Wicked Appetite [Mass Market Paperback]

I really wish they'd let us give books half stars. If they did, this would be a 3.5.

I have been enjoying the Stephanie Plum books for a few years, now, and feel that the interest that series held for me peaked at the 12th book and has waned since. It's still fun, but it runs on a formula that has become so familiar that it gets a bit dull.

Which is why I think it's unfortunate that this NEW series is running on a very, very similar formula. I knew that this book stars Diesel as the male lead and that that would lend familiarity, as we've seen Diesel in the between-the-numbers Plum books. I like Diesel, so I did not (and still do not) consider that a down side.

The part I do dislike a little is that even though the others are all new characters...Lizzy, Clara, Glo...they all feel essentially like the Plum cast, remixed just slightly. We have the sort-of ordinary, rather mixed-up heroine and her wacky sidekicks, getting up to goofy hijinks. I was already getting tired of that in the Plum books, so it was disappointing to see this new 'Unmentionable' series. That's the trouble; it doesn't feel new. It just feels like a slightly shuffled Stephanie Plum 'between-the-Plums' book.

I still have hope that as we work through the series (I assume there will be seven books to match the seven vices, but it's just an assumption at this point) we'll get to learn something about Diesel as a person. And maybe we'll even drift a little bit further away from the established Plum formulas and see this series gain its own flavour. Even if it does not, I'll still read it. It won't be exciting because things will be expected, but it'll still be fun.

For established Plum readers, this book may feel a bit stale or expected, BUT! If I were reading Janet Evanovich's work for the first time, I know I would find this book fresh and funny and just about totally delightful. Even as things were, I had a nice four hours reading it, I just wasn't very intrigued or surprised by the content.

I was looking for a light fun read and found it in Wicked Appetite. I am a Stephanie Plum fan and knew Wicked Appetite would probably follow a similar pattern. There were a lot of laugh out loud parts. The author did her magic again in creating sexual tension between the two main characters. Diesel's character development is taken further in this book and, man, is he hot! A rival for Ranger. I highly recommend the book. The only thing I missed was Rex, the hamster, but I have to say that Cat 1743 and the Carl, monkey were a hoot. This would make a hilarious movie...here's hoping! I'll be reading this book again next summer on the beach...

"Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits;
do not seek after them, to be defiled by them:
I am the LORD your God." -- Leviticus 19:31 (NKJV)

Do you want the good news first . . . or the bad news?

The good news is that the book won't take you long. The bad news is that you decided to read it.

In case you didn't read the dust jacket, this book has a new heroine, Lizzy Tucker, rather than Stephanie Plum.

How many ways would you like to see sexual frisson portrayed involving young, unmarried heroines? Janet Evanovich is clearly obsessed with the opportunity and adds here the dimensions of heavenly cupcake making set against a backdrop of Salem, Massachusetts' haunted reputation combined with predictable Diesel and Carl the monkey humor to set up some pratfalls in the context of a search for some not-so-lucky charms that might lead to a bigger prize in a Men in Black story line. Clearly, this book was intended to be a Halloween present to those who think it's a fun occasion.

Unless you like to read dozens of comic romances every day and you are under quota late at night, skip this one.