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.

I love the Finlay Donovan series and this was a good peek into Vero's past. I love the quirky characters and the funny situations they find themselves in. Overall, this short story left me wanting more though. I wanted to hear more about what happened to Vero in college and I wanted more of Vero and Javier.

If you guys are as obsessed with the Finlay Donovan series as I am this novella is a must read!
Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank by Elle Cosimano is a fun, quick read — a little sneak peek into Vero’s past without giving too much away.
This was super fun! I loved getting more of Vero's back story. Which did not disappoint.
The writing oh my goodness…. Pure perfection every single time!

Fantastic short story focusing on Vero. I think this can be read at any point in the series, even as a prequel giving an intro and background info on this significant character. A good addition to the series!

Thanks for the opportunity to read!

*Title: Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank -Finlay Donovan 3.5-I read this as a standalone

*Release date: 11/7/23 read: 12/15/24

*Author: Elle Cosimano- a new to me author

*Format: eBook 107 pgs.

🙏🏾 Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books, and Elle Cosimano for this ARC! I voluntarily give an honest review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

*Setting: Herndon, VA

*Genre: Mystery/Suspense, Adult Fic

*Tropes: small town, secret identity, novella

*Synopsis: Vero has fled the University of Maryland with an arrest warrant for thief. She visits her cousin Ramon, gets a job at a local bank, and investigates the employees after overhearing that someone is stealing.

*Characters

Veronica Ramirez " Vero Ruiz"-28, drops out of college in her final year, breaks into cousin's place, and gets a janitor job at the town bank.

Ramon-24, Vero's cousin, has towing and salvage company

Javier-31, Ramon's BFF, Vero's 1st bf when she was 18, staying w/ Ramon

Philip, Darren, Helen-the bank tellers

Mr. Singh-Vero's boss at the bank

Terence Odenberry-the bank security guard

*Review: I loved this intro into the Finlay Donovan world. I'm glad I read this before starting the series because it gave me background on Vero, Ramon, and Javier. Vero was funny, smart, and a little crazy, but resourceful. I can't wait to dive into this series.

*Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
*Spice level- 1/5-a quick make out

Veronica Ruiz is a fun prequel to the Finlay Donovan series. If you read those, you know that Veronica is Finlay's nanny, sidekick and literal partner in crime. This is her back story. It's a novella, and only covers a short period between Veronica leaving college and her sorority, working in a bank, solving a mystery, and meeting Finlay and her kids. A must read for fans of the series!

This was such a necessary and equally fun short story from Vero’s perspective. I love these books and all of the characters!

It was nice to get a little back story on Vero, I didn’t find this one grabbing me as much as the others, but it was such a quick read, it’s didn’t bore me or take away from the story.

It was fun to learn a bit about Vera's past before she met up with Finlay. This is a novella and a great addition to the series.

3.5 stars rounded up. A good short story that introduces us to Veronica “Vero” in more detail than the previous books in the series. I have read the previous books and enjoyed Vero’s character, but didn’t know much about her. At the beginning of the story Vero had dropped out of college and moved into her brothers apartment temporarily. She applied at a bank for a teller job and overheard some people talking about missing money daily from the bank. Vero got hired as janitor and wanted to solve the mystery of the missing money with hopes of getting a bank teller job. With all of Vero’s typical wackiness, she was able to solve the crime and got her teller’s job. It also, introduces us to her relationship with Raul. One day Vero noticed a mother with 2 children that was struggling to make their bank transaction. She got fired. On the way out of the bank, the mother offered Vero a job and introduced herself as Finlay. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced e-copy.

I was issued this book by NetGalley for my unbiased review.

This was my introduction to the series. I enjoyed it greatly. I am just starting the beginning of the series. This introduced Vero and had a good story and interesting characters. Looking forward to more.

Vero’s backstory delivers all the chaotic, clever, and criminally entertaining vibes we’ve come to expect from Finlay Donovan’s ride-or-die partner-in-crime.

This short story is the perfect peek behind the curtain of how Vero became… well, Vero. From her disastrous college drama (falsely accused, my butt—those sorority girls clearly underestimated their match) to her accidental dive into amateur sleuthing at her new bank job, it’s clear this woman has always been a lot in the best way.

Cue hilarious shenanigans as Vero applies her uniquely questionable brand of logic to sleuthing. Does she have experience? Nope. Does she improvise like a pro? Absolutely. Watching her attempt to unmask the thief while low-key auditioning for employee of the month was peak entertainment. Bonus points for her side gig of trying (and failing) not to fall for Javi’s infuriating smirk.

What I loved most? The sharp humor and quick pacing—classic Finlay Donovan vibes. Vero’s inner monologue is the stuff of comedy gold, and her determination to make the universe bend to her will is both inspiring and mildly terrifying. We also get a delightful glimpse of the moment she meets Finlay, and let’s just say, sparks fly in the way only chaotic friendship-at-first-sight can.

If you’re a fan of the series, you need this book in your life. And if you’re not a fan yet… seriously, what are you waiting for? Vero doesn’t have all day.

Elle is one of my favorite authors. I can always count on her for a good story to read. This one was no exception.

Like all of Ellie Cosimano’s books this one is badda$$ and sweet at the same time. This one, number 3.5, also slots into the series and gives us back story on Finlay and Vero’s meeting.

Thanks to #netgalley for this ebook. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the digital copy of this novella. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I am just diving into Finlay Donovan's world with one book and have the others on my TBR-SOON pile. This novella, which is a prequel to the books, provides the backstory of Finlay's best friend, Vero.

This was a good read, not great. I'm not sure why, but I think it's because this doesn't come across like the Vero I've experienced in the one novel I've read. I did appreciate that we find out just how Vero and Finlay met, and having a story from Vero's POV was interesting, but it almost felt like it was a different writer because of that.

Looking forward to the rest of the series!

This short story is everything. I loved knowing more of Vero. Her backstory and how she ended up being friends with Finlay (we discover this by the end of this short book) is everything. I knew already that Vero was one of the smartest people in the series but this book demonstrates how much we don't know about her and how smart and fast she is when making decisions. I loved it and I wish there would be more little novelas in the Finlay Donovan universe!

thank you Netgalley and MInotaur for the ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Love this series! So funny and the perfect cozy mystery with a bit of romance. Love all the side characters and I always laugh at these books!

A cute novella detailing Vero's life before she meets Finlay. She comes across as extremely smart, more so that I got in the main series. She needs a better life than being Finlay's sidekick. The beginning of the book was very heavy on exposition. The pace picked up towards the second half as Vero tries to discover who is stealing money from the bank. Overall this was a sweet look into her life and provides some background to her story.