Book Club - Explosive Eighteen

It's time for Book Club with Heather & Katie!

This week I'm reviewing:

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 someone who sounds like 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 an FBI sketch artist Stephanie re-creates 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.

{via}

Thoughts:

Another 3-star Plum novel, yes. Originally I had intended on waiting a few books after #17 but it ended in such a crazy cliff hanger that I just couldn't wait.
That being said, the cliffhanger resolution wasn't all that exciting. After some more shenanigans with *spoiler alert* (not) people chasing after Stephanie and her dislike of gun-use, there was another "Hmm, ok now what?" ending, however I'm going to wait. I only have two books left and I want to savour the end (thus far) of the series...

Book Club - Smokin' Seventeen

It's time for Book Club with Heather & Katie!

This week I'm reviewing:

The bail bonds office has burned to the ground, and bodies are turning up in the empty construction lot. To make matters worse, New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie is working out of a motor home she shares with a dancing bear, and Joe Morelli's old-world grandmother has declared a vendetta against her.

Thoughts

It actually made me so conflicted giving a book in this series - that I have loved for so long - something as low as 3 stars but it had to be done. While it started off OK, it got progressively more ridiculous. This is where you should stop reading if you plan on getting this far in the series b/c there will be some spoilers.

I'm so tired of people chasing her down to kill her. And jezus girl, pick up a damn gun! Also, she's now creeping into whorebag levels with her love triangle - I highly disapprove. But I won't lie...the cliffhanger ending totally made me pick up #18 immediately. I've gone this far, I can't stop...!

Book Club Friday - 5 Reviews

It's time for Book Club with Heather & Katie!

First off, yes I'm still alive. I know it's been over 2 months since I posted but things have been happening.

I'll start with the Goodreads Reading Challenges.

Unfortunately, I did not quite meet my 2013 goal :(

I didn't even have a chance to post my reviews of the last 5 books I read in 2013. You can click on the links below to check out my review on my Goodreads page.

Inferno - Dan Brown (4*)

Orange is the New Black - Piper Kerman (5*)


Finger Lickin' Fifteen - Janet Evanovich (5*)

Such a Pretty Fat - Jen Lancaster (3*)

The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling pseudonym) (5**)


So I am setting the same goal for 2014 in hopes of meeting, and maybe exceeding, that number!

Happy Reading to all :)

Book Club! - 8.16

It's time for Book Club with Heather & Katie!

This week I'm reviewing:

Personal vendettas, hidden treasure, and a monkey named Carl will send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most explosive adventure yet.
Full description here

Thoughts
Evanovich's #14 was awesome! The whole description was just too long & ruins the mystery in my opinion. If you're not reading the Plum books because you think it's too long and will get stale - you're so wrong. I can't believe how good this book was considering how deep into the series I am. It took me two days to read. 'Nuff said!

Book Club - 7.26

It's time for Book Club with Heather & Katie!

This week I'm reviewing:

At 320 pages, Janet Evanovich's novel is not exactly lean, but it is tightly wound. Stephanie Plum fans will rejoice as their heroine picks her way through a motley cast of deadbeats and lowlifes to solve sordid (and assorted) crimes. On hand, too, are Steph's raucous entourage of friends, relatives, and heartthrobs; past, present, and future.

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

Thoughts:
I'm back to the Plum series! This book was actually fantastic - it was definitely a page-turner and you'd never think this was Evanovich's thirteenth book in the series, meaning it didn't seem like she had a hard time bringing the story together. If you're reading and feel like the series is getting too slow, or much, or anything for you, don't stop! Keep reading! You'll be rewarded :)

Book Club - 5.24

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

{via}

Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, where bounty hunter Stephanie Plum's life is about to implode in Janet Evanovich's wildest, hottest novel yet!

FIRST A STRANGER APPEARS
While chasing down the usual cast of miscreants and weirdos Stephanie discovers that a crazed woman is stalking her.
THEN THE STRANGER REVEALS HER SECRETS
The woman dresses in black, carries a 9mm Glock, and has a bad attitude and a mysterious connection to dark and dangerous Carlos Manoso …street name, Ranger.
NEXT, SOMEBODY DIES
The action turns deadly serious, and Stephanie goes from hunting skips to hunting a murderer.
SOON, THE CHASE IS ON
Ranger needs Stephanie for more reasons than he can say. And now, the two are working together to find a killer, rescue a missing child, and stop a lunatic from raising the body count. When Stephanie Plum and Ranger get too close for comfort, vice cop Joe Morelli (her on-again, off-again boyfriend) steps in.

