Sale - Sweet Dreams, Miss England

In need for another Christmas Present ?

Check out my book ! It'll be on Sale from now until Christmas for only A$9.95 (no postage). Reviews have been really good:

From: http://www.cmashlovestoread.blogspot.com/
 
After finishing and digesting this book, I sit here very torn. I will try to write this review solely on the book and not the interjection of my beliefs. I will, however, say that I do not condone the main character, Nicky's, actions. I found it very hard to relate with the character Nicky because of the story line but once I took a step back and analyzed just "the book", I could see that she did have some good qualities. The author's writing style quite surprised me as a debut author. She wrote this story with a fluid, flowing and detailed account of the plot. The narrative, characters, emotions and descriptions of the settings were written in such a seasoned style that her words were conveyed with the ability to form vivid imagery. The relationships between characters profound and meaningful on many levels . I thought that this would be another typical love story and would know the ending, but, the author delivered an unexpected twist which left me with thought provoking questions. (I will not include spoilers in this review). Overall, a very well written novel from a very talented writer


Contact me on: sweetdreamsmissengland@gmail.com to purchase a copy!

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Cecelia Ahern - The Book of Tomorrow

Publisher:  Harper Collins

ISBN: 978-0007233700

My rating: 4/5

Tamara Goodwin has always got everything she’s ever wanted. Born into a family of wealth, she grew up in a mansion with its own private beach, a wardrobe full of designer clothes, and a large four poster bed complete with a luxurious bathroom en-suite. She’s always lived in the here and now, never giving a second thought to tomorrow.
But then suddenly her dad is gone and life for Tamara and her mother changes forever. Left with a mountain of debt, they have no choice but to sell everything they own and move to the country to live with Tamara’s Uncle and Aunt. Nestled next to Kilsaney Castle, their gate house is a world away from Tamara’s childhood. With her Mother shut away with grief, and her Aunt busy tending to her, Tamara is lonely and bored and longs to return to Dublin.
When a travelling library passes through Kilsaney Demesne, Tamara is intrigued. She needs a distraction. Her eyes rest on a mysterious large leather bound tome locked with a gold clasp and padlock. With some help, Tamara finally manages to open the book. What she discovers within the pages takes her breath away and shakes her world to its core. (http://www.ceceliaahern.ie/)


My thougths


I like Cecelia Ahern, I really do. Actually one of my favourite books is by Cecelia Ahern. She brings a touch of magic into her books that I love – and she does it so well you sometimes find yourself believing in it. "The Book of Tomorrow" delivers what we expect from Cecelia Ahern.

I’ve had this book for almost two years here on my desk and I feel really awful because I know my very special friend made the effort to not only send it to me, but have it signed by Cecelia as well. Initially it took me at least four or five attempts until I got through the first 100 pages, then I got to the point where Tamara found the book in the mobile Library, she met Sister Ignatius and read the first diary entry - and I was hooked and the story was interesting enough for me to keep reading at every spare minute.

Tamara’s father commits suicide because of financial troubles and she then finds herself living with her aunt and uncle in the Irish countryside. There she is drawn to a mysterious castle and its surrounding land. Bored and lonely, she’s happy to meet Marcus who drives the mobile library – this is where Tamara comes across the large leather bound book locked with a gold clasp and padlock.

Even though I did enjoy the book there were still a few things about the book I felt didn’t get answered. We’re never told where magical book actually comes from; Tamara never raises the question why she out of all people found the book or where it came from ... for me there wasn’t enough information, even if it were in line with the magical theme, about the book and its history.

Give it a try, I believe if you like Cecelia Ahern, you’ll like this one as well, even though you need to struggle through the first odd chapters.

Favourite Quote: "I think about books a lot differently now."

Sophie Kinsella Christmas Cards Competition

(from Sophie's Website)

Hi everyone!

It's that festive time again - and I'm feeling especially festive right now because of my special Christmas cover!!! I'm so excited to share with you all the new-look Mini Shopaholic, which is being released in the UK just in time for the holiday season. Isn't it a great idea, a special Christmas edition?! Perfect for a present or just a treat.

The cover is so beautiful and Christmassy that it inspired me with a whole new idea - why not send Christmas cards to my readers? You have sent me so many lovely messages over the past year, I'd really like to give something back to you.

Of course, I'd love to be able to send you ALL a Christmas card. But as that would be impossible, I've decided to send out a hundred cards to my readers around the world, signed personally by me. The card will be based on the Mini Shopaholic cover design and will I hope be a lovely memento.

