Customer Reviews

Smokin' Seventeen: A Stephanie Plum Novel

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As with the other 16 books in the Stephanie Plum series, Evanovich brings together our favourite quirky characters in a series of murders and mishaps. Light reading, entertaining, amusing, and predictable.......

First of all, the books can be read separately, but it makes much more sense if you read them in sequence. I read one to 18 from January to May and am waiting for my hold on 19 (the latest one) to be available through the library. It's been come a "to do" list item at this point.

I rated number 17 as four stars (generous overall but you have to like the series) because I thought it was one of the better books in the saga. I don't read them for the mystery as much as for the romance and character humour. And since I favour Ranger over Morrelli, I liked that Stephanie let down her guard with him (thanks to the spell by Bella).

The author needs to stop teasing fans and keep them invested by making Stephanie choose a future already!! I would at least make her take college night courses to be a PI. Evanovich needs to create a scope wider than rehashing and remixing the same storyline 20 times, otherwise I think I'll bail soon.

Art Matters: The Art of Knowledge/The Knowledge of Art

After a few duds Janet is back on track with this one. To refer to the bad review above, who reads these for the plot? These books are about character, and character interplay. And this book has it all.

There is Grandma who is in good form again. Of course there is Ranger and Morelli---and they even have to work together.

There are some great scenes with Stephanie and Ranger.

And then there is Dave, someone who has family in the Burg and comes to live with them after something happened to his business elsewhere. Everyone is trying to match up Dave and Stephanie. Dave loves to cook and turns up unannounced at Stephanie's to cook dinner.

This book was dead on and I actually laughed out loud in some places.

let us hope 18 keeps the heat and the laughter.

"Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men . . . ." -- Deuteronomy 1:13 (NKJV)

If you read Plum books for the "mystery" to be solved, you've been misinformed (especially in this one).
If you read them instead for "bounty hunting pratfalls," there are two good ones in this book.
If you read the series because you like Ranger, this book has more than the usual . . . but it's all mixed up in a ridiculous premise that ruins most of the fun.
I didn't rate the Morelli factor because I can't imagine that too many people read the books because they are fascinated by Morelli.
If you keep reading the series in hopes that Stephanie will choose either Morelli or Ranger and stick with it, this book brings more hope than any of its sixteen predecessors.
I averaged out those four rated factors to arrive at a "two" rating.

The big problem with this series is that Ms. Evanovich wants to write virtually the same book every time without changing the dynamic of the series. That can work well in a shorter series, but not such a long one.

This book appears to promise some progress on Stephanie choosing either Morelli or Ranger. But will Ms. Evanovich deliver in the next book? I must admit that I'm skeptical. But hope is more rewarding . . . so I'm choosing that attitude for now.

If you don't mind another series of burlesque sketches built around predictable gags, then you'll like this book much better than I did.

Ms. Evanovich is enormously imaginative in developing unique characters. Stephanie Plum, Grandma Mazur, and Ranger create vivid images . . . potentially living in ways that readers would like to follow. By limiting such strong characters to a few roles, Ms. Evanovich harms her creations in fundamental ways. Take the wraps off, Ms. Evanovich, and let them go to new places!

Smokin' Seventeen published June 21, 2011, is a wonderful bubbly adventure that wraps you up really fast and keeps you entertained all the way through. I could not stop. (...)

Stephanie is definitely not seventeen. She is middle aged, ready to settle, and although annoyed by the family's over insistently attempts to get her hooked, she is stressed about not being married still, also undecidedly pondering between two hot guys (Morelli and Ranger), a cop and a famous bounty hunter, none of them the marrying kind. A third one comes along, deemed belonging to a good family, so he is being propped at every occasion by her own family, and Stephanie gets to enjoy his cooking, treasured asset that guys do not usually have. Stephanie is duped into participating at family dinners where Dave is brought along. We are the beneficiaries of some lovely uncomplicated recipes that I already started trying and result: indeed delicious.

