The Kari AnnAlysis

Posts Tagged ‘stephanie plum’

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!

Whenever you read a book, you always get a picture in your mind of what the people look like. I tend to place the characters as people I know. Well, not really who I know personally, but who I would expect to play them in the movie version of the book.

I do this for most books, so you can expect this to become a regular here at The KariAnnAlysis. Welcome to my first installment.

The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich is a series I have had a lot of time to think about. I have read 20 of these books and my choice for Stephanie Plum was easy.

Meet Joanne Kelly who plays Agent Myka Bering in the SyFy show “Warehouse 13″.

I think the main thing that did it for me with Kelly was the unruly hair, but she also kicks some major butt in “Warehouse 13″ and could definitely be seen as a bounty hunter, or a wanna-be bounty hunter as Stephanie normally comes off.

Interestingly enough, the Stephanie Plum series is headed to the big screen and my wishes didn’t come true. Kelly is not playing Stephanie Plum. Katherine Heigl actually is. I am very surprised by this. She is definitely not who I pictured in the role, but I’ll give her a chance (not like I really have a choice.)

Ok, so you all know The Rock. And yes, I am sticking with the Stephanie Plum series here. This bad boy, muscle man to the right is who I picture playing Ranger.

Ranger is dark, mysterious and a serious butt kicker. Ever since I first read his description, The Rock was my first choice of who I wanted to see on the big screen.

Just like my dreams of Stephanie Plum, my dreams about who plays Ranger were crushed. Ok, so it’s really not that big of deal, but The Rock is not signed up to play Ranger.

Instead, Daniel Sunjata got the part. And really, I am not complaining. The “Rescue Me” star may not have the pythons for arms that The Rock does, but who doesn’t love a firefighter?

Although I’m not 100% sold on Heigl as Stephanie, I give the casting director a thumbs up for Sunjata.

Have you read this series? If so, who do you picture in these roles? Or do you have other characters that you have placed? Like Betty White as Grandma Mazur? I can totally see that!

In the latest installment of the “Stephanie Plum, Worst Bounty Hunter Ever” saga, a celebrity chef loses his head, literally. But there’s a witness. Good ole Lula took a wrong turn and saw the whole thing. Now two men, packing a gun and meat clever, are after her. But as always, she won’t go down easy (it’s hard to take a woman that big down). And Stephanie breaks one of her own records, 3 cars and two apartments get blown up, thanks to the head hunters and an arsonist. Speaking of arsonist, don’t think that just because head hunters are on the streets that Stephanie doesn’t have skips to go after. She is doing to spy work for Ranger after a bunch of his security properties get robbed. Oh, and Grandma Mazur says Winkie… you guess what she is talking about.

I don’t know how many Stephiane Plum reviews I have said this in, but this was my favorite book of the series. It had been a while since I had last read a Plum novel, and while I always say it’s my favorite series, I had forgotten how much I loved it. There are so many times during this book that I was sitting on the couch reading, and caught myself laughing out loud. It would be super embarassing if I would be in public. Luckily, my husband has been there for the first 14 books and knows what to expect when I read these.

One thing I love about Janet Evanovich is that 15+ books later, she is still coming up with great new plots and twists and turns. I have two or three sequels planned for my first book, but 15, yeah right. And every book has so many little side stories going on, you’re trying to figure out a number of mysteries and not fall over from laughing. 

These books always make me assess my life. At times reading this, I think I would love to chase criminals. How empowering is a woman bounty hunter? But then there are times when Stephanie gets firebombed in her apartment, gets shot at and beat up by skips and that skank Joyce that I am content with my boring, get a thrill vicariously through the news, life.

I’m a fan of paperback books, but I’m not sure I can wait for Sizzling Sixteen to come out in paperback.

As if you couldn’t guess, I give Finger Lickin’ Fifteen 5 bookmarks.

ISBN: 978-0312383299
Published: June 22, 2010
Buy from Amazon
Kari purchased this book from Borders

On my bookshelf is my own little twist to In My Mailbox hosted by The Story Siren.

