Finlay Donovan is back and this time her mission is different: find out who wants to kill her ex-husband, stop the contract killer who accepted the job, and save her ex-husband's life. She's still very much on the Russian mob's radar, struggling to write a book, and figuring out her love life, she certainly doesn't need the additional hassle of protecting her ex, but what's a gal to do.

If you liked the first book then you should enjoy this one too! Elle Cosimano does a great job at mixing mystery and humor together. Loved Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead. The ending certainly set it up for a book three and I hope it happens because I will definitely tune in.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest review.

This is the sequel to Finlay Donovan is Killing It. Finlay is struggling to work on her next book-shocker there. Thankfully, the only dead body she is currently dealing with is just her daughter’s pet goldfish. However, someone want to kill her ex-husband. Will she be able to save him?

These books are definitely fun. They are hilarious and make you so engaged in the books since they are hilarious and mysterious. I really love the quirkiness of Finlay and I enjoy the personality of her live-in Nanny as well. Finlay’s ex-husband is definitely annoying and I hate that he was so stubborn to not want to heed Finlay’s warning about someone being out to get him and thinking it was Finlay just wanting to keep their children away from him. The ending to this book is satisfying. The mystery was hard to guess, which is something I like because I tend to guess them and it ruins books for me, but this didn’t. I totally recommend these books and they totally live up to the hype.

Another fun and enjoyable ride in the Finlay Donovan series. Jumping back into this series I had to remind myself to let go of all reality and again to just enjoy the ride that is the chaos of Finlay’s life. This series is fun to escape reality with. I love Finlay and Vero’s humor and partnership. I also enjoyed the twists, the mystery and the small love story intertwined in the book. While this one didn’t live up to my excitement of the first novel in this series I still found it to be a good book to get lost into and the cliffhanger at the end didn’t hurt either!

Finlay Donovan is still trying to find her footing as a newly single mom to two. She is also struggling to come up with a storyline for her next novel. However, sometimes life throws you a plot twist that can help. Someone has put a hit out on her ex-husband. Not wanting to leave her children fatherless, Finlay decides to try narrow down the list of people (the list is long) who would want him dead. With the help of her live-in nanny/accountant, Vero, they begin to investigate, hysterically.

I laughed my way through the first book in this series by Elle Cosimano, but the second installment in this series knocked it out of the park. I was in a serious reading slump and this book drew me out of it. The premise of these books is so absurdly outlandish, it just works. There is a reason this book is on all the most-anticipated book lists of 2022, it hilariously delivers. The plot line is expertly crafted with a plot twist at the end no one will see coming. There are some side plots that could be their own bestselling book, but I love the layers of complexity it brings to Finaly’s life. The characters, from Finlay and her ex-husband, Vero, Finlay’s cop sister Georgia, plus the love triangle involving a hunky cop and an almost attorney, all make for an interesting dynamic.

This series is a must read. Fans of Laura Levine and Janet Evanovich will love this series. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Finlay Donovan is back! She is having a bit of writer's block for her second book when she accidentally finds out someone wants her ex-husband, Steven, dead. After this news, she takes it upon herself to find out who is behind the hit and attempts to keep it from happening. Also back are favorites, Vero and Detective Nick! Finlay and Vero are closer than ever and still have that amazingly hilarious rapport we've all come to love. Although, Finlay is seeing a much younger law student, Nick finds his way back into Finlay's heart by helping her with "her book" aka the task at hand.
Somehow Elle Cosimano has been able to make the trouble Finlay gets herself in more tangled and even crazier than the first novel. One thing leads to the next and things just get out of control. We all love a buttoned up story and by the end, Elle gives us just that. I loved the second installment and hope there will be additional sequels in the future. Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have very mixed feelings about this book and this series in general. And it comes down to Finlay… she’s an idiot. She makes the absolute worst choices. I love the mystery part of the book. I honestly didn’t know who the “bad guy” was.. well besides the obvious one behind bars. I like the side characters and I really, really like Nick. But I hate Finlay. Seriously hate her.

I’ll give this 3.5 stars and that’s probably being generous.

Vero and Finlay are back at it with their scheming and this time the plot hits a little too close to home. While reconnecting with past characters and meeting some new ones, Finlay digs a little deeper into the “dark web” and uncovers secret after secret…

This one definitely captivated me and was utterly addicting but still plays second fiddle to the first. I don’t exactly know how I finished it as quickly as I did but I’m not complaining about it! Finlay and Vero’s friendship lives rent-free in my head.

