Customer Reviews

Batteries Required (Samantha Shaw Mysteries)

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

 

 

I love this series and the author gets better with each book. Gabe is HOT and is right up there and starting to edge past Janet Evanovich's Ranger and not quite but starting to trip on the heels of JD Robb's Roarke. (All in my opinion). I love Grandpa and Ali the beer drinking ex-police dog. This is a great series and if you want to have a guaranteed fun time - Jennifer Apodaca's Samantha Shaw's series is the thing to pick up - but make sure no one is around to interrupt you while you're reading!

This is the fourth in the Samantha Shaw series and I can't wait to find out what happens next. Sam and Angel really keep you on edge in this installment. And then there is Gabe you can feel the heat through the page between Sam and him......what is better than a little romance and alot of mystery. As always Grandpa, the boys and Ali are there with a helping hand and in Grandpa's case quick internet access (wonder if he has cable or dsl?). If you like a quick fun mystery you will love this series.

I work at a library and am up for trying anything. I saw Batteries Required on a cart and it looked interesting, that is until I started reading it. The dialogue is horrible. Very basic, amature writing. The heroine leaves much to be desired. While Apodaca tries to make her funny, she ends up turning her into a stupid, helpless idiot who can't do anything right. There are many twists and turns, but after about the 5th one, I rolled my eyes and put the book down instead of eagerly reading on. The twists, like dead bodies not being there, cars blowing up and such, were more annoying than anything. The story was not adequately developed and the characters were very shallow. It seemed to me to be comprable to a bad Harlequin mystery than a cute Janet Evanovish read-a-like. If you don't want your brain stimulated and have no problem reading boring dialogue with idiot women as the characters, then you'll love it. Otherwise, go try Janet Evanovich or Lauren Willig.

Batteries Required is book number 4 in the Samantha Shaw Mysteries. This is one hot, sexy book. Sam and best friend Angel are given a sex toy kit to try out and see if Angel wants to add it to her lingerie business. But before Sam and Angel can open the box, Angel goes missing and her house has been ransacked. Sam has to deal with a fanatical fan of R.V. Logan, her up and down relationship with P.I. Gabe Pulizzi, and the simmering heat of Det. Logan Vance who wants Sam as his own. All the while operating her dating service Heart Mates.

This book has been sitting in my wish list for years, so I decided to give it a try since I couldn't find anything else to order. Two chapters in and I remembered why I stopped reading the series and let this book sit in my wish list for so long.

Sam is an idiot, and the author's attempt to mimic Janet Evanovich doesn't even come close to working. The dialogue is ridiculous, the "gags" aren't funny, the characters are cartoonish stereotypes and the whole thing is just a bad joke. Even the cop is a moron and can't save this one.

Don't waste your time or your money.

I'm sorry to say that I just don't get it. This author consistently gets four and five star reviews, and I thought I would really enjoy her stuff based on the reviews I'd read. This is the second Sam Shaw book I've tried (along with the first one in the series), and unless I get really desperate, I won't be back. I find the dialogue to be terribly stilted, the plots seem contrived, and the whole thing is clearly a (very poor) Janet Evanovich knock-off. I wish I saw what everyone else does, because apparently lots of folks find her an absolute hoot, and I love funny books. But these are not funny, they're just... weak. It's rare that I can't finish a book, but I could not bring myself to keep turning the pages in this one.

Samantha and her best friend Angel get given a box of sex toys at a local casino. Angel sells lingerie and receives the sex toys to consider selling. She asks Samantha to hold the box for her and then goes missing.

Samantha gets Detective Vance to look into her disappearance. But things aren't what they seem, and soon Detective Vance is quit put out with Samantha. Samantha's boyfriend and ex-cop turned PI, Gabe, helps her investigate.

Samantha owns and runs Heart Mates, a dating service. While investigating, she is also fending off a stalking fan trying to find romance writer R. V. Logan. Samantha has promised to not tell anyone that Detective Vance writes those romances, but can she keep that promise and solve the mystery, saving Angel at the same time?

I love this series. The characters are so well written. The story moves along at a great pace. Samantha gets herself in her share of sticky situations. She has to juggle family, work, and investigating. She is such a fun character.

Then there's Gabe and Detective Vance. They really keep the story hopping. They're both after Samantha and also kept busy keeping her safe.

I highly recommend this book.