Pros and Cons by Jenna Black

JBlack-Pros and Cons

JBlack-Pros and ConsBeing a huge fan of Jenna Black’s Morgan Kingsley series, I’ve been eagerly waiting for the opportunity to dive into her new urban fantasy series featuring the petite Nikki Glass. Sadly I haven’t had a chance to read the first two novels – Dark Descendant
and Deadly Descendant – but thank the lord for novellas because I can now say I’ve met this direct descendant of Artemis and have been kicking myself for not finding the time sooner. Pros and Cons was a fabulous introduction into Black’s new world, both with giving hints as to what has been happening (thus making me really curious to see what I miss) and what could be happening soon.

As a living descendant of Artemis the Huntress, private investigator Nikki Glass knows how to track someone down—but this time, her latest case leads to unexpected revelations of lies and betrayal…

Pros and Cons takes place after Deadly Descendant and while it doesn’t give away any spoilers, I do know that whatever is getting ready to happen involves Nikki’s boss, Anderson, and whatever personal vendettas he has. The fact that she’s going out of her way to avoid him also gives me a few hopes that there’s more going on under the surface than has been explained. So sue me…I’m hoping for a very complicated love interest that not only makes things uncomfortable for Nikki, but really has her gnashing her teeth. I like it when these things aren’t simple, and if I have to be honest, I’m still a little sad that nothing happened between Adam, Dom and Morgan (I know it never was going to happen, but a girl can dream), so I may be hoping for a little more.

However that is going way of track since Anderson never makes an appearance in Pros and Cons and the only other character that seems to have some sort of presence in Nikki’s life doesn’t actually come in until the last couple chapters, but oh man, I already know I’m in love. I don’t know what Jack’s back story is – or really all that much about him – but I already want more. I love the characters who seem so fun-loving, yet deep down have these dark secrets. I may be reading more into this one scene than I should, but Jack says something to Nikki towards the end that tells me there are so many layers to Jack and I really want to slowly peel them off of him.

In my opinion, one of the benefits to novellas in established series is the chance to do quick introductions of characters and the world without having to worry about a lot of world building. Sometimes a person needs to be teased into a world before they want to fully commit and Pros and Cons does this beautifully. We’re not given everything, but enough to know that whatever is going on, doesn’t necessarily go on with the full knowledge of the general public. That there are hidden rivalries and manipulations that keep these characters on their toes and these same characters are constantly developing who they are and what they can do. They may be the direct descendants of the gods, but that doesn’t mean they were born stronger, faster, smarter than everyone else.

As for the action, it was actually kind of amusing. It wasn’t some intense race to uncover the villains plot before the world blew up or anything like that; but there was still this urgency that kept the story moving.

Read Order:
Dark Descendant
Deadly Descendant
Pros and Cons
Rogue Descendant

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.