Summary:
Meg Langslow has a crazy family that always gets her stuck into crazy situations. This is yet another of them. Her parents decide to get into raising and cultivating roses, and Meg's overbearing, doesn't-hear-the-word-no mother nags Meg into running the annual rose show, on the estate of a crazy woman who insists that her entire home, and every animal on her property be in black and white only. Of course someone ends up dead. Shocker. Especially when not only Meg finds the body, but then figures out who's the killer. Again.
Thoughts:
Boy, Ms. Andrews, Meg is really good at solving mysteries. Why isn't she a cop yet? Oh right, because she's a blacksmith. To be honest, I'm starting to tire of this series. Unless there's something really spectacular that comes out of the next book or so, I'm done. The writing is still pretty good, but it's getting much more predictable. And to be honest, I tried a couple times before I was able to actually get into this one. Not a good sign. I guess it's good for the series, but I guess after eleven books, she gets a little tired of creating a new way for Meg to get involved in the whole mess.
Book 38 of 50
Pages: 320
Genre: mystery
Grade: B-/C+
Would I Recommend?: Meh. If you've made it this far into the series, you might as well finish it, right?
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Visions of Sugar Plums (Janet Evanovich)
Summary:
Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, is given one task this Christmas. Bring in toy shop owner Sandy Claws. Thanks to this case, and all her others that have been keeping her busy, Steph hasn't found the time to get herself into the Christmas spirit. That's where Diesel comes in. Who's Diesel, you say? You who have read all Evanovich's other fantastic novels about one Stephanie Plum... Diesel, friends, is a vaguely supernatural character that pops in and out of Stephanie's life occasionally, apparently only in the Between-The-Numbers addenda that have been published outside of the usual numbered titles in the Plum series. What follows Diesel's appearance is a holiday-related adventure that follows Stephanie as she and Diesel try to find Sandy, and hopefully save Christmas.
Thoughts:
This tiny little tidbit of a book, more a novella at most, is really a fun little thing. This book is actually meant to come between books eight and nine in the series, though I read it between eleven and twelve. You're seeing this post a little out of reading-order for me, (hence the "45 of 50" below instead of "38 of 50") so that people who are trying to keep up with me can stay almost close to the right order. That being said, onward... The book reads VERY quickly. I think I was through it in a matter of five or six hours. Diesel is so much fun. Stephanie seems to like him, even if he does seem to come and go startlingly quickly. It's nice to see Evanovich play a little with the supernatural, even if it is barely so. If you like this series, I highly suggest catching the Between-The-Numbers set of books as well as the rest. It's the same set of characters, with the addition of Diesel, and they're looking to be fun little trips down Holiday Lane. Grab it and enjoy. You won't be sorry, and even if you are, it's not like it'll take you all that long.
Book 45 of 50
Pages: 149
Genre: Mystery, holiday related
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure. It's a quick read. It'll take you no more than a few hours.
Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, is given one task this Christmas. Bring in toy shop owner Sandy Claws. Thanks to this case, and all her others that have been keeping her busy, Steph hasn't found the time to get herself into the Christmas spirit. That's where Diesel comes in. Who's Diesel, you say? You who have read all Evanovich's other fantastic novels about one Stephanie Plum... Diesel, friends, is a vaguely supernatural character that pops in and out of Stephanie's life occasionally, apparently only in the Between-The-Numbers addenda that have been published outside of the usual numbered titles in the Plum series. What follows Diesel's appearance is a holiday-related adventure that follows Stephanie as she and Diesel try to find Sandy, and hopefully save Christmas.
Thoughts:
This tiny little tidbit of a book, more a novella at most, is really a fun little thing. This book is actually meant to come between books eight and nine in the series, though I read it between eleven and twelve. You're seeing this post a little out of reading-order for me, (hence the "45 of 50" below instead of "38 of 50") so that people who are trying to keep up with me can stay almost close to the right order. That being said, onward... The book reads VERY quickly. I think I was through it in a matter of five or six hours. Diesel is so much fun. Stephanie seems to like him, even if he does seem to come and go startlingly quickly. It's nice to see Evanovich play a little with the supernatural, even if it is barely so. If you like this series, I highly suggest catching the Between-The-Numbers set of books as well as the rest. It's the same set of characters, with the addition of Diesel, and they're looking to be fun little trips down Holiday Lane. Grab it and enjoy. You won't be sorry, and even if you are, it's not like it'll take you all that long.
