Review: Janet Evanovich / Lee Goldberg "The Job" (Fox and O'Hare #3)

Publisher:  Bantam Penguin Random House

ISBN:  9780345543127

My rating: 4/5

Charming con man Nicolas Fox and dedicated FBI agent Kate O'Hare secretly take down world’s most-wanted and untouchable felons, next job Violante, the brutal leader of a global drug-smuggling empire. The FBI doesn’t know what he looks like, where he is, or how to find him, but Nick knows his tastes in gourmet chocolate.

From Nashville to Lisbon back alleys, from Istanbul rooftops to Thames, they chase clues to lookalike thefts. Pitted against a psychopathic bodyguard Reyna holding Kate hostage and a Portuguese enforcer getting advice from an ancestor's pickled head, they again call driver Willie for ship, actor Boyd for one-eyed Captain Bridger, special effects carpenter Tom, her father Jake - retired Special Forces, and his talent - machete-wielding Somali pirate Billy Dee. This could be their biggest job - if they survive.


My thoughts:

Book #3 by the Evanovich / Goldberg team and they didn't disappoint. The storyline is interesting, witty, well thought through, and somewhat beyond believe. I loved it!

For me, it's in the small details of the different places in the story, the dialogue between Nick and Kate, especially interesting as they pretend to be married.

Characters from the previous books are back ... and IMHO, Kate's dad, Jake, nearly steals the show.

Fully recommend this one!

Review: Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg "The Chase"

 

Publisher: Bantam Books

ISBN:  9780345543080

My Rating: 4.5/5


Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, New York Times bestselling authors of The Heist, return in this action-packed, exciting adventure featuring master con artist Nicolas Fox and die-hard FBI agent Kate O’Hare. And this time around, things go from hot to nuclear when government secrets are on the line. Internationally renowned thief and con artist Nicolas Fox is famous for running elaborate and daring scams. His greatest con of all: convincing the FBI to team him up with the only person who has ever caught him, and the only woman to ever capture his attention, Special Agent Kate O’Hare. Together they’ll go undercover to swindle and catch the world’s most wanted—and untouchable—criminals. Their newest target is Carter Grove, a former White House chief of staff and the ruthless leader of a private security agency. Grove has stolen a rare Chinese artefact from the Smithsonian, a crime that will torpedo U.S. relations with China if it ever becomes public. Nick and Kate must work under the radar—and against the clock—to devise a plan to steal the piece back. Confronting Grove’s elite assassins, Nick and Kate rely on the skills f their ragtag crew, including a flamboyant actor, a Geek Squad techie, and a band of AARP-card-carrying mercenaries led by none other than Kate’s dad. A daring heist and a deadly chase lead Nick and Kate from Washington, D.C., to Shanghai, from the highlands of Scotland to the underbelly of Montreal. But it’ll take more than death threats, trained henchmen, sleepless nights, and the fate of a dynasty’s priceless heirloom to outsmart Fox and O’Hare. From the Hardcover edition

 

 

My thoughts

 

Phew - what a ride!

 

It's been a long since I read a book within such a short time. This is exactly what I call a page turner.

 

Fox and O'Hare couldn't be more different, Fox a thief on the most wanted list and O'Hare an FBI agent, but together they're a great team!

 

The book starts with them recovering a bronze rooster which was stolen from the Smithsonian years ago. But it's not only the rooster they find, but so much more.

 

And so begins story that takes them to China, Scotland and Canada, which ends in a big bang. Literally!

 

It's another great book, I loved every page!

Review: Janet Evanovich "Takedown Twenty"

Publisher: Bantam

ISBN: 9780345542885

My rating: 3/5


New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum knows better than to mess with family. But when powerful mobster Salvatore “Uncle Sunny” Sunucchi goes on the lam in Trenton, it’s up to Stephanie to find him. Uncle Sunny is charged with murder for running over a guy (twice), and nobody wants to turn him in—not his poker buddies, not his bimbo girlfriend, not his two right-hand men, Shorty and Moe. Even Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, has skin in the game, because—just Stephanie’s luck—the godfather is his actual godfather. And while Morelli understands that the law is the law, his old-world grandmother, Bella, is doing everything she can to throw Stephanie off the trail.

