The Best Laid Plans is a young adult contemporary romance by Cameron Lund. This book was total cuteness. It was the perfect feel good read and was exactly what I was looking for. If you are a fan of young adult romantic comedies, The Best Laid Plans is a must read for you. It is a standalone, and great for any time of the year. I may even love it more than pizza. (though that would be talking crazy in my case. I don't love much more than pizza.) ;) 

In the best Laid Plans we meet our two main characters, Keely and her best friend Andrew. Keely is a high school senior and her entire group of friends have all had sex. Keely doesn't love being the last virgin in the group, and she likes it even less when she meets college age hottie, Dean. Not wanting to seem as inexperienced as she is, she hatches a plan that involves some lessons from her best friend, Andrew. I know, I know- it's an awful idea. And I don't love the whole, virginity is a disease concept that some high schoolers seem to portray, but I promise...the book is so much better than that concept. I pinky promise it is worth a read. Keely is great and Andrew will win your heart. He completely stole mine...plenty of swoons there. I loved their friendship, and the overall romance in the book was satisfyingly cute. In all the right ways. 

Overall, The Best Laid Plans totally hit the spot for me. I was looking for something heartwarming, cute and funny, and this book was all of the above and more. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a YA contemporary standalone romance to make you smile. The Best Laid Plans was a great read. 

Meet Me at Midnight is a young adult standalone contemporary romance by Jessica Pennington. This book was exactly what I was in the mood for. It was lighthearted fun, while still being funny and super cute. If you are a fan of enemies to lovers and of summer prank wars, then you will love the summer romance crafted up by Jessica Pennington.

Meet Me at Midnight is told in dual narrative between our two main characters, Sidney and Asher. Their families are close friends that live on different sides of the state. But every summer they rent neighboring lake houses for 8 weeks and catch up. Sidney and Asher have been summer prank war enemies from the very first summer- always trying to one up each other. This is the last summer they have before they both go away to college, so in their minds it felt like the grand finale of prank wars. I loved how similar but different Sidney and Asher are. Sidney is much more type A. A planner through and through. Asher is laid back, but they are both wonderful swimmers. I liked that they had the commonality of both excelling in the same sport. It was a cool thread for them to have in addition to their family history with one another. Watching them act as frenemies was more than entertaining for me. They are hilarious. 

I don't want to spoil the events of the book, but let's just say one of their pranks gets out of hand and forces the families to change their plans. Which of course leads our two main characters into an interesting situation. Watching their reluctant romance unfold was adorable. I wanted to smack Sidney upside the head a few times, because that girl can drag her feet like no other. I loved Asher most because he seemed so much more comfortable with who he was and what he wants. (in all areas of life except for his major) I really liked the romance in this book.

Bottom line: if you are a fan of ya summer romances and you like prank wars, Meet Me at Midnight is going to be a smash hit for you. This novel is the perfect summer fun- feel good read. I loved it, and it was exactly what I was looking for in a quarantine read! 

Crave is a young adult paranormal romance by author Tracy Wolff. Holy cow- did I ever LOVE this book! Crave is easily one of my favorite reads of 2020 so far! My love for these characters, and this world is real. And I need the second book in my hands right this very second. This book was just under 600 pages and it still wasn't long enough. I honestly did not want this book to end because I was enjoying it so much. Crave is my favorite vampire book of all time. It is what I want all of my other paranormal romances to be like. Ok, now that I have gushed a bit, let's get to why I love this book so dearly. 

Crave is a paranormal romance set in a boarding school setting in Alaska. In it, we meet our main character Grace, who has just lost both of her parents in an accident. She has to leave to go live with her cousin and uncle, who is the head of Katmere Academy. Grace soon learns that Katmere Academy is not an ordinary school. In fact, Grace is the only "human" student. The academy is filled with Vampires, witches, dragons and wolves. And the different groups of students do not all get along. Grace finds herself not only in a world filled with creatures she didn't know existed, but she also finds herself in the middle of a turf war she knows nothing about. I don't want to say anything further about the plot because I loved it so much, and it is full of so many secrets, twists and turns. And watching them unfold as you are reading was part of the magic of the novel for me. And the ending! The ending knocked me flat on my butt! I was not expecting that at all, nor can I handle waiting very long for the next book. It is one heck of a surprise and one heck of a cliffhanger. 

