Rating: 
Summary: I looked like a fool at the gym :)
Review: So, there I was, 45 mintues on the Elliptical machine at the gym, laughing so hard I almost fell off the machine! Not only did I laugh, but I couldn't put the book down. When my usual 45 minutes were up I actually locked my legs into a stretch position so I could finish the next chapter. Okay, so this is the first Stephanie Plum story I have read and I had no idea what I was in store for me as I read. I picked it up after reading "Monkeewrench" by P.J. Traci. P.J.T.'s excellent novel was put into the same class as Evanovich - so of course I had to read one of her novel. If you are looking for a great read - light, thrilling, funny, and a real page turner - this IS a one to lose yourself in! The characters are well developed, endearing, and down right hysterical. I finished this book in a week (closer to a total of about six hours when you deduct time for work, sleeping, eating, showering, and all other daily activities during which one cannot read). No need to have read the first seven in order to "get it" with this one. Ms. Evanovich does an excellent job bringing the reader up to speed with the characters. While there are some inside jokes that will leave you craving more information, you do not need the first ones to get the gist. I finished this book last night (06/23/03) and am aldready going through withdrawl until I can get my hands on the first 7 books. Get this book and enjoy it! You won't regret it!
Rating: 
Summary: Aimless
Review: I've read all of the Stephanie Plum books and this one was my least favorite. I found it rambling and silly. There was not any real mystery or intrigue-just more of the same-the perils of Plum. It's time for some changes.
Rating:
Summary: Laugh out loud funny...
Review: Stephanie Plum has all kinds of problems. She's looking for a mom who's kidnapped her own daughter. She's being chased by an evil rabbit. Cars are blowing up. A Pillsbury Doughboy of a lawyer wants to be her new sidekick. Her sister's depressed. But the biggest problem of all is her man problems. Morelli is still claiming they're on a break, and Ranger is angling his way into her bed. Things are complicated to say the least. But somehow Stephanie will come through. Janet Evanovich doesn't disappoint in this hilarious new Stephanie Plum novel!
Rating: 
Summary: Huge Disappointment
Review: I got turned onto this series by a friend who sent me 1-7. I read them quickly and anxiously awaited 8...mainly because I wanted to see where Stephanie/Ranger went. This was the best Evanovich could do with them? After the buildup, this was an incredible letdown and affected the rest of the book for me. One would think that at least a couple of pages could've been used on this relationship instead of the wham-bam resolution we got. A horrible effort. And to top it off, the series itself is just starting to get redundant and silly. Enough blowing up cars already -- it was funny in the first book, mildly amusing in the second book, and outright annoying in the third book. Enough with Grandma sticking her nose into everything all the time. Enough with thugs on the balcony. Enough with quirky FTAs who evade capture. It'd be really nice, just once, to see something original in these books. With Evanovich's other new series being so awful, I hope she's invested her money wisely...because if she doesn't start improving soon, I'm betting she can kiss much more income from her writing goodbye.
Rating:
Summary: 5 Star Author Evanovich Gets Hackneyed With Hard Eight!!
Review: To put this review into perspective, along with my 3 star rating, I must state that I am a die-hard Janet Evanovich fan. However, after reading all of her Stephanie Plum series, one through eight, it is time for Ms. Evanovich to make some changes if she is to avoid the typical pitfalls of series books - the formulaic novel...and overkill. It is to her credit that she has kept readers eagerly coming back for more of Stephanie Plum, my all time favorite heroine. And while I do understand that series writers need to provide, (& to provide, & provide), the same background information so new readers will understand what is going on - the repetition is driving me crazy. We read the same jokes over and over again in each new book. They became tired 3 books ago. I don't mind rereading the facts. I do mind same old, same old. Enough! Just give us the basics about Steph's family, Grandma Mazur, Joe Morelli, (yes, he played choo-choo with her when they were kids), Ranger, Lula, Cousin Vinnie, (and yes, we have read at least 8 times about the animals), etc. Brevity in the face of tedium works. I am sure that the creative wit that conjured up the Plums, et. al., will be able to come up with new material in the future. If new readers would like to know more background, assuming they begin the series with book #9, they can read another book from 1 through 8. It's their fault if they begin with # nine, anyway. The plot in "Hard Eight" is not as complex, or as interesting, as others. This simplistic storyline, along with the repetitious jokes, made this my least favorite of the eight books. I won't go into the details, others reviewers have already summarized the plot very well. I do not agree with those who say this is a darker story because of "the soupcon of child jeopardy" involved. There is no danger to a child here. The villains are especially tame and flat compared to Benito Ramirez, a real doozie, and other creeps from other bounty hunts! I was glad that Ranger and Stephanie finally got together. We were left hanging in "Seven-Up," with what seemed like sexus interruptus. I hate being left in the air about something as important as whether my fictional favorite has sex the with the "dark, mellow, mystery man" of her fantasies. I really hope the next novel is more original and complex. Stephanie Plum is quite capable of multi-tasking. I also hope that Janet Evanovich loses much of the old material and comes up with something new and exciting.