If you would like a card from me this Christmas, simply enter your details on my special Christmas Card competition page before Sunday 28th November 2010. Then keep a lookout in your mailbox.

Merry Christmas!

Love Sophie xxx

Westlife - Please stay

Everyone listening to my radio program knows that I finish off my two hours with a Westlife song, because it really is their music that inspires me to write - so this is the B-side of their latest single, which was release recently. It's not their best song, but kinda cute :-)

Rachel Gibson - Not another bad date

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

ISBN: 9780061178047

My rating: 3/5



Adele Harris has never had a problem finding a man—it’s finding a good man that’s damn near impossible

Adele Harris has dated them all-geeks, nerds, liars, losers. Egomaniacs, nymphomaniacs, and just plain maniacs. She's been set up and stood up, and now she's had it up to here with the jerks of the world. It’s enough to make a girl give up dating forever. If only she could find a guy that made her heart flutter like her first love, Zach, the college quarterback who swept her off her feet senior year... before dumping her to marry someone else. Okay, so he wasn't perfect. But when Adele heads back to Cedar Creek, Texas, for a family emergency, she discovers that her hometown heartthrob is still as sexy as ever—and now he’s single.
It could be the end of Adele's streak. After all, forgiving Zach for breaking her heart years ago and learning to trust him again will take everything she's got, but Adele can handle anything... anything but another bad date. (www.rachelgibson.com)


My thoughts

So this one was a  bit confusing.

First of all there was the Devon Epilogue - blame it on English being my second language, but I had no idea what was going on, except that she must've been the reason for "the curse". Then there was "the baby" which was born prematurely (or so I understood it - please correct me if I'm wrong) and in the following chapters the sister was still pregnant with the -same- baby. Odd! Another thing that irritated me was the constant descriptions in short sentences, but also "she looked at his wide shoulders", "she looked past his wide shoulders" .... and after a while I got sick of his wide shoulders!
As for the story ... as I said the Devon part was different, but there were a few things which didn't make sense to me like when Zach comes to Adele's Condo to hand back the "lost item" and she asks Zack to stay and ends up in bed with  although in all the previous chapters she was adamant not to have anything to do with him, and why if Devon was the reason for "the curse" didn't it work on Zach?

Again .... the sex scenes - nice and obviously part of Rachel Gibson's "trademark", but five pages ???

So all in all nice story, not executed all that well, but still a reasonably good read for those Gibson fans.

Janet Evanvovich - Motor Mouth

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 9780060584054

My rating:  3/5

It's the last race of the season, and the wheels are smoking and the temperature is rising at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Alexandra Barnaby is NASCAR driver Sam Hooker's raceday spotter, his eye-in-the-sky, telling Hooker when to pass and when to get off the gas. From her vantage point high above the grandstand she's also seeing things going on in the infield that will change her life. Things that will lead to a stolen racecar hauler, a kidnapped Saint Bernard, a bizarre murder, some restless nights under the covers with Hooker, and a reunion with super cigar roller Rosa Florez and the queen of wholesale fruit Felicia Ibarra.
From Miami, Florida to Concord, North Carolina and back to Miami this is an action-packed multi-car crash of shady dealings, stolen technology, drive-thru windows and destruction of personal property. Everything you always wanted to know about righteous indignation, stealing an eight-wheeler, stashing a dead body, and sex in the fast lane. (www. evanovich.com)


 
My thoughts
 
I had my hopes up with this series, but .... hmmm .... the second installment didn't really live up to the first one and any of my expectations. It was a good book, great story, great plot, I love Sam Hooker, but it was long and drawn out.

Alex Barnaby and NASCAR guy Sam Hooker are back solving a murder or two within the racing community. All very technical and sometimes way beyond my understanding, but not to the point where I was completely lost. I honestly believe if Janet Evanovich would give this series a little bit more thought and time it could turn out really really well - I like the pair! I like the dialogue and I especially like Hooker's witty verbal come-backs. It's a real treat.

Obviously I have been comparing the books to the Stephanie Plum series, but just because they are from the same author doesn't necessarily mean that we, as readers, should do that - quite the opposite. And as such, I still believe that this series has potential, soI am a bit disappointed that book three is a graphic novel.

Janet Evanovich - Sizzling Sixteen

Publisher: St Martins Press

ISBN: 978-0312383305

My rating: 3/5


Trenton, New Jersey, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has inherited a “lucky” bottle from her Uncle Pip. Problem is, Uncle Pip didn’t specify if the bottle brought good luck or bad luck....

