Review: The Cad and the Co-Ed by Penny Reid and LH Cosway

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Genres: Adult, Sports Romance
Also by this author: Motion (Laws of Physics, #1; Hypothesis, #2.1), Space (Laws of Physics, #2; Hypothesis, #2.2)
Series: Rugby #3
Publisher: Cipher-Naught

Keeping a secret this big is going to take lots of balls. Specifically, rugby balls. THE CAD Bryan Leech is a cad. Or, he *was* a cad. No one is quite certain. Once the quintessential playboy, Bryan claims he's done with wild parties and weekend benders. No more one night stands leading to mornings he can't remember; no more binges and blackouts; no more exploits plastered all over the tabloids and rag sheets. According to Bryan, he's cleaning up his act. The only problem is, no one believes him. THE CO-ED Eilish Cassidy never thought she'd be a mother at nineteen or still in college at twenty-four. Cut off from every member of her family except her favorite cousin, she's finally managed put her life back together. Stronger and wiser, Eilish enters her last semester of university determined to stand on her own. Now she just needs to find an internship. The only problem is, her best option-by far-places her directly in the path of her son's father, and he doesn't remember her at all. THE PLAN Bryan is determined to prove he's changed. Eager to settle down with the right woman, he's got his sights set on the gorgeous redhead who seems terribly familiar. Eilish is determined to hide her secret. She'll do anything to keep her child safe, even if that means ignoring her own wishes and desires. But what happens when Bryan starts to remember? And what will it take for Bryan to convince the girl he forgot that she's unforgettable?

I adore Penny Reid and LH Cosway’s book separately. When together, I find their books have so much life in them and are just so fun to read and enjoy. I loved the Player and the Pixie (whoops, haven’t read the Hooker and the Hermit yet *I KNOW!!!*) therefore I had super high expectations of this one going in.

The Cad and the Co-Ed‘s full of common tropes like accidental pregnancy, secret baby, unrequited love…with a little “I don’t remember the night we shared together at all” thrown in on Bryan’s part.

Little Backstory
You see, Eilish, our main character, met Bryan at a party when she was nineteen. They shared a lovely evening together, she spent the night and woke up with hearts in her eyes. Little did she know, Bryan was completely sloshed the night before and doesn’t remember anything from the night before. As if that wasn’t bad enough, that memorable night left Eilish pregnant with Patrick….and 5 years later, she ends up working with Bryan’s rugby team.

He still doesn’t remember her.

He still doesn’t know about Patrick.

But he has cleaned up his act.

Bryan is absolutely perfect in this entire book. He’s lovely, he’s patient, he’s calm, he’s affectionate and a fairly level-headed guy. I didn’t like that Bryan was constantly apologizing to Eilish for one thing or another. Bryan’s folly was never too far from Eilish’s mind, and she was constantly looking for any little thing that could point to the fact that he’s relapsed into the “terrible” guy he once was. Even after they start a relationship. This made it seem like their relationship was doomed from start to a cycle of affection and love and amazing sex to doubt, regret, and separation. Rinse and Repeat.

Eilish’s insecurities of Bryan are absolutely understandable and I don’t fault her for having them in the least. She thought she finally found this amazing guy who treated her beautifully and was nice and kind to her, yet when she woke up from the best of her life…she found out she was just the flavor of the night. She didn’t even know Bryan was drinking, let alone drunk off his ass. Poor girl. Then he woke up and didn’t know who she was or remember her at all…nor 5 years later. That being said, Eilish’s fear that Bryan would take Patrick away from her at the end was uncalled for. I understand she was a little scared in the beginning and, again, her reaction was understandable, but as a common theme throughout the book? Come on.

Bryan made it 100% clear he wanted to date Eilish and never had any interest in taking Patrick away from Eilish. The ending just seemed like a fabricated ploy to have one last drama scene before the end. Her reaction was true to her character, constantly quick to doubt and assume the worst of Bryan who was THE PERFECT — maybe a bit too perfect, actually — GUY. Bryan did seem a little too good to be true for me… but maybe that’s because I like them a little bit (or a lot) bad, and that was definitely not Bryan.

LOL, Bryan didn’t have a “bad boy” bone in his body.

I did feel the overall story being overshadowed by BryanAndEilish. I expected a lot more of Patrick (the son) to be the story, and there were so many little branches going off the story as well that weren’t quite tied up at the end. I wish the book was a little less involved with Bryan and Eilish and the time they were spending together and there being a drama, and more of the general story and life. Does that make sense? I’m trying to say this so it makes sense. I just felt that the book was a little too centered on BryanAndEilish and I wish there was more of a spotlight on other characters as well… especially and at least Patrick.

I hate to go on about the few negatives I found with the story. I gave it 3.5 stars… I still really liked it. I haven’t read too many LH Cosway stories yet, but I’ve read a lot of Penny Reid. I could definitely see both of them in the story (especially Penny because I know her writing style the best) and it was so cute! It had Cosway’s penchant for drama and stylized characters, and Penny’s quirky one-liners and bubbly-ness.

ONE MORE THING… I love the title, I really do. I just don’t really understand it for this story. In all the titles (The Player and the Pixie, The Hooker and the Hermit), the character in the title corresponds directly to the character in the book…in the present. But Bryan (the Cad) was reformed Cad, as of like two years, and Eilish (The Co-Ed) was out of college. I DON’T KNOW. Maybe there was something I missed but that bugged me.

All in all, The Cad and the Co-Ed was everything the Rugby series has always been… lighthearted, bubbly, fun, and engaging romance bursting with laughter, affection, and redemption.

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