Rating: 
Summary: How Sad. It's Boring
Review: I remember when I first discovered the series and would curl and laugh one weekend morning. Four to Score being the hieght of the series. This one, Eight, felt phoned in, like it was made up of rejected bits from other books. Boring actually. The scene with Ranger a crime. I remember I always used to grin through their encounters now I could easily take a nap.
Rating:
Summary: Creepy - this should be a Stephanie Plum novel?
Review: I have to admit I am a great fan of the series but now Janet Evanovich did it: I'm quitting! I can't believe she wrote this book! The last 50 pages were awful. If she thought she had to change something to keep her fans still interested in the series she could have wrote something that was funny but "Hard Eight" definitely was NOT funny. It's a hard-boiled crime novel and nothing I wanted to read as Stephanie Plum series fan. All I can say is I am totally disappointed, I could have saved my money.
Rating: 
Summary: Yummy Stephanie Plum adventure
Review: Like everyone else, I devoured the latest Stephanie Plum novel. I tried to savor it, but couldn't. I was disappointed in the beginning, especially after the cliff hanger of Seven Up. It took awhile before we found out what happened on that night that Ranger came to Steph's bedroom. I felt sad for Steph during the book because Morelli wasn't there. You could feel the tension between them. However Ranger did make up for it. I still laughed during the book and couldn't keep a smile off of my face while reading it. I did miss Dougie and Mooner--don't know where they were in this episode except maybe recuperating from #7. This is one series that I can read, and re-read, and re-read. I don't get tired of the characters and I recommend the books to everyone. I have all the women in my department at work reading the series, and all the men know who Ranger and Morelli are. Definitely start from One and keep on reading. Write faster Janet!!
Rating:
Summary: Another hit by Janet !
Review: I've been waiting for this book since I finished book #7 ... and I wasn't dissapointed. Janet has once again written a wonderful, funny, can't put the book down novel. I loved it! I highly recommend this book ... a must have if you're a Janet fan.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost Perfect
Review: This was an easy and fun read, like the other Stephanie Plum novels. Trying not to compare it to the others in the series, I think the love triangle is still interesting, and the central case was, yes, a bit different and a little darker, but quite compelling. To balance, Evanovich made the peripherals a bit too wacky (being chased by a rabbit? c'mon). There's alot of heart and humor in Evanovich's novels. If I did have any real gripes with this book, it would be these two: 1. Evanovich needs to spend less time rehashing past novels. I know it's a service for first time readers, but it takes away from the story. Do it all in a prologue. 2. Stephanie Plum needs to spend less time questioning and doubting and whining about the job she has. I know it gives the character a bit more conflict and depth, but it's getting old, especially when it doesn't go anywhere. Evanovich is one of my favorite authors. I look forward to the next in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Silly Rabbit
Review: I am admittedly Plum crazy. Ever since picking up One for the Money years ago, I've loved hanging out with Stephanie and friends. Hard Eight was another wild, amusing romp with the bounty hunter from the Burg. Steph searches for a mom and daughter (Evelyn and Annie) on the lam here. There wasn't much background on them, or insight into their situation. However, I think that the main plot of every Evanovich book is just "filler" - the real draw is Steph's family, friends, love life and mascara! Evelyn and Annie, and ultimatlely Steph, are pursued relentlessly by the nasty Eddie Abruzzi. Eddie makes a particularly creepy bad guy. He is more sinister - and masochistic - then the average Plum villain. Thugs dressed up as bunnies, bears and ex-presidents add some levity. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the ongoing and complex Stephanie/Morelli/Ranger triangle. There is new ground broken in Hard Eight, but I found it unsatisfying - even if Stephanie didn't! I hope that Janet revisits the story that was started mid-book. It could be scintillating. I was disappointed in the turn of events, romance-wise, that ended the book. But then, a good romantic triangle always leaves some cheering and others wishing for what could have been... I enjoyed Hard Eight much more than Seven Up, which was a little too cartoonish even by Burg standards. Here's what I'm hoping for in #9:
More Lula and Grandma Mazur
An adventurous visit to the Bat Cave
An expose' on cousin Vinnie Out of curiosity, does anyone else have an enhanced hankering for junk food while reading Evanovich novels? Like Steph, the waistband on my jeans is a little tight and I have a yen for Tastykakes. Worst of all, I'm in New Hampshire!
