Rating: 
Summary: FIRST RATE VOICE FOR FAR-OUT FELONS
Review: First rate voice performer Lorelei King gives a full throttle reading to "Full Tilt," the second audiobook by a pair of savvy tale spinners, Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes. Quiet, serene Beaumont, South Carolina, is in for a few jolts as is newspaper owner Jamie Swift. Enamored with her work and little else, Jamie is rocked back on her heels when handsome billionaire Maximillian Holt comes to town. His presence, he claims, is to help his brother-in-law win political office. (Brother-in-law is a former wrestler who has many questions about where the town's tax dollars are going). All's well until someone takes deadly aim at both Maximillian and Jamie. In addition to murderers, a wacko poacher, and an over-the-hill stripper there are enough outre characters to fill more than one b&b. If you like your felons far-out, this one's for you. - Gail Cooke
Rating: 
Summary: The authors have plunged new depths of mediocrity.
Review: The kindest word I can think of for this tripe is 'lame.' Never mind the authors, they aren't supposed to be subjective about their work, but the publisher ought to get, as Earl Emerson would say, "five knuckles to the snot locker."
Rating:
Summary: Really poorly written. No. Really.
Review: If you feel you must read this book, get thee to a library. Trust me, you don't need to waste your money on this one. As other reviewers have said, Evanovich is a talented writer. I haven't read any of Hughes' other books, but I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, because "Full House," their previous collaboration, was pretty entertaining, if a bit rough around the edges. I bought this book based on that experience, and because I really enjoy the Stephanie Plum series by Evanovich. Add to that the carryover character of Max, whom I found interesting in "Full House," and I thought this book had to be a winner. After the first hundred pages or so, all I could think was "Wow! This book really, really stinks. How is that possible?" It's not that the writing style or characters are different from Evanovich's Plum books. It's that the writing style and characters are hackneyed and boring. Want an example? Here's the gay personal assistant: "Beenie screamed and almost tripped on his own two feet jumping back. 'Oh, Lordy, you scared me half to death!' he cried. 'My heart is going pitter-patter, pitter-patter. I almost weeweed on myself.'" This book is just painfully bad. For those of you (like me, unfortunately) who are tempted to read this book even after seeing all the bad reviews here, I have three words: find a library.
Rating: 
Summary: Janet didn't write this
Review: Here's how I think this book was written: Evanovich and Hughes sat down and mapped out some characters. Hughes wrote the book, then Evanovich read it and added a few (and only a few) bits of her trademarked humor. Like when Jamie says "Probably I should have a cigarette," now THAT'S Evanovich's distinctive type of dialogue. Would've been much better if Swamp Dog had turned out to be on their side. Why make him a bad guy?! Added nothing. Had he been in on it before Max and Jamie went down to see him? And who *did* hire Vito? And why did they hire a lame-... who'd never killed before? That was never made explicit. We're supposed to think Deedee is a nice, lovable person, but they only *tell* us that, never *show* us that. She acts like nothing but a spoiled rich woman. I don't give it one star because I didn't *hate* it, just thought, hmmm, blah. I think the Swift/Holt partnership has potential. But as others have said, make up your mind: is Max a cousin or a brother-in-law?!!
Rating:
Summary: Not up to Par
Review: I enjoyed the Stepahnie Plum novels, but this one is poorly written and has a fairly dumb premise. No more of these for me.
Rating:
Summary: A superficial slapstick read
Review: The second collaboration between Charlotte Hughes and Janet Evanovich aims to capture the success of Evanovich's other spin-off Stephanie Plum with its blend of mystery, intrigue and romance delivered in punchy, zippy style. First-timers introduced to Evanovich's style will be impressed but ardent aficionados of the author will know she is capable of better. Full Tilt introduces wealthy millionaire Maximillian Holt and dirt-poor Beaumont journalist Jamie Swift as the protagonists teamed as partners to root out the culprits behind an embezzlement of tax fund scam. Max's brother-in-law Frankie, an aspiring senator determined to resolve the tax scam is the target of evil sabotages. His wife Dee-dee and her personal assistant Beenie are endangered. Despite some bursts of quirky humour, the premise of the who-dun-it is thin and the characters here are sketchy and riddled with stereotypes including a programmed talking computer Muffin with an irritance that puts Jar Jar Binks to shame. Dee-Dee is the whining glamour-queen with her emasculated assistant. Even the protagonist Max is a shallow lothario and Jamie is a wisecrack -and you can't help but feel that they are perfect for each other. The snappy prose and nascent chemistry is as such wasted on uninspiring characters and an unfulfiling mystery with an unbelievable romance. The fun started out good-natured but it gets a full-tilt to just prosthetic and superficial slapstick.
Rating:
Summary: Full Slide!
Review: Boring! Hardly worth writing a review. I have about 50 pages to read and I don't even care if I finish it. Big disappointment. Stephenie Plum & Co. are the lights of my reading life. What happened here? I see other reviewers putting the onus on Charlotte Hughes for this dud. I don't think so! I have read a number of Ms. Hughes books and have always enjoyed them. She is a good writer. I just don't think two people can write a good book. Instead of getting the best of both, I think that here, at least, we got the worst of both authors. Too bad. So sad.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyed full tilt
Review: Max made me think of a brainy sexy James Bond or Indiana Jones. He was much sweeter then Morelli, but more strong like Ranger, may be the best of both. Lets see how he develops. Jamie could be a bit stronger, but then Stephanie is always getting rescue as well. Max and Beenie are my favorites. I loved this fun and outlandish book.
Rating:
Summary: Mixed Bag
Review: Like many of the other reviewers, I was disappointed in this book. The heroine, Jamie, is not particularly likeable and was such a shrew to Max most of the time, that I had a hard time understanding his attraction to her. I particularly cringed every time the woman said "double damn" and stamped her foot. Come on... how old is Jamie supposed to be? Also the writing at times was sloppy. Max and Dee Dee's cousin Nick was once referred to as their uncle and then again as "Max". More careful proofreading, please. That being said, I _did_ enjoy the story. I'll buy the sequel because I think the Jamie/Max duo has promise and the storyline itself held my interest. At the end, I was ready to get in the car and go off with them. I'm just hoping that their next adventure finds Jamie in a better mood.
Rating:
Summary: Never Again....
Review: will I buy an Evanovich and Hughes collaboration. I love the Stephanie Plum series by Evanovich, but I struggled thru the earlier book, Full House. And I couldn't even make it thru this one. It is AWFUL! I love to read. I read the cereal boxes at breakfast, but I couldn't make myself finish this book. The characters are very one dimensional. The writing is inconsistent (sometimes Max is the cousin and other times, he's the brother-in-law). Where was the editor? Please don't waste your time and/or money.
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