Ecrivain is the first book in the young adult Ecrivain Academy series by Elizabeth Dunlap. I was immediately pulled into the idea of a boarding school for writers. I loved the whole concept of the school, especially the different houses, like Lovecraft, Shakespeare, and Austen. I loved the idea of being sorted into a house based on your literary style, but what if you want to write more than one kind of book. I felt for Calliope in that regard. She didn't know which style she would fit in with, so she was exploring the different houses. I am super excited to continue on with the Ecrivain series. If you are a fan of boarding school books that are full of drama, suspense and some crime, then I think this series is going to be a great one for you to check out.

In Ecrivain, we meet Calliope, who is an aspiring writer. But to make it more difficult for her, she has to keep her writing hobby a secret from her parents. When she secretly enters a writing competition, her parents ship her off to a boarding school to focus on her academics. Little do they know, they actually shipped her off to a school that is almost solely focused on cultivating the world's next generation of great writers. But like any good boarding school, Ecrivain has it's fair share of secrets. I loved exploring the school with Calliope and watching her get to know the students and figure out what was going on. I just had a really good time with this story. There are a few plot holes, but they might work themselves out in future installments.

Bottom line: If you are a fan of boarding school settings, complete with drama, secrets and more than a fair share of mean students, then Ecrivain is going to be the series for you. I think this was a solid debut, and I am interested to see what is going to happen next in the series.

Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things is a young adult contemporary romance by Jacqueline Firkins. This book was so stinking cute. I absolutely loved it! it is a retelling of Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. I have read almost all of Austen’s books, but Mansfield Park is one that has escaped my attention. Regardless of the fact that I have yet to read it, I was very much able to enjoy Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things, and in fact it made me want to pick up Mansfield Park to see if I enjoyed it as much as this retelling.

Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things is perfect when you are looking for a fun, cheesy and sometimes angst-y young adult romantic comedy. (hint- I am almost always looking for something like this. It is a classic combo for me) In Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things, we meet our main character Edie, who goes to live with her aunt following the death of her mother. Edie is an interesting character. Though I almost immediately felt for her because of her situation, she didn’t immediately win me over. However; as the story progressed I grew to understand her better and like her more. Edie is focused when she gets to her aunt’s and will not allow the distraction of boys. Of course, this is where we enter all the adorable boys of Mansfield, planted just to try and make Edie lose sight of her scholarship aspirations. But also to provide a bit of much needed fun.

There is a bit of a love triangle in this book, so be aware of that going in, but I loved that there was a lot of emotional depth explored in Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things. Henry and Sebastian (our main love interests) are both great, and though I had a clear winner on who I was rooting for, I can easily see a case for both guys. I think readers may be split on who they ship with Edie. Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things was funny, sweet, and vastly entertaining. I really enjoyed this book. I think it would be perfect to read this holiday season when you are looking for an adorable romance.

The Traitor's Game is a young adult fantasy by Jennifer A. Nielsen. It is the first book in the The Traitor's Game series. I thought this book was a good start to the series, and I can really see the potential in the plot of this series. I thought The Traitor's Game was a bit short and could have used a bit more description to make the story flow more evenly at times, but thr story was sound and it got me interested in continuing on the series. I can't wait for the next book.

In the The Traitor's Game we meet our main character, Kestra. Kestra is kidnapped on her journey home to the kingdom at the start of the story, She is expected to be used a pawn, but Kestra's character was resilient and strong. I really admired that about her. Among her kidnappers is our other main character Simon. The book is told in dual narrative between them, and at times I found the narratives hard to follow and distinguish, but overall I was able to follow the story line. I enjoyed the romance and I very excited to see where it is going to go. I liked all of the characters well enough, but I had my moments of annoyance with all of them. Simon was my favorite out of the bunch. He annoyed me the least, and I love how loyal he is.

The plot of the story was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to see where the rest of the series is going to go. I figured out most of the plot twists from while reading, but I am hoping that the story continues to get more intricate now that we know the characters and the background. I think this series has a lot of potential for growth in the next book. I can't wait to read book two, the Deceiver's Heart. If you have already read book 2, let me know your thoughts in the comments. Did you enjoy it more than book one?