It’s not just Uncle Sunny giving Stephanie the run-around. Security specialist Ranger needs her help to solve the bizarre death of a top client’s mother, a woman who happened to play bingo with Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur. Before Stephanie knows it, she’s working side by side with Ranger and Grandma at the senior center, trying to catch a killer on the loose—and the bingo balls are not rolling in their favor.

With bullet holes in her car, henchmen on her tail, and a giraffe named Kevin running wild in the streets of Trenton, Stephanie will have to up her game for the ultimate takedown. (Evanovich.com)



My thoughts

Same old, same old. More or less.

Nothing much really has changed. Stephanie and Lula are after a big bond Salvatore Sunucchi, but doesn't get very far - and after a few failed attempts, even Stephanie gives up her job.

Rest is the same ... it's a toss up between Ranger and Morelli (there are a few good one-liners from Ranger in this one!), Lula does her thing and Grandma Mazur is in the midst of all.

And then there's the Giraffe. But I won't even go there. 

 

Review: Janet Evanovich / Lee Goldberg "The Heist"

Publisher: Bantam

ISBN: 9780345543066

My rating: 4/5

FBI Special Agent Kate O’Hare is known for her fierce dedication and discipline on the job, chasing down the world’s most wanted criminals and putting them behind bars. Her boss thinks she is tenacious and ambitious; her friends think she is tough, stubborn, and maybe even a bit obsessed. And while Kate has made quite a name for herself for the past five years, the only name she’s cared about is Nicolas Fox—an international crook she wants in more ways than one.
Audacious, handsome, and dangerously charming, Nicolas Fox is a natural con man, notorious for running elaborate scams on very high-profile people. At first he did it for the money. Now he does it for the thrill. He knows that the FBI has been hot on his trail—particularly Kate O’Hare, who has been watching his every move. For Nick, there’s no greater rush than being pursued by a beautiful woman . . . even one who aims to lock him up. But just when it seems that Nicolas Fox has been captured for good, he pulls off his greatest con of all: he convinces the FBI to offer him a job, working side by side with Special Agent Kate O’Hare.

Problem is, teaming up to stop a corrupt investment banker who’s hiding on a private island in Indonesia is going to test O’Hare’s patience and Fox’s skill. Not to mention the skills of their ragtag team made up of flamboyant actors, wanted wheelmen, and Kate’s dad. High-speed chases, pirates, and Toblerone bars are all in a day’s work . . . if O’Hare and Fox don’t kill each other first.



My thoughts

 

I picked up the book because of Janet Evanovich's name.

 

BUT it isn't Stephanie Plum.

 

BUT it isn't bad.

 

Okay, the blurb says it all. There's Kate O'Hare, FBI agent with the need to proof herself all the time, and Nick Fox, charming, funny and clever conman. Kate's been on his heels for years and when she finally catches him, he makes a deal with the FBI top level.

 

Initially boring, I got interested once the story moved to the Greek island of Athos and then to Berlin. And from then on it was a constant move to different locations while the next con was cleverly executed.

 

The characters are interesting and the banter between Kate and Nick quite funny. The story is very cleverly written, scenes beautifully described in detail, and every character introduced to detail so the reader has a clear picture and wouldn't get confused with the amount of characters involved in the book.

 

Loved Jake, Kate's father! 

 

@_Iris_B Thanks for the rave review, Iris. I hope you'll like THE CHASE in February even more!
— Lee Goldberg (@LeeGoldberg) November 10, 2013

