REVIEW: CAUTIOUS BY E. L. MONTES

THIS IS THE SEQUEL to 'Disastrous'.

Marcus and Mia share a LOVE stronger than others, but their relationship was built on LIES and deceit.
Cautiously, they continue to struggle for what they desire more than anything, each other.
Though, that comes with a price … one that involves more HEARTBREAK and deception.
Can they survive another disastrous path?
Is their love strong enough to defeat all the obstacles, all of the BETRAYAL?
Not all broken relationships are repairable, but Marcus and Mia try their hardest to fight for themselves and for each other.

Where to Find Cautious:

GoodReads | Amazon | B&N

Where to Find E.L. Montes: 

GoodReads | Twitter | Website

***3 3/4 Stars***

I was highly anticipating this sequel to Disastrous because I felt like we were left with such a cliffhanger...and you KNOW how I feel about a cliffhanger. GAH. 

1) Mia. We last saw her at the end of Disastrous trying to figure out how to navigate the mess of a relationship she had with Marcus; she felt betrayed and lied to and hurt. In this novel, Mia is working hard to be stronger and build a foundation for a relationship with Marcus that will be truthful and loving. She wavers from being independent and strong-willed in resisting their common relationship pitfalls to wanting to give in to every one of her desires. She wants Marcus to be open and truthful..but then again, she doesn't necessarily want to know about his less than desirable connections to the mob. And this, my friends, is one of the issues I have with her. How can she just turn a blind eye to those unsavory (and HELLO, criminal) parts of him? Is he that alluring that she can pretend that it doesn't exist? 

2) Marcus. Marcus is tortured. He feels trapped by the lifestyle that his dead father left to him and his brother. He wants something better for himself and Mia but he feels like it's hopeless to try to acquire it. Even though I find his connections to the mob most distasteful, I actually feel more sympathy for his character (than Mia's) because he seems anguished by the life he feels forced to live. In his sections it is evident that he's trying hard to be more forthcoming with EVERYTHING in his life with Mia..except the mob stuff. He wants to spend the rest of his life with Mia and is willing to change his ways and lifestyle to have her as his wife.

3) Communication. OR lack thereof. These two...UGH. I wanted to reach inside the book and throttle both of them for not saying what needed to be said. They were so busy assuming and guessing what the other one thought or wanted or needed that they created unneeded drama. I'm not a fan. COMMUNICATE to each other, my book people. Grow a pair and say what's on your mind; it'll either work out or it won't.

This book was a nice follow up to the first one. I liked that there was a real ending and that the epilogue gives us a taste to what happens to them in the future. I wish that the last 15 % had gone in to more detail about how Marcus got away with what he did, how he was going to live going forward, what happened to the rest of the characters and if Mia finished law school. All in all, though, a nice follow up to Disastrous.

***4 Stars***

Since I was sufficiently surprised by the outcome of Disastrous, I too could not wait for this book to come out. And ffinnallllyy it did. There was a lot about this book that was the same about book one but also a lot of new direction that I was really pleased with. 

1) Mia. I liked her a lot in book 1, but this time around my like went to a whole other level. This time I felt she was much more independent, and less being talked into things and much more being in charge. Maybe I just felt things were much more balanced in their relationship and I loved that! She makes a fun bet with him to prove that they really didn't know some basic things about each other so I enjoyed the results of that (yeah two weeks of no sex, fun turn of events). There was a lot of angst this time around, but less than the first time so I was grateful. There were the unresolved external factors fighting to break them apart, where last time it was much more internal for the both of them. Like Shel said, she was in one of those "Do you really wanna know?" scenarios. She wanted honesty, but then really didn't once she got it. Since the beginning of time, every mobster has a woman who loves him. You wonder why? Why does she stay when he does these bad things? Now Lou..I get why he doesn't have anyone waiting for him, but I feel for the girl for being conflicted about wanting to be with Marcus no matter what he does.

2) Marcus. I liked him much better in this one. He realized what life without Mia could be like and was trying his damndest not to repeat that scenario. I think I fell for him fully when he spent four days sitting outside of her door to get her to speak with him. He didn't give up on them, even when she had every reason not to forgive him, ever. I felt sorry for him because he really was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The only ways to get out was to die or narc, which really = death too. His brother was also a major selling point for Cautious as well. I didn't feel like I knew him as well in book 1, but Jimmy had me rooting for him to get his own book after this one because I really would like to know him better. He and Marcus had a lot more moments and I think that helped get to know Marcus a little bit better. Poor guy wears so many freaking hats, you never know what kind of mood or personality he'll be wearing when he speaks next. 

3) Communication. Lack of communication that could cause so many problems drives me nuts too! But then what kind of story would we have if they actually worked out their problems like well adjusted adults?...I'll tell you...a boring one. I've decided my favorite authors are the ones who makes me want to throw my iPad at the wall and I scream out loud and continually make other people question my sanity! (So I get really invested in a character...what's it to ya?) Points to Mia and Marcus for knowing they should communicate, but I take them back for not wanting to actually face the music of the truth and just wait and see what happens. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this series, but once things went down they went down extremely fast and then we're at the end. I would've liked a wee bit more conclusion as well, but it wasn't a horrible ending. Marcus's points of view were very much my favorite parts. Solid book on the whole, so I recommend it, but cannot be read as a stand alone.