Showing posts with label Janet Evanovich. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Janet Evanovich. Show all posts

Monday, April 06, 2020

What I Read Last Week #3


I read 2 novels last week. One mystery/comedy, and one YA retold fairy tale. 

High Five, the fifth book in the Stephanie Plum series, by Janet Evanovich. It was fun, exciting, and had an ending that drove me a bit crazy. I think that Stephanie is such a ridiculous and interesting character. She's so full of bad luck. Will things ever get better for her?

Of Curses and Kisses was and was not a fantasy. It was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It was kind of mean. I liked it, but the end was not my favourite. I wanted more. I'm hoping because it's a series, the next book will tell me what happened with Jaya and Grey. Because his father was awful and her "friend" was very manipulative. I'm also really interested in the secondary characters. They were all really interesting.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Another Sequel, A Finale, and Women Who Need To Talk

These three books are very different... and two of them are library books! I've been reading a lot from the library lately. I'm embracing library books in a way I haven't before. I'm running out of space in my house. I also feel like I can try out more new authors without the worry of money/space. Libraries are just so awesome!

Two For The Dough

Janet Evanovich is a genius at pacing her novels. Two For The Dough was full of excitement. Even the exposition passages were seamlessly woven into the intensity. I can't get enough of Stephanie Plum and Joe Morelli. I also really like how so much of the adventure takes place in the area where they live and grew up. Everyone knows everyone, including the bail jumpers on the run.

X-Men '92: Lilapalooza

There are so many characters in X-Men '92: Lilapalooza, a lot of favourites, many from the previous X-Men '92 books, but also others I was unfamiliar with. There were also a lot of "X's" in general. X-Men, X-Force, X-Factor, X-Brood. I still had fun with the comic. My nostalgia is strong. I loved seeing all my favourite characters from the 90s in their bright, colourful outfits.

I'm a little sad/disappointed though. Lilapalooza is the last book. The series was cancelled and know I don't know what happens with Xodus. Is there another comic that wraps it all up? I want to know what happens!

Women Talking

Women Talking was heartbreaking, fascinating, and made me so sad. Mariam Toews' novel is about Mennonite women deciding how to move forward with their lives after they are sexually assaulted by a group of men in their community. The story starts in the aftermath. The men have been caught, and arrested. The impression the women give is that this is for the men's protection, some of the women would have killed the men for what they did. I empathized deeply with these women. It wasn't just adult women who were brutalized, but their daughters too. As amazing as this story was, it's hard for me to think about. Women Talking is based on a true story about a real community. Part of me feels like Toews wrote the ending as she would have liked it to be, not what actually happened.

It was a wide range of stories for me. I am glad I read each of them. I like interspersing the serious with the fun. My heart can't break with every book I read, after all. 

Friday, May 24, 2019

3 Stories - Fantasy, Mystery & A Marvel Comic


Things have gotten busy lately, so instead of writing three separate posts, I thought I would smash my last three reads into one. I want to consider what each book taught me, whether about what makes a good story, people, life or whatever. There still might be a little, "Ahhhh!" because my last three reads were amazing. I've been pretty good with choosing some fantastic reads this year and I hope it continues.


That was an unexpected ending. Just wow. I immediately searched for when the sequel was coming out when I finished. Children of Blood and Bone is one of the best books I’ve read this year. Not only did I love the characters, I loved the interpretation of magic and world that Tomi Odeyemi created. Odeyemi wove magic into the world in a way I really enjoyed. Something about the world she created called to me. I found Odeyemi, her world and her characters inspiring.


Stephanie Plum is amazing. She is smart, funny, witty, and maybe a little too confident sometimes. The pacing in One for the Money was perfect. There was action, but also emotional, frightening moments as well. This was another book I stayed up much too late reading. I’ve already put the second book on hold at the library. I think this would make a great television series. I looked it up and saw that a movie was made. I also saw the reviews and ratings it received. It makes me a little sad. There is so much great material. There are awkward situations, tension and cliffhangers. Janet Evanovich created a sensational hero and cast of supporting characters. Her parents and grandmother are amazing.


A small side note, this novel is very 90s. There were so many situations where a cell phone would have been extremely useful. There’s a car phone that’s used, which is a small source of tension. I wonder how Stephanie changes her tactics as the years progress. Will cell phones and texting become part of the story? Will technology change her cases? This is a series that will give me years of enjoyment.


One look at the cover and I couldn't resist picking up A-Force: Warzones. Just look at She-Hulk. She means business. A-Force:Warzones is like the other Warzones comics I’ve read. It takes place on Battleworld where Doom is god. A-Force taught me that anyone can be a hero. It’s about need and home and love. It’s about fighting for what you believed in and for what’s right. This edition just reinforced my desire to read the Thors Warzone comic. What makes them the way they are? There’s so much to learn there.

That’s three! What will my next three be? I wonder what genres I’ll be choosing and what each story will teach me.