Janet Evanovich - Notorious Nineteen

Publisher: Bantam

ISBN: 9780755385010

My rating: 3/5

 
After a slow summer of chasing low-level skips for her cousin Vinnie’s bail bonds agency, Stephanie Plum finally lands an assignment that could put her checkbook back in the black. Geoffrey Cubbin, facing trial for embezzling millions from Trenton’s premier assisted-living facility, has mysteriously vanished from the hospital after an emergency appendectomy. Now it’s on Stephanie to track down the con man. Unfortunately, Cubbin has disappeared without a trace, a witness, or his money-hungry wife. Rumors are stirring that he must have had help with the daring escape . . . or that maybe he never made it out of his room alive. Since the hospital staff’s lips seem to be tighter than the security, and it’s hard for Stephanie to blend in to assisted living, Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur goes in undercover. But when a second felon goes missing from the same hospital, Stephanie is forced into working side by side with Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, in order to crack the case.
The real problem is, no Cubbin also means no way to pay the rent. Desperate for money—or maybe just desperate—Stephanie accepts a secondary job guarding her secretive and mouthwatering mentor Ranger from a deadly Special Forces adversary. While Stephanie is notorious for finding trouble, she may have found a little more than she bargained for this time around. Then again—a little food poisoning, some threatening notes, and a bridesmaid’s dress with an excess of taffeta never killed anyone . . . or did they? If Stephanie Plum wants to bring in a paycheck, she’ll have to remember: No guts, no glory. (evanovich.com)


My thoughts

I didn't mind this story. It wasn't exciting, and it wasn't the as good as the first Plum novels, but much better than the ones of late.
The plot is the same as the previous novels, Steph needs money, one big bond is Cubbin, who's disappeared, but unlike the few before this one, one doesn't lose the oversight of who she's actually chasing at the time. Lula is ok, but the jokes are the same. Grandma Mazur has a few more lines in it, but they're getting old, as well. Morelli / Ranger - same here as well. So it's basically the plot that keeps the story going.

Better than the previous ones, but no 'halelujahs' in that one either. Lots of 'Babes' - I DID LIKE THAT :-)


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Janet Evanovich - Explosive Eighteen

Publisher: Bantam Books

ISBN: 978-0-345-52771-4

My rating: n.a.

 

Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 from Hawaii to Newark, she’s knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, she’s flying back to New Jersey solo, and Sasquatch is snoring in row 22. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he’s dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. The FBI, the fake FBI, and guns-for-hire are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying.

Only one other person has seen the missing photograph– Stephanie Plum. Now she’s the target, and she doesn’t intend to end up in a garbage can. With the help of a FBI sketch artist Stephanie recreates the person in the photo. Unfortunately the first sketch turns out to look like Tom Cruise, and the second sketch like Ashton Kutcher. Until Stephanie can improve her descriptive skills, she’ll need to watch her back.
Over at the Bail Bonds Agency it’s business as usual– until the bonds bus serving as Vinnie’s temporary HQ goes up in smoke, Stephanie’s wheelman, Lula, falls in love with their “largest” FTA yet, lifetime arch nemesis Joyce Barnhardt moves into Stephanie’s apartment, and everyone wants to know what happened in Hawaii?!
Morelli, Trenton’s hottest cop, isn’t talking about Hawaii. Ranger, the man of mystery, isn’t talking about Hawaii. And all Stephanie is willing to say about her Hawaiian vacation is…it’s complicated. (evanovich.com)


My thoughts

Not my cup of tea - 'nuff said!

"One for the Money" Movie Trailer

Am I looking forward to seeing the movie ?? You bet I am :-)
Trailer looks great, don't you think?

Details on the book - click here.

I'm sure you'll like it so why not check out Number "Explosive Eighteen" !!!

Janet Evanovich - Smokin' Seventeen

Publisher: Random House, Inc

ISBN: 978-0-345-52768-4

My rating: 2/5

Where there's smoke there's fire, and no one knows this better than New Jersey bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum.

Dead bodies are showing up in shallow graves on the empty construction lot of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. No one is sure who the killer is, or why the victims have been offed, but what is clear is that Stephanie's name is on the killer's list.
Short on time to find evidence proving the killer's identity, things get even more complicated for Stephanie when family and friends decide it's time for her to decide between long-time off-again-on-again boyfriend, Trenton cop, Joe Morelli, and the bad boy in her life, security expert, Ranger. Stephanie's mom is encouraging Stephanie to dump them both, and choose a former high school football star who has just returned to town. Stephanie's sidekick, Lula, is encouraging Stephanie to have a red-hot boudoir "bake-off". And Grandma Bella, Morelli's old world grandmother, is encouraging Stephanie to move to a new state when she puts "the eye" on Stephanie.
With a cold-blooded killer after her, a handful of hot men and  a capture list that includes a dancing bear and a senior citizen vampire, Stephanie's life looks like it's about to go up in smoke. (www.evanovich.com)


My thoughts

See - I have no idea what to write or for that matter what to think about "Seventeen". I thought it was boring, confusing and here and there an affront to the readers.