Book 45 of 50
Pages: 149
Genre: Mystery, holiday related
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure. It's a quick read. It'll take you no more than a few hours.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
To the Nines (Janet Evanovich)
Summary:
Stephanie Plum gets handed a new and different kind of case from her boss, a bond out for a guy who promised to leave the country in a week. It's a new kind of bond, and there's been some publicity surrounding it, and Vinnie, Steph's boss, doesn't want it to blow up in his face. The problem is, the guy's now missing. Vinnie teams her with Ranger and demands that the guy is found before he needs to leave the country. Morelli, Steph's on-again guy, is not too pleased with the idea of her and Ranger working together, but he's dealing with it. Steph is forced to move in with Morelli temporarily, thanks to some creep that decides to stalk her. Oh, and Steph and her sidekick Lula wind up in Vegas for a day. More fun and games for Stephanie!
Thoughts:
Another good one. The plot is wonderfully twisty, though when the full idea of the plot was revealed, I had the right person pegged almost immediately. It was wonderful as usual, though. Who doesn't love a good murder plot, especially when there's stalking and creepiness involved! I continue to appreciate Stephanie's relationship with Morelli, too. They're a good pair, if only Stephanie would stop drooling in Ranger's direction. I've always been a one-man-woman, though, so I suppose I shouldn't judge. As I said, though, another fun book. Only nine more to get through!
Book 37 of 50
Pages: 312
Genre: Mystery-romance hybrid
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Read the series. Love it.
Stephanie Plum gets handed a new and different kind of case from her boss, a bond out for a guy who promised to leave the country in a week. It's a new kind of bond, and there's been some publicity surrounding it, and Vinnie, Steph's boss, doesn't want it to blow up in his face. The problem is, the guy's now missing. Vinnie teams her with Ranger and demands that the guy is found before he needs to leave the country. Morelli, Steph's on-again guy, is not too pleased with the idea of her and Ranger working together, but he's dealing with it. Steph is forced to move in with Morelli temporarily, thanks to some creep that decides to stalk her. Oh, and Steph and her sidekick Lula wind up in Vegas for a day. More fun and games for Stephanie!
Thoughts:
Another good one. The plot is wonderfully twisty, though when the full idea of the plot was revealed, I had the right person pegged almost immediately. It was wonderful as usual, though. Who doesn't love a good murder plot, especially when there's stalking and creepiness involved! I continue to appreciate Stephanie's relationship with Morelli, too. They're a good pair, if only Stephanie would stop drooling in Ranger's direction. I've always been a one-man-woman, though, so I suppose I shouldn't judge. As I said, though, another fun book. Only nine more to get through!
Book 37 of 50
Pages: 312
Genre: Mystery-romance hybrid
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Read the series. Love it.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Full House (Janet Evanovich)
Summary:
Nick is a riding instructor and newspaper mogul with tons of money. Billie is a divorced mother of two with a bug problem and an empty house while the kids are with their dad. In the first ten pages, you know these two are going to wind up sleeping together, no matter how much Billie protests. But first, Nick cons Billie into letting his annoying cousin Deedee live with her for two weeks before Deedee gets married. Nick's taking care of Deedee's little brother Max, who likes blowing things up to get Nick's attention. In classic romance novel fashion, after sleeping together twice, Nick and Billie are hopelessly in love and there's almost immediately talk of marriage and happily ever after. Some minor trouble appears when there are a string of break-ins in Billie's neighborhood, a persistent bug problem that the bug man can't get rid of, and things start blowing up at Nick's, and it isn't just Max. When the kids get home early, the situation gets more complicated, and Billie and Nick have to figure out how to deal with it all.
Thoughts:
Honestly, not one of Evanovich's best. It's one of Evanovich's early books, published originally in '89, and it showcases her early talent for spinning a story, but not much with her actual prose. It's stiffly written, and the particular copy that I had included several glaring editing mistakes. (Nick is called Neil for a couple paragraphs on the same page as he's called Nick, and Billie's son Joel is called Joey for two full pages.) The prose really sounds like someone testing out the writing waters which, of course, she was at the time of the original writing. Honestly disappointing compared to her later work in the Plum series. Thank goodness Evanovich got more into the mystery end of the writing and didn't stick with the romance. There is a little mystery in this particular book, which is a minor redeeming quality, though it could have been a little less obvious who was actually making the mischief.
Book 36 of 50
Pages: 334
Genre: Romance, with hints of mystery
Grade: C+
Would I Recommend?: Eh. If you want to see how Evanovich handled a romance pre-Plum, or want to be an Evanovich completionist, go for it. Otherwise, find a better romance novel in the Romance section of your local bookstore.