Rating:
Summary: Best Since One for the Money
Review: It was a long wait since "Seven Up" but "Hard Eight" was worth it. Janet has hit her stride. Everything we love about Stephanie and the gang is here--the wacky action and the hilarious dialogue. There are murderous bunnies, bears, and ex-presidents, a sweet new character (lawyer Albert Kloughn--pronounced clown), and icky "death cooties." In this adventure, Stephanie tries to help a family friend and meets one of her most villianous adversaries, Eddie Abruzzi. Because the story is darker, the characters show greater depth. We learn more about Steph, Ranger, and Joe, in particular. Even Steph's mom gets into the action, coming to her daughter's rescue. I was a little unprepared for the way the Stephanie-Ranger thing was handled, but I think it allowed Steph to move on with her personal life. I loved the maturity shown by Joe both in how he handled developments in the case and in his relationship with Steph. I agree with other reviewers that ending was a bit of a shocker. It will be a long wait until "Nine," and we see where the developments of "Eight" lead out favorite characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Janet Evanovich is back on track ... well, mostly, anyway
Review: Stephanie Plum, Trenton, NJ's most incompetent bounty hunter, returns in "Hard Eight," Janet Evanovich's latest volume chronicling her (mis)adventures. Thankfully, it's much better than "Hot Six" and "Seven Up"--there's no annoying Joyce Barnhart, only one incident of Bob barfing, and Ranger and Stephanie finally do it after three books' worth of buildup. As other reviewers have mentioned, there is a darker edge to the story--Stephanie searches for a mother and child fleeing on a custody bond, only to stumble up against a psychopath with a war games fetish who's intent on finding the pair himself. Several scenes are downright chilling, not a usual thing in an Evanovich novel. Most of the book, though, is typical breezy Stephanie, which makes the scary scenes that much more so. Evanovich also seems to have recovered her knack for humor--this is the first time I've laughed aloud reading a Plum book in a while. However, I do have a couple of bones to pick with Evanovich. First, the exploding cars thing is getting VERY old. It's interesting that Evanovich doesn't mention that New Jersey has the highest auto-insurance rates in the nation, because if Stephanie were real she'd have to pay about ten grand a year in car insurance (THREE of her cars are blown up in "Hard Eight"). Second, the shtick with the easy capture turning impossible is getting to be very annoying as well. With her last two books, it seems like Evanovich is trying to take Stephanie into a little bit more serious territory, but still trying to make concessions to the fluff fans who just want to read about Stephanie and Morelli and Ranger and Grandma Mazur making dirty remarks. "Hard Eight" put me very much in mind of Harlan Coben's early novels, which also have that weird mix of laugh-out-loud humor and incredibly dark scenes. In the end, though, it's reawakened my interest in the Stephanie Plum series--but, Janet, let up on a poor Jersey girl and let her keep ONE car, okay?
Rating:
Summary: Okay, but Evanovich can do (and has done) better...
Review: In many ways, "Hard Eight" is a typical Stephanie Plum novel. You've got your love triangle, you've got your bad car-ma, you've got your tag-along bounty hunter wannabe's. There are some fun moments, but overall, the book reads like a rough draft rushed to the press. "Hard Eight" hits the ground running as neighbor Mabel Markowitz makes a tearful plea to Steph - find her granddaughter and great-granddaughter or she'll lose her house. Nothing makes a Burg woman more uncomfortable than an outright display of emotion, and Steph reluctantly agrees to help. In the course of her search, she crosses the wrong kind of folks, and, as usual, finds herself up to her neck in very bad guys. Unfortunately, a story with so much promise fizzles out in the midst of tepid new characters - such as lawyer Albert Kloughn, whose big recurring joke is that people call him "clown" and he's forced to repeatedly spell his name - and storylines which wrap up a bit too hastily for all the time and emotion invested. Perhaps the biggest disappointment is in how the Ranger/Morelli love triangle is handled, with swift, forced, and out-of-character pronouncements stuffed in between dead bodies and exploding vehicles. One of the series' most endearing qualities has been the emotional tango Steph has been dancing with these two sexy guys. In "Hard Eight" the tango turns into an awkward clomp through muddy terrain, with no one staying true to character. While I don't begrudge Evanovich her well-earned success, I wish it didn't come at the cost of the quality of the work. The more visible an author is, the higher the pressure to turn out the next money-maker, and sadly that's how "Hard Eight" felt to me as I read it. Another draft would have done wonders for the book... here's hoping Evanovich has the time to do the series justice with "Nine."
Rating:
Summary: Not up to usual standards
Review: Even though I count down the days until mid June every year for the next Stephanie Plum adventure, I think maybe we should give Janet Evanovich a bit of a break. She might need a little more time to write the ninth adventure. Although this book is the next logical step in the series, Ranger came off scarier than the bad guy, Abruzzi. Beginning and end of the book were still gigle aloud, but the middle read slowly--and I stay up all night to read the new book the day it comes out. Hang in there, Janet, and give us a release date in 2 years for Nine.
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