I read a review on goodreads the other day and even though slightly harsh, it pinpoints more or less what I've been thinking. Click here to read the review.

So, okay, there was lots of Ranger, I always like that. He's my favourite without a doubt! Morelli is a sex addict who is not interested in spending any time with SP if it doesn't end up in the bedroom. Anybody else who finds that irritating?  Lula is slightly funny and Grandma Mazur is being neglected. As for Steph - the Vordo thingy is ridiculous and not enough reason for hopping into bed with the two men in her life within a day!

Anybody else who had figured out the killer half way through the book? Yup, it was too obvious, I thought.

Read it if you're a die hard Plum fan, otherwise, read the first few installments - They're brilliant!

Janet Evanovich - Wicked Appetite

Publisher: St Martin's Press

ISBN: 0312652917

My rating: n/a


Seven Stones of Power. No one knows when they were created or by whom, each said to represent one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
For centuries, treasure hunters have been eager to possess the stones, undeterred by their corrupting nature. The list is long -- Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, to name a few. Now the Stones have found their way to Salem, Massachusetts, and so has Gerwulf Grimoire, adding himself to this rogues' gallery of power seekers. He's an uncommonly dangerous man, with a hunger for the forbidden, and a set of abilities that are way beyond ordinary. Abilities that he feels entitle him to possess anything he might desire.

That would include Elizabeth Tucker, the woman he needs to find the Stones. She's freshly transplanted from New York City to Boston's North Shore. With a new job as pastry chef at Dazzle's bakery and an old house inherited from her Aunt Ophelia, her life is pretty much on track …until it's suddenly derailed by a guy named Diesel, a rude monkey, and a ninja cat.

Lizzy can handle the monkey and the cat. She's not sure about Diesel. He's offering up his own set of unusual talents, promising to protect her from Grimoire. The kind of protection that Lizzy suspects might involve guarding her body day and night.

The Seven Deadly Sins are pride, greed, lust, envy wrath, sloth and gluttony. That pretty much covers everything that is wicked. Diesel thinks it also pretty much covers everything that's fun. And Lizzy thinks Diesel and the Seven Deadly Sins cover everything her mother warned her about. (www.evanovich.com)

My thoughts

I honestly have to admit that I respect Janet Evanovich to much as a writer to give this any bad marks, because, it was clearly not my "cup of tea" and thus it wouldn't be fair to judge it.

The few points I would make would be: I honestly thought I was reading another in-between with Stephanie and got all confused with the names - we had Diesel , the bad guy Wolf AND even Carl the monkey.
The rest is literally all the same: we have the same amount of eyerolls, same cars, same attraction between the main characters, lots of food, "the finger" from Carl and the list goes on and on.

I'm sure there's an audience out there for this kind of book, but no, I'm not one of them. So I'm afraid you need to make up your mind yourself.

Janet Evanovich - Plum Spoky

Publisher: St Martin's Press

ISBN: 978-0-312-38334-3

My rating:  3 / 5


A Between-the-Numbers Novel
Turn on all the lights and check under your bed. Things are about to get spooky in Trenton, New Jersey.