Take a look at what I scored this week:

Bought:
I had a coupon and $5 in Borders Bucks this past week, so I bought myself a couple of books I needed in the series’ I am reading.
Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
Scandal by Kate Brian

Publicist:
I got contacted by Jamie Freveletti’s publicist, Kaye Publicity, about her new book Running Dark. It sounded great and i have heard a lot of goof things about it from other readers, but I wanted to read the first in the series first. They were awesome enough to send me both copies.

Running from the Devil: “A chemist for a cosmetics company and an ultramarathon runner, Emma Caldridge in en route from Miami to Bogota when her plane goes down int he mountains near the Venezuelan border. Thrown unhurt from the wreckage, she watches in horror as guerrillas drag the other passengers into the jungle. Stranded and alone in a deadly environment, Emma has no choice but to follow — and stumbles across Cameron Sumner, an injured government agent who was left behind to die.

As a Washington, D.C. , task force races to the crash site in hopes of finding survivors, Emma and Cameron creep closer to a nightmare they may be powerless to prevent. But Emma is no ordinary woman — and she guards a secret both powerful and deadly that her adversaries would gleefully kill to possess.

And now she must run…”

I am getting ready to start Running from the Devil, as fast as my little fingers can get this post typed out!

Running Dark: “Emma Caldridge is on mile thirty-six of the fifty-five-mile Comrades ultramarathon in South Africa when a roadside care bomb explodes. Dazed and disoriented, she regains consciousness after the blast to find a man standing over her with a white plastic injector. She feels the prick of a needle and the rush of the medication under her skin, but before she can make a sound, the man is gone.

Shaken by the event and unsure of what substance was pumped into her, Emma calls the one person who can help her figure things out: Edward Banner of the security company in Darkview. But Banner has his hands full with another emergency: Somali pirates int he Golf of Alden have attacked a cruise ship, and Darkview has been hired to assist with the rescue.

However, according to intelligence sources, the ship is carrying cargo far more valuable than wealthy passengers — something that could be a new weapon of unknown origin. Suspecting the weapon may be chemical in nature, Banner asks Emma to infiltrate the ship and use her professional expertise to identify it.

Emma konws it’s a risky job, one that she might not survive, But when she learns that special agent Cameron Sumner — a man who has saved her life in the past — is among the hostages, nothing will stop her from getting on board, no matter what the cost.”

Librarything:
And finally, I won an ARC of Infinite Days from the Early Reviewers Program

“After centuries of terrorizing Europe, Lenah Beaudonte, with the help of the handsome Rhode, has been able to realize the dream of all vampires — to be human again. Now, as a raven-haired, sixteen-year0ld, Lenah believes her greatest challenge is fitting in at her new school. But the challenges have only begun. The vicious coven Lenah once ruled is threatening the new found pleasures of her human life, including the one guy who makes her feel most alive, Justin. Can this ex-vamp survive in an alien time and place or will her past come back to haunt her…forever?

How fun does that sound? And I can’t wait to see what brings them back to life! Wonder if the Cullen’s would do it

What did you guys get this week?

I’ve been debating doing Musing Mondays for a while now. I’ve recently started Teaser Tuesday and Booking Through Thursday, but when I saw today’s topic, I had to respond.

The 8/24 Musing Monday topic: Do you prefer to read stand-alone books, or books in series? Do you stick with a series the whole way through or stop after the first instalment? Are there any particular series you enjoy?(question courtesy of Elena)

I think by looking at the list of books I’ve read in the past year, you can tell I’m a series girl. When I meet a character, I like to stay with  them and keep learning about them.

I’ve read all of the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum novels but one. This year I’ve also read Son of a Witch, which is the second in the Wicked Years Series. I’ve read the second book in the Poseur series. I also read A Job to Kill For which is the second in the Lacy Field Mystery Series.

I read the first 12 Plum books one after the other, but since then, I’ve slowed down a little. On the other ones, I normally just read them when I get to them. I rarely ever go to the book store when a book is released, even if it is next in my series.

My favorite series is the Plum Series. Check out my book list and I’m sure you will be able to tell.

Every now and then I like to read a single novel to get my mind off things, but in the end, I think I’ll always come back to a series!