Scan barcode
A review by tabberz
Cruel Money by K.A. Linde
4.0
Oh Penn! and oh Linde! Once again the queen of angst delivered.
You have to meet Natalie and Penn. This couple has chemistry to spare. I love their love/hate relationship (the hate is mostly one-sided). I love their banter and I love when they come together. These two have a nice depth to them and are not your typical couple from opposite sides of the track. They have a history that is hinted at for a bit and you wait to find all the truths from their first time around (And if you want to read that story you can read One Cruel Night, which is free). This second chance that is given to them in a unexpected way is so much fun to watch unravel. You feel the tension in both good and bad ways and you wonder where this will go, if anywhere. I loved reading it unfold.
I loved Totle, who is my favorite character in the whole book. How a dog can be so expressive and lovable makes me want to get my own (would if I could).
The other supporting characters were fun to see interact with these two. The friends and family from both characters were interesting and brought out new sides to them. There's always the one character you keep your eye on because you know bad things always follow and in this book their "villain" was unlikable in the best way. You just wanted to yell, "RUN!", every time she entered a scene. But the best friends for both characters were great. They were supportive and had great interactions.
Since this is part of a 3-book series you know that this would not be a Linde novel without a cliffhanger. And oh what a cliffhanger it is! I am anxious and expectant for the next book and to see where she's taking out characters. It is a small time-jump so we will probably get to see what they were up to in the interim and see what will happen next.
And as I mentioned earlier in my review, there is a prequel book, One Cruel Night, that is currently free and it's a great read to get to know our characters a little more but not necessary to read this book. There is enough coverage of those events in this book that you get the gist of what happened BUT I think that read was also excellent and really enhances this read. So pick that up too.
Overall...Why do I need to wait so long for the next book!?!?!?!?!?
You have to meet Natalie and Penn. This couple has chemistry to spare. I love their love/hate relationship (the hate is mostly one-sided). I love their banter and I love when they come together. These two have a nice depth to them and are not your typical couple from opposite sides of the track. They have a history that is hinted at for a bit and you wait to find all the truths from their first time around (And if you want to read that story you can read One Cruel Night, which is free). This second chance that is given to them in a unexpected way is so much fun to watch unravel. You feel the tension in both good and bad ways and you wonder where this will go, if anywhere. I loved reading it unfold.
I loved Totle, who is my favorite character in the whole book. How a dog can be so expressive and lovable makes me want to get my own (would if I could).
The other supporting characters were fun to see interact with these two. The friends and family from both characters were interesting and brought out new sides to them. There's always the one character you keep your eye on because you know bad things always follow and in this book their "villain" was unlikable in the best way. You just wanted to yell, "RUN!", every time she entered a scene. But the best friends for both characters were great. They were supportive and had great interactions.
Since this is part of a 3-book series you know that this would not be a Linde novel without a cliffhanger. And oh what a cliffhanger it is! I am anxious and expectant for the next book and to see where she's taking out characters. It is a small time-jump so we will probably get to see what they were up to in the interim and see what will happen next.
And as I mentioned earlier in my review, there is a prequel book, One Cruel Night, that is currently free and it's a great read to get to know our characters a little more but not necessary to read this book. There is enough coverage of those events in this book that you get the gist of what happened BUT I think that read was also excellent and really enhances this read. So pick that up too.
Overall...Why do I need to wait so long for the next book!?!?!?!?!?