Full Tilt

Full Tilt is a good story with likeable characters. Even the cars are characters in the story. Five stars were given to this book.

Full Tilt was very fun, sort of like Knight Rider for written for women. The main star of the novel is a sweet car with a mega-powerful computer. The computer, named Muffin, comes fully equipped with a sexy Marilyn Monroe voice. The actual main characters, Jamie and Max, share a thick romantic tension felt throughout the book.

While I enjoyed the book a lot, I have some complaints as well. Most importantly, the would be killer said some rather obvious things in the middle of the book that, while not ruining the mystery, ruined the surprise reveal at the end. Evanovich and Hughes described Max and Frankie as both brothers-in-law and cousins at different points of the book, While not effecting the story, it was a distracting typo that made show more me think Max's sister had married her own cousin more than once.

The good more than out-weighted the bad in Full Tilt. It was a very fast, enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to reading more in the series. show less

Evanovich, Janet, and Charlotte Hughes. Full Tilt. Full No. 2. Headline, 2003.
The Full series seems to be a transitional series for Janet Evanovich. The first volume was published in 1989. More than a decade later, she went back to the series and brought in co-author Charlotte Hughes. The second book brings in a new set of characters but keeps the smalltown atmosphere. Our heroine this time is Jamie Swift, the young publisher of a struggling newspaper in Beaumont, South Carolina. She has a new silent partner, Max, who comes to town to check out the paper he intends to rescue (why never made much sense) and helps Jaimie solve a murder and save her brother-in-law’s political career. A slow news day, no doubt. Romance and thriller show more violence ensue. The clever kid from the first novel shows up to save the day, and, oh yes, Max has a portable, almost sentient AI he calls Muffin. I expected David Hasselhoff and KITT to show up any minute. 3 stars. show less

2.5 stars - Fun, outlandish, "romantic mystery" set in the South. Millionaire playboy falls for poor but feisty newspaper publisher who is engaged to safe but boring tax lawyer with a rich power-hungry mother. Throw in some colorful characters and it's just a romp. Weak plotting. Trite dialogue. But it's still fun for the beach.

Jamie Swift runs a newspaper in Beaumont, South Carolina. She's under stress because the newspaper is going under, slowly but surely. When her silent partner Max Holt announces that he's going to visit this only adds to her stress.

When Max arrives he brings not only stress but also questions about her relationship with the 'safe' Philip.

It's brain candy, but I did enjoy the story and the characters, particularly Muffin, the AI in Max's car.

I thought this was a great read (and listen). If there’s one thing Janet Evanovich has a knack for, it’s colorful, interesting characters, and there’s no shortage of them here. From Frankie the ex-wrestler to the gun-toting Vera to Deedee’s personal assistant Beenie, they’re all here to entertain you. I recently watched the first two seasons of Eureka, and Muffin could be Sarah’s sister (and I’m sorry that you won’t get this unless you’ve seen the show, but Sarah’s a house). It’s not clear for quite a while why exactly someone might be gunning for Frankie, but it doesn’t really matter. The mystery is secondary to the interaction between Max and Jamie.

I really liked the open-ended ending. Who is this mysterious show more preacher? What is his problem with Max? And will Max ever get into Jamie’s pants? Another lighthearted, fun read from Ms. Evanovich. show less

This was a quick but fun read. Billie and Nick are no longer primary characters in these later stories, and they are only referred to briefly, with regards to raising Max from 16 on. This book also contained more of a mystery than Full House, as I believe all of Evanovich's later books do. I believe the next book in the series, Full Speed, picks up where this one leaves off, with Max and Jamie heading to Tennessee to try to find the preacher and get some answers from him about the corruption that was unearthed in Beaumont in Full Tilt.