janet evanovich

Turbo Twenty Three

Posted on by The Novel Girl

turbo-twenty-three-cover

Author: Janet Evanovich

Series: Stephanie Plum

Genre: Mystery

Publisher: Bantam

Pages: 304

 

Stephanie’s latest skip, who was arrested for hijacking an eighteen-wheeler, decided to hijack another one. This is what he was in the middle of doing when Stephanie and Lula found him. This time, it was a truck full of Bogart ice cream. Lula swears she can drive the truck, and when she crashes it, out falls a dead guy dressed up like a Bogart Bar. Ranger just happened to have been hired to do security for Bogart, and needs Stephanie to go undercover for him at Bogart and their rival plant. This means spending a lot of time with the hot man himself. This could put some stress on her relationship with the other hot man in her life, Trenton’s sexiest detective who she happens to be engaged to be engaged to. Meanwhile, Lula and Randy Briggs have decided to be Naked & Afraid, and Grandma Mazur has a new biker boyfriend in her life. This could all spell disaster, but it definitely means a wild ride!

This was much like the other books in the series. It is a great fast and easy read, if you are just wanting something fun and familiar. There still isn’t much satisfying progress in the relationship area, which I know frustrates many readers of the series. If you are one of them, this book will ultimately not make things better for you. This one was actually better for me than twenty-two was, I think. I put the last one down a lot, and this one seemed to move at a better pace. Overall, it was a good read, and a good contribution to the series.

Curious Minds (Knight and Moon #1)

Posted on by The Novel Girl

curious-minds-cover

Author: Janet Evanovich

Series: Knight and Moon

Genre: Mystery

Publisher: Bantam

Pages: 336

 

Riley Moon, a native Texan and recent Harvard grad, has landed the job of her dreams working for the esteemed Blane-Grunwald company. She’s low on the totem pole, and her first “big job” ends up being basically a babysitting job to the eccentric recluse (but incredibly wealthy), Emerson Knight. Knight decides that he would like to see his gold that is supposedly being held at Blane-Grunwald. When it can’t be produced, along with a missing Grunwald brother, an investigation ensues. The head of that investigation: Knight and Moon. Their investigation leads them running for their lives, across the country, underground, in to the federal reserve, and more before they uncover the true plot.

I have always been a big fan of Janet Evanovich. Her Stephanie Plum series is one of my all-time favorites, I love Lizzie and Diesel, and I have long thought that she should have kept her Barnaby and Hooker series going. This one fell kind of flat for me. The premise was good, I just wasn’t as invested in these characters as I usually am, and it didn’t hold my interest. Was it worth reading? Absolutely! Am I glad that I borrowed it instead of buying it? Yes, because I most likely will not be re-reading it. Will I read the next one in the series? You bet! I love this author, so I will definitely give this series a second chance to make a good impression.

Tricky Twenty Two (Stephanie Plum, Book 22)

Posted on by The Novel Girl

tricky twenty two cover

Author: Janet Evanovich

Series: Stephanie Plum

Genre: Mystery

Publisher: Bantam

Pages: 304

 

Stephanie is on the hunt for a Frat leader named Gobbles, who was arrested for beating down the Dean of students. He skipped out on his bond and is in hiding, but it doesn’t look like he has gone far. No one on campus will tell her where he is and she has a feeling that there is more to his story, especially after a few interactions with his faculty advisor- a crazy science professor. Ranger also asks her to help with security on the Linken’s, after Mr. Linken’s business partner is gunned down by an unknown person. Meanwhile, Stephanie’s personal life is a mess, because Morelli is having some major inner turmoil causing him to dump her out of the blue and consider changing careers.

This is the twenty-second book in this series, so the plot lines are getting a bit redundant, but it was much better than the last couple of books in this series were. There were some detail inconsistencies that were a bit annoying, for a reader who has read all of these books a pays attention to the little details (Rangeman has the wrong number of floors and his office was on the wrong floor, etc). Ranger’s character was a little flat in this book, for some reason. It was nice to see some growth potential in Stephanie and Joe’s relationship, and there were definitely still some laughable moments. One of the best parts of this book, for me, was seeing a different side of Steph’s mom! That was great! Overall, the book was, for me, what Evanovich’s books always are: a fun, short break from some of the more intense books. I’m looking forward to seeing where she goes from here with the story.

Wicked Charms (Lizzy and Diesel, Book 3)

Posted on by The Novel Girl

wicked charms

Wicked Charms (Lizzy and Diesel, Book 3)

Author: Janet Evanovich/Phoef Sutton

Series: Lizzy and Diesel

Genre: Mystery

Publisher: Bantam

Pages: 320

This series is a spin-off of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, which includes the hot “unmentionable”, Diesel. He teams up with sweet, cute Lizzy, who found out in the first novel in this series that she is also an unmentionable. Since the beginning, they have been attempting to find all of the Saligia stones. Lizzy is one of two people in the world who are able to “feel” the stones, and other empowered objects, when they are near. Diesel’s crazy, but charming, cousin, Wulf also wants the stones, and has the other person. In this novel, they are attempting to gain possession of the stone of Avarice. This stone makes the person in possession of it incredibly greedy. This leads to an all-out treasure hunt, some kidnapping, and complete mayhem and hilarity.

As this is a spinoff of the Stephanie Plum series, it is written in that same style. It holds within it Evanovich’s typical humor, mixed in with action and mystery. It is a fun, light read. It’s perfect if you need a little pick-me-up.