Rating: Summary: It won't knock your socks off but it's still worth reading Review: Billie Pearce, a divorced house wife, meets Nick Kaharchek, a... millionaire, and of course the two quickly fall in love. Not everything goes smoothly when Nick's kooky family members get involved in Billie's life. This is a cute book even though it's a bit too much of a romance novel for my tastes. I decided to pick it up because Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series amuses me greatly. Fans of that series will surely enjoy this book. There isn't as much action as the Stephanie Plum series but the same wacky humor is still there. Besides, Nick's mad genius cousin, Max, is so very adorable.
Rating: Summary: Very Disappointing Review: I have always loved Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series so much and was so disappointed with this book. I found the candy coated characters and plot so amateurish that I just skimmed through the last 100 pages to find out the ending -- which I never do but frankly just didn't want to waste my time. The plot was predictable and boring. The love interests were so unrealistic and they didn't seem to stay consistent. I even noticed on one page there was a typo -- the wrong name for the leading male character. Now how can you miss that. If you are compelled to read it, take it out of the library.
Rating: Summary: Evanovich did the right thing moving to Bounty Hunting Review: I wonder what this book was like before it was re-written? Its a bit too long, a bit too angsty and lot too unbelieveable (and I love the Plum series!)All about 38 year old single mother, Billie, who goes along to take Polo lessons from and falls for the teacher - well eventually. Who has all the advantages of being young, (well 36) handsome, millionaire, hard-working newspaper owner who teaches polo in his spare time. Hmmmm He lands his ditsy cousin Deedee on her so that she won't bein his house driving him mad and decorating it in French Provincial style, while she is waiting to marry Frankie who is a professional Wrestler. That way he can also conduct a discreet seduction of her and then walk away easily. Billie's kids are off with their father for a month. However all is not well. Max, Deedee's much younger cousin is blowing things up on his property, his glamorous ex-girlfriend is hanging around making trouble. And in Billie's life, there are burglarys in her neighbourhood, and an infestation of spiders in her house. It seems awfully long and yet I felt many of the characters and situations were introduced simply to get things to happen. Billie sits on a horse to learn to play polo - gets stepped on and her foot seems to miraculously heal. She gets given a horse by him and then only once more has a ride. Her children come hurtling back into the story becuase there father has an accident - yet they seem to come in and out of the story to suit circumstances. Billie seems to end up in bed and engaged to the hero with almost alarming ease - and the marriage just doesn't make sense. It is supposed to be a double wedding which Deedee has been planning for months - so why is she doing nothing about it? and why does it end up being in the backyard of Billie's house planned only a week before. Isuppose you have to suspend your disbelief - but I couldn'twith the ending sequence. You see part of the book is a mystery - who is trying to blow up the hero - is it Max gone to far, is it the slightly deranged ex-lover - and who is breaking in to Billie's neighbourhood all the time? I found the final sequence annoying to say the least - and it just seem to go on and on and on and on and on - page after page after page after page. There were lots of lovely characters - Deedee was a real joy to read - but it just wasnt' a book I would ever read again.
Rating: Summary: Very disappointing Review: I couldn't wait to read a romance written by Evanovich. Better yet, getting to read her earlier work written as Stephanie Hall. I honestly don't know what I expected, but this book highly disappointed me. One thing for certain, after reading Full House,there could be no doubt about how far Janet has evolved from writing romance to mystery. For sure, she needs to stick to mystery because she obviously isn't a romance writer. She's still one of my favorites because of her humor, but this book shows undeveloped talent prior to the Stephanie Plum series. I can't/don't recommend this one.
Rating: Summary: Full House Review: I picked up this book at the airport, trusting it would be similar to her mysteries, although I understood it to be part of her earlier romance attempts. I was very surprised at the amateur level of the writing. The plots were very thin, and the characters had little of the endearing qualitites I love in her mysteries. Stick with the mysteries!
Rating: Summary: Wait Review: Wait for the next Stephanie Plum book. Do not waste your money on this unless you're looking for insight into Evanovich's evolution as a writer. This is not the worst book I've ever read, but if you're expecting the brilliance she's evolved to and we've come to expect from her you'll be sorely disappointed.
