Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich
I just finished Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich and all I can say is that this was just as funny as most of the other books. The book starts out with a ilttle mystery. Stephanie has just returned from Hawaii where she had a little trouble – guy trouble. You don’t know exactly what’s happened until later in the book, but I’ll just say it’s not that surprising when you do find out. Just funny.
A case sort of follows her from Hawaii and from then on Stephanie is tailed by a multitude of real and not so real FBI agents. That too, gets a bit funny.
But those men are not the only ones stalking Stephanie. She has to put up with unwanted company from a number of other people, but that too, of course, leads to funny situations.
Which is basically what this series is all about. There is of course a case and some bounties to collect, but to me this series is all about the humor and it works. It’s about the only thing that can make me laugh these days and I’m really grateful for that.
So, like I usually say, this isn’t primarily a series of books for the mystery or thriller lover but for those who like the idea of a sort of mystery that is really, really funny. Or I guess, for anyone wanting to laugh.
It is quite a bit about sex too, but there’s nothing explicit so I think most people won’t have a problem with it.
Smoking Seventeen by Janet Evanovich
I just finished reading Smoking Seventeen, by Janet Evanovich, which as you can probably guess is the seventeenth book in the series about Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter.
In this book, Stephanie is helping her boss Vinnie to find out who is burying dead bodies where his bounty hunter business used to lie – it is now being rebuilt, or at least that’s the assumption.
Stephanie has a new or almost new problem to deal with too – her off and on boyfriend Joe Morelli’s grandmother has put the evil eye on her. In this case it means Stephanie is going to start smelling like cabbage, get boils all over her face and get ‘vordo’ which apparenty means becoming sexually insatiable. Unfortunately, it looks as if grandma Bella is actually successful. Stephanie does get sauerkraut in her hair when she’s with Lula getting lunch and a huge zit appears on her forehead looking a lot like a boil waiting to happen and – for whatever reason – she does experience a change in her libido.
There isn’t all that much more to add to my earlier reviews of these books. The book was funny. I love that, because I really, really need to laugh right now.
The only downside was that this one was a bit predictable. It was really easy to guess who the killer was, but since the actual criminal case isn’t all there is to a book like this, it doesn’t matter too much.
Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich
These books are lifesavers. Even now when I’m not in a very good mood, most of these books can still get me in a better mood at least for a time. In fact, this might be one of my very favorites among the Stephanie Plum-mysteries. Actually, as anyone who’s read even one of these books knows, they’re a bit more comedy than mystery. Sure there’s action too, but it’s not the kind of action that has you on the edge of your seat. The reason this is probably one of my favorites is that there is a LOTR connection. I’ll just mention one word HOBBITS!
Other than that, Stephanie’s boss at the bonds office/bounty hunter headquarters, Vinnie the pervert, has been abducted, but that turns out to be just the beginning of everyone’s troubles.
Also, Stephanie has inherited a supposedly lucky red glass bottle, so that gets taken along on all assignments for a while. That’s not all there is to the bottle either but you only find that out at the very end.
Stink bombs also play a part in this book.
As most of the other books in the series, this one is full of fun, sex and action. I don’t think I’ll need to go into more about the plot because as you might know, plot is the least part of these books. Sure, it works fine, there’s nothing to complain about when it comes to the plot, but there’s so much more to the series than that.
If you need cheering up read one book or more in this series. In fact, even if you don’t, you’ll probably enjoy it anyway. I might not want to continue reading this series forever, but so far I haven’t found any reason to stop, so I’m going to read the next couple of books as well, at least.
Finger-Lickin’ Fifteen by Stephanie Plum
It’s been a while now since I finished Finger-Lickin Fifteen by Janet Evanovich and I thought I’d post some impressions.
I’ll start out with the blurb:
New Jersey bail-bonds office worker Lula is a witness to celebrity chef, Stanley Chipotle, losing his head, literally. Now Lula and Stephanie Plum, a bond enforcement officer, are on the hunt to identify the killers before Lula is next on the chopping block. Meantime, security expert Carlos Manoso, aka Ranger, has recruited Stephanie for a top secret mission. Someone on the inside at Rangeman is leaking client information, determined to bring the company down. Can Stephanie hunt down a killer, a traitor, and keep her Grandma out of the sauce?
Most of these books are extremely funny and distracting. This one was no exception. It may not be one of the best in the Stephanie Plum series, but it was at least good enough to keep my thoughts occupied while I read it.
I’ve had a bit of bad luck with these books lately. Twice I’ve made a mistake and bought the same book over again. Twice also, I’ve found that a book I’ve bought wasn’t quite as funny as most of the others. Still, no harm done, at least in the latter case. Like I said, they’re at least funny enough.
As far as the plot is concerned, they’re all quite similar, and they’re more humor than mystery, but that’s ok. I really enjoy reading this series and I’m glad I’ll be able to keep reading it for a while more.
If this sounds appealing, then I can really recommend this series.
If Jane Austen Got Feedback From Some Guy In A Writing Workshop
Dear Jane,
I don’t usually read chick lit, but I didn’t hate reading this draft of your novel, which you’re calling Pride and Prejudice. I really liked the part where Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle went on a road trip, which reminded me of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (also about a road trip — check it out!). Anyway, good job. I do have a couple of notes to share, in the spirit of constructive criticism.
Read more: here.
This was funny. 🙂 And I agree, everyone is treating Kitty badly.
A storybook adventure…
Giggleswick: The Amadán Map by Matthew Mainster
It’s a natural phenomenon — a small country in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean hidden from the rest of the world by a circle of unnavigable fog. It’s called Giggleswick, and twelve-year old Elliot Bisby has never heard of it, that is until he and his family are approached by an unusual man and asked to move there.
I found this story funny and quite light-hearted, just the way I like (some) books. It’s also well written and is based on a very interesting idea. What if there could actually be a secret, ‘magical’ country hidden away somewhere in the world? Like Dinotopia…
I liked the characters. Most of them were very nice and sweet, except for the villains, of course. The only thing I didn’t really like, was what seemed to me to be a dated way of looking at women. The female lead character, a twelve-year-old girl, is depicted ok. She seems equal to the male lead character, Elliot Bisby. On the other hand, Elliot’s mom has very little life outside the house. All she seems to be good for is being pretty and kind and a good housekeeper. Maybe I’m being unfair. I suppose it’s easy to just assume that moms are great and so on, and not give them any real personality, unless you actively try to give every character some individuality.
All in all, this is an enjoyable read for anyone maybe nine and up, or for anyone who’s young at heart.
Funny video
Since i need a distraction, and laughter is a kind of disctraction, I thought I’d share this funny video.
Very funny movie about Second Life
I just saw a really funny little movie about how to survive Second Life. If you’d like to take a look, you’ll find it here
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