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Book Review: A Talent for Trickery

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Book: A Talent for Trickery

Author: Alissa Johnson

Recommendation: Solid Read

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Fun, sassy book

I was looking for a fun book to pass a cold and rainy evening. This book checked a lot of boxes for me, and it didn’t disappoint in the execution.

Characters

I thoroughly enjoyed the characters.

Owen, the hero, was a white knight. He was not your typical alpha male, always knowing best. He stumbled, made mistakes, but at his core, he was always good and trying to do what was best. He was competent, smart, but not invincible. You also understood why he struggled not to always take charge.

Lottie, the heroine, was smart and savvy. She had a hard upbringing with a criminal father involving his children in his schemes. She’s come a long way, but trust doesn’t come easily for her. I also loved her relationship with her siblings

All of the supporting characters are excellent. Owen’s two men I’m sure will feature in future stories. Esther, Lottie’s sister, is a complex and developed character. More than that, the author focuses on the sisters’ relationship. How they argue, keep secrets, and try to protect each other. Esther is not just tacked on for a bridge into a sequel. No fighting over a man, either, thank goodness!

I really enjoyed the playful banter as well. The characters laughed and teased, even in some of the tense scenes as Lottie comes to terms with her past (as real people do).

Plot

The romantic plot was solid. Lottie might have forgiven the hero over past wrongs a tad easily, but I also applaud the author for not dragging it out interminably. And the reasoning behind the forgiveness did not require me to suspend disbelief.

This is a mystery romance, and the mystery seemed solid to me. I was surprised by the villain at the the end, but not unduly so, and all of the clues leading up to it kept me turning the pages.

Steamy Scenes

This was by far the weakest bit. There was one, it wasn’t bad, but it was pretty forgettable.

 

All in, well worth the read. It gave me the happily-ever-after I demand, and it was sweet without sending me into sugar shock. I liked the characters, and it featured a white knight hero. All in, a good read.

 

Five Things I Learned from Stephanie Plum (so far)

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I started reading this series as a break from my normal romance fare. I’d hoped it would teach me some things I could use in my own writing. And, well, my mother and sister both raved about the series and had it on hand to loan to me…

I did learn some things from the series. Not as much as I’d hoped, but it did cleanse the mental palette a bit for me after reading so many romances.

Perhaps more will sink in with time. In the meantime, here are a few things that I either learned or knew and were further confirmed:

  1. Humor is a double edged sword. If I find something funny, I’m hooked. If the humor falls flat, so does my interest. Humor also doesn’t seem to age well.
  2. Show Don’t Tell. This author does it very well. When she does describe things, it’s very evocative. You really feel like you’re there.
  3. Pacing. Keep the action moving.
  4. Characters make the story. Have fun with them. Let them be a little crazy. It makes them relatable.
  5. Romance is important. Even in non-romance novels. And while not part of the main plot, it still must be handled with care.

I am hoping to return to the series in a few months and see what I think of it then. A part of me worries I read too much of it too quickly. As with so many things, time will tell.

Book Review: Four to Score

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Title: Four to Score

Author: Janet Evanovich

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After finishing the fourth book in the series, I think I am done reading this series.

I just don’t find it all that funny, and that’s supposed to be its selling point.

I am a bit tired of a character who is out of her league as a bounty hunter still putting her life and the lives of her family and friends in danger. I mean, who would still be in this gig after getting another car fire bombed, their apartment fire bombed (and had they been home at 2am, they would have died), and then another arson attempt at the friend’s house they were staying at?

I am also growing annoyed at the unresolved romance between the heroine and her love interest. Other than him being attractive, I am not sure what she’s looking for. He doesn’t call her for months . . . and she’s still interested?

Not only do I find it unbelievable, but it makes me dislike the love interest. And it makes me dislike the heroine for not moving past this as he clearly isn’t interested if he’s only calling every few months.

At the same time, I found the heroine a bit childish. I think I was supposed to find her behavior funny, but I didn’t.

Humor is so personal, but I don’t find a lot in the book funny I assume I am meant to. For example, a promiscuous childhood rival that was the cause of her divorce when she found the woman having sex with her husband is not funny to me.  Nor was the gun violence. Nor was the fact that someone was a transvestite. Although I find Eddie Izzard freaking hilarious, I find his act funny not his clothing choices.

Maybe its the timing. These books look like they were set in the mid to late 90s and probably written around the same time. Long before the events of Sandy Hook and Orlando.

I still didn’t figure out the whodunit directly, but I know by now if a character is mentioned that they figure in somehow. And while I didn’t know what the bad guys were up to until it was revealed, I did know who they were.

If you liked the first three stories in this series and found them funny, you will probably like the fourth. It is very similar in pacing and style. The odd collection of characters was fun at first, but now they feel a bit stale.

Maybe I have just been devouring them too quickly. Perhaps I need more time between books to better enjoy them. Binge on anything and it can turn you off to it. Except for chocolate. I have yet to meet my limit on chocolate.

 

Book Review: Three to Get Deadly

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Title: Three to Get Deadly

Author: Janet Evanovich

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After finishing the third book in the series, I can say that it is the funniest of the series so far. Not really funny, but with funny moments.

I didn’t figure out the way the mystery would end in this, although I had suspected Uncle Mo was into child pornography rather than what he was doing *Spoiler Alert* which was making pornographic movies with consenting adults. So, I wasn’t far off.