Rating: Summary: Don't Bother - really, just don't bother Review: You know, warning bells were going off in my head when I bought this book and I should have listened. This is a revamped, recycled early effort of this popular author, done in conjunction with another writer. In other words, she's a money maker, the publisher wanted to milk her for all she's worth, but she's too busy/not interested in bringing the old stuff up to date. About all I can say that's good about this book is that the characters are promising and in the hands of another author (think Jennifer Crusie) they could have really come to life. As it is, this book is a complete waste of time and I have only myself to blame (always listen to those inner voices). The irony is that I have not read any other of Ms Evanovich's wildly popular books - and I'm so disgruntled over this rip off, I probably won't.
Rating: Summary: Sophmoric! Review: I am a big fan of Evanovich books; I love the Stephanie Plum novels. However, this novel was very sophomoric and quite predictable. I felt very let down by this effort with Charlotte Hughes. I would have rated this 0 stars if given that option!
Rating: Summary: A Dud Review: Like many other readers, I bought this because I enjoy the Plum series. If I had the talent of Janet Evanovich, I would have kept this one buried. It is not funny, but it is trite. Save your money.
Rating: Summary: Light and Fun for Romance Fans, Mystery Fans Beware. Review: "Full House" by Janet Evanovich is a re-printed and re-written version of an early romance novel by the author of the hugely popular Stephanie Plum mystery series. And in my opinion, it's because of the fact that the majority of the people buying this book are mystery fans, not romance fans, that "Full House" has gotten such a bad reputation. It is mismarketing by the publisher and bookstores to house this book in the mystery section, which was where I found it, but as light and fluffy romances go, "Full House" is not half bad. And this book is undeniably a romance novel. As far as a rating goes, I'm wavering between three and four stars. I honestly did enjoy the story and found myself completely entertained by this light and amusing tale. But there were a few things that took away from my enjoyment, most notably, the atrocious editing job. There were glaring errors scattered liberally throughout the book, including the changing of some main characters names! I'd like to give "Full House" four stars, because I really did like it, but because of the markedly poor editing I'm dropping it down to three (if I could I'd compromise with ***1/2). "Full House" tells the story of Billie Pearce, a divorced mother of two who finds herself lonely and bored when her children go away on vacation with their father. Deciding to try something new, Billie signs up for polo lessons. The actual polo is a disaster, but her polo instructor, wealthy playboy Nick Kaharchek, is another story. After having her foot stomped on by a horse, Billie is taken to the hospital by Nick, and their fascination with one another begins. Used to sophisticated and snobby women, Nick is drawn to the lovely, warm, and real Billie. And Billie finds Nick irresistible, though she's sure a handsome, rich, and exciting man like him would never be interested in her. But there is an intense chemistry that sparks between them, that neither Nick nor Billie can deny, and they begin a fun, romantic, and somewhat unusual courtship. Things start to get crazy when Nick convinces Billie to let his cousin Deedee stay with her until her upcoming wedding, and Billie inherits a redheaded whirlwind! Billie finds Deedee utterly exhausting, and quite annoying, not to mention the presence of her enormous fiancé, wrestler Frankie the assassin. Billie's not quite sure how things got so out of control, but she knows that Nick Kaharchek is to blame. Not that she's able to stay mad at him. And Nick has lots of problems worse than Deedee, including her cousin Max, a young genius in hiding on Nick's vast property, on a mission that involves blowing things up and generally running amok. Billie finds this a little frightening, but she has other things to worry about too, like Nick's jealous and nasty ex-fiancée. Add in Billie's bug-killing neighbour and a touch of mystery near the end, and you have yourself an offbeat, light, and pleasant romance. There isn't a whole lot of conflict between the main characters, nor in the story as a whole, really. It's just a quick and fun read that can be read, enjoyed and then most likely forgotten. "Full House" isn't a fabulous, standout novel, but it's not awful either. My advice is that even if you're a big Evanovich fan; if you don't like romances, don't read this book. But if you enjoy romances and non-demanding, feel-good tales then "Full House" is worth the read.
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