According to legend, the Jersey Devil prowls the Pine Barrens and soars above the treetops in the dark of night. As eerie as this might seem, there are things in the Barrens that are even more frightening and dangerous. And there are monkeys. Lots of monkeys.
Wulf Grimoire is a world wanderer and an opportunist who can kill without remorse and disappear like smoke. He's chosen Martin Munch, boy genius, as his new business partner, and he's chosen the Barrens as his new playground.
Munch received his doctorate degree in quantum physics when he was twenty-two. He's now twenty-four, and while his brain is large, his body hasn't made it out of the boys' department at Macy's. Anyone who says good things come in small packages hasn't met Munch. Wulf Grimoire is looking for world domination. Martin Munch would be happy if he could just get a woman naked and tied to a tree.
Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has Munch on her most-wanted list for failure to appear in court. Plum is the all-American girl stuck in an uncomfortable job, succeeding on luck and tenacity. Usually she gets her man. This time she gets a monkey. She also gets a big guy named Diesel.
Diesel pops in and out of Plum's life like birthday cake - delicious to look at and taste, not especially healthy as a steady diet, gone by the end of the week if not sooner. He's an uber bounty hunter with special skills when it comes to tracking men and pleasing women. He's after Grimoire, and now he's also after Munch. And if truth were told, he wouldn't mind setting Stephanie Plum in his crosshairs.
Diesel and Plum hunt down Munch and Grimoire, following them into the Barrens, surviving cranberry bogs, the Jersey Devil, a hair-raising experience, sand in their underwear, and, of course . . . monkeys. (www.evanovich.com)


My thoughts

I'm not really sure what to think. This was actually a more unusual Plum story because the background of the actual crime seemed to me to have some oomph. So short version is: the start was boring, then I got confused with all the side stories and then it actually got interesting - in a Plum-in-between-kinda-way.
Personally, Diesel is getting to much like Ranger so his character is not really growing on me, but he has his good moments. Morelli gets neglected in a side-plot - not sure why that was included. But there's a bit of Ranger - AND THAT I LIKE !

It's the best in-between so far I reckon though I'm still not convinced - next on the list is "Wicked" !

Janet Evanovich - Plum Lucky

Publisher:  St. Martin's Press

ISBN: 9780312377649

My rating: 3/5



A Between-the-Numbers Novel
Looking to get lucky?

Stephanie Plum is back "between-the-numbers" and she's looking to get lucky in an Atlantic City hotel room, in a Winnebago and with a brown-eyed stud who has stolen her heart.
Stephanie Plum has a way of attracting danger, lunatics, oddballs, bad luck... and mystery men. And no one is more mysterious than the unmentionable Diesel. He's back and hot on the trail of a little man in green pants who's lost a giant bag of money. Problem is the money isn't exactly lost. Stephanie's Grandma Mazur has found it, and like any good Jersey senior citizen she's high-tailed it in a Winnebago to Atlantic City and hit the slots. With Lula and Connie in tow, Stephanie attempts to bring Grandma home. But the luck of the Irish is rubbing off on everyone. Lula's found a job modeling plus size lingerie. Connie's found a guy. Diesel's found Stephanie. And Stephanie has found herself in over her head with a caper involving thrice stolen money, a racehorse, a car chase and a bad case of hives. PLUM LUCKY is an all-you-can-eat buffet of thrills, chills, shrimp cocktail, plus-size underwear and scorching hot men. It's a "between the numbers" treat no Evanovich fan will want to miss! (evanovich.com)



My thoughts

Another quick in-between Plum read for a rainy day. This one was much better than the previous one. Funnier! Though still not a Stephanie Plum, but I had quite a few good giggles.

Grandma Mazur is missing and Stephanie Plum, with the help of Diesel, Lula and Connie tracks her down in Atlantic City, where she's been gambling with what turns out to be a Lou Delvina's money (a mob guy). Add Snuggy O’Connor who thinks he's a leprechaun and Doug, the horse and you have a group that is guaranteed to not only cause chaos, but get the job done as well - in their own special way.

I liked it and if you a fan of Evanovich, I'd definitely recommend this one as the best of the in-betweens so far.

