To the Nines

I'm a huge fan of this series. It's always been guaranteed to pull me out of a reading slump and make me laugh out loud. So I was delighted to pick up the next book and see what kinds of shenanigans Stephanie and her friends could get into.

So having said that, I was really disappointed that the ninth book in the series left me feeling... "meh." There was so much about TO THE NINES that I just didn't like. The way Lula was described as an unstoppable food fiend made me cringe. Morelli and Ranger lusting after Stephanie at every turn got old fast. And the plot itself was both nonsensical and predictable.

I would have rated it a lot lower, but I enjoy visiting Stephanie and her kooky family. I liked being back in Trenton, and I even managed show more to chuckle a time or two. I don't know if I'm outgrowing the series (which is possible), if I was in the wrong mood for this book (probable), or if I should just stop overthinking it and just move on (totally likely). I will, of course, read the tenth book, but if this series keeps missing the mark for me, I may have to let it go. This is a shame because it's been such a great comfort series for so long. show less

Originally on my book blog!

I really did not think that these books could get any funnier, but this would almost killed me. I'm not sure if I read this when I was sleep deprived (I did) or if it's really just that funny (it is) but I could not contain my laughter for very long. Every part of this book, the humor, the mystery, and the romance, came together perfectly to make a seriously fabulous book.

This book had some of the funniest material I've seen in a book. When Lula wasn't talking about her "diet" (a no carb diet, so she decided she would eat meat 24/7), she was losing her luggage on the way to Vegas. When she wasn't doing either of these, Stephanie was going through Ranger's employees like she usually does with his cars. I show more didn't go a full five pages without finding something hilarious. It was the best workout I've had in months, so thank you Janet! After going from a very serious and heavy Alex Cross novel, going to a hilarious and clueless Stephanie Plum novel was just what I needed.
The mystery was a great plot and kept the book going smoothly. Most of her books don't have a seriously intense part but this one had a scene where I was on the edge of my seat and trying to breathe (and failing). It was interesting and fun and unique. There was a lot more mystery in this one than others because she actually had to search for the guy instead of just try to pick him up at home.

Ranger Ranger Ranger Ranger Ranger. Oh you didn't ask me who I like more? Well it's Ranger, in case you ever want to. I ship Ranger and Stephanie forever. If only he was "marriage type" but I digress. Stephanie is somewhat dating Joe in this book while also spending some quality time with Ranger. Nine books in and she still hasn't picked one of them. Neither of them are really marriage material at this moment, much to Stephanie's mother's dismay. Most people would get bored or plain annoyed that she's dragging both guys along for 9 books, but I read these books in part to see what happens with Ranger or Joe.

If you want a light read with a good plot, great characters, and fabulous humor: pick up this series. Seriously, do it. I dare you.

Have you read any of these books? Are you a Babe or a Cupcake? (I stole this from Sharon @ The Book Barbies so thank her for it) show less

Book nine (or is it ten? nine and a half?) in Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. This time, Stephanie is out to apprehend a guy whose US work visa is about to expire, which involves following him to Las Vegas. Meanwhile, someone keeps sending her flowers, but not in a good way, and she begins to notice her biological clock ticking.

It's possible I was just in the wrong mood for Evanovich right now, but I think I may have reached the point where this series is starting to get old for me. There are some funny moments -- Stephanie switching out her bad luck with cars for bad luck with bodyguards was fun -- but a lot of the stuff that was meant to be funny -- an overdone running joke about Lula's diet, Stephanie's target's annoying landlady show more -- really just weren't.

Meanwhile, Stephanie's Lust Triangle of Doom, which I'm not a fan of, continues apace. And I am really, really ready to be done with plots that involve Stephanie being stalked. It's starting to be creepy in a bad way. And the revelation here of why she was being stalked in this one was just... dumb. I mean, OK, you don't read these books for the intelligent plots. Maybe the problem was mine for not being able to turn my brain off far enough (something I'm usually quite willing to do for this series so I can just sit back and enjoy the ridiculous ride). But... But it was really, really dumb. show less

I was reluctant to read a book with raised print on the cover and the declaration that it was ‘The Number One Best Seller’ but what I liked most about this book was not the humour or catty characters but that each page welcomed me like a comfortable chair next to a warm fire. I would have given it 5 stars but underlying all the warmth and humour was a kind of plodding. Maybe this is unavoidable with procedural semi-police investigation but it’s there and it drags.

I had a tube of hair gunk that was a combination of wallpaper paste and mustache (sic) wax. I pulled a big glob of it through my hair with my fingers and my curls stood up at attention. P. 247.

The best thing about Evanovich's Plum series is the consistency of characters and timeline. With every book, Stephanie's life progresses with little backtracking or inconsistency. Evanovich does a great job catching the reader up, especially if someone is jumping into the series in midstream and hasn't read books one through eight. Reading the entire series is helpful, but not necessary.
Even though I am irked about Stephanie's relationships with Morelli and Ranger, I appreciate the growth in them. I don't think it's a spoiler alert to say that at the end of To the Nines Stephanie drops calling Morelli by his last name and moves onto calling him Joe. Is that a subtle hint that she is ready to get more serious? She did just move back in show more with him and gave up her apartment to her sister. Speaking of Valerie, she just had a baby (out of wedlock) and that definitely has Stephanie's biological clock ticking a little louder. Enough of that. Onto the plot:
The bounty hunting part of Stephanie's life takes more of a back seat in To the Nines. This time around, she is the hunted. Someone is sending her creepy messages coupled with a calling card of one rose and one carnation. It's the same message sent to several other victims. Could she be next on this serial killer's list? This time Ranger and Joe make a concerted effort to protect Stephanie as she tries to figure out who is capable of getting so close to her they can take a lock of her hair? show less

This was the first Stephanie Plum novel that I read-- and now I'm hooked! The book was hilarious, but it also had it's serious and scary moments. I loved the scenes with the Plum family-- they made MY family look "normal." I would definitely recommend this book to other readers.

OMG! I read another one. Was I nuts? Did I fall and hit my head?

Once again Stephanie has learned nothing about her job and how to do it adequately. It’s starting to wear thin. In this one, it’s not a criminal she is after, but a missing man who filed a Visa bond with Vinnie. This means that he will not try to stay in the US after his Visa runs out. But the circumstances of his disappearance are weird – there seems to be a sick human hunting ring out there. Random murders that are really connected by this game. Stephanie is the next prey victim.

The identity of the person organizing the game was pretty obvious although I did get the wrong end of the stick about the game. I thought that the missing Visa guy was a victim in the sense show more that he was prey. He was actually a hunter as well. The hunters are pitted against each other and when one kills the other he gets a reward from the game master. The reward is a random victim to kill.

Anyway, there were the usual side-plots about Ranger and Morelli. Grandma Mazur didn’t feature so prominently in this one, but her sister Valerie did. She’s still living with their parents and is 9 months pregnant with Kloughn’s kid. Only she doesn’t want to marry Kloughn. In the end she is convinced that she should try and Steph gives up her apartment to Valerie and Kloughn (because he lives with his parents too). So now she has to stay at Morelli’s place full time. No bolt hole.

There were no exploding cars in this one thankfully. But boy Lula is really portrayed as a moron. She goes on a protein diet and drags around chickens and bacon and pork chops for snacks since she can eat all the meat she wants. Surprise, surprise, she gains weight and is trailed by stray dogs wherever she goes. It was a little too much. show less