Will the ticking clock stop at the stroke of twelve, or will a stranger in the wind find a way to stop Stephanie Plum…forever? Filled with Janet Evanovich's trademark action, nonstop adventure, and sharp humor, Twelve Sharp shows why her novels have been called "hot stuff" (The New York Times), and Evanovich herself "the master" (San Francisco Examiner)

Thoughts:

Probably the most intense one yet! I can't believe that 12 books in, Evanovich can pull this stuff out. There was also character and character relationship development that I think will help the upcoming books. Honestly, the ending was so intense that I couldn't bring myself to start #13 right after... Plus, do I have to remind you how much I love Ranger? Didn't think so ;)

Book Club - 5.10

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

{via}

Stephanie Plum, Trenton's favorite bondswoman, is having a career crisis, which gives Janet Evanovich plenty of opportunities to showcase her series heroine in a variety of alternative vocations, from dry cleaner to factory worker. Most of them don't last a full working day, which is good for the reader, since it plunges Stephanie back into the always seedy, often dangerous, and always colorful world of fugitives who'd rather flee than face their day in court. She may be tired of having her life threatened, her cars torched or blown up, and her apartment broken into, but one thing she can say about her job is that it's never boring... and neither is she. Despite her intentions of going straight at a job with a little more security and a bit less excitement, an old client won't let her--he keeps leaving her threatening notes, stalking and scaring her, and making sure she needs the protection of the two men in her life--Joe Morelli, the sexy cop who's been bedding her since high school, and Ranger, the even sexier tough guy who can take down the meanest fugitive around but has a tender spot in his heart for the plucky Ms. Plum.
{via}

Thoughts
I loved this one! The possibility of Stephanie getting out of the bounty hunger business was great - I know that's the point of all these books but I think there's a legitimate following now & Evanovich could afford to change things up. Especially when the new job is working for Ranger! I would pay money to work for Ranger. And other things, you know. But seriously, this was one of my faves - great plot, interesting twists & all that good stuff!

Book Club! - 4.29

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

{via}

Swing off the Jersey Turnpike and you'll be in bounty hunter Stephanie Plum's neighborhood. You'll know it because all hell will be breaking loose. Not that she looks for trouble - it just seems to follow her. In Ten Big Ones it explodes at a deli, and when Stephanie pegs a robber as a member of a vicious Trenton gang, they peg her as dead. Vice cop Joe Morelli fears she's in way too deep - even with the help of crime-solving, cross-dressing, bus driver Sally Sweet, and Stephanie's friend Lula riding shotgun as backup. With a notorious killer on her tail, Stephanie figures the best hideout is Ranger's secret lair...Original.
{via}


Thoughts
I was getting a bit tired of the storylines with Steph being the one chased instead of her doing the chasing, however...did she find the Batcave?! As if I didn't already want to do awesome terrible things to Ranger, now I know what shower gel he uses ;)
Book-wise, there's really no going back once you start the series. There's always ups & downs and this one was as good as read as any of the others!

What are you reading?!

Book Club Friday - 04.12

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

{via}

Stephanie Plum's got rent to pay, people shooting at her, and psychos wanting her dead every day of the week (much to the dismay of her mother, her family, the men in her life, the guy who slices meat at the deli...oh, the list goes on). An ordinary person would cave under the pressure. But hey, she's from Jersey.

Stephanie Plum may not be the best bounty hunter in beautiful downtown Trenton, but she's pretty darn good at turning bad situations her way...and she always gets her man. In To the Nines, her cousin Vinnie (who's also her boss) has posted bail on Samuel Singh, an illegal immigrant. When the elusive Mr. Singh goes missing, Stephanie is on the case. But what she uncovers is far more sinister than anyone imagines and leads to a group of killers who give new meaning to the word hunter.

In a race against time that takes her from the Jersey Turnpike to the Vegas Strip, Stephanie Plum is on the chase of her life.
{via}

Thoughts:
Maybe my least favourite book so far. Possibly because it seemed more far fetched than the others (yes, some are out there) or because I had it figured out from the beginning and had to read the whole book in order for the others to figure it out. I did enjoy the parts with 'Ranger & his Merry Men' who were pretty much all destroyed by Stephanie. No surprise there!
I still recommend the series but this one was less exciting for me personally.

Book Club Friday - 3.15

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

{via}

This time Stephanie, Morelli, Ranger. Lula, Valerie, and Grandma Mazur are strapped in for the ride of their lives. Stephanie is hired to find a missing child. But things aren't always as they seem and Stephanie must determine if she's working for the right side of the law. Plus, there's the Morelli question: can a Jersey girl keep her head on straight when more than just bullets are aimed for her heart? And with the Plum and Morelli relationship looking rocky, is it time for Ranger to move in for the kill? Janet Evanovich's latest thriller proves that Hard Eight will never be enough.
{via}

Thoughts

This one was a woozy and awesomely so! Not going to lie, I read it a little bit ago and thought I had already reviewed it (oops!) but I do remember being on the edge of my seat. Evanovich did not disappoint, yet again. Then again, it may be because I couldn't stop daydreaming about Ranger...*yum*

Book Club Friday - 01.18

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

{via Goodreads}

All New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has to do is bring in semi-retired bail jumper Eddie DeChooch. For an old man he's still got a knack for slipping out of sight--and raising hell. How else can Stephanie explain the bullet-riddled corpse in Eddie's garden? Who else would have a clue as to why two of Stephanie's friends suddenly vanished? For answers Stephanie has the devil to pay: her mentor, Ranger. The deal? He'll give Stephanie all the help she needs--if she gives him everything he wants...

