Cash Braddock is doing…okay. She sort of has a girlfriend, her business sucks less, and the cops are only picking her up for interrogations every other weekend. Mediocrity has underrated appeal. It’s fine.
The universities are back in session, which means drugs are in high demand. Cash is becoming more reluctant to sell, while Detective Laurel Kallen is on the trail of someone who’s been drugging and assaulting women at college parties. Cash’s and Laurel’s goals should be aligned, but neither is convinced of the ethics of her job anymore.
When Laurel’s younger sister is assaulted, okay stops being okay. If Cash wants to help the Kallen sisters, she must decide her own moral bounds.
Ashley Bartlett was born and raised in California. Her life consists of reading and writing. Most of the time Ashley engages in these pursuits while sitting in front of a coffee shop with her girlfriend and smoking cigarettes. It’s a glamorous life. She is an obnoxious, sarcastic, punk-ass, but her friends don’t hold that against her. She currently lives in Sacramento. (from the author's website)
Exhilarating read! Such an addictive, entertaining and well written 3rd book in the 'Cash Braddock' series. Their (Cash & Laurel) chemistry is off the chart -- so undeniable and energetically palpable. And lets not forget those secondary & supportive characters -- who assist in balancing the entire plotline. A highly recommended book #3 and series!
4.50 Stars. I just love this series. This is the third book in the series and my favorite so far. I just didn’t want to put this book down. I was actually mad when I had to stop reading to eat dinner. Food, who cares about food when a good book is in front of you. If you are new to the series, I highly recommend reading these books in order.
I know having a drug dealer for a main character can put some people off from reading this. I had no idea what to expect when I picked the first book up. I was not disappointed for a second and I hope other people won’t let this series pass them by. Bartlett writes really well. I especially love her dialogue writing skills. Anyone who has taken a creative writing class knows dialogue is not easy to write. Bartlett crushes it and is able to make a morally grey character extremely likeable. I actually think Cash would make my top ten list of favorite lesfic characters. Her sense of humor, her sarcasm and wit, the way she cares about people and communicates, makes a character that I want to read about.
I’m going to keep this review short and more general. I don’t want to mention much of the storyline for fear it could spoiler anything from previous books for potential new readers. This series is extremely addicting and that ending… Bartlett if you read these reviews please write a book four. I need more Cash in my life.
I highly recommend this series to lesfic fans in general. Give reading book one a chance; I don’t think you will be disappointed.
Oh Cash Braddock, how I love an anti-hero. Book three in this well written series sees Cash adapting to life as a CI for the police and as a girlfriend to a detective. Cash and Nathan’s drug dealing wings may be temporarily clipped but their contacts in the business come in handy when multiple women at college parties are drugged and assaulted. The stakes for both Cash and Laurel are raised when Laurel’s little sister is also assaulted.
I love this series and I love reading books and blogs by this talented author. As an educator she is there for her students, accepting their queerness and encouraging these LGBTQ teens to be authentic and true to themselves. You can see in her writing the influence she has on the next generation when Cash interacts with her neighbour Andy or gets wrapped up in conversations with Lane. It’s refreshing, uplifting and brings a sense of hope which nicely offsets the darker aspects of this tale.
I can’t say enough good things about this series or this author. Do yourself a favour and check her out.
ARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.
This series got better with each book. I wasn't so sure about that after reading book 1. But Lex convinced me to continue. I'm glad that I did.
There was a better balance of all the characters in books 2 and 3. I love little Andy but there was way too much of her in book 1. Much better in small doses.
It is hard to review books in a series because I don't want to give away anything that people will not know if they haven't read the first few books. (BTW, you need to read all of them. I don't think these work as standalone.)
I will say that this still suffers from lack of character individuality. I mentioned in my book 2 review that every single person has the same sarcastic dialogue. It is the same in book 3.
But overall I really enjoyed this one. And the END! Oh my goodness. Now it will be impossible not to read book 4. When is it coming out?!
I recommend this to people who enjoy reading romance, forbidden romance, police, detectives, drug dealers, trying to catch disgusting systematic rapists, old trucks, and gay water.
4.5 stars. All books in this series are great, but this is the best one yet in my opinion. The life of a drug dealer, it keeps amazing and intriguing me! This book has the fun, lightness and banter of the first book, but the complexity of the second and yes, Cash is still the best.
Cash sort of has a girlfriend now and what I love about their relationship is that it is anything but easy, they challenge each other and have to work for their relationship, but they also deeply care for each other. As these books are told in the first person only from the POV of Cash, the relationship is a bit of a mystery as you only know the thoughts and feelings of Cash. I don’t always like to see things from only 1 POV, but for these books it works very well.