The other aspect of Crave that I adored was the romance. This book was extremely romantic. I am not going to go into the specifics of the romance because you just have to read it to see for yourself. Once you start reading, I think you will be swept up in swoons like I was. I have seen a lot of people comparing this book to the Twilight series, and while I definitely feel major Twilight vibes from the cover, other than that I think it is a completely unfair comparison. This book is so far superior to Twilight in every way. The characters are better, the writing is leagues better, the romance is better and the plot is way better.  If you are a fan of paranormal romance (even if you are totally over vampire stories) or you are a fan of boarding school settings, you need to read Crave. I think it will be your new favorite novel. It certainly is a favorite of mine. This book is FANTASTIC! I need a word stronger than love to capture my feelings for this book. It completely grabbed hold of my heart and held me captive for all 592 pages. 

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


Sticking to the Script  is the second book in the Cipher Office series by Stella Weaver. Sticking to the Script is a standalone adult contemporary romantic comedy series, 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! 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 Office series is set in Chicago in Penny Reid's Knitting in the City series.

I just posted by review of the first book in the Cipher Office series, Weight Expectations. (You can see my review here) At the end of Weight Expectations, we meet Steven. Steven is our main character for Sticking to the Script. I really liked Steven. ( I have also read in some reviews that Steven makes an appearance in the Knitting in the City series, but I still have not read that one, so this was my first experience with him. But if you have read the Knitting in the City series, it appears that Steven is a fan favorite.) Though this was my first time meeting Steven, I could telling right away that he was a great guy. He is super loyal and dedicated to the people that he cares about, but he hasn't has much luck in the love department. I don't read much (or basically any m/m romances, but I have been binging pretty much all of the smarty pants romance books, and I couldn't miss Steven's story!) 

Steven may have been initially hesitant about DKM (Dr. Ken Miles) but I was pretty much a fan of his from page one. He has a harsh exterior but he is such a great guy. I loved his inner dialogue. I really enjoyed getting to know DKM and Steven. Stella Weaver did a wonderful job fleshing out both of their characters. They each had a lot of great depth to them, and ultimately I think they worked really well together. Sticking to the Script was a lot of fun. 

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

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

Witches Protection Program  is paranormal novel by Michael Okon. It is the first book I have read by this author, and I have to say it was so funny- I know it will not be the last book I read from him. Witches Protection Program was a quick read that was a ton of fun. Fans of paranormal books and fans of witty dialogue will love this witchy adventure.

In Witches Protection Program we meet Wes, who is a cop. But Wes has messed up at the job one too many times. And after his last mess up, he is reassigned to what he is sure is a joke. Wes gets reassigned to the Witches Protection Program, and I loved that he didn't even know it existed. I figured that witch cops would be the ones heading up the program and not cops who have no idea that witches even exist. That being said, I did like that Wes had a healthy dose of skepticism about him. It took some convincing that he wasn't being pranked. 

I enjoyed the whole cast of character. Wes is a great hero and his partner Alastair made a fun team. Wes' first assignment is to protect Morgan, a witch heiress, from her aunt. I freakin' loved Morgan. She was so funny. I am really hoping for many more books set in this world, because Wes and Alastair's adventures are so funny and entertaining. This is one of the most enjoyable witch reads I have read in a long time. I love that the main character is an outsider to the world of witches. It made a really cool spin on the story. 

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

This was really good! Rocky start, but the story really built as the plot progressed. Full review to come.

Code of Honor is the second book in the Cipher Security series by April White. Code of Honor is an adult contemporary romantic suspense, and acts as a standalone book in the Cipher Security Series. The Cipher Security series is published by Smartypants Romance, and you can see my review of the first book in the series, Code of Conduct HERE. 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! By now, I have read several books from smarty pants romance, and 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.

In Code of Honor we meet our main characters Anna and Darius. Anna is dubbed as the “awkward” twin, but more importantly she is a crafty cunning thief. Darius is a sweet loveable Cipher Security agent tasked with the security of an awful millionaire’s art collection. Any guesses on how Darius and Anna meet? Yep, one of the pieces of art is stolen and that event sets off the actions central to their story and their romance. I loved Darius and Anna. I love that Anna tells it like it is. She holds no punches, and I love that Darius loves that about her. I also loved the setup of the heist. It was a brilliant plan concocted by the twin sisters. As is with many books, the bad guys have varying shades of gray. Yes, Anna is a Thief, but there is much more to the story than is initially apparent. And watching the plot unfold into something bigger, and then even bigger was so much fun. I enjoyed this book more than the first one in the Cipher Security series. The romance was great and the plot was fantastic!

