We’re definitely experiencing diminishing returns with this series, but I’m still enjoying myself. I think I’m ready for it to have a definitive ending, though. I don’t want the author to beat this horse to death just because we keep buying the books out of remembered affection for how crazy good we thought book one was.
To be honest, I no longer remember most of the details of the plot of this book. Finlay and Vero have to find out who EasyClean is (the hit man who had been targeting Finlay’s ex-husband Steven) who is most likely a dirty cop. To do this, they sign up for a free community workshop on policing. Also, Vero’s past is increasingly starting to catch up to her. There were SO MANY hijinks in this book, and while they were fun to a certain point, they also started to lean almost to the point of being unbelievable, so I hope the author continues to hold that line strong to the end of the series. I would also like Finlay’s life to calm down (and Vero’s) for once. That is what I want for her future. Also to finish her damn book and finally get it published.
I’m actually going to lower my rating after having sat on this book for over a month. I originally gave it a straight four stars, but now that’s down to 3.5, and because it did take me so long to actually read it, and the joy and the thrill is gone, I’m rounding down to three. (That and the increasingly troubling unquestioned positive view on the police that I could overlook in the first book since it was written before the pandemic before the conversation about police brutality and corruption became something more mainstream. The characters in this book are living a very heteronormative white person view of a pre-pandemic world. “Hot Cop” is not really a fun moniker the way the book wants it to be.)
[3.5 stars]
Note: I am also going to rate the cover of the book, because I hate it so much. I don’t know if the person assigned to create it was just having an off day or had too much on their plate, or if they got some intern to do it who didn’t give a fig, but this is one of the worst covers for a traditionally published book I’ve ever seen. Because I follow Kayla from Books and Lala on YouTube, and she mocked up her own covers after finding the original stock image the first cover was made from, I know what it’s supposed to look like so it’s even more glaring. The head on this Finlay is ENORMOUS and it looks so cheap! Look at her shoulders on the first book and then tell me this looks okay. It doesn’t. It looks awful. They just half-assed a tiny body onto that head and then half-assed her hair and then her hand and I want to burn it with fire. 1/5 stars