I just absolutely LOVE this series and I want more episodes! Finley is just a hot mess that is both amazingly relatable and completely NOT attainable. I guess we all want to aspire to something. Maybe not a hitwoman... but Finlay can juggle stressful crazy things like we all wish we could.

In the sequel, Finlay has accepted being a hitwoman for hire while also juggling life as a mom and author (with an effortless grace I envy). She finds out someone put a hit out on her ex-husband, and although he's not a great guy, she doesn't want him dead. I'm not sure how I feel about the collection of really hot men that appear around Finlay but she's got a plethora of companion options in this book.

Nick, the cop is back and still simmering with yummy sexual tension for Fin but she's got feelings for a law student named Julian while there's also a new FBI agent, Nicholas who adds to the boiling pot. Finlay's sidekick and best friend Vero (who is also her part-time nanny and accountant) returns too making assumptions and settling theories that we know will get them both into trouble. The pacing is wonderfully fast, with laughs and snark around every corner, and plenty of Russian mafia stereotypes to fulfill our imaginations. While a second book tends to fall short of the first, this one did not fall far and anyone who loved the first book needs to read this one to continue the fun!

This sequel to Finlay Donovan is Killing It is equally as fun and hilarious as the first book. First and foremost, yes, you should definitely read the first book before reading this one - there’s a lot you wouldn’t understand if you didn’t have that prior background. All of our favorite characters are back, as is our lawyer/cop love triangle. Finlay and Vero know what they’re doing this time around, but they still manage to get into some body hiding hijinks and it’s hilarious.

I loved this one just as much as the first book! We were left on another tantalizing cliffhanger and I absolutely cannot wait for the third installment!

Casimano has done it again. This was amazing and had me enthralled from the first line. I was obsessed with Finlay and Veros friendship and I can’t wait to see what happens in book 3.

☠️Book Review☠️
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Summary: Finlay Donovan is―once again―struggling to finish her next novel and keep her head above water as a single mother of two. On the bright side, she has her live-in nanny and confidant Vero to rely on, and the only dead body she's dealt with lately is that of her daughter's pet goldfish.

On the not-so-bright side, someone out there wants her ex-husband, Steven, out of the picture. Permanently. Whatever else Steven may be, he's a good father, but saving him will send her down a rabbit hole of hit-women disguised as soccer moms, and a little bit more involvement with the Russian mob than she'd like.

Meanwhile, Vero's keeping secrets, and Detective Nick Anthony seems determined to get back into her life. He may be a hot cop, but Finlay's first priority is preventing her family from sleeping with the fishes... and if that means bending a few laws then so be it.

With her next book's deadline looming and an ex-husband to keep alive, Finlay is quickly coming to the end of her rope. She can only hope there isn't a noose at the end of it...
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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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My thoughts: Thank you @stmartinspress And @netgalley for giving me an advanced readers copy. I adored the first one, Finlay is such a fun character. This one I enjoyed but didn’t love as much as the first one! I felt there there was a little too much going on in this story. Too many characters, love interested, and suspects it was just a little too all over the place. However Finlay is just as funny and charming in this one as she was in the first book of the series! I will definitely continue reading this series as well but in my opinion the first book was a better read 🤷🏼‍♀️.
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Wasn't quite as frantically turning pages as I was with the first one. But still a good story. Good mix of humor and drama. Will definitely continue to follow what Finlay does next!

This was such a great sophomore book to a great series. I truly felt all the feelings for a second time: humor, fear, happiness, etc. I also felt like Elle stayed really true to the feeling of the first book. I will 100% read anything else she puts out.

Finlay Donovan is back and this follow up did not disappoint. Finlay and Vero find themselves trying to track down who wants to kill her ex-husband, Steven. High jinx and drama ensue. If you liked the Stephanie Plum books (which I did), then Finlay is for you. It's funny and twisty all at the same time. Looking forward to following this series. Definately recommened.

Finlay and Vero are back, still fighting with Steven over the kids' custody, combatting writer's block, figuring out financing, oh - and to figure out who is asking for a hit on Steven on an internet chatroom. This book, like its predecessor is filled with mob interaction, bodies to dispose of, and romantic attraction to the young guy and the cop.