BAD LUCK:
Vinnie, of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, has run up a gambling debt of $786,000 with mobster Bobby Sunflower and is being held until the cash can be produced. Nobody else will pay to get Vinnie back, leaving it up to Stephanie, office manager Connie, and file clerk Lula to raise the money if they want to save their jobs.
GOOD LUCK:
Being in the business of tracking down people, Stephanie, Lula, and Connie have an advantage in finding Vinnie. If they can rescue him, it will buy them some time to raise the cash.
BAD LUCK:
Finding a safe place to hide Vinnie turns out to be harder than raising $786,000. Vinnie’s messing up local stoner Walter “Moon Man” Dunphy's vibe and making Stephanie question genetics.
GOOD LUCK:
Between a bonds office yard sale that has the entire Burg turning out, a plan that makes Mooner’s Hobbit-Con look sane, and Uncle Pip’s mysterious bottle, they just might raise enough money to save Vinnie and the business from ruin.
BAD LUCK:
Saving Vincent Plum Bail Bonds means Stephanie can keep being a bounty hunter. In Trenton, this involves hunting down a man wanted for polygamy, a Turnpike toilet paper bandit, and a drug dealer with a pet alligator named Mr. Jingles.
GOOD LUCK:
The job of bounty hunter comes with perks in the guise of Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, and the dark and dangerous, Ranger. With any luck at all, Uncle Pip’s lucky bottle will have Stephanie getting lucky---the only question is . . . with whom?
 
Sizzling Sixteen . . . so hot, the pages might spontaneously combust!Nothing really sizzling about Sixteen! (http://www.evanovich.com/)


My thoughts
The plot is slightly more interesting than Fifteen (which wasn’t all that hard to achieve I assume), but still very confusing!

So here the short version: Steph is still on a break with Morelli so we get to have lots of Ranger. That has to be good – right? But for once Steph showed a bit of backbone and I respect her more by not jumping into Ranger’s bed just because she’s on a break with Morelli – though the reasoning was quite odd.

The plot? Not sure. Vinnie gets kidnapped because of gambling debts. Steph, Lula and Connie first try to find him and then to pay the debt.

And finally; what was it with all the hobbits?

Kerstin Gier - Luegen, die von Herzen kommen

Publisher:  Bastei Luebbe Verlag

ISBN: 978-3404162369

My rating: 2/5


Hanna hat keinen Freund. Und sie hat die klassische Eieruhrfigur. Zu beidem steht sie. Trotzdem muss man Letzteres ja nicht gleich in die Cyberwelt hinausposaunen. Prompt lernt sie beim Chatten “Boris” kennen, endlich den Mann, der all das zu haben scheint, was Hanna sich wünscht. Beim Online-Partnerschaftstest erreicht er 397 von 400 Punkten. Einem Real-Date steht nichts mehr im Weg. Wäre da nicht der neue Chef. Der ist nämlich sehr viel charmanter als zunächst vermutet und ein ernsthafter Konkurrent für den 397-Punkte-Mann aus der Chat-Runde … (http://www.kerstingier.com/)


My thougths

This one is now the last book by Kerstin Gier on my desk! So after having read most of her books, I've got to say, I'm glad I've read them but also glad I don't have to struggle through any more.

The story actually surprised me a tad. Hannah, the main protagonist, works for a girls' magazine. Her new boss assigned the subject "chat room love / relationships" to her as her next article - and that's how she gets to "chat" to Boris.

The issues in this story are quite interesting: internet dating and ones weight and I applaud Hannah the way she deals with them with bravour.  But the rest of the story is long and here and there the characters are again stretched in their stereotypes - as the previous books.
Also - everyone keeps telling me it might sound more realistic, I'm not so sure though, but I thought some of the word choices are somewhat inappropriate or even vulgar.

Janet Evanovich - Finger Lickin' Fifteen

Publisher: St Martins Press

ISBN:  9780312383299

My rating: 3/5


UNBUCKLE YOUR BELT AND PULL UP A CHAIR. IT'S THE SPICIEST, SAUCIEST, MOST RIB-STICKING PLUM YET.


