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A review by lenoreo
The Cad and the Co-Ed by Penny Reid, L.H. Cosway
4.0
https://celebrityreaders.com/2020/02/26/the-cad-and-the-co-ed-by-l-h-cosway-penny-reid/
3.5 stars — There were so many things I truly enjoyed about this story, but also a few things that were a bit meh.
I actually genuinely liked both Eilish and Bryan on the whole. They were characters that had both made mistakes or rather were living with the consequences of their decisions. The problem is that there was a fuckton of miscommunication in this one, and that does tend to annoy the living shit out of me.
Eilish frustrated the hell out of me. There were so many things I loved and admired about her (her parenting, the love she had for Patrick, her genuine passion for her job). But then there was the rest. I mean, she was super unprofessional in this book, and I’m not talking about the sex in the room. She actively avoided doing her job because she was avoiding Bryan, and that’s just so not cool. And then there was her wishy washy back and forthness. I guess I honestly just didn’t get to know her and her hangups enough for me to understand her ridiculous level of lack of trust, and how she kept backtracking. I mean, I got where the authors were trying to go, I just didn’t go with them or something.
Bryan frustrated me as well, just perhaps not quite as much. I LOVED seeing the aftermath of an addict trying to live a sober life. It generally felt very real. Especially all the little roadblocks he would come across. I appreciated that he did lean on his sponsor, and that it wasn’t all just easy peasy, but that he genuinely didn’t want to go back to that life. And he had his own hangups and back and forth going on. I mean really, these two were just too messed up to function.
Thank fuck for Sean. I still don’t know if I want to read his story, but he was the coolest fucking cousin. I loved how unique he was, and how much you could tell he genuinely cared for Eilish and her wellbeing. And not just Eilish, but his nephew as well. It was sweet and adorable.
One of the highlights of this story for me was seeing how excited Bryan was about becoming a Dad. It was a refreshing reaction in a secret pregnancy book. I felt all the emotions over those bits of the story.
Their chemistry was pretty solid, though with all the other crap going on, it was hard to get completely invested.
As an aside, I’m super duper glad I read book 4 before this one, because otherwise I might not have wanted to read Josey’s book based on her behavior in this one, and I LOVED her!
Huh. I started this thinking 4 stars…now I’m down to 3.5 rounded up, and starting to wonder if I should round down. Despite this strange review, I really did enjoy this book, and it sucked me in and had me staying up late to finish it. So despite not having as many good things to say, I’m sticking with my gut and rounding up.
ON REREAD:
Maybe 4 stars -- Eilish's unprofessionalism didn't tweak me this time, but the bad communication was still bad...it felt like manufactured drama. Still, I think I enjoyed it a teeny bit more this time.
3.5 stars — There were so many things I truly enjoyed about this story, but also a few things that were a bit meh.
I actually genuinely liked both Eilish and Bryan on the whole. They were characters that had both made mistakes or rather were living with the consequences of their decisions. The problem is that there was a fuckton of miscommunication in this one, and that does tend to annoy the living shit out of me.
Eilish frustrated the hell out of me. There were so many things I loved and admired about her (her parenting, the love she had for Patrick, her genuine passion for her job). But then there was the rest. I mean, she was super unprofessional in this book, and I’m not talking about the sex in the room. She actively avoided doing her job because she was avoiding Bryan, and that’s just so not cool. And then there was her wishy washy back and forthness. I guess I honestly just didn’t get to know her and her hangups enough for me to understand her ridiculous level of lack of trust, and how she kept backtracking. I mean, I got where the authors were trying to go, I just didn’t go with them or something.
Bryan frustrated me as well, just perhaps not quite as much. I LOVED seeing the aftermath of an addict trying to live a sober life. It generally felt very real. Especially all the little roadblocks he would come across. I appreciated that he did lean on his sponsor, and that it wasn’t all just easy peasy, but that he genuinely didn’t want to go back to that life. And he had his own hangups and back and forth going on. I mean really, these two were just too messed up to function.
Thank fuck for Sean. I still don’t know if I want to read his story, but he was the coolest fucking cousin. I loved how unique he was, and how much you could tell he genuinely cared for Eilish and her wellbeing. And not just Eilish, but his nephew as well. It was sweet and adorable.
One of the highlights of this story for me was seeing how excited Bryan was about becoming a Dad. It was a refreshing reaction in a secret pregnancy book. I felt all the emotions over those bits of the story.
Their chemistry was pretty solid, though with all the other crap going on, it was hard to get completely invested.
As an aside, I’m super duper glad I read book 4 before this one, because otherwise I might not have wanted to read Josey’s book based on her behavior in this one, and I LOVED her!
Huh. I started this thinking 4 stars…now I’m down to 3.5 rounded up, and starting to wonder if I should round down. Despite this strange review, I really did enjoy this book, and it sucked me in and had me staying up late to finish it. So despite not having as many good things to say, I’m sticking with my gut and rounding up.
ON REREAD:
Maybe 4 stars -- Eilish's unprofessionalism didn't tweak me this time, but the bad communication was still bad...it felt like manufactured drama. Still, I think I enjoyed it a teeny bit more this time.