Rating: 
Summary: More emotion, still quite shocking at times
Review: 8th in the series. Trenton, New Jersey's Stephanie Plum, bond enforcement officer, a.k.a. bounty hunter, has her hands full with a charity case. Evelyn Soder and her daughter Annie are on the run. Her ex-husband is threatening to collect on a child custody bond that will force repossession on Evelyn's grandmother's house. As always, nobody's telling the whole truth. There's always more to Stephanie's cases than meets the eye. Eddie Abruzzi, Evelyn's landlord, has threatened Stephanie to stay away from Evelyn and her house. What's it to him? On the side, Stephanie's also looking to bring in Laura Minello-auto theft, and Andy Bender-domestic violence. As always, Lula, ex-lady-of-the-evening, rides shotgun with Steph, along with Albert Kloughn, Evelyn's divorce lawyer. Kloughn is like a pain-in-the-butt little sibling, always latching onto you. But he may have the hots for Steph's sister. Trenton cop, Joe Morelli, is still trying to decide if he wants to continue as Stephanie's love-interest. While he's deciding, he's always there for her, to help out or just grin. And then there's Ranger, the best bounty hunter ever. Ranger's the Wizard "because he's magic. He mysteriously passes through locked doors. He seems to read minds. He's able to refuse dessert. And he can give me a hot flash with the touch of a fingertip." A new character is also introduced. Jeanne Ellen Burrows, the female equivalent of Ranger, sporting a black, leather Donna Karan catwoman outfit. I'd like to see her again in future books. What else? Snakes, tarantulas and a 6-foot killer bunny. Yes. A 6-foot killer bunny. Like other reviewers, I agree that Hard Eight was a bit more light-hearted than the first seven books, but only through the first two-thirds. I couldn't put it down for the last 100 or so pages, constantly laughing out loud and dropping my lower jaw. There's much more emotion and reflection on Stephanie's part. The reader really gets into her head with sympathy and understanding. Don't misunderstand. It's funny. I was also shocked by so many actions by so many characters, like Steph's Mom, her sister Valerie, Ranger and Grandma Mazur, as always. Steph's Dad gave us a few sentences longer than 2 words. Shocking. Bring on number 9!
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as the previous ones
Review: Things were wrapped up too neatly.
Rating: 
Summary: A Bit of a Dissapointment
Review: I recently became addicted to the Stephanie Plum series, but was pretty dissapointed with this one. Everything happened a little too fast, every kook can be compared to a kook from one of her other books. Not awful, but not nearly as good as #5 or #7.
Rating:
Summary: Needs more character development.
Review: I've recently discovered this series and have read books 1-8 in a matter of days. First off, the series itself is EXCELLENT. Fresh and inventive, and outrageously funny. However, Hard Eight was a bit of a disappointment. Mrs. Evanovich, some things for you to consider:
Enough with the cars blowing up. We get it. Let's not go overboard and beat a dead horse. Characters need to grow. Grandma needs a steady boyfriend. Lula needs to start working full time as a bond enforcer ON HER OWN, not just as Steph's wacky sidekick. Morelli needs to find a new girlfriend, if only to realize it's Steph that he truly loves. Steph needs space to become independent. Ranger needs more than a 2 paragraph resolution on the sex issue. We need to see the BatCave. Put a blindfold on Steph to get here there if you have to, but we need to know more about Ranger! And as for our heroine. First, she needs to practice with the gun more. For someone who is very smart, she occasionally acts very stupidly when she forgets to bring or won't use her gun. Plus, she needs to take some damn self defense courses. It wouldn't hurt to see Steph kicking some butt once in a while.
Rating:
Summary: What's all the shouting about?
Review: I had been hearing about Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series for a while, and last summer, borrowed Hard Eight from a colleague for my first-ever Plum read. I started with real anticipation. What a total disapointment. Hard Eight was the lamest book I read all year. Hard to believe that the state of New Jersey allows someone so dense to carry a gun. After a while, so many zany characters in one book can turn into a huge cliche all by themselves. By the end of the book, I kept wishing they would all be packed into one car and blown up. I could almost feel my brain cells dribbling out as I read this train wreck. When I returned the book, and told my friend of my utter incredulity that a publisher would actually produce this, she said that I needed to start at the beginning of the series. Thank you, no. If book number 8 doesn't hold up, then that's a series that should have ended a long time ago. For example, you can pick up James Lee Burke and his Dave Robicheaux series at any point and have a good, independent reading experience. A series should not be dependent on starting with book one. (Yikes, can't believe I mentioned Stephanie Plum in the same paragraph with Dave Robicheaux.) This turkey was flimsy, light-weight, and a waste of time.
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