Finlay Donovan is a great new series, and I hope there will be many more books. I feel like she is the single-mom version of Stephanie Plum. There is a plenty of humor, crazy situations and suspense.

Finlay Donovan is back in another harebrained conundrum. Someone wants Finlay’s ex-husband dead and it looks like she’s the one who must keep them from achieving their goal. While I know this series is intended to be light-hearted and fun, I still need some semblance of reality to a plot. Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead falls short of that element of believability that I’m looking for.

Thanks go to @NetGalley and @StMartin’sMInotaur for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

What a perfect follow-up that didn’t feel even slightly formulaic. Elle Cosimano is a true talent and I cannot wait for the third installment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for my ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

Ah well. This was just…meh. Granted I wasn’t a fan of the first book because it was just so outrageous, but this one was even messier and sloppy. The plot never really felt like it took off and there were so many characters circling around it became a bit unweildy.

At the same time I felt Finlay’s arc this time was way too manic and juvenile where at least book 1 grounded her in her identity as a struggling mother. In this one, she’s not crazy all over again and jealous, but with the added element of not knowing what she wants when clearly FWB isn’t working.

I also never really understood why someone would want to kill her ex husband compared to the sleeve bags we saw in book 1.

Lastly, this is the second time Vero’s messed up the money - can we do something new with her? It wasn’t very shocking or interesting and I’m frankly quite surprised Finlay keeps giving her so many passes without explanation given it’s also putting the lives and home of Finlay’s kids at stake which was the main motivator in book 1.

Rating: 2.5/5, rating up to 3

Thanks so much to the author, Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on my blog at tacklingtbr.home.blog

TW: death, murder, gun violence, dismemberment, some violence, arson, mention of cancer

Finlay and Vero are back, and I could not be more thrilled! I was so excited to have received an early copy of this book that it took every bit of restraint that I had not to read it until right before it published to avoid trying to talk to people about it before it was actually out. I absolutely loved Finlay Donovan is Killing It, so this was definitely one of my more anticipated 2022 reads!

This book really picks up right where the first book left off, so you definitely don't need to worry about the slow first quarter that you sometimes get while a book eases in to the story and characters. I really loved that, because I really felt engaged with this one from the word go! What I will say, though, is that it would then be quite confusing if you're not already invested in the characters and such from the first book, so I wouldn't recommend coming in to this book without reading Finlay Donovan is Killing It first. Not that I think you should jump in to too many series at the halfway point, but just know that if you're just interested in this specific plot then you may be confused on the character and background that you would have missed and we don't get too many refreshers on in this one.

We don't get to know too many new characters in this one that we didn't meet in the first book, but I had a lot of fun really diving in to the characters that we didn't know too much about yet. Even Vero is starting to share a bit more of her back story with Finlay and the audience, and we get to know more about her relationship with the mysterious Ramon as well. I'm really looking forward to getting to learn more about them as the books continue.

This was a solid 4-star read for me all the way through, until the last two(?) chapters that really put it over the edge to 5-star for me! Looking at a few other folks' reviews I know that that wasn't the case for everyone, but I thought that the ending really felt like it made sense with the characters that were established. I can see how the man-behind-the-mask type of reveal may have felt like a bit of a let down to some other folks, but it really felt like it fit in with the rest of the story (both this and the first book) for me as far as tone goes, so I really enjoyed it.

Overall I would definitely recommend this book to folks who enjoyed the first one! I would say that the best way to read this book would be with a large glass of wine or a pint of ice cream in your comfiest (and probably oldest) sweats, because that really feels like what Finlay would want.

I was so excited for a second book about Finlay, Vero, and the issues that always manage to find her – because the methods she uses to deal with them always have me sitting on the edge of my seat.

This plot covered so much. Finlay yet again finds herself in what seems like far over her head, but she manages to handle it better than anyone else I could imagine. That said, there are also secrets at play – and some of Vero’s need to come to light in order for her and Finlay to continue as partners the way they have been.

Honestly, I kind of loved that Stephen was the target in this book. I loved watching everything horrible one could imagine happening to him without it ever truly going too far. That said, I feel like I still had some questions and the ending wasn’t entirely what I was hoping for. The journey was phenomenal, but the ending felt too “shoved under the rug” for my liking. Even still, I would highly recommend reading this entire series, especially because the ending did come with a twist I did NOT see coming!