Summary:
Stephanie Plum has had enough of the bounty hunter game. She's been kidnapped, spat on, shot at, had at least a dozen cars destroyed, and can't stand it anymore. She tries to get other jobs, but no matter what, something goes horribly wrong. Someone is after her, and doesn't want her to get back to the normal life she so desperately wants. Oh, and her love life is complicated as always.
Thoughts:
I love this series. This one has definitely not gotten old. I enjoy reading these every single time. Evanovich just has the voice right. She's got it all right. No wonder she's such a popular author. As I read, I could tel that she was having fun telling yet another ridiculous story about poor Steph. The storyline surprised me, even the ending, thanks to the masterful work of Ms E. The hits just keep on coming for Stephanie, and don't let up until the very end. Love this series.
Book 42 of 50
Pages: 368
Genre: Mystery and romance
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: YES. Read the series. Fight through the hype, it's worth it.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
How to Ditch Your Fairy (Justine Larbalestier)
Summary:
Charlie is a freshman in high school, in a magical place called New Avalon, where all the celebrities are cooler than everyone else in the world and are called "Ours," as in "Our Tom Hanks," or "Our Justin Bieber." And nearly everyone has a fairy. Different people's fairies help do different things. One of Charlie's best friends, Rochelle, has a "clothes shopping" fairy, the boy she's got a crush on has a "get out of trouble" fairy, and the girl she hates more than anything has an "every boy will like you no matter what" fairy. Charlie has a parking fairy, so that no matter where she goes, whether she's driving or not (which has always been a "not" because she can't yet drive), there will always be the perfect parking spot. Charlie gets sick of being used for her parking fairy's abilities, and has been walking everywhere for months, in the hopes that her fairy will go away since there's nothing for it to do. But it isn't working fast enough for her, and she keeps getting demerits from her super-strict school. If she can't find a way to get rid of her fairy, she might be expelled from school, and she doesn't want that. If only she knew what to do...
Thoughts:
Weird book. I thought it would be a little more fun than it was, but it turned out to be a little tedious. There were a few times I wondered where something was coming from, and why, but it wound up just being pretty mediocre. It is an interesting concept, but the main character is very selfish, and very self-centered, not to mention the town itself. (Apparently no one in New Avalon ever wants to leave because nothing else outside the town could nearly as wonderful as it is in New Avalon, and no one really thinks of anything from the outside, or knows anything from the outside. Strange.) The author creates a bunch of slang words for the book that are fairly stupid, and make the speakers sound strange. There's a glossary in the back, of course, because why wouldn't there be. I had been looking forward to this book for a while, in the hopes that it would be fun and worth the wait. It wasn't. I even had given this as an option for a book group at one point, but the idea was nixed for another book entirely. Thank goodness we didn't read this, because I would have been embarrassed for suggesting it. Boo.
Book 41 of 50
Pages: 320
Genre: fantasy, teen lit
Grade: C
Would I Recommend?: Meh. Not really worth the time and effort.
Charlie is a freshman in high school, in a magical place called New Avalon, where all the celebrities are cooler than everyone else in the world and are called "Ours," as in "Our Tom Hanks," or "Our Justin Bieber." And nearly everyone has a fairy. Different people's fairies help do different things. One of Charlie's best friends, Rochelle, has a "clothes shopping" fairy, the boy she's got a crush on has a "get out of trouble" fairy, and the girl she hates more than anything has an "every boy will like you no matter what" fairy. Charlie has a parking fairy, so that no matter where she goes, whether she's driving or not (which has always been a "not" because she can't yet drive), there will always be the perfect parking spot. Charlie gets sick of being used for her parking fairy's abilities, and has been walking everywhere for months, in the hopes that her fairy will go away since there's nothing for it to do. But it isn't working fast enough for her, and she keeps getting demerits from her super-strict school. If she can't find a way to get rid of her fairy, she might be expelled from school, and she doesn't want that. If only she knew what to do...
Thoughts:
Weird book. I thought it would be a little more fun than it was, but it turned out to be a little tedious. There were a few times I wondered where something was coming from, and why, but it wound up just being pretty mediocre. It is an interesting concept, but the main character is very selfish, and very self-centered, not to mention the town itself. (Apparently no one in New Avalon ever wants to leave because nothing else outside the town could nearly as wonderful as it is in New Avalon, and no one really thinks of anything from the outside, or knows anything from the outside. Strange.) The author creates a bunch of slang words for the book that are fairly stupid, and make the speakers sound strange. There's a glossary in the back, of course, because why wouldn't there be. I had been looking forward to this book for a while, in the hopes that it would be fun and worth the wait. It wasn't. I even had given this as an option for a book group at one point, but the idea was nixed for another book entirely. Thank goodness we didn't read this, because I would have been embarrassed for suggesting it. Boo.