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**
Code of Conduct is the first book in the Cipher Security series by April White. Code of Conduct is an adult contemporary romantic suspense. The Cipher Security series is published by Smartypants Romance. If you are new to Smartypants Romance, here is the quick breakdown of how this publishing company works. Smartypants Romance is the publishing company started by Penny Reid, which as most of you know, is one of my all time favorite romance authors. Smartypants romance brings on new authors to write their own series or stories, and the cool feature is that all of their stories will be set in the Penny Reid universe! See the picture below for all of the series that will be coming out from Smartypants Romance. I love this idea so, so much. It is perfect for new fans and old fans because we get all new story lines and characters, but we get to see plenty of character crossover. The Cipher Security series is set in Chicago in Penny Reid's Knitting in the City series. (I haven't read this series yet. It is the only book series from Mrs. Reid that I have not read yet, but now I need to remedy that ASAP!)

In Code of Conduct we meet Shane, our heroine. I loved Shane. She is spunky, and fierce and doesn't take any crap from anyone. She is  PI, mostly hired by wives to have her catch their cheating husbands, but our book starts with her on a "job" that turns into something much more. Code of Conduct is told in dual narrative between Shane and our main guy, Gabriel. And I have to say, my love for Shane pales in comparison to my love for Gabriel. Can we say book boyfriend? yes, please!

I loved the premise of Code of Conduct. Basically, Shane takes money from the cheating husband and transfers it into his wife's account, which triggers an alarm with Cipher Security, who is hired by said cheater to protect his money. The interesting thing is that they catch Shane pretty quickly. You would think that would be the end of the story. But no. Strangely that see past her shady transaction and team up with her to get some dirt on the dirty rotten cheater- who no one likes. I thought the mystery/suspense plotline was interesting, but I was really reading for the romance between Shane and Gabriel. I enjoyed this book. It grabbed me right away, and though it did hit a slow point for me in the middle, the story picked back up again in the last third of the book. If you are a fan of Penny's Knitting in the City series, you will really enjoy checking in on the characters from that series that work at Cipher Security. And if you are not familiar with that series, Code of Conduct is still a great romantic suspense story. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**Brayden's Darkness is the first book in the young adult Darkness Series by S.L. Abbott. This is the first book I have read from author S.L. Abbott and I have to say I was digging the way the book got progressively darker as it went on. By the end, I was totally surprised by the direction the story had taken. In a good way! The darkness series looks like it previously had different covers, but in 2019 it got a cover redo, and the new cover is beyond beautiful! This book has a very mysterious vibe going on, that coupled with fae magic, ancient lore, and a romance, and you have a ya fantasy lovers dream. I really enjoyed this one, and with the book ending the way it did, I am even more excited to continue on with the series.

Brayden's Darkness is the story about Evren, our main character. She lives in a small town and she has always kept to herself. But one night, at the start of our story, she goes to a bonfire where she meets gregarious Cason and intense Brayden. There is a bit of love triangle in this book, but it becomes pretty clear where Evren's interest lie, so I wouldn't really consider this to be a true love triangle, at least not in this book. I know which side I fall on, and to be honest it is a pretty easy decision for me. (As I think it will be for most readers) See my pick in the spoilers

Brayden all the way! He is great. Though I do wish that Cason's character was developed a little better to make him more complex. He fit very easily into the stereotype hidden bad guy, and it was pretty easy to pick that out really early on, so I was never a Cason fan.

I loved the magical setting, and the mysterious magical abilities that both Cason and Brayden seemed to have. Not too much is explained about the source of these abilities or how they work. I do wish we had a bit more explanation early on in the story. We learn a little more about Cason and Brayden as the story goes on, but at the start everything was very mysterious. It led to slow and kind of confusing start for me. But I will say that my interest in the book grew the more I read about it. And then when we were at the 75% mark of the novel, things took a darker and more interesting turn. Honestly, the last portion of the book, though a bit confusing as well, was twisty and surprising and darkly delightful. I cannot wait to see where the next book is going to take us. I hope we start to get some more answers, because there is only so much being kept in the dark that I can take as a reader, but I think that book 2 is going to answer many of the unanswered questions that we have from book one concerning the magic system, and concerning all three of our main characters. I want to learn more about them all. If you are a fan of dark magical romances, then the Darkness Series by S.L. Abbott is a good series for you to check out.

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs