The Kari AnnAlysis

Posts Tagged ‘book’

If Stephanie Plum didn’t have bad luck, she would have no luck at all. While some may think it’s good luck that Stephanie’s boss Vinnie has been kidnapped, Stephanie knows her family would never let her live it down if she didn’t bring him home.

So, on top of the FTA’s that Stephanie needs to capture to even buy groceries, she’s in charge of finding her sleaze ball boss. And of course he wasn’t just kidnapped by someone because of his good looks, it’s more of a money thing…and a mob thing.

Good luck, as always, Stephanie has a great cast to help out and with a little luck from her Uncle Pip’s lucky bottle, they may just get away from all of this alive, and with Vinnie alive (but is that what anyone really wants?)

Shooo….am I rested… A little bloggy break was definitely good for my soul. I’ve knocked out four books off my TBR list on my bookshelf, got some knitting done and some napping, especially in the last few days. But now it’s back to business, and what a better way than with Ms. Stephanie Plum? She has been one of my favorite characters since my mother-in-law and sister-in-law twisted my arm to read this series (they didn’t have to twist very hard). These books are hilarious and make me laugh from start to finish, with a little explosion every now and then to remind me Stephanie is a bounty hunter, not a comedian.

It’d been a while since I’d read a Plum novel, and I think I’m actually two behind now, but this book was just as great as all the other ones. And one of the things I like most about this series is that you can take a little break between them and still know what’s going on when you pick up the next one. It’s nice to know the background between Stephanie, Morelli and Ranger, but it’s not pertinent to enjoying the series.

This is a great series if you need a nice pick me up and a good laugh.

This book in particular has some great moments, from the hobbit convention, to the multiple explosions that aren’t all Stephanie’s fault for a change, to a sale of all the goods in the bonds office, to stink bombs…yes, stink bombs.

I give Sizzling Sixteen 5 bookmarks.

ISBN: 978-0312383305
Released: June 2010
Author Website
Kari bought this book

Oh and guess what? January 27 is the date for the movie, based on the first book in this series, to come out. Yay! Katherine Heigl plays Stephanie Plum. It looks fun!! When you click above on Janet Evanovich’s website link (which I know you always do), you can watch the trailer. I am so excited!

 Grace Wheaton has her dream job, well not exactly, but is next in line for her dream job at Marshfield Manor. Grace is the assistant curator at the place she has loved since she was a young girl. She remembers spending time at the Manor with her mom and that her grandmother used to work there. She moved from her childhood love, but was drawn back when her mother got ill and died.

The book begins with a crazy outburst during tea, but that’s nothing but a distraction to the real drama going on upstairs. The curator, and Manor owner’s best friend has been killed. That puts Grace in the position for her dream job, but at an expense she isn’t sure if she’s ready for.

The small town she was born in doesn’t have much of a police force because there has never been much crime. So with her knowledge of crime from her former home in NYC, Grace offers her hand in the investigation putting her in the next line of fire.

I have absolutely fallen in love with this series! I got a request to read the second book in the series from my friends at Kaye Publicity. Being the OCD nerd that I am, I asked for the first book as well, because I like to read them in order. The doll that my girl Dana is, she shipped me the book the next day and I couldn’t put it down.

The characters in this book are so amazing. Grace is a woman trying to find her way in life. She thought she had it all figured out, good job in NYC, fiance, the whole works. Then her mother got sick and died and her fiance ran off with Grace’s sister. Gotta love family huh? Now Grace is at her childhood love and waiting until it’s her turn to run the Manor. Then we have Frances, the curator’s secretary, who is a busybody and knows everything about everyone. While that might seem annoying, it’s nice to have someone with such info on your side. Then there’s Mr. Bennett Marshfield. The Manor is his life. Curator Abe was his best bud. Now Grace is filling Abe’s shoes and is finding out there may be more history to Mr. Marshfield and the Manor itself than you can learn in the books. And lets not forget the younger men in the book. There’s Jack, the handsome landscaper, Ronny Tooney, the cop wannabe and Grace’s roommates who are always good for a bottle of homemade wine on a bad day. I am absolutely in love with them and couldn’t wait to start the next book so I could get more!

