I am glad I read this to know Vero's backstory and a little more about her relationship with Javier. I love her character and think she is always so much fun. I really need more of their relationship and I am glad that I read this before the next book!

A cute little filler to the Finlay Donovan series. Loved the short story format, and loved the enhancement of Vero's character.

Great little novella to break up the series! I really enjoyed getting to know Vero a little more and getting a glimpse into her story before she met Finlay!! Definitely worth the read

I’ve never read anything by this author but after this book I think I’m gonna give more of her books a try. I was hooked from the beginning and even though it was short I enjoyed the pace and the little mystery going on. Definitely a fun read that I would tell others to give a try.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

Only Vero would take a custodian job to figure out to mystery to land on a good job to show her skills. But also only Vero will mess things up as she would in her own unique way.

Everything was going well for Vero. She was in college with full ride. She was few credits away from graduating. She was going to make her mom proud for everything she had been through raising her. But those sorority girls... With the sorority's money gone and everyone pointing finger at Vero, she did one thing she thought she could do: run away to her cousin. Sure he gave him place to live but it was not going to be easy to explain why she was taking this extended break from the school.

I wanted to know more about Vero, whether she was really the culprit or not, how she met Finlay. In 100 pages, we got a crash course on Vero's background and how she became the person she was with Finlay. All I'm gonna say "Go Vero! You were one of hell of a misunderstood woman"

This was so hard to read as an arc since 50% of the words do not have spaces between them. I’m sure the true published book is a decent read.

I've thoroughly enjoyed each installment of this series, mostly for the characters - so this short story with additional background was a fun add to the lineup! I appreciate the chance to read it, as I didn't even know I had missed one.

Vero's and Finlay's "meet cute". Very cute and great length to give us a little more information. But now it just makes me want more!!

Loved this short story and learning about Vero's past. What a great addition to the series. Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

I loved this little short story with Finlay and VERO. We finally get Vero’s backstory and see a lot more of another certain character and I loved it!!

Billed as Finlay Donovan book 3.5, Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank is a fun short story. Don’t get me wrong…I did say fun, you saw that, right? Crazy story with some over the top antics? Yep. Plenty of laughs here. And yet without Finlay to play off of Veronica it definitely feels like something is missing. Does that mean it’s bad? Not by a long shot. It was cool to get to know Veronicas a bit better and fans of the series, such as myself, are more than likely going to enjoy it. But it’s kind of like having a Stephanie Plumb novel where its all Lula and no Stephanie. Sure each of them is fun in their own way, but when they are playing off each other it’s just pure magic. It’s a quick read, easily finished in a single sitting, and as I said it’s worth the time, but it also makes you appreciate the full length novels when the ladies at in action together. This is book 3.5 and that’s what I would give it 3.5 stars (though I’ll round it up to 4) Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for making a readers copy available for review.

This is a fun novella/short story about Vero and how she met Finlay Donovan. It was fun to get a little more info on Vero’s background. While you don’t have to read any of the Finlay books first, this will make a lot more sense if you do. I didn’t think this was quite as good as the other books in the Finlay series, but it was still a fun story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Who doesn't love reading about characters whose lives are messier than our own? Elle Cosimano returns to tell the story of Veronica Ruiz, also known as Vero, Finlay Donovan's babysitter and integral part of the Donovan family life and mischief. In this prequel, we get Vero's backstory, and it is fun reading about Vero trying to turn her luck around before finding Finlay. What's interesting is that Vero, running from one crime, finds herself in the middle of another mystery. Vero's got nothing better to do but figure out who's stealing money from the bank, and it is fascinating to read about Vero's first foray into the world of mystery. It explains a lot about her character motivation in the Finlay Donovan series and makes me love this character even more! While not necessary for fans of the Finlay Donovan story, Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank is a nice little prequel that will not take long to read and may even tide you over as you anxiously await the next Finlay Donovan book!

Thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for 48 hr access to this series!

*Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank* is an absolute riot! Elle Cosimano has knocked it out of the park once again with this spin-off featuring the dynamic, no-nonsense Vero, and I loved every single page.

Vero is one of my favorite characters from the *Finlay Donovan* series, and this book takes her to new, hilarious heights. She's always been the strong, badass sidekick, but in this story, she gets the chance to truly shine. Vero finds herself in a high-stakes, high-suspense situation that involves a heist, a lot of money, and a very interesting group of criminals. As expected, her quick wit, fierce loyalty, and ability to get out of sticky situations make for some of the most entertaining moments in the series.

The plot is filled with twists and turns, and Cosimano’s writing style is as sharp and fast-paced as ever. What really makes this book stand out is the heart behind Vero’s tough exterior—there’s a depth to her character that made me love her even more. The chemistry between her and the other characters, especially the ones she’s partnered up with in this adventure, brings a fresh energy to the story.

If you’re a fan of the *Finlay Donovan* series, you’ll absolutely love this book. It’s a fantastic ride from start to finish, with plenty of laughs, action, and drama. I’m so glad we get to see more of Vero, and I’m hoping this won’t be the last time we get to follow her on a wild adventure! Highly recommend!

Very good novella,

fits very well with the rest of the series,

On to the next,

Thanks to Elle Cosimano and netgallery for the opportunity to binge read the series.

This is a cute novella/short story that tells the story of Vero and how she came to be in the famous Finlay Donovan books. I enjoyed it but missed some of the fun of the Finlay series. I feel that this series needs to be read in order to appreciate the characters and the plot development.

Thank you Net Galley, St Martin's Press and Elle Cosimano for the opportunity to preview this title. All opinions shared are my own.

If you are a fan of the Finlay Donovan series, then you do not want to miss out on this hilarious story diving into Finlay's partner-in-crime Veronica Ruiz's past. I absolutely loved this short story featuring my favorite book BFF, Vero. She plays such a huge part in the Finlay Donovan series and is so deserving of her own story. It was fun getting to know more about Vero and how she met Finlay. My only complaint is that I wish the story were longer!

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Elle Cosimano for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The origin story every Finlay Donovan fan has been clamoring for. We finally get more time with Vero to know how she arrived in town and managed before Finlay hired her. The fact that there is also a low-key bank robbery Vero very capably solves on her own is just the icing on the cake.

Fun, super quick, and you don't really need to be familiar with the rest of the series to enjoy it.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the fun little read!

This short story focuses on Vero’s backstory before she met Finlay and what led her to take the nannying job with Finlay. I didn’t love this short story. It felt disjointed to me and some of the details didn’t make sense with what I had already read from the rest of the series. I unfortunately felt like it was thrown together and had some continuity issues. It just didn’t seem like the Vero character I was used to. This was a different narrator than the rest of the series, which threw me for a loop and added to the disjointed feeling I had, but the narrator did a good job.

This was a cute novella. It was nice to see Vero's backstory and how she and Finlay met and I thought the book tie-in was cute.