Uncontrollably Wasted

Wasted #2

by C. Elizabeth Vescio

"I needed to learn to be less melodramatic, but it was hard in this family."
It’s been a year since FRANCESCA FAIRHOLM met the rest of the Osiris team and the company heads, her two half brothers Nero and Lex. As
they groom her for leadership, it’s all Frankie can do to keep her cynical sarcasm in check as she starts training two new Strikers, avoids the romantic advances of Spark Dawson, and does her best to pry a little family history from her cold, distant Aunt Alexa.
With the pressure of her secret dual life building and her mother acting strangely, Frankie’s sanity is pushed to the brink when she makes a grisly discovery that shakes the young Striker to her core. Despite her cousins’ fear that her panic attacks signal a full mental breakdown, Frankie is positive she’s not crazy. Finding clarity in her personal investigation into Osiris’s origins, she uncovers more about the company than she would rather know.
As her life starts to unravel, things get deadly and, before she knows it, she’s facing down an old target’s pissed-off widow, an unstoppable mercenary, and the one thing she’s most terrified of admitting to herself.
It’s possible the whole situation won’t explode in her face. Yeah, like Frankie has that kind of luck.

432 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 28, 2013

About the author

C. Elizabeth Vescio (or just Cara) is the author of the Wasted Series and Adventures of the Dress. She published her first book, Elegantly Wasted in 2012 and is currently on her 4th book. Cara is a photographer, gamer, cosplayer and animal enthusiast. She lives in Las Vegas with her husband and four mutts. She’s passionate about Shakespeare, Paul Simon and Loki as portrayed by Tom Hiddleson.

Motto: Sarcasm is life.

Reviews

[The Book Trollop · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED the first book. It was so fresh and refreshing from my "normal" reads!
So lets continue on to what my crazy mind thought about "Uncontrollably Wasted"
A lot of words come to mind while reading the wasted series by the ultra talented C. Elizabeth Vescio.

Brilliant. Funny. Crazy. Badass. Sexy. Crazy. Amazing. Crazy(waaaiiitt I said that one already??)

Ok moving on..

This author wanted to give me lady wood.
That was the whole reason she emailed me about reviewing her book.
I am happy to report that with each book she releases, she is keeping my raging hard-on at full salute..



Seriously people, this author knows what she is doing and she is AWESOME..

Uncontrollably Wasted starts off on a high speed chase, because I mean... yeah why wouldn't it?
Frankie of course is annoyed already at her cousin, Katherine because she is the reason they are in full pursuit of this victim.

The excitement doesn't stop there.

There is nothing but action, craziness, blood, gouging, sabotage, badassery and even...GASPPP some sweet moments between Frankie and..... (you will have to read it to find out ;)
I am not going to go into too much detail about this book because honestly I want you bitches to read it for yourselves!!

Frankie is still the lovable, sweet, character she was in the first book.
Did you sense the sarcasm in that statement?? NO, well you should have because of course Frankie was still a cunt in the second book. She would have had to do a complete personality change if she all of a sudden became sweet!!

BUT I will say she does start to grow in this book. She is finally fitting in and accepting who and what she is but what she does not expect is for her cousins to switch roles and for her life to suddenly become way too much to handle.

While Kat usually runs away from danger and Addi runs too it, with her super knife skills, it seems that Kat was the one to run towards it this time (usually because she caused it) and Addi started to shy away from the whole idea of Osiris.
She doesn't quite trust what she is being told and truth is, she shouldn't!

Which leads me to the next section.

SECRETS..
everyone has them, everyone tries to keep them buried but secrets always have a way of not only catching up to people but also become a life of their own.
Osiris is no exception!
That company has a lot of secrets, that are not only uncovered throughout the book but are HUGE..
Lies, lies, lies on top of more LIES and guess what??
It ultimately becomes the Achilles heel of the entire organization, that and trusting the wrong people... I will just leave it at that....

