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rebeccabadger's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
kaitlin_durante's review
2.0
2.5 stars (rounded down).
This book was not as exciting as the other which was entirely disappointing. I still loved seeing all the characters but couldn't get behind how boring the story between Carson and Eric was. It all seemed too easy with Eric and his family after being away for 15 years!
The reason this rating was rounded down was that I found the editing errors distracting.
This book was not as exciting as the other which was entirely disappointing. I still loved seeing all the characters but couldn't get behind how boring the story between Carson and Eric was. It all seemed too easy with Eric and his family after being away for 15 years!
The reason this rating was rounded down was that I found the editing errors distracting.
iam's review against another edition
3.0
I was looking forward to Carson's book since the series began, and while I did enjoy his books, it didn't quite deliver what I expected.
Content warnings include: blackmail, sex on-page, lots of criminal energy, SWAT team raid, lack of respect in an established relationship (not main couple), mentions of sexual harassment of minors and abuse, homophobia, getting kicked out for being gay.
For one, there isn't really a job this time around. Which would have been fine, except the motivation for why there was no job wasn't explored enough to really make it make sense.
I get that this is more of a light-hearted series that doesn't go too deep in any direction, and I enjoy the cast and their interactions immensely, but I still found myself wanting more.
This was emphasized by the pacing, which was surprisingly slow in the first half, just to be excessively fast towards the end.
One reason I was looking forward to this one so much was that I was fascinated by Carson himself, his skills and the personas he can build.
There was pretty much none of that in Pros & Cons of Betrayal. I'm not sure if this was because of the plot not including a job, and it being more about Carson finding back to his roots and exploring who he is behind the Carson Grieves Persona, but also partly because reading from his POV took away the mystery.
Another big issue that I had was that the editing in this was atrocious. I do not mind a typo or two, but this was really bad. There were a ton of missed words, typos, grammar errors and several continuity errors, especially close to the end. At least the ebook formatting was without issues.
I nevertheless didn't have a bad time at all. I enjoy this series a lot, and I'm curious and excited for the next book, [b:Pros & Cons of Obsession|55883641|Pros & Cons of Obsession (Pros & Cons, #5)|A.E. Wasp|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1605196424l/55883641._SX50_.jpg|87095565].
Lastly I want to mention that there is a side character with Down Syndrome. I cannot reliably comment of how well this was handled. It overall seemed fine and respectful to me, though there were a couple instances where I wasn't sure.
Content warnings include: blackmail, sex on-page, lots of criminal energy, SWAT team raid, lack of respect in an established relationship (not main couple), mentions of sexual harassment of minors and abuse, homophobia, getting kicked out for being gay.
For one, there isn't really a job this time around. Which would have been fine, except the motivation for why there was no job wasn't explored enough to really make it make sense.
I get that this is more of a light-hearted series that doesn't go too deep in any direction, and I enjoy the cast and their interactions immensely, but I still found myself wanting more.
This was emphasized by the pacing, which was surprisingly slow in the first half, just to be excessively fast towards the end.
One reason I was looking forward to this one so much was that I was fascinated by Carson himself, his skills and the personas he can build.
There was pretty much none of that in Pros & Cons of Betrayal. I'm not sure if this was because of the plot not including a job, and it being more about Carson finding back to his roots and exploring who he is behind the Carson Grieves Persona, but also partly because reading from his POV took away the mystery.
Another big issue that I had was that the editing in this was atrocious. I do not mind a typo or two, but this was really bad. There were a ton of missed words, typos, grammar errors and several continuity errors, especially close to the end. At least the ebook formatting was without issues.
I nevertheless didn't have a bad time at all. I enjoy this series a lot, and I'm curious and excited for the next book, [b:Pros & Cons of Obsession|55883641|Pros & Cons of Obsession (Pros & Cons, #5)|A.E. Wasp|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1605196424l/55883641._SX50_.jpg|87095565].
Lastly I want to mention that there is a side character with Down Syndrome. I cannot reliably comment of how well this was handled. It overall seemed fine and respectful to me, though there were a couple instances where I wasn't sure.
pretty_odd08's review
5.0
So good
Idk how I'm going to wait for the next one! I've been waiting for Leo's story since the first book.
Idk how I'm going to wait for the next one! I've been waiting for Leo's story since the first book.
haletostilinski1's review
4.0
I was so excited for this fourth installment in this series. I've enjoyed this series so far, so I was excited for more and wondered how Carson's story was gonna go, and what we were gonna find out about him, since we don't really know much of anything about him besides him being a con man before this book.
I was pretty into this from the beginning. I wanted to see Carson (aka Jake) and Eric interact, it was hard to put it down, when these two finally met up I loved it.
But....near the end it did drag a bit for me, and I think that was because of the inclusion of the plot point that because it took away, for me, the story of these two.
Now maybe if it had been set up as them trying to take them down from the start, with the romance included, as it's been for the past three, I wouldn't have minded that much. But in this one it was set up like the sole purpose of all this was to get Carson back with Eric, nothing else. And for awhile it was just that - and although the other guys didn't have as big a role and it felt like didn't have to be there, it was still just fun and entertaining and interesting.
But throw in this side plot, that also kinda was dealt with fairly quickly in the end, and I just didn't much care for it, and it kinda took me out of the story near the end at times. Especially as it kind of took away from Carson and Eric's relationship, and it felt like they both had everything resolved before the end and there wasn't as much of a focus on them anymore, and so the ending was just this side plot that I didn't care for with not much romance.
And also I felt that their ending was kinda abrupt. I wasn't expecting it to end when it did and I was just expecting them to be a little more settled into things, and into their HFN/HEA when this ended and it didn't feel that way.