Granted, this was only a portion of what was going on, and I was unable to figure out the actual killer.

After doing a more thorough analysis of the story and my own detective skills, I am not sure I could have figured it out. There were no clues to tie it together until the very end. Not that it really matters. At least, not to me.

If you liked the first two stories in this series, you will probably like the third. It is very similar in pacing and style. Being outside my normal reading fare, I can’t say how much of it is realistic and how much is just a fun read. Add to it that the story takes place 20 years ago, and I am really outside my comfort zone. The one thing that did strike me is why does Stephanie Plum stay a bounty hunter? She notes in book 3 that she has a college education. So why would her choice for careers involve working at the button factory or working at the tampon factory?

I took a look at  map, and Trenton is right off the freeway and a pretty straight shot to NYC. If there is no work in Trenton, why not make the leap up to NYC for work?

Maybe I am just a coward, but if I had been accosted, threatened, and tortured like Stephanie has been, where my apartment isn’t safe and I’ve had cars destroyed by professional car bombs and rocket launchers, and where my grandmother was stabbed with an ice pick and later shoved in drawer reserved for the dead, I would not stick with the job. Especially as I am not adept at it. Especially as all of this has happened within the first 6 or so months on the job.

I’d be happy to loan Stephanie Plum the book What Color is Your Parachute (and I know it was around back then) to help her figure out what skills she has and how they could apply to a job where people aren’t trying to kill her.

I get that this is part of the charm of the story. If she was good at her job, it wouldn’t be funny. But I am starting to cringe at certain parts of her incompetence and at the way she is so blasé about danger.

The humor does add something to the story, and I love the feisty dialogue and the off-the-wall characters that have just enough of someone I know in them to make them real.

Book Review: Two for the Show

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Title: Two for the Show

Author: Janet Evanovich

Alone

Two for the Show is the second book in the Stephanie Plum series. It was very similar to the first one, but with a different mystery to solve. Same characters, same world, same story of Stephanie being sent after a criminal she has no right to try to apprehend based on her skills and experience.

The one thing I really appreciated about this book was while it was a little richer if you already knew the characters in it, you didn’t have to read the first book to thoroughly enjoy and understand the second. I really like this in a series, especially a series I may only casually follow.

While the mystery was still intense in this one, it was also a lot funnier. I actually laughed out loud at a couple parts.

I am getting better at the mysteries as I was able to guess at least part of this one. I am learning the author, her writing style, and the how she organizes her plot. I have always been very good at figuring out patterns (sometimes to my own detriment).

I am not sure what I think of the series, exactly. Still processing it, and I still have 3 more books in the series sitting in my “to read” pile. Not sure how long the series actually is, but it looks like the author started writing it back in the mid-nineties.

I like the characters. They are fun caricatures of people I have known in my life. The mysteries are compelling, but some of the stupid stuff Stephanie does from time to time makes me roll my eyes. I still like her, but…

I think this might be a me thing. I prefer reading about competent characters doing cool stuff. One of my first book loves as a child was Sherlock Holmes. Perhaps Stephanie will grow into her role of bounty hunter. I sometimes wonder if she’d make a better police detective.

The one thing I will say is the author is spectacular at letting you see and feel places with minimal description. She also has a way of describing characters that makes them feel real. If she has ever “told” me something about them instead of showing me, I haven’t noticed. And, it has always been consistent. This is definitely a departure from the romance novels I have read lately. Frankly, I like this author’s way better.

Still not sure what I am hoping to learn from this series that I can apply to my own writing. The description difference is interesting, although I am not sure how well it would be received in the romance genre. Perhaps I need more time to let it percolate, or perhaps I just need to read the next book in the series . . .

Checking Out a New Genre: One for the Money

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Author: Janet Evanovich

Title: One for the Money

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I both read and write romance novels. I decided to try a new author outside of my chosen genre partially to try something new but also to see if it would improve my own writing and story crafting.

My mom, sister and aunt all swear by the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. My mother has the whole series in hardcover, no less, so it was an easy sell to give it a try as I could simply borrow the books.

As this is my first foray in recent history into the mystery (or is it a thriller, not sure) genre, I am not sure I am the best person to give it a critique. Especially as the story appears to be set in the early 1990s.

The story starts after Stephanie Plum lost her job and has been unemployed for 6 months. She’s sold off most everything she had, her credit cards are in collection, and in the first chapter, her car is repossessed. She takes a job as a bounty hunter for her cousin, and the first person she’s supposed to find is a cop accused of murder that is from her same neighborhood.

The story takes place in blue-collar or gritty urban neighborhoods. Very much polyester and spandex versus the silk and lace of my normal romance novels.

I loved the chemistry between Stephanie and the hero, Joe Morelli. Both Stephanie and Joe are from the same very blue-collar neighborhood and have a bit of history that led to her hitting him with her father’s Buick when they were teenagers.

Stephanie is not what you would consider bounty hunter material, but she shows spunk, spirit and fight. I really liked her.

I didn’t figure out whodunit before the reveal, but as this is my first mystery, I didn’t expect to.

They mystery didn’t grab me. It seemed well written and kept me coming back for more, but mysteries aren’t really my cat nip. But what kept me coming back for more were the characters.  They were all a little over the top, a bit crazy, and a whole lotta fun. They were so far from the perfect characters of the romance novels that I’ve been reading lately that they were a breath of fresh air.