You also get to check in on old friends from Code of Conduct (like Shane) , and from the Cipher Office series. All in all, this book was a smash hit on it’s own, and a great addition to the Knitting in the City world. 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 Honor is still a great romantic suspense story, that can totally be read and enjoyed on it’s own. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Havenfall is the first book in the young adult fantasy series by the same name from author Sara Holland. I loved Havenfall. I think it has such a unique premise, and it was that setup that had me dying to read Havenfall. And I have to say, Sara Holland did a fantastic job with this world. Reading Havenfall completely lived up to it's initial premise, and I am super excited to read the next book in the series. 

In Havenfall we meet our main character Maddie. The highlight of Maddie's year is the summer, when she gets to go visit her uncle who runs the Inn at Havenfall. Sounds pretty ordinary, doesn't it? It is anything but ordinary. The Inn is kind of like a neutral sanctuary for all kinds of ancient worlds. There used to be many, many worlds, but over time some of the worlds were destroyed for one reason or another, and now there are four worlds- Byrn, Fiordenkill, Solaria, and Earth aka Haven. The inn houses doorways to each of the worlds, and each summer there is a summit that takes place between each of the worlds. 

Maddie's uncle is the gatekeeper of the doorways between the worlds, and Maddie has always longed to take over for his uncle. This summer is the start of our crazy adventure at the Inn at Havenfall. I loved the setup of the world. At the start of the book, Sara Holland does a fantastic job describing all of the worlds, and the people that inhabit those worlds. It never felt info-dumpy, all of it flowed well and was very useful in setting up the rest of the story. I really enjoyed Maddie and the journey that she is kind of abruptly thrust into. 

Sara Holland does not hold any punches with Havenfall. This book made me fell a whole spectrum of emotions, from happy and excited to totally devastated. And the twists! Some of those twists took me completely by surprise, and the ending made me so anxious for the next book in the series! I need it right now. If you are a fan of young adult fantasy and love a unique world, Havenfall is a book you need to check out. I have purposefully been vague with the events of the book because going in kind of blind was a big factor to how much I loved this story. I think you will really enjoy it as well. 

So This is Love is the ninth book in the A Twisted Tale series and it is written by author Elizabeth Lim. I love the idea behind the A twisted tale series. Each of the books takes a different, and often times darker, spin on a classic Disney story. They are written by different authors and they can be read as standalone novels, but they are all so much fun that I would recommend reading them all. So This is Love is a twist based on Disney’s Cinderella. So This is Love takes the original Cinderella story line and adds a pretty big twist into the mix- What if Cinderella never tried on the glass slipper? Umm, yes please! I honestly had no idea where Elizabeth Lim was going to take us with this story. The twist is a big one, and I was super excited to read this re-imagining. And like almost all of the Twisted Tale stories, I have read- So This is Love was fun, and full of twists and turns. It is hard to make such a well known story surprisingly, but I loved Elizabeth Lim’s twist on the classic Cinderella story.

I have to say, I think I enjoyed So This is Love even more than the original Cinderella. I felt like I got to know the characters better, and the romance felt even more romantic and real. In So This is Love, Cinderella does not initially get discovered as the princess, so she decides to take matters into her own hands. Not to catch herself a prince, but rather to give herself a new life. I loved how spirited and strong Cinderella was. She finds work as a seamstress, and somehow still finds herself at the castle. There the story takes on a whole new twist. One that I loved. There is a conspiracy afoot! And Cinderella finds herself unwittingly in the middle of it. I loved the darker element of someone trying to overthrow the prince and the king. It is fitting with the darker twists of the twisted tale series, and it worked wonderfully with this story.

I felt like this was the Cinderella story that was always meant to be told. It has everything fans of the classic will love, but it was a richer, deeper plot. I think readers will fall in love with their favorite characters all over again, and see them in a new light. I loved this one. So This is Love May be my favorite Twisted Tale Yet! I need to read Elizabeth Lim’s other Twisted Tale story- reflections, which is based on Mulan, and I am also super excited to read We have Straight on Till Morning, which is based on Peter Pan. Bring on ALL OF THE TWISTED TALE. I love this series. If you have not read any of the books in this series, you are missing out.