Janet Evanovich - Hot Stuff

Publisher: St Martin's Paperback

ISBN: 978-0312531607

My rating:  3/5

Evanovich fans will be delighted with this new novel, co-written with relative up-and-comer Banks. Working her formula to its fullest, Evanovich conjures the large, close, gently eccentric Madigan family that 26-year-old college student Cate calls her own. An aspiring teacher, Cate studies by day and bartends by night, living in the arty South End of Boston with an often-absent drag queen named Marty (Marta) Longfellow. The perfect living arrangement-"a big strong roommate...not interested in women," plenty of alone time and low rent-turns wholly suspicious when Marty disappears, leaving behind a lovable bullmastiff. Cate's sexy love interest, barroom regular Kellen McBride, is an "independent recovery agent" who believes that Marty is responsible for a string of one-of-a-kind jewelry heists; after Marty's place gets tossed, Cate teams up with him to track down the missing Marty before whoever's after him comes after her. Like other Evanovich novels, there's a madcap race to the finish while mysteries are solved and hearts are stolen; also like other Evanovich novels, it makes a highly satisfying read. (amazon.com)

My thoughts

"Hmmm" comes to mind, but I think I will settle with I liked it. It kind of has the first Plum ideas in it even though I shouldn't compare the books or story lines.

I liked Cate and her family which with an Irish background is easy to do. Being the youngest in the family, not only the parents still worry about the mid-twenties Cate, but her brothers as well.

Cate sublets a room from Marty, who seems to be in trouble. Add Kellen McBride who is supposed to investigate, but does not only that, he falls in love with Cate as well. There's also Julie and Sharon, Cate's neighbours and to make the crazy bunch complete - there's Pug, the man Cate's mother had invited to introduce him to Cate as possible "boyfriend" material.

It's an extremely easy read, but quite funny, especially Pug! You've got to like Evanovich's stories otherwise you won't enjoy this one. If you do, give it a try for a nice weekend read with a cup of tea in front of the heater. It's got a few good laughs, a nice love story and a decent plot !!

Janet Evanovich - Plum Lovin'

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

ISBN: 9780312306342

My rating: 2/5

A Between-the-Numbers Novel
A Stephanie Plum novel that takes adventure, action, suspense (and maybe even true love?) to new heights...
WATCH YOUR BACK  ... LOOK BOTH WAYS  ...  BECAUSE LOVE IS IN THE AIR  ...  AND THAT MEANS BIG TROUBLE!
Mysterious men have a way of showing up in Stephanie Plum's apartment. When the shadowy Diesel appears, he has a task for Stephanie-and he's not taking no for an answer. Annie Hart is a "relationship expert" who is wanted for armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Stephanie needs to find her, fast. Diesel knows where she is. So they make a deal: he'll help her get Annie if Stephanie plays matchmaker to several of Annie's most difficult clients. But someone wants to find Annie even more than Diesel and Stephanie. Someone with a nasty temper. And someone with "unmentionable" skills. Does Diesel know more than he's saying about Annie Hart? Does Diesel have secrets he's keeping about Stephanie and the two men in her life-Ranger and Morelli? With Stephanie Plum in over her head, things are sure to get a little dicey and a little explosive, Jersey style! (http://www.evanovich.com/)

My thoughts

Not much I can say or want to say .... nice read as an inbetween BUT you do need to love love love Evenovich, if not, give it a miss. The storyline is far fetched and not even funny, it's hectic, it's .... I don't know .... an inbetweener that says it all !!!

Janet Evanovich - Naughty Neighbor

Publisher:  Harper Collins

ISBN: 9780060598921

My Rating: 2/5



Trouble in His Eyes and in His Wicked Grin...

He was a handsome hell-raiser, a reckless crusader in low-slung jeans - and he was driving Louisa Brannigan crazy! Pete Streeter made terrible coffee, snatched her newspaper, and listened through her walls, but it wasn't until she got fired from her government job that she was persuaded to join his undercover investigation - and became hopelessly entangled with the sexiest man she'd ever met!

Love on the Lam
Sneaking around in the shadows was more fun than Louisa ever imagined... especially when the getaway car was a Porsche. Pete never figured on finding a partner in crime who tasted like dessert, but Louisa was all he wanted in a woman - and more. Once he'd taught Louisa to enjoy living on the edge, would she finally feel safe in his love?  (www.evanovich.com)

 
My thoughts
 
I'm not really sure what to say. I have no idea what the "pig" story was all about, I got fed up with all the "inner thoughts" by both, Louisa and Pete half way through the book - it felt repetitious, AND it wasn't really near as funny as most of the other Evanovich stories. Bottom line ... I wouldn't bother. As you can see, I can't even bother spending more time to write something about it .... says it all, doesn't it.