Nick is a riding instructor and newspaper mogul with tons of money. Billie is a divorced mother of two with a bug problem and an empty house while the kids are with their dad. In the first ten pages, you know these two are going to wind up sleeping together, no matter how much Billie protests. But first, Nick cons Billie into letting his annoying cousin Deedee live with her for two weeks before Deedee gets married. Nick's taking care of Deedee's little brother Max, who likes blowing things up to get Nick's attention. In classic romance novel fashion, after sleeping together twice, Nick and Billie are hopelessly in love and there's almost immediately talk of marriage and happily ever after. Some minor trouble appears when there are a string of break-ins in Billie's neighborhood, a persistent bug problem that the bug man can't get rid of, and things start blowing up at Nick's, and it isn't just Max. When the kids get home early, the situation gets more complicated, and Billie and Nick have to figure out how to deal with it all.
Thoughts:
Honestly, not one of Evanovich's best. It's one of Evanovich's early books, published originally in '89, and it showcases her early talent for spinning a story, but not much with her actual prose. It's stiffly written, and the particular copy that I had included several glaring editing mistakes. (Nick is called Neil for a couple paragraphs on the same page as he's called Nick, and Billie's son Joel is called Joey for two full pages.) The prose really sounds like someone testing out the writing waters which, of course, she was at the time of the original writing. Honestly disappointing compared to her later work in the Plum series. Thank goodness Evanovich got more into the mystery end of the writing and didn't stick with the romance. There is a little mystery in this particular book, which is a minor redeeming quality, though it could have been a little less obvious who was actually making the mischief.
Book 36 of 50
Pages: 334
Genre: Romance, with hints of mystery
Grade: C+
Would I Recommend?: Eh. If you want to see how Evanovich handled a romance pre-Plum, or want to be an Evanovich completionist, go for it. Otherwise, find a better romance novel in the Romance section of your local bookstore.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Hard Eight (Janet Evanovich)
Summary:
Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, gets roped into going on the hunt for a woman and her daughter who have gone on the run to get away from her crazy husband and his mob-ish connections. Stephanie quickly realizes that it's not just because the woman's husband is nuts, there is something wholly else going on, and Steph is determined to figure it out. The tough spot with this particular case is that Stephanie runs into another bounty hunter from another agency who is looking for the same mother and daughter. This other bounty hunter just happens to be someone who may or may not have had a fling with Ranger, so of course Steph's jealous meter goes off the charts. And she and Ranger aren't even a thing... Are they? Steph's on-again-off-again, Morelli, would like to think not.
Thoughts:
It was definitely another good one. (Shocker, right?) I am really enjoying this series. They're the kind of summer reading books that make you want to read the whole entire series over the course of a few weeks. I've been trying to pace myself, but boy it's rough. These books are fun, and they're so quintessentially New Jersey. I recognize at least one mentioned location every book, and definitely recognize the character profiles. This one is a little more serious than most, I felt, but there's enough that you can't help but love it. When do I not suggest you get your hands on an Evanovich book? Never. Keep going with the series. It hasn't failed me yet, nor will it fail you. Enjoy.
Book 35 of 50
Pages: 326
Genre: Mystery with a side of romance
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Read this series. It's ridiculously fun. And there's plenty of it to enjoy, considering there's another ten books after this one!
Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, gets roped into going on the hunt for a woman and her daughter who have gone on the run to get away from her crazy husband and his mob-ish connections. Stephanie quickly realizes that it's not just because the woman's husband is nuts, there is something wholly else going on, and Steph is determined to figure it out. The tough spot with this particular case is that Stephanie runs into another bounty hunter from another agency who is looking for the same mother and daughter. This other bounty hunter just happens to be someone who may or may not have had a fling with Ranger, so of course Steph's jealous meter goes off the charts. And she and Ranger aren't even a thing... Are they? Steph's on-again-off-again, Morelli, would like to think not.
Thoughts:
It was definitely another good one. (Shocker, right?) I am really enjoying this series. They're the kind of summer reading books that make you want to read the whole entire series over the course of a few weeks. I've been trying to pace myself, but boy it's rough. These books are fun, and they're so quintessentially New Jersey. I recognize at least one mentioned location every book, and definitely recognize the character profiles. This one is a little more serious than most, I felt, but there's enough that you can't help but love it. When do I not suggest you get your hands on an Evanovich book? Never. Keep going with the series. It hasn't failed me yet, nor will it fail you. Enjoy.
Book 35 of 50
Pages: 326
Genre: Mystery with a side of romance
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Read this series. It's ridiculously fun. And there's plenty of it to enjoy, considering there's another ten books after this one!
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