Recipe for disaster:
Celebrity chef Stanley Chipotle comes to Trenton to participate in a barbecue cook-off and loses his head --literally.
Throw in some spice:
Bail bonds office worker Lula is witness to the crime, and the only one she’ll talk to is Trenton cop, Joe Morelli.
Pump up the heat:
Chipotle’s sponsor is offering a million dollar reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the capture of the killers.
Stir the pot:
Lula recruits bounty hunter Stephanie Plum to help her find the killers and collect the moolah.
Add a secret ingredient:
Stephanie Plum’s Grandma Mazur. Enough said.
Bring to a boil:
Stephanie Plum is working overtime tracking felons for the bonds office at night and snooping for security expert Carlos Manoso, A.K.A. Ranger, during the day. Can Stephanie hunt down two killers, a traitor, five skips, keep her grandmother out of the sauce, solve Ranger’s problems and not jump his bones?
Warning:
Habanero hot. So good you’ll want seconds (http://www.evanovich.com/)


My thoughts

Another bad day for Evanovich, but a slight improvement on the previous book

Lula is a witness to a murder. Promising? Well, I thought so, because I love Lula. So with the help from Steph and Grandma Mazur, she tries to figure out the “whodunit”.

The other plot is Steph helping Ranger (Yes, I got to get lots of Ranger in this one!), but this time with his security business. Some clients’ house and businesses have been broken into and Ranger’s reputation is on the line.

Joyce Barnhard is around, too, but honestly I have no idea what is she doing in the story.

And what is it with the farting? Call me old fashioned but I didn't think that was funny, not even a wee bit.

Apart from that I had problems with following the actual "crime" in this plot, I couldn't really understand that someone "like" Ranger couldn't solve the problem that was slowing ruining his company's reputation - I thought he was the "ueber-guy"!

Yes I know Evanovich throws in scenes which are sometimes stretching the imagination, and mostly they have been funny - but the barbeque at the end was simple cheap.

C'mon Janet, we know you can do better!!!!

SALE !!! Sigrid Macdonald - Be Your Own Editor

 Sale !!!

From now until Christmas, Be Your Own Editor, which makes a perfect gift for friends, colleagues and family, is available directly through me for $9.99, not including shipping and handling. Please send an e-mail to sigridmac at rogers.com and put BYOE in the subject title. 

Click this link for Sigrid's website: Be Your Own Editor

Janet Evanovich - Metro Girl

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 9780060584023

My rating: 4/5



Buckle your seat belts. Number one New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich is moving into the fast lane with Metro Girl, a thrilling, high-octane misadventure with high stakes, hot nights, cold-blooded murder, sunken treasure, a woman with a chassis built for speed, and one very good, very sexy NASCAR driver who's along for the ride.

"Wild" Bill Barnaby's dropped off the face of the earth and big sister Alex heads for Miami, Bill's last known sighting, on a harrowing hunt to save her brother ...and maybe the world. Truth is, Alex has been bailing her brother out of trouble since they were kids. Not that Bill's a bad sort. More that he acts first and thinks later. Unfortunately, this time around "Wild" Bill will be "Dead" Bill if Alex doesn't find him in time.

Alex blasts through the bars of South Beach and points her search south to Key West and Cuba, laying waste to Miami hit men, dodging Palmetto bugs big enough to eat her alive and going pedal to the metal with NASCAR driver Sam Hooker.

Engaged in a deadly race, Wild Bill's "borrowed" Hooker's sixty-five foot Hatteras and sailed off into the sunset ...just when Hooker has plans for the boat. Hooker figures he'll attach himself to Alex and maybe run into scumbag Bill. And maybe Hooker'll get lucky in love with Bill's sweetie pie sister. After all, Hooker is NASCAR Guy. And NASCAR Guy is good at revving a woman's engine.

The race to the finish is hot and hard, taking Alex and Hooker into international waters, exposing a plot to grab Cuban gold and a sinister relic of the Cuban missile crises.

Creative cussing and sexual innuendo included. (http://www.evanovich.com/)

 
My thoughts
 
GREAT !
 
I don't really like to admit it, but I almost liked "Metro Girl" better than some of the Stephanie Plum books.The characters are just as unique, but the dialogues are a tad better and wittier, especially Hooker's replies are brilliant at times. The plot is more complex and easier to follow.
 
This first book introduces us to Alex Barnaby, also called Barnie, Sam Hooker, "the NASCAR guy" as well as others like Barnie's brother, Bill who's taken Sam's boat, but that's not the only trouble he got himself into. Now it's up to Barnie to help her brother - with Sam's unwilling help; he just wants his boat back.
 
I reckon if you like the Plum series, you need to take your mind off Steph and try not compare it and take it for what it is I'd say you'll like it too.

