Rating: 
Summary: Janet does it AGAIN!
Review: It's been 8 books and yet I still don't tire of the characters in Stephanie Plum's life. Stephanie is still bumbling around and it's still fresh. Ranger fans will love this book as well as he gets plenty of paper space (although never enough for me!). Grandma isn't in this one as much which is a bit of a bummer as I so love the father's reaction to her. My only regret is that once again I've read the book from front to back without stopping and I now have to wait until next year when the 9th one comes out. I'll be waiting Janet!If you haven't read any of Janet's books....do it now....and start where it all began, "One For the Money". You'll enjoy the journey to Hard Eight.
Rating: 
Summary: Loved it, yet hated it ending...
Review: I sit eagerly awaiting the next Stephanie Plum book, so let me begin by saying that Hard Eight is not my favorite of the series. I loved the humor in this volume it had me laughing out loud (as I had hoped for). Stephanie's adventure with her newest sidekick Kloughn had me ready to scream because he kept tagging along, but actually I came to love the scenes with him. I'm not giving a lot away by saying the dryer scene alone makes Kloughn one of the highlights of this episode in the Stephanie Plum series.
I may be one of the few though who found the last 50 or so pages to be a non-stop rush of events that built from her heated flirting with Ranger to a blink of an eye event that made me go back to make sure I hadn't skipped over some pages. The book flashed over a scene between Stephanie and Ranger that made you think "Wait, What happened?" It was like a cliffhanger that wasn't because you knew the answer but none of the facts. Let me just say Stephanie and Ranger have had some of the hottest flirting through several of the previous books and Hard Eight let it hit straight ice water. Nothing to do with the books but fans keep saying "Oh Ranger couldn't be relationship material" and this book made gave in to those fans that have been waiting for that. Why? I love books with a mysterious hero who you don't know too much about but ends up being a good guy (which so far Ranger has been he cares for Stephanie). Consistantly through this Volume 8 especially Ranger is there watching out for her making sure she's got security, has bullets in her gun and when she calls he is there without fail what's not to like? If he is a bad guy how does why is he the "Primo" Bounty hunter and as mentioned through out the series the guy the cops want to be carrying a gun? Ranger doesn't seem to be a thug and Hard Eight gave him a Hard Ride, now, he's not mysterious, but an "Opportunist" doesn't sound like the Ranger we've come to know and adore. Abruzzi (the bad guy of the book) was scary and had me jumpy, but in only a few pages it was over. And why aren't the cops doing anything about this guy? Stephanie is the star of the series, but it looks like the bounty hunters (Stephanie/Ranger/Vinnie) take down more criminals than Joe (vice cop/homicide detective). The book seemed to heavily edited or something. I love that Janet usually has the book full of Stephanies thoughts about everything that happens to her and in this book two rather major events went wham bam thank you ma'am fast without satisfying me. I'll read the book over and over because I love the series but it's not my favorite. The humor of the book held me though, so it is worth a try, but if you wonder like I did what happened in the ending you aren't alone... The audio version is decent, but I was thrilled to discover that this time around CJ Critt was back with a version through Recorded Books. After listening to her rendition of the book I was forced to raise my rating of 3 stars to 4 simply because there are things she brought to the story. Unlike some I'll keep reading Janet as long as she keeps me laughing. My complaint quit switching narrators on the audio versions Recorded Books is the company for quality and CJ is the narrator who brings Stephanie's story to it's full potential.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: Janet has done it again!!! I picked up a copy of Hard Eight today and could not put it down. My son asked me why I was laughing so hard and of course it was because of the book. The humor is still there as well as a more in depth plot. I'm not to sure if I like the ending. I will have to think about it while I wait for number 9. For anyone who has not started the series I highly recommend that they do so.