Stephanie's character is easy to embrace and cheer along with, although at the beginning you'd think she's a bit of a wuss, drooling at doughnuts and running away from the shop to escape the curse of Morelli's grandmother. Stephanie is adorable, surrounded as she is by an array of characters one funnier than the other, some combining an Italian mix that one cannot refuse. Her grandmother is hilarious, chasing funerals and causing trouble, innocent in her explanations and attempts, witty when giving advice.

Lula is a big lady who gets really crazy if one calls her fat, fashionable woman running in stilettos and having to fix a broken nail immediately as she cannot walk any further in case of such catastrophe. Lula is Stephanie's partner and they both face all sorts of convicted (crazy, pathetic, old, dead poor) people that they have to bring to court, and comical situations roll one after another, so that you keep on laughing. (...)
To read the entire review go to allwords.ca

When you want a great story with really identifiable characters Janet Evanovitch's Stephanie Plum series is a fantastic choice. I laugh out loud. A couple of months
ago I lent the first three of the books to a neighbor and his wife said I don't know what he is reading but he is laughing out loud. These are really relaxing books
to read. The story is always great, the characters are funny and there is some smokin romance going on. I love these books and am thrilled that the movie
One for the Money is coming out, Keep them coming Janet!!!!

I purchased this book through Amazon.ca, as it had great reviews, and I love reading mystery suspense thrillers. I was very disappointed.I found the novel to be flimsy when it comes to plot and character development.I have never read anything else from the Stepanie Plum Novel Series, and maybe this is the problem.

Stephanie Plum is a bond enforcer for her cousin Vinny,and after Vinnie's Bail Bonds burned down and he had no money or influence to build it back up,Vinnie returns to his wife and connected father-in-law and is able to rent stoner Mooner's trailer as his temporary place of business.

Dead bodies start piling up. Some are dedicated to Stephanie. And she is being romanced by a new swain who is a great cook, but too overheated for Stephanie's taste (especially since he is mother-approved). Joe Morelli's Grandma Bella puts a curse on Stephanie so that she becomes a sex maniac, and she has a hard time choosing between Joe and Ranger.

Sorry I couldn't rate it higher. Even though there were funny scenes in the book,I didn't find the plot developed enough.

If you're a fan of the Plum novels then you'll have to agree that the best part of the series was in the first ten to twelve with the last five or so being the same hamster wheel. However, this story while not particularly 'mysterious' actually had some character development and the hijinks were back to being funny rather than slapstick. While the storyline seemed hurried and there were ample opportunities for more development of the characters that was missed or just brushed by, this is a return to the Plum I fell in love with to begin with. Funny without being ridiculous, interesting characters without the same old, same old and a hope that eighteen will bring Stephanie full circle and onto a fresh and funny new journey. If you're looking for entertainment, laughs and a solid read then this book will not disappoint.

Vinnie's bail bond office is on the move, literally, on wheels. Getting to work is a little more difficult when you have no idea where it's been parked. The bail bonds office was recently burned down, and now dead bodies are showing up in the empty construction site. It seems that the culprit is out to get Stephanie. Business is bad, and Vinnie tries to market the office. Lula and Stephanie's picture are plastered all over the bus -a very altered picture. Among Stephanie's work issues, are her many personal issues- two men that she can't choose from, a mother pressuring her to marry and a grandmother who tries to open the caskets when the lids are closed. Stephanie Plum is still a lucky bounty hunter, she's gaining a little more skill but she mostly relies on luck.

The seventeenth book was better than the last, but still lacking in character development. I really enjoyed the read, but I really want to see Stephanie progress is life. She needs to choose a man, or settle down. I've read all seventeen books and I'm getting a little bored. I still love the books, but I don't enjoy them as much as I use to. I'm team Ranger but at this point, I would be team-anyone. The recycled ideas keep coming back, the characters are still hilarious, I just need more... Book eighteen will be out in November, I'm hoping I'll get some closure or some progression.