Series: Pros & Cons
Volume: 2/?Publisher: Self-Published
Genre/s: MM Romantic Suspense
Length: 80 000
Read in: English
Review copy format: epub
Rate:✮✮✮✮✮✰
After completing their first task, a group of blackmailed criminals has another challenge to take up. This time, the one responsible for doing the job is a hacker Wesley Bond. With help of his merry men, Wes has to handle the problem of modern slavery which concerns the foreigners. However, this mission is not the only thing Wesley has to deal with. For it happens that his heart begins to beat faster every time he's near this young and attractive former male prostitute, Danny Monroe. Unfortunately, in front of the object of his affection, the hacker always behaves like a bull in a china shop, because of his lack of subtlety, tact, sensibility. If that was not enough, to complete the task Wesley and Danny must pretend to be lovers, and it is definitely harder than it sounds.
"Pros & Cons of Deception" is the next volume of the "Pros & Cons" series, and it is visible from the very beginning of the novel, as instead of some long descriptions that give us the general outline of the story (like in the case of the first book), we quickly go to the specifics and see the characters in action. Thanks to it, the events presented in the novel immediately gain momentum, which doesn't let us be bored. What's more, the faster we move forward, the more happens in the story. And I must admit that in the case of this novel, the plot is really engrossing, which naturally affects the readers' interest. Let us also add that in "Pros & Cons of Deception" the emphasis was placed equally on the action related to the job that needs to be done, the characters' feelings of affection and their emotions influenced by the present, as well as their distant or recent past. In a sense, we see the things that already happened and shaped the main characters of this volume, and at the same time, we witness some changes that are taking place "in front of our eyes".
Without a doubt, a considerable advantage of the second volume of the series is the way in which A.E. Wasp presented the relations between Danny and Wesley. I admit that I like their childish behavior because it shows that mutual interest is not enough to simply create a relationship. This is something you need to learn, just like the ways to show your feelings. It seems to me that the behavior of these two characters at some moments in the novel is best described by the well known example – a small boy pulls the girl's pigtails and teases her constantly, because thanks to it he attracts her attention and at the same time conceals his embarrassment, as he can't show his feelings in a different way. And this is how Wesley and Danny's relations, which are full of innocent sweetness, are presented. To some extent, these two have yet to mature emotionally and that's what the reader sees in "Pros & Cons of Deception".
As in the previous volume of the series, also this time the characters' past is quite significant. However, it is undoubtedly worth noting that in this installment it is connected with topics such as finding acceptance, parental love, and lack of them, resulting from homophobia. To some extent, I have the impression that the characters' personal life, and in particular Danny's, occupies an even more important and more emotional place in "Pros & Cons of Deception" than in the case of Breck and Ridge in "Pros & Cons of Vengeance". Reading this part, we notice that Danny and Wesley are a bit similar to each other and at the same time they are very different. The author presents their life experiences, the conditions in which they grew up and people who were and still are their family for a reason. Additionally, in this way A.E. Wasp affects the readers' feelings and emotions and makes them more attached to these two characters.
In "Pros & Cons of Deception" I also consider a fake boyfriend motif as used in an interesting way. As there is no doubt that Danny and Wesley are interested in each other, and they are more or less aware of this fact, we can say that the author doesn't show this motif as a proper lie, but in this case it's more like a typical role-play. If we look at it from this perspective, what makes this story even more engrossing is the fact that the aforementioned role-playing in relation to our characters clearly affects their everyday life outside of "playing" a boyfriend. What is more, this role-play transforms into building intimacy between Wesley and Danny. Undoubtedly all of this makes the second volume of "Pros & Cons" even more interesting and engaging.
In summary, "Pros & Cons of Deception" is a well-built and very interesting second installment of quite a good series. People who liked the previous volume definitely must read this one, as well as everyone who's opinion on the subject of "Pros & Cons" is not defined yet. It is really worth giving this novel a chance, because it gets more and more interesting.
Headcanon: Often when Danny and Wes are alone, Danny walks around the house naked, and it makes Wesley excited, but he has no chance to satisfy his needs.
Fanfiction idea: Wesley works on the computer when Danny wants to cuddle, so the younger man begins to interrupt his lover like a cat. He walks in front of the screen, poses, exposes his body, tempts. And so until Wes succumbs and begins to pay attention to him.
AU idea: Wes is a programmer who doesn't take proper care of himself, as he works all days. Once he took in a homeless cat (Danny) and has taken care of him without even knowing he has been dealing with a shapeshifter. Being grateful, the cat is trying to help Wesley in everyday life. One day, the programmer is so sick that he loses consciousness, which forces Danny to reveal who he really is to be able to take care of the man.
MOODBOARD IN PROGRESS
Here's some more about:
Five Men. Five Chances for Redemption. One thing’s for sure, these guys are no angels.
Blurb
Book Title: Pros & Cons of Deception(Book 2)
Author: A.E. Wasp
Cover Artist: Angsty G
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Release Date: March 1, 2019
Five Men. Five Chances for Redemption. One thing’s for sure, these guys are no angels.
