Reviews

Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank by Elle Cosimano

mrsr_reads's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

3.0

allisonhollingsworth's review

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

4.5

“Anyone can spot a window of opportunity, but not everyone can manage to fall straight through one.” I was so excited to read this because Vero is one of my favorite characters in the Finlay Donovan series, and this short story gave us her backstory! I did think that there was going to be a bit more of Vero and Finlay together, but it was only very brief at the ending. But because the story was so funny and believe I love Vero I had a great time with this. In the beginning Vero is breaking into her cousin Ramon’s apartment after dropping out of college because her sorority sisters have accused her of stealing money, and her arrest warrant (which is hinted about in the other books). So she’s really trying to lay low. The back-and-forth between Vero and Ramon is so great. They have a brother-sister relationship that’s pretty funny. So is the humor and chemistry between Vero and Javi, who is by chance living as Ramon’s roommate. And the two were a thing in high school before they went their separate ways, so they have all of this sexual tension built up between them that is very evident whenever they’re in the same room together, so that’s really fun to read. But both Javi and Ramon are protective of Vero, so that also comes through in this short story as Vero gets up to all sorts of shenanigans that gets her in trouble. After moving in with Ramon she decides she needs to get a job, and with a background in studying finance she tries to do so at a bank, but the only position available is for a janitor. She’s not going to take it, but then she overhears that someone is skimming off the top of their till and the manager is trying to find out who. Vero thinks that if she can solve the mystery, she can be the replacement for the job. So she takes the custodian position. From there she gets into a lot of trouble, of course, including breaking into people’s cars to find evidence and even making out with one of the employees to also see if she can find any evidence (Javi punches him and he never comes back to her after that lol). It lends itself to a lot of comedic moments because she’s a janitor, so she has an excuse for going places most people couldn’t. But Vero finds out with her sleuthing skills that the longest employee there is using is time in the bathroom (under the excuse of IBS) to smuggle in cash and deposit slips with his crossword puzzles and forge deposits and puts them in the trash. She busts him and he admits he’s been working there for so long and is treated terrible. Vero ends up securing the new job (with a bit of blackmail), but while she’s working at the till she hates how mean people can be, and she sees a woman struggling with her two children and lets her come to the front of the line. Before her boss can yell at her for this she quits and she runs into the woman in the parking lot. Who’s the woman? You guessed it, Finlay. Turns out she needs a babysitter… but yes, I had fun with this short story! It was funny, and I guess the only thing that was missing for me was the Finlay/Vero duo dynamic. But there’s another book coming so we will get more of that, I’m sure!

niamhdee's review against another edition

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

cassie_jean's review

funny 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? No

5.0

lizagracie's review against another edition

4.0

I love the Finlay + Vero universe so it was fun to read a short story of who Vero was before meeting Finlay. It included a teaser for the the next Finlay book and I'm ready for more! See you in March.

ashleyymarx's review against another edition

4.0

❤️ Entertaining, easy read, satisfying ending, and such a fun puzzle piece that adds to the whole series. And who doesn’t love a quick little mystery to solve??

amyteurhour's review against another edition

2.0

This was unfortunately a somewhat disappointing experience for me. I've enjoyed the Finlay Donovan series thus far, and had been looking forward to this short story to expand upon the mysterious past of Vero and what exactly happened at her sorority.

My first big issue was the explanation for why Vero couldn't/wouldn't tell Ramón the reason why she's back home.

Spoiler

I understand that shame can make us act illogically at times, however the way the situation is (briefly) explained in this short story, I would have thought Ramón would have been someone she'd want to confide in because he's characterized as someone who Vero believed would always be on her side.

There were some other smallish plot holes that felt clumsily addressed. Another thing that totally threw me off was one point near the end, Cosimano uses the word "flirt" to describe an action Zach is doing. From the context, of course I know she meant it in the 'moving quickly/birdish' way, but it was still kind of jarring, especially when I feel like there are plenty of other words that could have conveyed a similar idea.

With all of that said, the story definitely picks up around Chapter 4, and we get to see the quick-on-her-feet detective Vero we've grown to love in the main series. I appreciated that Cosimano develops on how Vero had mystery-solving chops even before meeting Finlay.

Ultimately, this just kind of left me wondering what was the point (with my cynical answer being the publisher probably pushing for this to be separated from any of the main books because as Mona Lisa once said, "Money pweeease.")? I liked seeing Vero in action, doing her own thing, but feel like those parts could have just been a bonus at the end of one of the main books. The beginning felt like filler, not really giving us any more insight or details into what's already been hinted at/discussed in the main series. I would feel differently if this went back even a smidge further, into Vero's time in college and at her sorority, but I have a feeling that's being saved for a bigger reveal in the upcoming Book 4.

I started this listening to the audiobook, but switched 5% in. Stacy Gonzalez did a fine job, but after listening to three books where Vero is voiced by Angela Dawe, the different style choices just threw me off and I had to switch to reading the ebook. I know that this change was likely because of different contracts, but then in that case (again) what was the point??

This is solidly 2.5 stars for me, and I went back and forth on whether to round up or down.

nae20's review

funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

jorkal22's review against another edition

funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kelseycanada's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75