The epilogue that focused on Leo was interesting and who showed up was definitely interesting and something I'd been suspecting since like the end of book one. I wonder if who shows up is the same person as the "interested party" person. It would make sense.
So overall, for the majority of this I really liked it, it was really good and interesting and Carson and Eric were so good together, and they had great chemistry, but then the last portion of this just lagged for me and didn't round out as nicely as I would have liked, dragging the story down.
It's interesting, usually it's beginning of stories that drag for me, or are a little slow, but it was the opposite with this one, which actually pulled me in from the get go, and it was the ending that dragged for me and was a little slow.
But overall, a good fourth installment, with a good hook in the epilogue to keep the readers excited and interested in the last installment. I still recommend this to those who have been enjoying this series so far.
I was pretty into this from the beginning. I wanted to see Carson (aka Jake) and Eric interact, it was hard to put it down, when these two finally met up I loved it.
But....near the end it did drag a bit for me, and I think that was because of the inclusion of the plot point that
Spoiler
there was a low level gang guy or whatever who recognized Carson in his hometown and who was working with this other guy who was kinda on and off again with Eric for years, so they had to try to stop him.Now maybe if it had been set up as them trying to take them down from the start, with the romance included, as it's been for the past three, I wouldn't have minded that much. But in this one it was set up like the sole purpose of all this was to get Carson back with Eric, nothing else. And for awhile it was just that - and although the other guys didn't have as big a role and it felt like didn't have to be there, it was still just fun and entertaining and interesting.
But throw in this side plot, that also kinda was dealt with fairly quickly in the end, and I just didn't much care for it, and it kinda took me out of the story near the end at times. Especially as it kind of took away from Carson and Eric's relationship, and it felt like they both had everything resolved before the end and there wasn't as much of a focus on them anymore, and so the ending was just this side plot that I didn't care for with not much romance.
And also I felt that their ending was kinda abrupt. I wasn't expecting it to end when it did and I was just expecting them to be a little more settled into things, and into their HFN/HEA when this ended and it didn't feel that way.
The epilogue that focused on Leo was interesting and who showed up was definitely interesting and something I'd been suspecting since like the end of book one. I wonder if who shows up is the same person as the "interested party" person. It would make sense.
So overall, for the majority of this I really liked it, it was really good and interesting and Carson and Eric were so good together, and they had great chemistry, but then the last portion of this just lagged for me and didn't round out as nicely as I would have liked, dragging the story down.
It's interesting, usually it's beginning of stories that drag for me, or are a little slow, but it was the opposite with this one, which actually pulled me in from the get go, and it was the ending that dragged for me and was a little slow.
But overall, a good fourth installment, with a good hook in the epilogue to keep the readers excited and interested in the last installment. I still recommend this to those who have been enjoying this series so far.
mirocchi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
tendoheart's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
aster1123's review against another edition
2.0
This is really hard to review.
It obviously had an original storyline (based on how it's edited and from the existing blurb that has nothing to do with the current plot) that changed quite drastically.
Carson's reasons for staying away are lame. They should have been better. There should have been more conflict and hard feelings before they made up. Eric should have been madder.
There's a lot that I don't believe or buy, and the editing is sloppy. main plot points currently hinge on something that could not have happened. so that sucks.
Also, this book should have been about half the number pages. which is frustrating because the previous book was way too fast/short. so wtf?! get it together, and get an editor please!
but i love a second chance romance and i loved seeing more of carson's life and thoughts and i'm happy i read it.
It obviously had an original storyline (based on how it's edited and from the existing blurb that has nothing to do with the current plot) that changed quite drastically.
Carson's reasons for staying away are lame. They should have been better. There should have been more conflict and hard feelings before they made up. Eric should have been madder.
There's a lot that I don't believe or buy, and the editing is sloppy. main plot points currently hinge on something that could not have happened. so that sucks.
Also, this book should have been about half the number pages. which is frustrating because the previous book was way too fast/short. so wtf?! get it together, and get an editor please!
but i love a second chance romance and i loved seeing more of carson's life and thoughts and i'm happy i read it.
ruthie_wk's review against another edition
I can't even rate this book. It definitely was my least favorite in the series, and every single time I picked it up I couldn't make it past a few pages before I just couldn't keep on reading.
The mission was definitely not interesting, and I wasn't sold on Eric's and Carson's all-time love. I didn't feel the connection, and ultimately the rushed "mission," even if I could call it that, got me gritting my teeth.
I absolutely loved the epilogue, but I am not getting my hopes up when it comes to Leo's book. I did not have a good time when reading this book.
The mission was definitely not interesting, and I wasn't sold on Eric's and Carson's all-time love. I didn't feel the connection, and ultimately the rushed "mission," even if I could call it that, got me gritting my teeth.
I absolutely loved the epilogue, but I am not getting my hopes up when it comes to Leo's book. I did not have a good time when reading this book.
sarareadstoomuch's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars
I honestly don't even know what happened with this book, I am so confused. I really liked Carson in the previous books, but his character was so unlikable in this one!! What happened????
This book was a second chance where the mission for the team was for Carson to make amends with his past and thus getting back together with his first love, Eric, while also figuring our this con in the town.
Seems good in the blurb, but the execution just wasn't there, I didn't like the MCs at all, and the story was just not what I expected in this series.
I don't think I'm going to continue this series at the moment, I definitely will come back to finish the final book though!
I honestly don't even know what happened with this book, I am so confused. I really liked Carson in the previous books, but his character was so unlikable in this one!! What happened????
This book was a second chance where the mission for the team was for Carson to make amends with his past and thus getting back together with his first love, Eric, while also figuring our this con in the town.
Seems good in the blurb, but the execution just wasn't there, I didn't like the MCs at all, and the story was just not what I expected in this series.
I don't think I'm going to continue this series at the moment, I definitely will come back to finish the final book though!