Book 41 of 50
Pages: 320
Genre: fantasy, teen lit
Grade: C
Would I Recommend?: Meh. Not really worth the time and effort.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Murder of a Creped Suzette (Denise Swanson)
Summary:
Skye Denison, school psychologist and analyst for the local cops, manages to get her nose in everyone's business all the time. This time, Skye overhears a fight between a local country star and his manager over the cute little woman they've picked to be the star's opening act. Suzette, Miss Opening Act herself then asks Skye to help her find out what really happened the night her mother died. But before Skye can get much information out of Suzette, the starlet-to-be gets herself steamrolled. Literally. Now Skye finds herself needing to learn both who killed Suzette, and what happened to Suzette's mother, and of course Skye can't resist a good mystery.
Thoughts:
Ugh. This series is getting very tired. Sure, the storylines are still good mysteries, but getting Skye involved in them keeps getting more and more convoluted. I also tend to want to smack Skye upside the head more often now. I'm finding that in some series, I get more annoyed with the characters as time goes on, and I think that might be the case with this series as well. But if you're still okay to muddle your way through this series, more power to you. I think I'm done.
Book 40 of 50
Pages: 272
Genre: mystery with a hint of romance
Grade: B-/C+
Would I Recommend?: The series started out well, but has gone downhill for me. If you've liked the series so far, though, go for it.
Skye Denison, school psychologist and analyst for the local cops, manages to get her nose in everyone's business all the time. This time, Skye overhears a fight between a local country star and his manager over the cute little woman they've picked to be the star's opening act. Suzette, Miss Opening Act herself then asks Skye to help her find out what really happened the night her mother died. But before Skye can get much information out of Suzette, the starlet-to-be gets herself steamrolled. Literally. Now Skye finds herself needing to learn both who killed Suzette, and what happened to Suzette's mother, and of course Skye can't resist a good mystery.
Thoughts:
Ugh. This series is getting very tired. Sure, the storylines are still good mysteries, but getting Skye involved in them keeps getting more and more convoluted. I also tend to want to smack Skye upside the head more often now. I'm finding that in some series, I get more annoyed with the characters as time goes on, and I think that might be the case with this series as well. But if you're still okay to muddle your way through this series, more power to you. I think I'm done.
Book 40 of 50
Pages: 272
Genre: mystery with a hint of romance
Grade: B-/C+
Would I Recommend?: The series started out well, but has gone downhill for me. If you've liked the series so far, though, go for it.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Ten Big Ones (Janet Evanovich)
Summary:
Stephanie Plum can't seem to keep herself out of trouble. When she and Lula go out for lunch, they spot a robbery in progress, one of a series of them of the past few weeks, and Steph manages to get a look at the guy who did it, something no one else has done. The man she spotted is part of one of Trenton's most scary gangs, and they come after her with a vengeance. What else is new? It doesn't help that Ranger, one of the biggest and scariest men Steph's ever met, is on an assignment out of the country. Steph's in a fight with her on-again-off-again, Joe Morelli, too, so she's got little to no place she feels safe. What's a poor girl to do?
Thoughts:
Wonderful as always. Janet Evanovich has yet to get stale in this series. Where I was complaining about a lack of surprises in my post last week, this week it's nothing but good. Evanovich brings it all to the table again and again, and this installment is no exception. Sure, I wish Steph would make up her mind already about which man she likes best, but breaking up that love triangle would really suck some of the fun out of these books. Keep up the great work, Miss Janet. Can't wait to read more!
Book 39 of 50
Pages: 320
Genre: mystery/romance
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Yes. For sure!!
Stephanie Plum can't seem to keep herself out of trouble. When she and Lula go out for lunch, they spot a robbery in progress, one of a series of them of the past few weeks, and Steph manages to get a look at the guy who did it, something no one else has done. The man she spotted is part of one of Trenton's most scary gangs, and they come after her with a vengeance. What else is new? It doesn't help that Ranger, one of the biggest and scariest men Steph's ever met, is on an assignment out of the country. Steph's in a fight with her on-again-off-again, Joe Morelli, too, so she's got little to no place she feels safe. What's a poor girl to do?
Thoughts:
Wonderful as always. Janet Evanovich has yet to get stale in this series. Where I was complaining about a lack of surprises in my post last week, this week it's nothing but good. Evanovich brings it all to the table again and again, and this installment is no exception. Sure, I wish Steph would make up her mind already about which man she likes best, but breaking up that love triangle would really suck some of the fun out of these books. Keep up the great work, Miss Janet. Can't wait to read more!
Book 39 of 50
Pages: 320
Genre: mystery/romance
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Yes. For sure!!
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