My favourite quote was:
"If you're afraid of the elevator, big brave NASCAR Guy would be willing to hold you close and make you feel safe," Hooker said.
"Thanks, but I'm too numb to be afraid."
"Could you pretend?"

Kerstin Gier - In Wahrheit wird viel mehr gelogen

Publisher: Luebbe Verlag

ISBN: 978-3785760147

My rating: 2/5

Die Erbmasse verringert sich mit der Masse der Erben … Gerade, als Carolin anfängt sich zu fragen, ob es wirklich eine so gute Idee war, Professor Karl Schütz, den charismatischen Vater ihres eher spießigen Studienfreunds Leo zu heiraten, stirbt Karl − und hinterlässt ihr ein überraschend großes Vermögen. Karls Kinder und seine Exfrau erheben allerdings ebenfalls Anspruch auf das Erbe und sind bereit, mit allen Tricks und Kniffen darum zu kämpfen. Leo, inzwischen Anwalt und verlobt mit der hübschen Tochter seines Chefs, nimmt Carolin offenbar immer noch sehr übel, dass sie ihn vor fünf Jahren wegen seines Vaters verlassen hat. Um Carolin das Erbe streitig zu machen, fährt er schwere Geschütze auf. Aber Carolin weiß sich durchaus zu wehren …  (www.kerstingier.com)


My thoughts

So my mum said 'what you start you've got to finish' ... so here I am with another one of Kerstin Gier's book *sigh*.

Carolin's husband dies suddenly and she's confronted with not only a life without him, but also with his family who is eager to get their hands on the money left behind.

In my opinion, Gier did very well, describing Carolin's emotions after the death, ignoring bureaucracy, having counselling and only hesitantly doing steps forward. But still, the whole book is slow and the characters are stretched within their stereotypes. If you have read a few of the previous books you might find some "old friends" from those stories.

All in all, Kerstin Gier is still not convincing me, so I'd give this one a miss as well.

PS -  What is it with the chemist guy coming to the hospital with all the facial treatment stuff?? Very odd

Book Binge: Author Spotlight: Rachel Gibson Joins Us on Book Binge!

Book Binge: Author Spotlight: Rachel Gibson Joins Us on Book Binge!

Janet Evanovich - Fearless Fourteen

Publisher: St. Martin Press

ISBN: 978-0312349516


My rating: 3/5



The Crime: Armed robbery to the tune of nine million dollars
Dom Rizzi robbed a bank, stashed the money and did the time. His family couldn't be more proud. He always was the smart one.


The Cousin: Joe Morelli
Joe Morelli, Dom Rizzi and Dom's sister Loretta are cousins. Morelli is a cop, Rizzi robs banks, and Loretta is a single mother waiting tables at the firehouse. The all American family.


The Complications: Murder, kidnapping, destruction of personal property, and acid reflux
Less than a week after Dom's release from prison, Joe Morelli has shadowy figures breaking into his house and dying in his basement. He's getting threatening messages, Loretta is kidnapped, and Dom is missing.


The Catastrophe: Moonman
Morelli hires Walter "Mooner" Dunphy, stoner and "inventor" turned crime-fighter to protect his house. Morelli can't afford a lot on a cop's salary, and Mooner will work for potatoes.


The Cupcake: Stephanie Plum
Stephanie and Morelli have a long-standing relationship that involves sex, affection and driving each other nuts. She's a bond enforcement agent with more luck than talent, and she's involved in this bank-robbery-gone-bad disaster from day one.


The Crisis: A favor for Ranger
Security expert Carlos Manoso, street name Ranger, has a job for Stephanie that will involve night-work. Morelli has his own ideas regarding Stephanie's evening activities.

The Conclusion:
Only the fearless should read fourteen.  (http://www.evanovich.com/)


My thoughts

Everyone has a bad day once in a while, right? I think Evanovich had one when she wrote Fearless Fourteen.

I'm not really sure where to start – Ranger asks Steph for help; he has to bodyguard Brenda, a famous singer,  and this - as it seems the main plot - is a circus and I don’t know how often I just scanned through the lines in order to just move on.
Okay, then there are all these people in Morelli’s house – that’s right, yes, there was a crime as well, but who knows what it was really all about.

In all the chaos is Lula my favourite with turning into a wedding crazed person on a mission to have a wedding with Tank, who, - and I have no idea where that came from - turned from a tough-guy to a guy who faints at the bare thought of a wedding.

AND ... sorry to say it, there was no way enough Ranger for me!

For the Plum fans out there, you've gotta read it to because you're a fan and you move on to number fifteen - otherwise ... and I hate to say it ..... give it a miss.

