Reviews

Love and Other Scams by Philip Ellis

marianaoliveira1993's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

3.75

beltsquid's review

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

It's so hard to write an adequate review for a book you absolutely loved.  I found it well-paced, the characters likeable (or I liked to hate them), and the plot that facilitates the romance--a plan to steal a diamond ring at a wedding--really compelling.  There are a few points where the book gets a little too self aware of extremely online discourse like whether or not listening to your friend complain to you on the phone is "emotional labor" or how ethical a 26 year old dating a 19 year old is (and if that does bother you--don't worry, it's not the lead couple) and I found that to be a little exhausting but not enough to overwhelm the book.  A lovely piece of romantic fiction that doubles a fun heist, I can't recommend it enough.

brfds_'s review against another edition

4.0

É um livro rápido de ler e relativamente leve, a escrita é fluída e apesar de tudo, tem um plot que prende.
O fim é um pouco apressado e esperava mais um bocadinho, principalmente desejava que tivesse um prólogo uma vez que necessito de saber urgentemente o que aconteceu a todas as personagens, ficaram demasiadas informações pendentes.

veeruskanen's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

junoxx's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

hyvä fiilis yms

alexiina's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

elderwoodreads's review against another edition

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This was fine I guess. I feel like overall it was very meh and was very clearly written by a man (not to an egregious level but it was definitely present throughout). Definitely a pallete cleanser for me and not actively bad but I don't see myself recommending it. I was hoping for more heist planning and less of whatever this was. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol and Classism

Minor: Homophobia, Death of parent, Drug use, Sexual content, and Racism

i_have_a_book_problem's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

book_cee's review against another edition

funny lighthearted

3.5

siria's review

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Immense fun. Cat is turning 30 and down on her luck. Her succession of freelance gigs aren't enough to let her make London levels of rent, and she finds herself picking the pockets of the rich and obnoxious to get by. Then her rich-but-toxic college friend Louisa asks Cat to be a bridesmaid—which leads to Cat seeing an opportunity for a lucrative heist that she might just be able to pull off with the help of hot, light-fingered Jake playing the part of her fake boyfriend.

Love and Other Scams is a really superior beach read. It's got some fun characters and some heart to it, like a light romance novel crossed with an episode of Leverage. Philip Ellis has an eye for genuinely funny observations and good visuals—this would make a great movie—and it all clips along. It's not perfect—I don't think I was ever as clear on why Jake was into Cat as vice versa, and the usual Third Act Hiccup felt forced—but I had a great time reading it. Will definitely look out for more from this author in the future.