review to come.

ok read. Full review to come.

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**
The Big F is author Maggie Ann Martin's debut novel, and I have to say, I loved it! The Big F is a young adult contemporary romance that is sure to put a smile on your face. This book gave me major Kasie West vibes...obviously in a great way! I honestly enjoyed everything about this book. Right from the moment I picked it up, to the very last page, I had a great time reading The Big F. Can we also talk about the awesome cover for a moment. I love it! I think it is so perfect for this story. I love the doodling on the cover as well.

The Big F is the story of Dani and Luke. Dani thought she had her future planned out, until an F got her rejected from her dream college. Can I first just say, this would have sent me into a tailspin when I was in high school, so I really related to Dani. I liked her character a lot. And I really loved Luke. I am such a sucker for a guy next door romance that I was rooting for them from the moment I read the summary. And Luke lived up to every bit of expectation I had for him. 

One of my favorite things about The Big F, is that initially Dani is painted out to be a big overachiever. Totally type A, and this is a plot line path that I have seen explored in tons of ways. But I loved the direction that Maggie Ann Martin took this story in. Dani's journey takes a detour through community college, and in this detour she really finds herself. I loved it. I loved her journey and I loved seeing this story told. I haven't see it in young adult before, which was a big plus for me. 

Not only were Dani and Luke great, I also liked the cast of secondary characters, including Dani's family. I thought it was so refreshing to see a well adjusted family dynamic represented a young adult book. (You guys know how nasty parents can be a pet peeve of mine.) But I loved how Dani's parents, brother and friends were portrayed. The Big F had excellent friendships, a great self journey for Dani and a really sweet romance. It was an overall really fun read. I cannot wait for more from Maggie Ann Martin. I am going to read her next novel for sure! The Big F was a hit with me! 

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: http://bookbriefs.net** 

I loved this one so much! The magic and the world were all great, but what really made this book come to life for me was Kiersten White's writing. I found her writing to be witty, engaging and utterly charming. I read this book with a smile on my face. Plus, I don't think I have enjoyed a secondary character as much I did with Eleanor in a long time. Illusions of fate is set in an alternate past, where countries were colonizing. It had a historical feel with the vocabulary and the scenery, but it was also drenched in magic and secrecy. I ate it up!

The book starts out with Jessamin writing a letter to her mother. I know this sounds silly, but the letter was the reason that I knew I was going to love this book right off the bat. It showed the voice and personality of Jessa so well. In between each line of the letter she writes the real or honest letter in her head. It was so funny. I knew that Jessa was going to be my kind of gal. And she so was! Delightfully willful and skeptical and not afraid to speak her mind to anyone. She is clever and funny and a real treat. I wish more characters were like her.

Not only was Jessa a wonderful character, but I found one of my favorite secondary characters in Illusions of Fate as well- Eleanor! Oh my, Eleanor come and be my best friend. I will supply you with all of the gossip that you need. She is hilarious. For real. She had me cracking up from start until finish. I love so many things about her. She knows how to manipulate her life. At first glance she just looks to be a silly little girl concerned with only superficial things, but she is so much more than that. She knows how to hold her cards close to her chest and she actually has way more power than she lets on. But most of all, she is just so much fun.

Finn is great too, and with him he brings the mystery of the shadows. I wanted to see some more romance of the shadows revealed, but Finn doesn't share too much. I think he was a bit embarrassed by it all. But I wanted to know more about the shadows because they fascinated me. I really liked his persistence with Jessa, and I liked how stubborn they each were. They were a great match because they challenged each other. I want 10 more books about them! I am not sure whether I want Finn for my boyfriend more or Eleanor for my friend. Not to mention Sir Bird! <3

I loved Illusions of Fate immensely. I even got some post it notes out and marked off pages that I loved. I hardly ever do that. I have an interview with Kiersten White coming up and I think I will share a few of the passages that had me cracking up while reading. Kiersten White's writing was so fantastic. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face after reading this book. I am not sure if this is going to be a standalone book or not (and I kind of got the feeling that it was), but I really hope not! I want more of this enchanting world and more of these characters!

 This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: http://bookbriefs.net** 

Charlie Presumed Dead is a young adult suspense thriller that will have you jet-setting all over the world just to find out if Charlie is really dead or not. The book starts out with Charlie's funeral, where there are two girls who both think they are Charlie's girlfriend. Serious girlfriend, at that. Neither one knew about the other, and as soon as they become aware of the other one, they find themselves confused by the other person's Charlie. That was actually the aspect of Charlie that intrigued me the most. Sure he was a cheating jerk. That is obvious from the book summary, but Lena's Charlie loved Olives and Aubrey's Charlie Hated them with a passion. As soon as I read that, I knew this was going to be more than just a morbid scavenger hunt. There are so many layers to Charlie Presumed Dead. It is one hell of a ride.