Other than the characters there are two major things I love about this book. One: The Manor itself. Hyzy brought to life this manor that actually had my Google’ing it to see if it was real. She gave it an awesome history and was so descriptive, I could have sworn it was real. It’s the kind of place I want to go for a weekend, with my laptop, sit in the tea room and write away.

My other love for this book goes back to Grace. What a heroin! I don’t know about you, readers, but I am always trying to solve crimes. Since I work in the newsroom, there’s always new cases coming about. No, I’m not going out on the scene or interviewing people, but I’m always working up motives and plots. It’s normally pretty easy in our area, a region riddled with drugs. But every now and then, you have a curve ball. Grace jumps right into this investigation and doesn’t hesitate to find out for herself who is causing such a ruckus at her beloved Manor. She has such pride in her job and love for the Manor she’ll do anything to protect it.

I loved this book, if you couldn’t tell by my glowing review and can’t wait to write the review for the second one, which will come in a day or so (it is released June 7). I also plan on adding Hyzy’s other books and series to my TBR list.

I give Grace Under Pressure 5 bookmarks.

ISBN: 978-0425235218
Released: June 1, 2010
Author Website
Kari got this book from the Kaye Publicity

Hilde Higgins, hairstylist to the dead, is getting used to a lot of things: the fact that she was a murder suspect then cleared, a new man in her life and the fact that this man is part of a clown ministry and she hates clowns. She can deal with the first two, the last one, it’s not as easy, but she’s working on it. And low and behold two more people in Hilde’s life die, both clowns. There’s no way getting around it.

Luckily for Hilde, she’s not a suspect in this murder. Unluckily for Hilde, her new bf is the prime suspect, accused of killing a clown buddy. And was it really an electrical accident or was the death of clown #1 a murder too? So, no clowning around for Hilde as she figures out if she can trust the man she’s starting to love and help him out of this pickle… or should I say water spraying rose? Too much? Yep, even for me.

I absolutely love this series! The first book, Missing Mable, was one of the first I read through NetGalley and as soon as I saw this one, I requested it.

It’s no secret one of my favorite characters in fiction, if not my favorite, is Stephanie Plum. Well, Hilde Higgins reminds me of Stephanie. She doesn’t beat people up like Stephanie does, but she makes up for it with her love for books.

These books are quick, fun mystery reads. Mehl does a great job of getting the mystery out there and hooking you from the beginning then adding shenanigans throughout the rest of the book that keep you wanting more.

Now there is a little religion mixed in. I know that some readers don’t like that and like to know beforehand so they don’t get to it and immediately stop. I have never been one to enjoy religion weaved into books just because religion is interpreted in so many different ways and everyone has different beliefs. It’s not very likely that a random book with religion in it will have the same beliefs and values that you do. Religion isn’t a big part of this series, but it’s no secret that Hilde is a Christian and in this book she helps bring a friend out of a not-so-happy place with God. I fortunately think Hilde and I are on the same page (or I guess it would be Nancy Mehl, and not the character she is writing about) so I find myself nodding a lot and agreeing.

I really hope Nancy Keeps up with this series. I am really starting to love Hilde and her cooky neighbors and her mysterious, but uber smart neighbor across the street. I give Blown Away 5 bookmarks.

ISBN: 978-1602605701
Published: February 1, 2011
Author Website
Kari got this book from NetGalley

We all had those major high school crushes growing up. For Brooke, it’s Scott Abrams is that lucky guy, only he doesn’t know it. Brooke finally gets the courage to tell Scott how she feels about him, but before she gets a chance, he tells her he is moving to New York. This can’t be happening. Brooke and Scott are meant to be together, and all of her dreams are being crushed before her eyes.

But not so fast. Brooke is not giving up on her one love. Her parents divorced a few years back and luckily for Brooke, her dad lives in New York. What a coincidence huh? So Brooke makes the trek, but it’s not as she hoped. Her dad spends all of his time in the office, he is never home for dinner, Scott has a girlfriend and it doesn’t take long for her BFF’s at home to start falling away from her. But Brooke doesn’t give up and finally realizes that everything happens for a reason.

I am still meh about how I feel about this book. I know that teenage girls are boy crazy and would do anything they could to get their crush to date them. This seemed to be extreme to me. But hey, it’s fiction for a reason.