I loved this book..
It was just as amazing as the first one. If you have read the first one and loved it then
READ THIS ONE!!
If you have not read the first one then you suck and me and you are no longer friends.. hummmpphh

This book was action packed, humorous, sarcastic, intriguing, it leaves you guessing and in TEARS!!.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen Vescio does something totally unforgivable and I wanted to twat punch her after reading it.
WHY GOD WHYYY!!!



You uncover more information about Frankie and her family PLUS you finally get some insight into her relationship with her non-biological/biological father.
I really hope he ends up being there for Frankie in the next book because there is nothing more I love than father/daughter relationships, even if the father isn't blood related.

Overall, I give this book a 4.5/5 and if you haven't figured out by now
YOU NEED TO READ THIS SERIES!!!
It is amazing and different and you will LOVE THEM!!
It has my Book Trollop stamp of approval!

[Dannie Morin · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT I LIKED
Gawd, you guys. Nearly everything. I am such a fangirl of Cara's. And before you go saying we're twitter friends and that I'm biased, we became twitter friends because I got an ARC of one of her books and thought it kicked ass. I really need to skip the "Like" section of this review because I just love this book so hard.

WHAT I LOVED
Vescio's attention to details: from character names to setting details to provocative use of color imagery, this book reads like a movie. I'm not a fan of doing blog posts involving casting actors who would play my characters on TV or IMAX, but I felt myself doing that as I was reading UNCONTROLLABLY WASTED. There is such beautiful imagery, beautifully horrible at times, haunting even, but I loved every bloody moment. (See what I did there?)

The characters--never in my life have I fallen in love with a more genuinely immoral and unsavory group of characters. Now granted, the kids I love working with most in my day job are the kids that every other staff member at the school is tired of dealing with, but even so. Lovable-but-jaded-and-borderline-sociopathic contract killers, people. Not an easy feat. Suspended disbelief. I has it.

Completely appropriate use of narrative sarcasm. If I wasn't terrified she might kill me in my sleep I would want Francesca to be my bestie. Vescio has a way of using sarcasm and pop culture reference in her narrative voice that is just so fluid and natural. It's a testament to how well she knows her main character, because authenticity is everywhere you look. There are MANY laugh-aloud moments. Usually had at three in the morning while reading in the dark, much to my husband's dismay.

The overall pace and flow of the plot. The structure is so sound in this book. Beyond conceptualizing a unique story, Vescio is a good writer. I'm not sure if she's a plotter or a pantser, but either way she works it out really, really well.

How much fun this is to read. I said this with book one and I'll say it again. I love how out-of-the "traditional" NA box this series is. Yes there are sexytimes. But there's so much more in terms of new adult themes--identity and self discovery, growing up, etc--that I love about New Adult as a category. This is not your sorority sister's New Adult Contemporary. In fact, I'm pretty sure Frankie killed your sorority sister off while you were reading.

The ending! And I'm going to work very hard not to spoil it for you, so let me just say this: I was really scared I was going to hate the ending. I was ready to be mad and ranty and kick my nonexistent Jimmy Choos in the dirt all Katharine Fairholm style because I thought I was gonna be disappointed. The ending is delicious and perfect. With just a hint of Dawson's Creek. It gave me ALL THE FEELS, people.


WHAT I WANTED MORE OF
I felt like there was a little too much backstory for a sequel. At times toward the top of the book, I felt the pace was slowed down by explaining things we already knew from book one. Or catching us up on what had happened since book one in block narrative form. I think, though, that I am a bit pickier than most readers where this issue is concerned. So I'm not sure this will be an issue for most readers.

Selfishness in the main character. I probably don't mean this in the way you think. What I mean is that, in general, I'm not a fan of this whole self-sacrifice/suicidality ya/NA trend. It REALLY bothered me and made me ranty in DEATHLY HALLOWS and again in INSURGENT. And a whole bunch of other YA and NA novels, too. I think it's a mistake psychologically speaking, to encourage martyrdom in this age group. So if I had to nitpick on one theme in UNCONTROLLABLY WASTED, that would be.

