***** 5 HUGE Laugh Out Loud Stars *****

Jacquelyn Ayres knows how to win my heart over times ten when she writes a book.

How’s that you ask? Well with gut busting, heart melting, and laugh out loud humor that could make even the toughest person crack a smile. My cheeks hurt from how much I smiled and cracked up reading In The Mix, and the first book in her GEG Series, Under Contract.

But it wasn’t just the humor that won me over repeatedly in this book, it was so much more.

It was the characters she created that never failed to bring one hell of a smile to my face with their truly dynamic and layered selves. It was the story itself that hooked me in from beginning to end with all the very real ups and downs and pushes and pulls it gave me. It was all the varied and well written feeling and emotion that this story and characters made me feel for them while reading this phenomenal book.

It was all that and more that made In The Mix a magnificent 5 star read for me. This book brought a serious smile to my face, but through all those smiles, Kyle and CiCi’s charming and fierce selves adhered themselves to my heart. Permanently.

What was utterly fantastic about In The Mix:

• The laugh out loud hysterical moments. This is what I’ve loved about this series, and especially In The Mix. These moments made me laugh, crack up, smile and smirk like all get out. I never knew what these crazy fun characters would say and do next, and their hysterical vibrancy just shined through in spades. I couldn’t go a page or two without laughing, and having that level of humor along with the rest of the outstanding story just made my heart so happy. It just added a whole new level of fun and light to reading this book, making this one of the most fun books I’ve EVER read. (Right behind Under Contract of course.)
• Kyle’s determined self. The one thing guaranteed to win me over from a male character is if they never give up fighting for what they want, and Kyle fits that bill. He never waivers in his determination to get CiCi, and his fight for what they could have with one another. He saw through all the bs and just kept pushing through because he knew what they could have together was worth it. That level of fight, determination, and trust just won me over repeatedly, and it showed me how much of a gem he really was. It also illuminated so much about him, and just how much of a good freaking guy he was. Plus all that determination combined with the rest of his charm made me practically want to swoon over him.
• CiCi and all her fantastic layers. I don’t know if I have the right amount of words to describe how much I LOVED CiCi. There is so much more to her than meets the eye. She is fun, feisty, and spunky as all get out, and I don’t think I ever could’ve imagine what comes out of that girl’s mouth. I loved her, felt for her, cared like crazy for her, and I just believed in every layer of her. Cici is so dynamic with so many well-crafted layers that I highly enjoyed diving into. There’s the layers of CiCi that are fun, light, and carefree, and then there are the layers that show her vulnerability, her true feelings, and the depth of her emotion. The extraordinary combination of those layers just had my heart pulling for her, and I have utterly no doubt that I absolutely effing adore me some CiCi.
• The fireworks. There is nothing short of fireworks between Kyle and CiCi. Those two have such a strong chemistry and pull towards one another that you’re going to feel those fireworks in your bones. Their connection and relationship is just waiting to explode and is combusting at the seams, but that’s what makes it what it is, and I guarantee it’ll bring a certain heat to your cheeks. All those fireworks will just ignite your love for these characters, and it’ll make you want to fight for those fireworks right along with them because you know how truly powerful they are when they’re together. And yeah they may be explosive as all get out, but boy are they something beautiful.
• The GEG’s. These gaggle of green eyed ladies are some beyond fabulous females. They are each lovable and fun in their very own way. Each one of the GEG’s has their own story to tell, and I LOVED getting more pieces to each their vivacious puzzles, though I am still dying for more on all of them! CiCi, Charlotte, Julie, Maddie, and Ava just won me over once again, and their friendship and love for one another soared off the page in such an exceptional way from Jacquelyn Ayres writing. I felt their friendship in such a real way, and reading that just made me downright happy. There also wasn’t an instant that these ladies were together that they didn’t have me laughing and fighting the urge to pee my pants (Seriously!), but through all of that I was just enveloped in the love the characters had for one another. The female friendship dynamic in this book and series is just out of this world phenomenal.
• The authenticity. I can’t stress enough how real everything in this book felt to me. I wasn’t just reading this book, I was experiencing it. I was feeling it with my heart, and my laughter, and my love. The characters, the story itself, and the events just came across in such a real way, and that truly invested me into every part of this book. That authenticity and realness also just bursts out from the characters. The events and moments that transpire with the characters also just make so much sense because of that authenticity. Nothing was forced, and it all felt so easy to understand. That realness and authenticity just made this book come alive for me as I read it, and it took my reading experience to a new level that just left me in awe.
• The past and how it comes to be. CiCi is fighting what is happening and developing between her and Kyle because of the events that happened in her past. These events come to light in such magnificent ways, and not only helped me understand CiCi, but also helped me understand why certain choices and actions were made. It was very easy to see how things got from point A to point B to point C, and all that past just had my heart hurting for CiCi and what she went through. Reading her attempt to move on and accept that past just blew me away with how emotional and heart tugging it was, and it had me dying to reach in and heal CiCi because of it all. I also couldn’t help but love how much Kyle wanted CiCi’s past because he knew if he could get that past, he could also get her future. Total heart melting moment.
• The push. There is a ton of pushing in this book. CiCi pushes her firecracker self out there for the world to see. The GEG’s push each other to be honest and open and to be their true crazy selves. But most of all, Kyle continues to push CiCi to admit what she’s feeling for him and to embrace what they could have together if she only tears down those walls around her heart. The way that he pushes her with their relationship is fantastic, and the pushback she gives him makes him truly think and consider what it is that he wants. That pushing brings them both to places they’re fighting like hell to get to. Even in those moments where they’re pushing so hard and it hurts like a mother, that push is exactly what Kyle and CiCi need, and what you need for that matter.
• All the connections. This is the second book in this series, and I loved how it connected with the first book, Under Contract. It gave new events to characters I’ve already come to love, and getting to know more about them along with CiCi and Kyle was wonderful and so very telling. The connections between these books exemplified all that was fantastic about them both, and just made me more and more eager for the rest of the series. Jacquelyn Ayres has connected me to all of the characters and their stories in such a way that I am practically dying to see where this all goes next.
• The title. This is a very specific detail to pick out, but it’s an aspect that really was so meaningful. It was one of the aspects I loved most because the way this title connects into the story had me fighting tears. (Good tears, I promise!) I’m not going to tell you what it means, or where you find that out, or how it even comes to be, but when you read the words of how this title comes into play you’ll be nothing short of blown away. It’s a phenomenally powerful moment that made my heart melt, tears come to my eyes, and just took my breath away with its beauty and meaning. (It was by far one of my favorite moments in the book!)

In The Mix was another beyond amazing addition the GEG Series by Jacquelyn Ayres. This book had me in fits of laughter, loving these characters with my entire heart, and feeling this story with everything I had. I honestly cannot say enough good things about this book, this series, and this author’s amazing writing.

In the Mix is a fun read, with plenty of moments that will bring a smile to your face or flush to your cheeks, but underneath all of that awesomeness lies a beautifully emotional story and two fierce characters fighting for their chance at having something spectacular.

Kyle and CiCi are going to win you over in an instant, and even in those moments when they make you want to bang your head against the wall because they’re being so stubborn, you will simply adore them. They’re going to make you work with everything that you have to get to that ending and place you seek to find them in, but through it all they will just warm your heart and bring one helluva huge smile to your face.

This is a 5 star read at its core, and it deserves to be devoured by you this very instant. The GEG’s and Kyle and CiCi won’t let you down one little bit, I can promise you that.