As if things weren't complicated enough, Stephanie's just discovered her Grandma Mazur's own unmentionable alliance with Eddie. Add a series of unnerving break-ins, not to mention the bombshell revelation leveled by Stephanie's estranged sister, and Stephanie's ready for some good news. Unfortunately, a marriage proposal from Joe Morelli, the love of her life, isn't quite cutting it. And now--murder, a randy paramour, a wily mobster, death threats, extortion, and a triple kidnapping aside--Stephanie's really got the urge to run for her life...

{via Goodreads}

I definitely enjoyed this book and it had a lot of twists to keep me reading but I did start getting frustrated with Stephanie a little bit. How hard could it be to catch an old man?! Start carrying around that gun of yours missy!

But I was definitely excited about a couple of things in this book: the introduction of Valerie [because she's bound to make for some interesting storylines] and most importantly, Ranger's super hot offer. At this point, I don't know who has daydreamed of Ranger more - me or Stephanie...

Book Club Friday - 01.11

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

{via Goodreads}

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum and Trenton vice cop Joe Morelli join forces to find the madman killer who shot and barbecued the youngest son of international black-market arms dealer Alexander Ramos. 

Carlos Manoso, street name Ranger, is caught on video just minutes before the crime occurs. He's at the scene, he's with the victim, and he's the number-one suspect. Ranger is former special forces turned soldier of fortune. He has a blue-chip stock portfolio and no known address. He moves in mysterious circles. He's Stephanie's mentor--the man who taught her everything she knows about fugitive apprehension. And he's more than her friend.

Now he's the hunted and Stephanie's the hunter, and it's time for her to test her skills against the master. But if she does catch him...what then? Can she bring herself to turn him in?

 Plus there are other things keeping Stephanie awake at night. Her maternal grandmother has set up housekeeping in Stephanie's apartment, a homicidal maniac has selected Stephanie as his next victim, her love life is in the toilet, she's adopted a dog with an eating disorder, and she can't button the top snap on her Levi's.

{via Goodreads}

This is the book that had me contemplating whether I was #TeamMorelli or #TeamRanger. Which is obviously very important. I liked the twist of Ranger being the one that's chased & Grandma Mazur moving in was just the comic relief this needed.

Another good one & my reco to forge ahead with this series!

Book Club Friday - 01.04

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

{via Goodreads}

Out of bail skippers and rent money, Stephanie throws caution to the wind and follows in the entrepreneurial bootsteps of Super Bounty Hunter, Ranger, engaging in morally correct and marginally legal enterprises. So, a scumball blows himself to smithereens on her first day of policing a crack house and the sheik she was chauffeuring stole the limo. But hey, nobody's perfect! Anyway, Stephanie has other things on her mind. Her mother wants her to find Uncle Fred who's missing after arguing with his garbage company; homicidal rapist Benito Ramirez is back, quoting scripture and stalking Stephanie; vice cop Joe Morelli has a box of condoms with Stephanie's name on it; and Stephanie's afraid Ranger has his finger on her trigger. The whole gang's here for mirth and mayhem. Read at your own risk in public places.

{via Goodreads}

This is definitely one that I didn't want to put down. I enjoyed the fact that it wasn't even about her real bounty hunting job but Evanovich still managed to come up with a great storyline. I also didn't mind the fact that Ranger had a bigger role in this book ;)

But seriously - THE CLIFFHANGER ENDING?! Not cool, not cool at all!

Book Club - 12.07

This week I'm reviewing:

{via Goodreads}

Stephanie Plum, Trenton, New Jersey's favorite pistol-packing, condom-carrying bounty hunter, is back - and on the trail of a revenge-seeking waitress who's skipped bail. With the help of 73-year-old Grandma Mazur, ex-hooker Lula, a transvestite musician named Sally Sweet, and the all-too-hospitable, all-too-sexy Joe Morelli, Stephanie might just catch her woman. Then again, with more mishaps than there are exits on the Jersey Turnpike - including murders, firebombs, and Stephanie's arch-rival bounty hunter chasing after the same fugitive - Stephanie better watch her back big-time if she wants to live to crack this case.

{via Goodreads}

I didn't think Evanovich could continue her momentum from Book #3 because it was that good, but she most definitely did. Girly bounty hunter + big black mama + little old lady + a totally straight tranny = hilarious & twisted. Oh ya and *spoiler alert* - some lovin' from hot cop Morelli definitely made this an easily hott read ;)