grayciouslygreyreader's Reviews (142)

This is the second book in the All I Ever Duet, and since I loved the first book, All I Ever Needed (Pssst I gave it 5 stars) so much, I was looking forward to this book to continue the story, and it delivered. This is a story of enemies to lovers as Eddie does not like Isla. He thinks she’s too much, too wild. He’s in the Chicago PD and is quiet, regimented, and likes things a certain way. Isla is an Irish bartender with a wicked sarcasm that she’s not afraid to use on unruly men, a free spirit that lets her be spontaneous, and an attraction to Eddie that she feels isn’t reciprocated. In the last book, they kissed, so this book is months later, and neither of them has talked since that kiss. Isla feels like she might have gotten him out of her system since the kiss.  Eddie is a single detective working on a big case, and he focuses all his time on it. Some of the guys give him a hard time, and when it’s time to go to the annual Badge and Bloom Ball, he asks Isla for a favor… to be his date and pretend girlfriend. Her ability to put people in their place is just what Eddie wants to do with another officer who is always on his case. She agrees as long as he will do her a favor and help her with a customer at the bar who won’t leave her alone.  

I love the banter between these two, and when it’s time to play a pretend couple, they get along so well that you can feel the happiness between them. You just want to scream at Eddie for being clueless for so long. This book doesn’t have a lot of spice, but it’s not needed as you get so wrapped up in the fake dating that you become invested. Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, so between that and the fake dating, when the book wrapped up, it felt like a warm hug. I didn’t want the story to end.  If you haven’t read All I Ever Needed, you will want to start there.  

Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh is a case of good sister vs evil sister. When the story opens up, two frantic phone calls are made to 911, each call claiming the other sister murdered their father. You can feel the adrenaline even through the writing. Defense lawyer, Eddie Flynn, is back, and he has taken on the case of one of the sisters, Sofia. The other defense lawyer is Kate, who has taken on the case of the other sister, Alexandria. Because both sisters were at the crime scene with DNA pointing at both of them, they are tried together, and the prosecution makes sure there won’t be two separate trials. They don’t care which sister did it; they just want the guaranteed conviction.  

But what’s the motive in killing their father? He is worth millions being the ex-mayor of NYC and was in the process of changing his will. So which sister did it? I thought I knew, but this book left me with my jaw open.

The narration is through all four characters, but also SHE, which is the sister who is the guilty one. We quickly realize that we have a serial killer on our hands, and she has no remorse. The characters are well developed, giving us background on their upbringing and the aftermath of some incidents that make you realize why this sister would have some psychological problems affecting her as she grew up. 

If you are someone who loves to watch court tv, documentaries on serial killers, and murder mysteries, then this book is absolutely perfect for you. Even the courtroom scenes have shocking and clever moments from the defense, and you feel like you are sitting in the room watching this all unfold. The SHE character also gets to work on removing witnesses, so you’ll be on a reader rollercoaster navigating the emotions throughout. 

Fifty Fifty is part of the Eddie Flynn series, but you do not need to read them in order.

Thank you Atria Books, Netgalley, and Steve Cavanagh for a gifted e-ARC. 

As someone who rarely reads historical fiction, this was phenomenal.  I felt so much emotion throughout. Books rarely touch me.