PS – If anybody ever finds out whose toes they were, please let me know.

Kerstin Gier - Fuer jede Loesung ein Problem

Publisher: Bastei Luebbe Verlag

ISBN: 978-3404156146

Language: German

My rating: 2.5/5



Gerri schreibt Abschiedsbriefe an alle, die sie kennt, und sie geht nicht gerade zimperlich mit der Wahrheit um. Nur dummerweise klappt es dann nicht mit den Schlaftabletten und dem Wodka – und Gerris Leben wird von einem Tag auf den anderen so richtig spannend. Denn es ist nicht einfach, mit seinen Mitmenschen klarzukommen, wenn sie wissen, was man wirklich von ihnen hält!

Lach-Therapie für alle Schwarzseher – oder wenn das Leben es mal wieder nicht so gut mit einem meint … (kerstingier.com)




My thoughts

So - this is a different kind of genre for Kerstin Gier - suicide!

We get to know Gerri - short for Gerda because she was supposed to be a boy named Gerd. Gerri is in the process in writing her "goodbye-letters" to those she feels she needs to speak her last words: her mother she was never able to make it right for, her very best friend, who indeed was a great friend and Gerri tells her how much she's appreciated this friendship; a letter as well for the new editor at the publishing house she works for as a freelance writer, the one, in Gerri's words, with the sexy derriere,  and so many others letters to those she feels she needs to make peace with. Her suicide is planned and organised to go ahead in a hotel .... but she didn't expect to run into Ole, one of her friends, who is drowning is sorrow in alcohol and ends up in Gerri's hotel room - messing up her plans.

Like in all the other books, I couldn't warm to the story, even though the plot and the story are good, it's again the characters who are so extrem, ie the mother or the sisters. A bit like Cinderella, though it's not a step-mother. Though this was a more serious side to Gier, I find she failed again to develop the characters more and give the actual topic more oompf.

I'd give it a miss, though I suppose it's one of her better ones!

Janet Evanovich - Lean mean Thirteen

Publisher: St Martin's Press

ISBN: 978-0312349493

My rating: 3.5/5




New secrets, old flames, and hidden agendas are about to send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most outrageous adventure yet!


MISTAKE #1
Dickie Orr. Stephanie was married to him for about fifteen minutes before she caught him cheating on her with her arch-nemesis Joyce Barnhardt. Another fifteen minutes after that Stephanie filed for divorce, hoping to never see either one of them again.

MISTAKE #2
Doing favors for super bounty hunter Carlos Manoso (a.k.a. Ranger). Ranger needs her to meet with Dickie and find out if he's doing something shady. Turns out, he is. Turns out, he's also back to doing Joyce Barnhardt. And it turns out Ranger's favors always come with a price...

MISTAKE #3
Going completely nutso while doing the favor for Ranger, and trying to apply bodily injury to Dickie in front of the entire office. Now Dickie has disappeared and Stephanie is the natural suspect in his disappearance. Is Dickie dead? Can he be found? And can Stephanie Plum stay one step ahead in this new, dangerous game? Joe Morelli, the hottest cop in Trenton, NJ is also keeping Stephanie on her toes-and he may know more than he's saying about many things in Stephanie's life. It's a cat-and-mouse game for Stephanie Plum, where the ultimate prize might be her life.

With Janet Evanovich's flair for hilarious situations, breathtaking action, and unforgettable characters, LEAN MEAN THIRTEEN shows why no one can beat Evanovich for blockbuster entertainment. (evanovich.com)


My thoughts

Hmmmm .... not sure about this one!

Ranger asks Steph to bug her ex-husband and a few days later he’s missing – with Steph as the main suspect. But Joyce Barnhart, her arch enemy, is in the picture as well; Steph doesn’t know what to think of that.

There are lots of FTAs for Steph and Lula, but even in Book 13 (and I-don’t-know-how many years later); Steph is still lousy at her job. Getting zapped all the time isn’t the big laugh anymore and neither is Lula accidently burning down a house full of pot.

Steph still can’t decide between the two men in her life, which seems to get boring, but I suppose it’d be even more of a bore if she’d be just with one. I like Morelli, but I go for Ranger!

What else –

Grandma has a smaller part, but still very funny. I love it when she goes out bra shopping with her granddaughter.

Lula ends up in a grave and might even end up with a man!

My favourite Quotes:
"Saved by Joyce Barnhard - go figure"
"One day he just woke up dead"