The main story line is a drug related case that needs to be sorted out and Cash has to assist the police in catching a serial rapist at the university campus who is drugging women at campus parties. She assists Detective Kallen and her colleagues in this case and one of the strongest points of these series and especially of this book is how effectively it shows that the world is not black and white and often there is no clear good or bad. While there is obviously something wrong with Cash’s career choices, she’s not a bad person and her doubts of her career as a drug dealer are still increasing. On the other hand, Detective Kallen lets her emotions and her disappointment in the system lead her actions, and while she has the best intentions, not all her actions can be construed as correct or good. So, basically both parties are operating in some sort of grey zone, you like them both, you see the good in both, but you also have to acknowledge their flaws and this is so very well done.
As you might know from my previous reviews, I’m a big fan of the dialogues in these books and not only the outward dialogues. You can see Cash’s inner dialogues as well and they are often contradicting whatever comes out of her mouth, showing the depths of her sarcastic nature.
Each book in the series has an individual story, but they have a clear overarching storyline, so I strongly recommend reading them in order. While the police case in this book is closed, some of the personal storylines are still open and there is even a cliffhanger there. You can imagine I’m happy that I was a bit late to the party in discovering these books, as I don’t have to wait long now to read the fourth book!
This is the third book in the Cash Braddock series and hopefully not the last one. Cash is still under contract as a confidential informant for the Sacramento Police Department and in love with Laurel Kallen, her police contact. Her money is running out but things between her and Laurel are going well except for the minor inconvenience of being constantly called to the station for information. When Laurel’s younger sister, Lane, is assaulted both Cash and Laurel are drawn into the investigation.
It seems that this novel can be read as a standalone but it is really worth it to read the first two in the series first. I still don’t like the covers of any of the books and having a main character who is a drug dealer can be a deterrent for many readers. However, overlooking both of those things has me fully engaged in this series. Cash is a woke, poetry-reading and totally likeable character, which is a good thing because the story is about her and told from her point of view.
This has a nice development on characters like Duarte, Robin and Andy. The introduction of Laurel’s family members gives Laurel more depth and understanding. The subject of rape and assault is never an easy one to cover and it is sensitively and well done. I can’t wait for the next one.
Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.
I really didn’t want to like a drug dealer. Yet along the way, I kinda fell in love with Cash, and with Bartlett’s writing. I love the characters she creates, I love the way they interact, the way they speak.
In Cash and the Sorority Girl, the third book in the series, Cash and Nate help Laurel solve multiple rape cases at frat parties. One of the things I love with Bartlett’s books is how she manages to make me laugh so hard one second and break my heart the next. She did it every time with the Dirty Trilogy, she keeps doing it with Cash Braddock’s adventures.
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This is the third book in the Cash Braddock series. I live for this series. Live. For. It! I love the paradox that is Cash. This amazing human being with her genuine spirit just pulls to me. On the flip side, she’s a drug dealer so there is there conundrum you find yourself as the reader in. It’s glorious. Totally love Cash, you get it.
In this one, Cash is still a CI for the Sacramento PD, and her handler Laurel, the detective she is head over heels in love with. Cash’s cash flow is stagnant, she wants to get back at the rival dealer that has snaked all her old clients, she has no idea what her future outside of dealing hold yet she is drawn to helping Laurel and her colleagues track down a fresh batch of bad guys. Ketamine is being used at the local university to drug and rape young women specifically at frat parties. It really hits the fan with Laurel’s younger sister, Lane is raped.
If I can say one thing about this book is that Cash and Lane’s friendship and their time together is breathtakingly beautiful and totally awesome. You really feel that bond come right off the page. Cash is there for Lane in a way not many people can understand. Of course, Cash and Laurel are amazing too. Their chemistry just pulls at you. These two have so much baggage and issues yet they get each other. Laurel is having hell with this case, her feelings of how to cope with what happened to Lane. It’s a lot but it is a great read. I desperately need the next one. I cannot say enough good things about this book. I am absolutely addicted to this series.
Im a big fan of this author. So anytime I see a new offering I already know I'm gonna read it. The settings for her books are just as interesting as her main characters. This was just as as true with Hummingbird Cove. Beautiful, small, coastal town. Seclusion in a natural setting. Unfortunately, the rest of the book didn't quite hold up. It was an ok romance with insta love. The MCs were shallow at best. It was just ok for me.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The whole series is magnificent but this and the first one, are my favorites, so far (I’m really hoping there will be a fourth book).
The sarcasm, the pace, the characters, the banter, the morals, convictions, actions, that ending!!!! Ugh, it was an absolute pleasure. I gobbled the entire series in 2 days (I can’t remember, could’ve been 3).
I can’t write something that do justice to how much I like this. I was crying on that ending. Go an buy all this author has ever written and enjoy.
