I've read all of the books previous to this in the Brie series. Some were fabulous, some were good, and some just ok. This book? I'm just not sure. And I say that for a few reasons.
First, Brie has never appeared to grow up. Yes, I know she's surrounded by Lea and Master Anderson who use jokes and pranks constantly. But this book, in particular, pointed out that Brie is scatter-brained and needs to focus on one thing at a time but doesn't. I know she is a fictional character by Red Phoenix, I get that. I also get that she's never matured over the years from the first book. Yes, she lost her nervousness and became bolder, but she's still acting like she's 18 instead of in her twenties with a child and another on the way. She looks at everything in a childlike way. There's nothing wrong with being childlike, but not all the time. I also found her to be a tad bit over the top emotionally. It isn't necessary to cry at everything, but I noted that she sheds a lot of tears. I found that hard to get around in this book.
Second, between the garbage lady, and fart bombs, and Brie's parents, and all the other odds and ends that were put into this book, I didn't feel like any closure happened. It felt jumbled and confused in places. Everything was left pretty much the way it began, except for Faelan. I understand that Faelan will be addressed in the next book, but beyond that, there were so many questions left unanswered, and plot points that went nowhere, or if they did go somewhere, they played no part in the real story. While the garbage lady was a cute story, it played no role in the story itself, other than to be a distraction (or at least that's how I felt about it).
Third, in this book, I found the sex to be almost an after thought. Oh, it was there, and it was good when it was there, but I read Red Phoenix because I like her stories combined with erotica. In this book, there wasn't much for me to really sink my teeth into.
Her dialogue has improved a thousand percent from the first book, which I admire in her because it is tough for a writer to grow and learn as they're writing a series. She stuck to it, knew where she had to improve and work harder and did so. Without a couple of plot points that were (sorry for the pun), pointless, I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more. I'm still looking forward to the next Brie story, which looks like it will be the last, making it the 22nd book of the series. I can recommend this book to anyone who has read the series, but this is not going to be the book to pick up if you haven't read Brie before. And please remember, before all the Red Phoenix fans take offense, my reviews are always my thoughts, my opinions, and are as honest as I can make them. I don't pull punches. I read far too many books to start doing anything less. 3-1/2 means that I enjoyed it, and am looking forward to the next one.