For anyone who love romance and contemporaries as much as me, I highly recommend this series. Before you get scared about it being a romance series and think that it will have over complicated drama-- do not worry about that! They're technically companion novels, each centering on a different protagonist who lives in the same area, but you should probably read them in order since they're written in chronological order. Though I wasn't the biggest fan of the third book, Things I'll Never Forget, the rest of the series is absolutely brilliant and almost heart stoppingly cute and adorable. The first book, Catching Jordan, and the second book, Stealing Parker, would have to be my favorite two. Not to say the rest aren't great, I love the writing in all of them, I just liked the characters best in those two novels. 
Anyway, Defending Taylor follows protagonist Taylor (shocker) as she is forced to move to a new school where she has no friends all because of a white lie she told to protect someone close to her. Not only is she humiliated, the one thing she could always turn to for comfort, soccer, is even a bit ruined for her. After all, the Hundred Oaks' team used to be her rivals. Now they were supposed to be her teammates. 
There were not many things I could connect with Taylor about, one of the things I could understand is how she pushes herself to have perfect grades and a good transcript. I, too, am constantly worrying about my grades and how everything will look for a future college to see. (Ask my friends, they are definitely getting annoyed with it by now.) Also, Taylor and I share a love for animals. 
The love interest in this book is Ezra, her brother's best friend. I found Ezra to be sweet. He seemed like a really great guy who genuinely cared for those around him. One of my favorite things about Miranda's books are her character's back stories and flaws. Ezra is one of those characters that I enjoyed finding out more about. 
I also appreciated seeing the dynamic between Taylor and her family. It's been a while since I read Racing Savannah, so I completely forgot that it was Taylor's sister that Jack had been dating until it was mentioned later in the book. 
Sorry for another short review, I just don't really have much to say about this book without spoiling anything. The fun about romance books isn't usually the end-- you usually know how that'll end-- it's the journey there. I can tell you, this book is definitely a fun, cute read. I really appreciated the Game of Thrones references thrown in as well. 
Honestly, my biggest problem with the story was something very minor-- I DID NOT GET TO SEE JORDAN AND ______ AND PARKER AND _________. They're my faves and I was very sad not to see them. Sorry, I had to leave blanks at the partners in case y'all hadn't read those books yet. If you haven't, I highly encourage you to. They're so cute, and make my heart jump in happiness every time I reread them, which is often. 
The relationships between the characters was great, too. I especially loved Taylor's relationship with her two best friends, it felt real and I appreciated that. 
I just want to mention one last thing-- the gifts Ezra gets for Taylor are great. Especially the last one he gets her. :) 
Anyway, I'm giving Defending Taylor 7.8/10 stars. It was a cute read, just what I was expecting out of it. I was not disappointed. 
Synopsis: 
​
There are no mistakes in love.

Captain of the soccer team, president of the Debate Club, contender for valedictorian: Taylor's always pushed herself to be perfect. After all, that's what is expected of a senator's daughter. But one impulsive decision-one lie to cover for her boyfriend-and Taylor's kicked out of private school. Everything she's worked so hard for is gone, and now she's starting over at Hundred Oaks High.

Soccer has always been Taylor's escape from the pressures of school and family, but it's hard to fit in and play on a team that used to be her rival. The only person who seems to understand all that she's going through is her older brother's best friend, Ezra. Taylor's had a crush on him for as long as she can remember. But it's hard to trust after having been betrayed. Will Taylor repeat her past mistakes or can she score a fresh start?

Ann Aguirre's Enclave takes you into a terrifying world full of death, where the average citizen doesn't even make it to age twenty five. The citizens of the Enclave have many things to fear, the worst of them are the freaks. Zombie-like monsters that inhabit the tunnels around the Enclave, feeding on anything dead, even their own. 
The protagonist of this story is a teenage girl named Deuce. In her society, there are three jobs one takes as soon as they are old enough to be named. A breeder, a builder or a hunter. Deuce has been training all her life to become a huntress, and when the novel begins, she's finally become one. Unfortunately, Deuce's partner is Fade, a boy from outside the Enclave, who's... different from those who grew up there. 
All in all, I enjoyed this book. I liked the characters and found the setting to be interesting.  A little horrifying, but interesting. All the people of the Enclave have lived underground their entire lives, and they have never seen sunlight or rain. Many of them die of sickness before they even get in their later teenage years. What a scary world to imagine living in. I'll have to admit, Enclave was not my favorite book, but I did enjoy it. Sometimes it seemed things were going too fast, or something happened that just didn't really seem to fit. 
If you like action packed novels with tough protagonists, this is the book for you. Not a lot of the book is spent really working on relationships, most of it was fighting. Sure, that's how the characters need to survive, but I'd like to see a little more relationship building. All the relationship building came from the events that happened, but like I said before, sometimes things happened so fast. I guess you have to bond quickly to the person who you're trusting your life with everyday, though. 
I would give Enclave a 7/10 stars. It was good, and I thought it was an interesting read, but I just don't love it. I won't go insane from rereading it numerous times, nor will I really think a lot about the plot or the characters frequently. I will, on the other hand, be reading the next two books in the series, Outpost and Horde. It was interesting enough for me to want to read more, but looking back, I wish I saw more relationship building instead of seemingly instant connections between some characters. On the other hand, I did love some of the connections between characters, particularly the friendship between Deuce, Stone and Thimble. (Yeah, the names suck, that's why it took me so long to pick up this book. I've heard about it for a while now.) It was a sweet friendship to read about, and while it hit some bumps, I hope it will be able to be fixed sometime. There are few things I hate more than good friendships being broken up. 
Sorry for the extremely short review, it's just I'm a little behind on reviews due to NaNoWriMo, which I won, by the way, and I also have another book I want to start soon. Also, I just don't really have that much to say about this book. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Would I recommend it? To people who really like a lot of action, yes, but I think I've read better books in the genre. Is it a favorite? No. Sorry, Enclave. There were a lot of events that took place in the book that I felt kind of neutral about. Some things made me upset or happy, but none of them were great amounts of emotion. I just wasn't invested that much. Don't get me wrong,  I was invested in the story, just not enough to feel overly emotional about the events. 
Maybe I would've written a higher review if I hadn't read three fantastic books that I loved immediately after reading this one. Those novels kind of overshadow this one in writing and plot. (Reviews shall be posted soon.) 
Anyway, here's the synopsis: 

New York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20's. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighboring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters--or Freaks--who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight--guided by Fade's long-ago memories--in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs.

Ann Aguirre's thrilling young adult novel is the story of two young people in an apocalyptic world--facing dangers, and feelings, unlike any they've ever known


Sorry again for the short review, I just don't feel like I have much to say about this book. Looking back on it, I feel pretty neutral about it. Then again, I suspect that partially has to due with my mind is still on another book that I just finished yesterday (*cough* Raven Boys) and I feel bad that Enclave got overshadowed... But I just can't help it. If you have any further questions about the book or want to talk about it feel free to contact me through my email, [email protected].
Thanks for reading! I'll be posting another review soon. 
​-Anj 

I will not being reading much in July because I am participating in Camp NaNoWriMo and therefore will be concentrating more on writing than reading. That means I will probably not be reading much and writing many book reviews. Sorry!