Janet Evanovich - Wife for Hire

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 978-0060598884

My rating: 3/5



Hank Mallone spotted trouble when she sat down and said she'd marry him! Maggie Toone was a tempting firecracker who'd make his life delightful hell if he let her pretend to be his wife in order to improve his rogue's reputation. Would his harebrained scheme to get a bank loan for his business backfire once Maggie arrived in his small Vermont town and let the gossips take a look? Maggie never expected her employer to be drop-dead handsome, or to affect her like a belt of bourbon on her empty stomach, but she was too intrigued by his offer to say no... and too eager to escape a life that made her feel trapped. The deal was strictly business, both agreed... until Hank turned out to be every fantasy she'd ever had, and Maggie was so bright, funny, and downright irresistible that Hank fell head over heels in love! While the town watched, Hank wooed his wife with a charm that had never failed him yet. Could he make her dreams real by proving she belonged in his arms? (http://www.evanovich.com/)


My thoughts

A very light, light novel indeed. The story? The above says all. Why the 3 stars? It's the Evanovich wit that keeps that smile on your face while you read the book. A page turner? Not necessarily. A moodlifter for bad days? Definately.

A nice and funny story for a weekend at the beach or at home in front of the fire with a cup of tea!

Janet Evanovic - Visions of Sugar Plum

Publisher: St Martin's Paperback

ISBN: 978-0312947040

My rating: 2/5


A Between-the-Numbers Novel

A holiday treat from #1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich--spicier than gingerbread, with more nuts than a fruitcake--it's Visions of Sugar Plums
It's four days before Christmas and things are not looking merry for fugitive apprehension agent Stephanie Plum. She hasn't got a tree. She hasn't bought any presents. The malls are jam-packed with staggering shoppers. There's not a twinkle light anywhere to be seen in her apartment.
And there's a strange man in her kitchen.
Sure, this has happened to Stephanie Plum before. Strangers, weirdos, felons, creeps, and lunatics are always finding their way to her front door. But this guy is different. This guy is mysterious, sexy--and he has his own agenda. His name is Diesel and he is a man on a mission. Diesel is unlike anyone Stephanie has ever met before in her life. The question is, What does he want with her? Can he help her find a little old toy maker who has skipped out on his bail right before Christmas? Can he survive the Plum family holiday dinner? Can he get Stephanie a tree that doesn't look like it was grown next to a nuclear power plant? These questions and more are keeping Stephanie awake at night. Not to mention the fact that she needs to find a bunch of nasty elves, her sister Valerie has a Christmas "surprise" for the Plums, her niece Mary Alice doesn't believe in Santa anymore, and Grandma Mazur has a new stud muffin. So bring out the plastic reindeer, strap on your jingle bells, and get ready to celebrate the holidays--Jersey style. Visions of Sugar Plums--the world of Plum has never been merrier! (www.evanovich.com)

 
My thoughts
 
It felt really good to have a Stephanie Plum book in my hand, though this one was .... hmmmm .... different.

So, it’s just before Christmas and Steph wakes up one morning with some handsome guy named Diesel in her kitchen. She’s got no idea, how he got in, what he wants or even worse, how to get rid of him. She pushes him in front of the door, but magically he can make the way back int! But to my surprise, Steph doesn’t ring anybody for help ...

After a while Steph leaves to find her FTA, Sandy Claws – with Diesel in tow. And that’s about the story, we have a bit of Plum family, Morelli pops up a few times, not majorly concerned about the strange man on Steph’s side.

Admittedly, it’s an “in-between”, but it was quite a disappointment I’ve got to say. A story packed into a mere 190-something pages – it was fast paced, too fast and rushed though, with scenes and characters not properly developed. Especially the ending! Hang on, was there an ending?

I thought a few days about whether I liked it or not and I hate to say it, but I wouldn’t recommend this one ....