Seriously, that's all I can find to pick on. This book is so good, you guys.

[Jolene Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Watch out world, Cara has done it again!

In the second book in her Wasted Series, author C. Elizabeth Vescio has managed to make me laugh out loud, look over my shoulder, and grin like a fiend. I love Frankie and I loved being able to delve even further into the Fairholm world and the mind of a contract killer.

If you haven't read the first book, get on it! It's called Elegantly Wasted and you can buy it on Amazon Elegantly Wasted. The second book is equally captivating and fast paced, keeping the reader engrossed. I know personally, I had to grapple with even wanting to go to sleep. Why sleep when I could be reading Uncontrollably Wasted!?

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates wit, humor, and action!

[Riki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a roller-coaster ride of epic proportions. It’s fast-paced and high octane from page one and the plot twists come at breakneck speed. I likened it to a literary pretzel, with all of the twists and turns that take Frankie Fairholm on an unforgettable wild ride. Uncontrollably Wasted picks up where Elegantly Wasted takes off and drops the reader right back into the topsy-turvy contract killing world of Osiris. It has everything that readers have come to expect from Vescio, including high stakes and witty dialogue.

Frankie and her equally flawed cousins Kat and Addi are badass chicks who are never far from trouble. What makes them such engaging characters is how they stick together, even in the darkest of situations and how they prove that blood is thicker than water. There’s a great sense of familial obligation in this novel that tests Frankie’s will and drives her towards danger at every turn. The bad guys might get the best of her, but by god they won’t touch her family. We see great growth of character in Frankie and her cousins and questions left lingering from book one are answered. I dare you to not be totally wrapped up in the secrets of this family (and trust me- EVERYONE has secrets).


I loved how we get deeper into Frankie’s psyche in this second novel of the series and start to see how she’s affected by the whirlwind of crime she’s bought into. She loves her job as a contract killer, but there are bigger questions for her to grapple with here. Can a person who kills for money really love another and get involved in romantic entanglements? I won’t spoil the fun for you- you’ll just have to read to find out.

Uncontrollably Wasted is nonstop action, full of blood and gore, yet tempered with quieter moments of reflection. There’s even a little romance thrown in for good measure. Vescio flawlessly weaves references from pop culture to Shakespeare in a completely engrossing novel. It’s dark and sarcastic, but in the best possible way. You won’t be able to put it down.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am loving this series, and would have given 5 stars if it weren't for one issue I had. All of Frankie's friends and relatives rant about how good she is at her job and give her the responsibility of training New recruits, but all I kept seeing was her making really bad decisions and not really paying too much attention to the job, that it almost always ended up with her and her cousins needing saving. Kinda contradictory, but I still enjoyed the book regardless.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as bad as the first thank god, no unbearably predictable plot, but doesn't stand on its own--you need to read the first to understand it. Unfortunately, the characters are all still annoying millennial white girls. If you're not up to snuff of movie, tv, and music--most of the jokes will go unnoticed. Its ok, they're not funny anyway. If you have to rely on other stories to make yours interesting, the problem is your story.

I'll now torture myself and move onto book three

[vyoletkyss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good sequel. Much smoother writing than the first book in the series. Really love how these don't leave you hanging yet maintain your interest. Really enjoyed this from beginning to end, some interesting twists, and a few other surprises. Looking forward to the final book in the trilogy as well as the side novel.

[Norma Kafer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read! Laughed and giggled all the way through. Better than the first and now I can't wait until the next book comes out.

[Beth Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent sequel that looks to lead into an interesting finale. While I did figure out a couple of details before Frankie, I felt for her as she put the pieces together.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the characters in these books. The humour is dark, the interaction between the cousins is fun to read, and there are secrets galore. I can't wait to find out what happens next.