Rating: 
Summary: Really 2+
Review: I have read and loved all of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books. I was eagerly looking forward to reading her latest. I made sure I alloted the time so I could read it in one day. For some reason, the book could not hold my interest. I had to force myself to get thru each page. There wasn't enough of Grandma, Ranger and Morelli seemed like popup characters, now Joe is here, now he's gone, now it's Ranger, now it's not. I'm not sure what the problem was, but I didn't experience the "can't put it down" feeling. And didn't find myself laughing as much if at all like I have with the earlier books. I'm still going to read her books, but I don't think I will be spending the money on hardbacks. I'll just wait for the paperback version or get it from the library.
Rating: 
Summary: To The Nines.....A PERFECT TEN!!!
Review: To the Nines is a terrific book. Stephanie Plum is tracking down a man for her Uncle Vinnie. It sounded like her basic apprehension. What happens is anything but ordinary as Stephanie randomly uncovers a bizarre murderous plot that seems to be enveloping her. She is protected by Ranger and Joe Morelli and yet strange things continue to occur. Meanwhile Lula goes on a "South Beach" style diet, Stephanie's sister is eating her way through her pregnancy, Stephanie's father is walking out and a mystery man continues to send Stephanie roses and carnations. Throw in a crazy trip to Vegas and a possible wedding and what you have is one of the best books in the Stephanie Plum series. My only regret, I read it so fast and now I have to wait for the tenth book of the series to come out!!
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Plum
Review: I am an unabashed Evanovich fan and this latest installment is just as fun as the previous eight. Stephanie is always wildly entertaining and does not disappoint in NINES. The story is, as always, centered on Stephanie's bumbled search for a fugitive. The skip's landlady (and fiancee's mother)gives Stephanie a headache, while her family gives her a stomach ache as always. This book is worth twice the price!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointment
Review: I gather, from reading the other reviews of this latest Stephanie Plum novel, that I am in the minority. But I felt the book was definitely not up to Janet Evanovich's standards. It lacke the wit and cleverness that her earlier books have. When reading her earlier novels, I would sit and laugh my rear end off, throughout the book. But "To The Nines" gave me a few snickers, at best. I hate to say it, because, like so many others, I have waited eagerly for the next Stephanie Plum novel, and will await her next one next summer, but I wonder if Ms. Evanovich is finally coming upon her personal brick wall? I hope not, and I sincerely hope that she regains her form, but this book was a disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Stephanie strikes again!
Review: Stephanie Plum is back in her ninth outing in TO THE NINES. Stephanie is a bounty hunter extraordinare, extraordinarily inept that is. Stephanie might not be good at bounty hunting, but she is fun. Her life is never dull, with a totally wacky family and two hot men after her. Fans of Evanovich will not be let down with this book. Not all the Stephanie Plum books are equally good, but I would rate this as one of the better ones. Romance has taken a bit of a backburner, Grandma Mazur's antics are missing, but the mystery is more developed than in some of the other books. The humor is still present, I laughed out loud several times. I high recommend this book to anyone who wants to feel good after putting the book down.
Rating: 
Summary: save your money
Review: This book isn't bad; it's very bad. I've read the previous eight volumes in the Stephanie Plum series and enjoyed them tremendously. This edition, however, lacks the intelligence, humor,and sexiness of the prior volumes. Dialogue is forced and flat. Situations such as the airport check-in are ludicrous rather than funny. Worse still, many of the recurring characters act strangely "out of character"--e.g. mysterious Ranger turns chatty; large, confident Lulu diets to impress a man. The attractive elements of many of the characters' personalities have simply disappeared. What a disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: an easy read
Review: Overall I thought the book was good. Very fast-paced and easy reading. Stephanie still cracks me up with all the drama that comes her way. The only problem I had with the book was the author constantly repeating old facts. I figure if you're a true Plum fan, you will remember all the details. I thought it took away from the storyline instead of adding to it. But if you're anxiously waiting to read the next installment of Stephanie Plum, I do recommend this book. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A choice Plum
Review: Of all the Plum books, I must say that I've enjoyed this one the most. I found myself actually laughing out loud, with tears streaming down my face at some parts. This one's a sure winner!
Rating: 
Summary: Janet's back on track with this one
Review: After putting out four duds (two of which were Stephanie Plums), Janet proves that she remembers how to write a good book. This isn't as great as "One for the Money," but it shows that perhaps the author can return to that level. In this book Stephanie actually improves in her job -- hooray! She's not teetering on the edge of bankruptcy (which she'd better steer clear of if she follows through on these baby wishes!), and her friends aren't ALL over-the-top stereotypes. We get yet another new way to bond someone (like Eight), and another attempt to show cutting-edge geek hobbies -- something that has never quite worked in the series.But the humor is still there, as are the wacky (but not too wacky; I think one more person in the book had to operate at Lula levels for the lunacy to really work) secondary characters. THANK YOU for omitting the now-tired car gag and for coming up with an original new gag! Fingers firmly crossed after reading this book, I can now hope that Ten will have Stephanie continuing to improve her professional image, will ease Stephanie out of her "straight man" role into at least a couple of scenes in which she's the center of the joke, will have at least a chapter's worth of steamy Ranger sex (we were cheated in Eight!) while continuing the Morelli situation, and will return to a solid, terrifying "ordinary" whodunit plot like One had. I look forward to it!
Rating:
Summary: So much better than Hard Eight!
Review: Back when Book 8 came out, I read it and came away disappointed. Sure, it was more of the same Stephanie Plum that I had come to love. But it seemed like TOO MUCH of the same stuff. Crazy Grandma, cars blowing up, people breaking into her apartment. It just seemed like the author was cranking out the same book with a new title. Not so with To the Nines! I was quite pleasantly surprised to see Evanovich getting back into the swing of things with this book. The story was fun and engrossing. I read it within two days. The book has lots of the usual humor. Like Lula, who wants to be a supermodel and goes on an all-meat diet. She carries pork chops around in her purse, so dogs are always chasing her or following her around. It's pretty funny. There's more of the love triangle with Ranger and Morelli. And the mystery is pretty good, too, even though I thought it was a bit obvious who the bad guy was. Nonetheless, I loved To the Nines and highly recommend it to all of you who are Plum Crazy, and those who are new to the series, too.
|