I did like all of the growing that happened in this book. Brooke, who was a grade A slacker, with genius IQ realizes her potential and actually sees making something of herself in the future. She learns who her true friends are and learns a lot about herself. All the makings of a fairy tale.

I did feel bad for Brooke, but only a smidge. She wanted this boy, followed him to a new state, although they’d only talked once and she finds out he has a girlfriend. Well, duh! If he’s such a hottie, of course he isn’t going to be single Brooke also spent a lot of nights at home, by herself. For most teens, this would be a dream. Talk on the phone, play on the computer, eat junk food, watch trashy tv, or even leave to explore the city. Brooke got tired of this easily and wanted more. I personally would have loved the alone time, but I am a structure person too. So, I felt for her in that sense.

And how about moving to a place like New York City? I mean she could have moved to Point Pleasant, WV, where you can check out the Mothman statue, for about five seconds then run out of things to do. She’s in the city that never sleeps. She has endless possibilities of how she can spend her time. NYC was a very lucky place for her love to move!

Let’s face it. If we were faced with this situation in high school, we probably would have given up our friends, family etc. to follow our crush. And some of your crushes may have moved and you seriously thought about what it would be like if you could move with them. Unfortunately, the cards probably wouldn’t have stacked up quite like they did for Brooke, kind of a perfect scenario for following the boy she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Kudos to her though for following what she wanted. I would like to say I could’ve done it, but probably would have chickened out.

So Much Closer was a quick, cute, high school love story read. I give the book 4 bookmarks.

ISBN: 9780670012244
Published: May 3, 2011
Author Website
Kari got this book from Librarything

Anna is devastated! She’s entering her senior year in high school, but not with all her friends, and not even on the same continent as her friends and family. The former Georgia peach is now in Paris, the city of love, with no friends and no grasp of the French language, other than oui. But it doesn’t take long for Anna to meet new people. She instantly bonds with a group of already friends. Two guys, two girls, including Etienne St. Clair. Bad news? He has a girlfriend who is in college. Good news? There’s an undeniable bond between them.

The tension is so thick, it’d take a butcher knife to cut, but throughout her senior year, Anna and St. Clair’s relationship takes off, hits turbulence, lands with a bump, then takes off again. And that’s a trend that starts early on and keeps pace until the very end.

First of all, I absolutely loved the scenery in this book. I felt like I was in Paris and feel like if I went now, I’d says “Oh, I remember that from Anna and the French Kiss” and “Oh, that’s exactly how it was described in Anna and the French Kiss.” It was very descriptive and made me want to pack my bags and catch the next plane out.

I was annoyed a few times in this book. It started when Anna was whining and sulking around about being in Paris. Yes, I understand it’s her last year to be with her friends in high school and next year every one’s going to college, but still, it’s Paris. And maybe that’s the luxury of being an adult, I know that life will go on. I probably would have sulked a little too, but I would have loved to spend a year in Paris. I went to France, Niece to be exact, for a day or so on my senior trip and wish I could’ve spent the entire trip there. There’s just something about it, the language, the beauty, the food. It’s just a place that makes you swoon.

Now I also got annoyed with Anna and St. Clair. JUST GET TOGETHER ALREADY! But, I couldn’t tear myself apart from the book. I just kep reading and reading and needing to know what was going to happen. Are they going to end up together? Is he going to stay with his original girlfriend? Is she going to get together with the boy she liked at home? Goodness there were so many possibilities!

In the end though, I really liked this book. It was a quick read and definitely a senior year I could have seen myself in. I think that Stephanie Perkins did a great job of really embracing the teenage mindset in this book. They were seniors, and living in Paris, so of course most of them were a little more mature than a regular high school kid. But they still have the same feelings and questions and troubles that all teenagers have. This was one of my favorite lines in the book, because I think we’ve all been there:

Pg 333 “I’ve spent my entire senior year suffocating between lust and heartache, ecstasy and betrayal, and it’s only getting harder to see the truth. How many times can our emotions be tied to someone else’s – be pulled and stretched and twisted – before they can snap? Before they can never be mended again?

I know that even out of high school I felt those emotions and tried to explain it, but never could do so quite so eloquently and to the point.

I give Anna and the French Kiss 4 book marks.

ISBN: 978-0525423270
Published: December 2, 2010
Author Website
Kari got this book from Around the World Book Tours