with witty dialogue and awesome character development, and I love that one of the common veins of each of the books in the Taking Shots series is the nerdy ladies. And all of the couples are just too cute. Don't worry, there are roadblocks, and character discoveries and development that make Crazy Pucking Love more than just a fluff read.

I think Crazy Pucking Love was every bit as good as Getting Lucky Number Seven. It has something for everyone. I love the best friends sister trope, and this is a well well done book. It made me smile so much watching the two of them fight off their feelings for one another. Cindi Madsen is a fantastic writer. She makes you relate to and fall in love with all of her characters. I have loved all of her books. Bring on more of them! If you like romance or romantic comedy books at all, Crazy Pucking Love is a must read for you.This review was originally posted on Book Briefs