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to par
Review: I just e-mailed this letter to Janet Evanovich:
Janet:
Where was your editor? At least five times you used "lay" when the correct grammar is "lie." And this was not in dialogue. Page 199: "He was laying on the ground." More than once you slipped from the past tense into the present. Page 229: "My mother looked like she knew better, but she didn't say anything. By the end of the night we'll have a fresh batch of cookies, and she'll have done all the ironing." Other errors: Page 257: Stephanie's niece is incorrectly identified as "Annie." Also, page 303: Stephanie suddenly has a speakerphone in her kitchen. Since when? Who has speaker phones at home? And if she did, wouldn't I know it after eight books? Those are my editorial comments. About the story: 200 pages of nonsense and not a single laugh. Reading the first few books, I literally fell off the couch laughing. Lula never said "damn skippy." There was no "hide the salami," and nothing equal to replace those two. I still like Morelli, but Ranger is a stiff (no pun intended). The plot was wrapped up in three horrific pages. I don't want to see Stephanie and her sister tortured. Think of a better way out of the corner you are painted into. Try harder next time. You are making big bucks and getting lots of media attention. You owe it to your readers to produce a top notch product.
Rating:
Summary: Evanovich at her best!
Review: Stephanie Plum is back again and is better than ever in this laugh-a-minute book. She is asked to help her parents' neighbor, Mabel Markowitz, to find her daughter Evelyn and granddaughter Annie. They have disappeared and the daughters' ex-husband is threatening to take Mabel's house because of a child custody bond which was put into place at the time of Evelyn's divorce. Stephanie goes through her usual misadventures of exploding cars and missed chances at apprehensions, but this time the plot also includes a man in a rabbit suit, spiders, and other hilarious complications. Plum's supporting cast is wonderful, as usual, especially her buddy Lula, and the two men in her life, Ranger and Morelli. This is vintage Evanovich and should be fun for old and new fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, just not great
Review: I adore Janet Evanovich, so much that I buy her books in hardback and still buy the audiobook. Hard Eight was long on funny, short on plot, and I am ready for Stephanie to grow up. I loved the characters, but the mystery was WEAK. Still, it was better than most. Truthfully, I have very high expectations of Janet Evanovich. Of course, none of this keeps me from looking forward to the Christmas novel to come out. Keep 'em coming!!!
Rating:
Summary: Not as strong as her earlier works
Review: As much as I love reading about the mis-adventures of Stephanie Plum, I just didn't find this most recent adventure to be as entertaining as others in the past.
Rating:
Summary: Can I give it 8 or more stars?!
Review: Ms. Evanovich is still in top form with Hard Eight. She has written an edgier Stephanie Plum story without compromising any of the outrageous hilarity of the previous novels. I for one cannot wait until Stephanie's next outing. Keep up the good work!!
Rating:
Summary: Love Steph, just not as exciting
Review: I must agree with some of the other reviewers that this book was more predictable. I still LOVED it and am rereading AGAIN. I was slightly disappointed in the ending also and with "the sex scene". I think both characters grew with the scene though and Steph walked away more sure of herself. I can't wait for number nine and the one that is coming out at Christmas.
Rating:
Summary: More of the same
Review: Don't get me wrong. I LOVE the Stephanie Plum series. And I was very anxious to run out and buy Hard Eight right when it came out. I even had its release date marked on my calendar. The reviews said that it was a little darker than the other books, and that this book helped Janet Evanovich avoid falling into a rut with her plotlines. But I don't really see much of a difference between this and all the other Stephanie Plum novels. She still has people breaking into her apartment. She still has her cars blown up. Her Grandma is still as crazy as ever. She's still kind of inept at the bounty hunter thing. She still doesn't like carrying her gun. It's just more of the same Stephanie Plum that's been in all the previous books. Except that she finally "repays her debt" to Ranger in this novel instead of just talking about it. But the whole encounter was anticlimatic (no pun intended!), and didn't seem worth all the build up. For those die hard Stephanie Plum fans out there, this book doesn't disappoint. But if you're looking for something new and fresh, it doesn't really deliver.
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