The book is told through the points of view of Lena and Aubrey mostly, with a couple of scatterings of Charlie and memories thrown in for good measure. I know that may seen like a lot to keep track of, but it really isn't. Lena and Aubrey are on this crazy adventure together so their switching chapters just continue on the story. It moves really fluidly. I liked Lena and Aubrey. It was hard for me to figure out which one I liked more and which one I felt worse for. I liked them both pretty equally. And this book is just as much about them as it is about finding Charlie. Because everyone has their own secrets to unravel and reveal throughout the journey. And some of the secrets are real doozies.

The mystery aspect of the plot was really well done. I had no idea which way this book was going to turn out, and I couldn't have predicted the ending at all. It really shocked me. There was one point in the book about 3/4th of the way through where there was a pretty big reveal and I thought, 'ok, now what? Mystery solved, what else could possible happen?' HAHA, oh man, was I wrong. The book took a turn for the even crazier at that point and the ending was nuts! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I couldn't read the pages fast enough. This is one book that you really have to experience for yourself. It is pretty cool. It will take you on a real mind bend. I want to crawl inside Anne Heltzel's head and just stay there awhile, because I have no idea where she gets some of this crazy from. I loved Charlie Presumed Dead, and I think anyone that enjoys mystery, suspense, and a good mind F will too!

 This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**
The Right Ranger is the third book in the Men of At Ease Ranch series by Donna Michaels. I have not read either of the first two books, but we did get to see glimpses of the two couples from those books, and I really liked them, so I might eventually go back and read their stories. As for Haley and Cord's story. I liked it. It was a super quick read for me. Easy to digest in one short sitting, but I didn't love it if I am honest with myself. It was a good read, but not much more than that.

Cord is Haley's deceased husband's best friend. But the whole book Haley is carrying this burden of her husband's secrets. Honestly, it was really intriguing for me. I knew some of what he did, but the way Haley spoke about it, I felt like there was way more than we were being kept in the dark about. I was super interested to find out what all of the secrets were. But Haley was very noble about the whole thing and she didn't want to taint his friend's view of their friend. I respected that. But I ended up being disappointed by the way the secrets all played out.

Cord knew! after all that he knew what was going on with her husband, which bugged me.

The part of the story that was my favorite, was obviously the romance between Cord and Haley. It was so clear to see that these two had chemistry. I enjoyed watching their romance unfold. It was excellent actually. They sizzled off the page. The rest of the story is what let me down. I'm not really sure what I wanted, but I just wanted more. Overall, this was a quick and fun read. It just didn't blow me away. But the characters and the writing were solid and the romance was well done.

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**Renegades is the first book in a new series of the same name by author powerhouse Marissa Meyer. Marissa's Lunar Chronicles has been on my TBR for forever, but I recently read, and loved! Heartless. So I was super excited to pick up Renegades because I am obsessed with super heroes. Ever since I watched X-men, years and years ago, I was instantly hooked. And what was extra cool, was that Marissa Meyer said something really similar in her foreword note to Renegades. So extra yay for that!

Renegades is set on the premise of a world like our own, where super powers have started to emerge. And with those powers a group of villains, called the Anarchists gained power and actually were in control for a number of years, so the world was a very different place, full of violence and chaos. Enter the Renegades, who swooped in to save the day. And right after these events, our story takes place. It was really cool to see a world where the villains were running the show for a while.

The start of Renegades felt a little slow to me, but it picked up right around 35% or so. And once it picked up, I was hooked. I think I read the second half of the book in one shot (and this is a 500 page book!) I really liked the cast of characters and all of the different powers. It was really cool to see what powers were extra special and what powers were considered ordinary in this extraordinary world that Marissa Meyer has created. If you are a character driven reader, like I am, stick with this book. It starts out a little slow but you will end up loving it. 

Bottom line: Renagades felt a bit like an introductory novel at times, but it is the introductory novel to a series that I know I am going to love. I already want the second book! Fans of x-men and super heroes need to read Renegades. Which side will you be on? 

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

Too Distracting is the third book in the Lewis Cousins series by author Bethany Lopez. I read the first book in the series, and I didn't really love it, but I remember I was interested in reading about Gabe's cousin, so when I saw Too Distracting I decided to check out Dillion's story. I ended up enjoying this book more than the first book in the series. I liked this book, but it didn't rock my world or anything crazy like that. It was a quick contemporary romance read. Overall, it was a decent read. Each of the books in this series can be read as standalone, so I would recommend starting with this one.

Too Distracting is the story of Laurel and Dillion. I connected with these characters so much more than I did with Gabe. It made their romance fun to read about. I really enjoyed how devoted Dillion was to Laurel. Fans of quick, fun reads with a happy ending will enjoy Too Distracting. I don't really have any desire to read the second book in the series, but I would certainly try out something new from this author in the future. I'm not sure if this series is too short or too surface level for me. I liked this book, but I walked away wanting more in terms of character development between Laurel and Dillion.

Bottom line: Too Distracting was a decent read for me. It was quick and pleasant. I enjoyed it more than the first book in the series and I like that it can be read as a standalone. If you are interested, I would check out the series while it is on sale.