OMG. OMG. OMG. To speak like Cash Braddock, I am now Ashley Bartlett’s bitch! Book three in this series will have you saying “No. That did not just happen “ Ms Bartlett maintains the comedic and witty repartee around the serious subject of sexual assault. Her soft touch to the subject informs us how to treat, speak with and assist a victim. Yet the story does not feel heavy by her characterization of sexual assault. Ms Bartlett is an extraordinary writer. There is a balance to her stories of just enough nuance, just enough tension, and just enough witty humour. Ah, but Ms Bartlett has added a fourth ingredient, a major twist. And it is this last addition that has rendered me her bitch. 5⭐️
An honest review thanks to NetGalley. It is vitally important to read the previous two books before starting this one. This was once again an excellent book thanks to Bartlett. I was pulled in immediately when we met Lane, the friendship that grew between Lane and Cash was amazing. The relationship between Cash and Laurel was still as captivating as ever; the ending, of course, made me wanting more, which has me hoping/excited for another installment of Cash!
Be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster. Because in reading this book, there are a few things I can guarantee. 1. You are going to laugh. A lot. 2. The sarcasm is phenomenal, and one of the main reasons I adore this series. And 3. Be prepared to feel emotionally destroyed afterwards because honestly, this book is all heart, but there are some hard to read moments. Is it worth it? Fuck yes!!!
Well hell, Cash has stolen my heart once again. She and Laurel are soul mates. Plain and simple. I’m not sure there is a couple out there in Lesbian Fiction that, by almost all definitions, shouldn’t be a couple but somehow work in the lovely “meant to be” kind of way.
Yes, Cash is technically the bad guy with her drug-dealing past, but She’s also so sweet and loving. She genuinely loves Laurel like she loves no one else and you can almost see her hurting when Laurel is hurting and happy when Laurel’s happy. Gah! She’s somewhat perfect —especially the moments when she is supporting Lane whilst also trying to support Laurel through a horrific time. I probably see an even deeper side to Cash in her moments with Lane. They really sparked a beautiful friendship.
This is a phenomenal book and an extraordinary series. I really can’t wait for the next instalment. Please may it be soon?
So many parts of this story were unexpected. The ending has me stunned and I badly need the fourth installment to (I hope) make things right. Ashley did an incredible job of dealing with the emotional and uncomfortable topic of rape. Cash was amazing with Lane and seemingly did and said all the right things. Her loyalty and devotion to Andy, Robin, Nate, Lauren and now Lane show the kind of character Cash really possesses and you'll love her for it. Her point of view of the world, her quirky personality and her sarcasm draw you in and leave you wanting more. This book is one that will stick with you and leave you thinking about it for some time. A must read.
Ah, Cash Braddock, "drug dealer with a heart of gold" I love everything about this series: the relationship between Cash and Laurel, the interaction with Robin and Andy, the new friendship with Lane, and in this installment, the case they're all working on is quite compelling. I love reading stories written in first person, and Ashley Bartlett writes fantastic dialogue. Sometimes I'm put off by "comedy" because it feels like sitcom writing. But this is completely natural and funny as hell to boot. Please don't make us wait long for Book 4!
Dealing with rape, this book handles the issue sensitively. It is an extremely well written crime novel where the police are uncovering and solving the most heinous crime of rape.
Another cracking chapter from Cash Braddock’s morally ambiguous life. Loved this for all the reasons I’ve loved the rest of the series. The dialogue is really smart and witty. It’s hard to see a way out for any of the characters but they always seem to resolve everything ok. And the characters are pretty amazing, in a shiny, hollywood version of gritty reality. There was a couple of things that irritated me with this episode - Cash is a bit too clever sometimes (has an answer for everything and no one can keep up). But the book it too good to judge harshly. Great writing. Great series. I’m even used to the anti-climatic endings now so I can live with them! This series is hard to top.
Cash and the Sorority Girl continues the story of Cash Braddock, small time drug dealer with a big heart, and her girlfriend relationship with Detective Laurel Kallen. I found this one to be a bit harder to get stuck in to than the first two books in the series. But a couple of chapters in, I was hooked. The writing is excellent, the dialogue is witty, and the characters and story are superbly written. Mild spoiler: I didn't like the ending but hopefully it sets the reader up for the next story. Overall, I loved this book by the end. Recommended.
Another superb edition to this series. I love the combination of smart ass banter mingled with feminist analysis, identity politics and queer theory. Who else but Ashley Bartlett could pull that off? The story has lots of well rounded characters, an interesting and thought provoking story line. And the ending! Who saw that coming? Loved it. Write more, lots more.
I loved Cash and The Sorority Girl. It’s been great following Cash and Laurel through this series. I didn’t appreciate the ending at all. I hope the next book is already on the way to the publisher with a resolution to to that problem.
Coming back to the third in this series makes you realise just how good the writing is. I love Cash and her moral code (in spite of her ‘almost now former’ profession). This has more of Cash and Laurel but also more of other friendships built and evolved. The friendship that develops between Cash and Laurel’s sister Lane is particularly sweet. Add in the heaps of sarcasm (that we Brits love and ‘get’) and it all becomes an intense pleasure. I laughed several times in this and my only issue is the way it ended! It’s straight on to the final book in the series for me!
Did I understand why Cash took umbrage with Laurel blikseming a rapist? Not at all. Did I understand Laurel's actions at the end of the book? Definitely not! Did I enjoy the book anyway? For sure!