There’s nothing like being blackmailed by a dead man to really bring a group of cons together. And what a group we are: a hacker, a thief, a con artist, a thug, and a Federal agent with an axe to grind. The deal is simple, we do the jobs and Charlie’s lawyer wipes the slate clean for each of us, one at a time.
I’m Bond. Wesley Bond. (I can’t resist saying it that way. Blame my dad, if you can find him.) You could call me a hacker. I redistribute wealth - moving it from rich slimebags to poorer but infinitely more deserving people - and make a tidy profit as I do. My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to bring down some modern-day slave traders.
I definitely choose to accept it.
With the life of the one person in this world I love on the line, I can’t afford any screw ups or distractions. Unfortunately, my biggest distraction is also my biggest asset - Danny Monroe. Danny is a leftover complication from our first job; a victim of the vicious senator we’d gotten locked up. He’s a smart, funny, gorgeous, ex-prostitute, who can’t seem to keep his clothes on. I can’t seem to keep my mouth shut around him. But I need a fake boyfriend, and Danny is the only option.
Fooling the world into thinking we’re in love will be easy; fooling myself that I’m not might be impossible.
I’m Bond. Wesley Bond. (I can’t resist saying it that way. Blame my dad, if you can find him.) You could call me a hacker. I redistribute wealth - moving it from rich slimebags to poorer but infinitely more deserving people - and make a tidy profit as I do. My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to bring down some modern-day slave traders.
I definitely choose to accept it.
With the life of the one person in this world I love on the line, I can’t afford any screw ups or distractions. Unfortunately, my biggest distraction is also my biggest asset - Danny Monroe. Danny is a leftover complication from our first job; a victim of the vicious senator we’d gotten locked up. He’s a smart, funny, gorgeous, ex-prostitute, who can’t seem to keep his clothes on. I can’t seem to keep my mouth shut around him. But I need a fake boyfriend, and Danny is the only option.
Fooling the world into thinking we’re in love will be easy; fooling myself that I’m not might be impossible.
Buy Links - Available on Kindle Unlimited
Excerpt
“Hey, can anyone explain why my shirt drawer is empty?” Ridge Pfeiffer demanded, appearing on the patio where the rest of our little band had congregated. Our resident retrievals expert (read: thief) was naked from the waist up and scowling beneath his blue eyes and blond curls like the world’s most overgrown, pissed-off Botticelli angel.
I pulled down my sunglasses to look at him, then slid them back up so I could focus on my phone screen. Right now, I was engaged in a long-term bout of spear phishing at Campbell Enterprises, and I was about to close the deal. This was way more interesting than anything Ridge was likely to share.
Janie,I typed, I’m on a plane with Dal Anderson and he wants a four-paragraph summary of Thursday’s press release so we can prepare talking points for the investors!! Can’t access the secure server from here and I’m fah-reaking OUT!! Send me something? – Becks
There. That ought to do it.
Becks, aka Rebecca Frankel, Junior Executive Assistant to the VP of Human Resources at Campbell, according to her LinkedIn profile, was adorably naïve and helpful. For example, when a friendly IT man had called the other day and asked for her credentials to verify a “suspicious login” from her site, she’d provided all the necessary info. Hell, if I’d asked for her astrological sign and social security number, she’d probably have given me that too.
Once I’d accessed her email, I’d had the keys to the castle. It had been easy to copy her writing style – hyper-friendly, with way too many exclamation points for a person over the age of thirteen – to learn that she was going on a business trip with her boss this week, and to find that she was smoke-break buddies with Jane DeVoor, Assistant to the CFO. As soon as Jane emailed back a summary of Thursday’s press release to help her pal out, I’d make a few quick investment decisions like I’d somehow learned to predict the future.
Hint: Ditch your psychic friends and go phishing instead.
“Um, would we say the drawer is really empty, though?” Breck, Ridge’s identical twin, asked from the lounge chair where he was stretched out in the sun practically on top of his boyfriend, Steele Alvarez.
“Close enough. The only things left are a pink tank top that says I Would Bottom You So Hard and this Pittsburgh Steelers t-shirt.” Ridge held it up. “Neither of them is mine, and frankly I don’t feel comfortable wearing either.”
About the Author
A dreamer and an idealist, Amy writes about people finding love, family, and magic in the everyday world. From professional hockey players to professional thieves, her boys work hard, play hard, and love harder. She invites readers into her characters’ lives and worlds when they are their most vulnerable, their most human, and living with the same hopes and fears we all have.
Born on Long Island, NY, Amy has lived in Los Angeles, London, and Bangkok. She currently lives in a town suspiciously like Red Deer, Colorado.
Social Media Links
Giveaway
Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win a $15 Amazon gift card
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win a $15 Amazon gift card
a Rafflecopter giveaway
SERIES REVIEW TOUR SCHEDULE
No comments:
Post a Comment