Summary:
It's almost Valentine's Day. There's hardly anything going on at the bond office, and Stephanie's only case, Annie Hart, is being held out of her reach by none other than Diesel, Steph's slightly supernatural bud. The catch this time around is that Stephanie's got to play Cupid while Annie can't, while Diesel finds the guy that's so ticked off at Annie, he's going after her with a vengeance. Annie's in the "relationship specialist" business, and Diesel forces Stephanie to help the five schlubs that can't find love before Valentine's Day. Most are easy, but one of the poor schmucks is Stephanie's sister's boyfriend, who wants to BE married to her sister, but just can't get to the GETTING married part without passing out cold. It's a race with the clock to get these unhappy people to find their happily ever afters.
Thoughts:
More fun holiday mayhem with our buddy Diesel. You might remember him from Visions of Sugar Plums, the Christmas book from two months ago. He's back, with more vaguely supernatural hijinks to throw upon Stephanie. When Diesel is around, you know there's going to be something fun and holiday-related. This one's fun for Valentine's time but, having read it during September, it's still fun to read at any time of the year. It's a standard mystery, like the rest of the Plum series, but this time the romance doesn't circle entirely around Stephanie. Like the previous Between-The-Numbers book from Evanovich, it's short and sweet, though this one's got a little bit more meat to it. And who doesn't love a happy ending?
Book 47 of 50
Pages: 164
Genre: Mystery, romance
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Great little read for Valentine's time, though I'd try to keep it in order with the rest of the series... There might be some spoilers otherwise.
Showing posts with label novella. Show all posts
Showing posts with label novella. Show all posts
Sunday, November 25, 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, August 26, 2012
The Pleasure of My Company (Steve Martin)
Summary:
Daniel is a guy who used to be a computer programmer for Hewlett-Packard. Now he's a hermit with so many mental hang-ups, he can't even count them, let alone the rest of us. He spends most days exactly the same, spying on an unknowing real estate agent through his open window, doing nonsensical puzzles and mathematical calculations in his head just because he can, and avoiding curbs at all costs because there could be a scary abyss lurking at the bottom of that three-inch step. His whole world is centered around dealing with his imagined issues, and he hardly ever ventures past them to converse with the outside world.
Thoughts:
Yes, it's that Steve Martin. To be honest, it's weird. It took me a long time to get through it, including going through a ridiculous number of books between when I started it and when I finished it. I got my hands on it initially through PaperbackSwap.com (which is an awesome resource for books, particularly because it doesn't cost all that much!) in mid-February, started it maybe in March. I just took a look, and the next book I had my hands on from PBS Dead as a Doornail, which I finished and posted about in late March. There are twenty two books between that book and this one now. As I type this post up (in mid-June), it took easily three months to start, and then subsequently get myself back to, this book. That doesn't bode well as a gauge of how much I liked it. But, as usual, I digress. The book is droll. It doesn't have specific chapter markers, nor easily noted stoppage points. A scene could go on for a paragraph before moving on to the next, or it could take five pages, and you could never tell which it would be until you got to the end of it. I was hoping that the author's comedic background would lend itself to creating a fun, light-hearted book that I would love and adore almost as much as I do him. But alas, that was absolutely not the case. I read sixty pages, over the course of about a month, and couldn't stand it anymore. I put it down for nearly two months before picking it up again. In the end, it takes until page 88 of a 163 page book for anything of substance to happen. Until then, the reader is introduced to more and more of the main character's crazy until you want to kill him and put him, and yourself, out of your shared misery. From page 88, it turns out to be almost interesting, but by that point, I was so fed up with the crazy that I just wanted to power through to the end to get the whole mess over with. I don't recommend this book, by any means, unless you're severely mentally challenged and think this will be a help to you. Seriously, don't bother. Steve Martin's comedic prowess makes no appearance in this novella. None.
Book 34 of 50
Pages: 163
Genre: General fiction
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: Nope. Not even because it's Steve Martin.
Daniel is a guy who used to be a computer programmer for Hewlett-Packard. Now he's a hermit with so many mental hang-ups, he can't even count them, let alone the rest of us. He spends most days exactly the same, spying on an unknowing real estate agent through his open window, doing nonsensical puzzles and mathematical calculations in his head just because he can, and avoiding curbs at all costs because there could be a scary abyss lurking at the bottom of that three-inch step. His whole world is centered around dealing with his imagined issues, and he hardly ever ventures past them to converse with the outside world.
Thoughts:
Yes, it's that Steve Martin. To be honest, it's weird. It took me a long time to get through it, including going through a ridiculous number of books between when I started it and when I finished it. I got my hands on it initially through PaperbackSwap.com (which is an awesome resource for books, particularly because it doesn't cost all that much!) in mid-February, started it maybe in March. I just took a look, and the next book I had my hands on from PBS Dead as a Doornail, which I finished and posted about in late March. There are twenty two books between that book and this one now. As I type this post up (in mid-June), it took easily three months to start, and then subsequently get myself back to, this book. That doesn't bode well as a gauge of how much I liked it. But, as usual, I digress. The book is droll. It doesn't have specific chapter markers, nor easily noted stoppage points. A scene could go on for a paragraph before moving on to the next, or it could take five pages, and you could never tell which it would be until you got to the end of it. I was hoping that the author's comedic background would lend itself to creating a fun, light-hearted book that I would love and adore almost as much as I do him. But alas, that was absolutely not the case. I read sixty pages, over the course of about a month, and couldn't stand it anymore. I put it down for nearly two months before picking it up again. In the end, it takes until page 88 of a 163 page book for anything of substance to happen. Until then, the reader is introduced to more and more of the main character's crazy until you want to kill him and put him, and yourself, out of your shared misery. From page 88, it turns out to be almost interesting, but by that point, I was so fed up with the crazy that I just wanted to power through to the end to get the whole mess over with. I don't recommend this book, by any means, unless you're severely mentally challenged and think this will be a help to you. Seriously, don't bother. Steve Martin's comedic prowess makes no appearance in this novella. None.
Book 34 of 50
Pages: 163
Genre: General fiction
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: Nope. Not even because it's Steve Martin.
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