Customer Reviews

Drop Dead, Gorgeous! (The Gorgeous Series, Book 2)

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

 

 

Jenny Branch is tired of being just a receptionist at a hair salon. She's looking for some adventure in her life so when undercover C.O.P. agent Kevin Stone crashes her friend Stacy's wedding and shoots the enigmatic Boss, she intervenes and takes away his gun!

The Boss believes Kevin's story about being undercover in the horrid Snakepit and then sends him back- with Jenny as his supposed hostage. Things go awry and Jenny and Kevin will have to use their wits and a bit of luck to escape.

DROP DEAD, GORGEOUS is MaryJanice Davidson's follow up to the fantastic HELLO, GORGEOUS. In HELLO, GORGEOUS, the reader first met many of the characters from this latest novel and their various personalities were better established. The dislike for The Boss was also better explained in the first novel and new readers will be left a bit confused as to why there is such an intense dislike for The Boss. MaryJanice Davidson does provide an introduction that summarizes the first novel but the true essence of the first novel cannot be summarized. This reviewer, while a huge fan of MaryJanice Davidson, was a bit disappointed as the characters seemed more superficial and the scenarios a bit outrageous at times.

MaryJanice Davidson's light and breezy tone is a mainstay in her novels and DROP DEAD, GORGEOUS is no exception. There is a hint of the paranormal as Jenny's friend and employer, Caitlyn, and her husband, Dmitri, are enhanced with nanobyte technology. However, this is primarily a humorous, contemporary romance that will appeal to most MaryJanice Davidson fans.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

Although woefully short and lacking in character development and description, I found the first foray into this world of secret government agents in Hello Gorgeous to still be amusing and worth at least three stars just for the animosity towards The Boss alone. But this second foray into the same world in Drop Dead, Gorgeous I found to be pointless in the extreme. First off, where are the bionic adventures and snappy dialog from the first book that made it so fun and interesting? Within minutes after I finished reading this, I could remember neither what the plot was supposed to be about nor the names of the main two characters involved. It's only been a few days now and I had to skim the book again just to write this review, which only reinforced my impression of bland characters, senseless plot and inane dialog.

Closing thoughts. Not MJD's best work. I used to consider myself a fan and like what I've read of the first books in the Undead and Royal series' she writes. But after reading the last Undead book, the two Gorgeous books, By Any Other Name, and several of her extremely weak short story efforts lately, I'm going to be getting her books from the library first from now on before deciding if they are worth buying for my keeper collection.

Another humorous novel from Davidson, this is the follow-up to HELLO, GORGEOUS! where Stacy and The Boss are getting married. When there is an assassination attempt, things almost fall apart, but the ceremony is finished and Jenny Branch, bridesmaid and receptionist at the hair salon where Stacy works, captures the gunman, to everyone's surprise. The Boss begins to realize that there is much more to Jenny than anyone imagines, and sends her undercover with the gunman, Kevin Stone, to infiltrate the Snakepit, where Kevin had been working undercover for years. Things don't go as planned, but Jenny and Kevin manage their escape to solve the mystery of the assassination attempt. Definitely need to read the first in the series to understand this novel, and while this is a fun read, the superficiality is overwhelming at times.

It's a bit like being hungry and sitting down for a three course meal, only to be given a sandwich and a cupcake. Sure, you'd eat it, even enjoy it as far as it goes, but you have to admit that it's ultimately unsatisfying.

The previous Gorgeous book, HELLO, GORGEOUS! is clever, witty, fast-paced and fun. DROP DEAD, GORGEOUS!, while written in Davidson's trademark fluent style, lacked the complexity and drama I have come to expect from her work.

I am a huge fan, and if it's in print, be it novel, short story (and I don't usually bother with Anthologies) or even the expensive hardback (when I couldn't wait), then I own it and have read it, re-read it, read it again and then recommended it to my friends. From vain but big-hearted vampire Queen Betsy to angsty (but with good reason) dragon/Beastalker Jennifer, mouthy Christine in alternate Alaska and determinedly apathetic but patriotic Caitlyn, spazzy Sarah, delicious Derek, his fellow werewolves and the humans who love them, I have laughed and cried with them. Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons, Beastalkers and 'uber' humans with nanobytes; I have loved them all. I even like Jenny and Kevin, but I don't love them. They were just too flat to inspire that much feeling.

There are lots of lines to tug in the next book, but unless Gorgeous III follows Jenny and Kevin specifically, rather than using then to flesh out the plot and drag along the fans the way Gorgeous II used Caitlyn and Dimitri and the Boss (and this seems unlikely), then I don't see how we can ever find satisfaction. For example, what about Jenny's cold father and Kevin's clumsy criminal family? A line was strung, flung and nibbled upon, but Davidson failed to reel it in, if you will forgive a rather unfortunate fishing metaphor.
My rating? 3 out of 5 for a nice, but ultimately unrealised idea, and mainly because I am reluctant to give such a consistent performer anything lower. I hope the next book returns to her usual high standard. How're those Wyndham wolves doing?

I was very disappointed with "Drop Dead, Gorgeous." I gave "Hello, Gorgeous" 5 stars because I thought it was a fun, entertaining read. In spite of the low rating others gave it, I thought it was quite innovative and very entertaining.

This sequel didn't even come close to the original "gorgeous" story. It wasn't fun or exciting. In fact, I couldn't even tell you the plot after reading it. It was very unmemorable and didn't even come close to innovative.

Read "Hello" and stop there. "Drop Dead" isn't worth your time or money.

I was an instant fan of MJD, however this series is not among her best. Not even mediocre. I read Hello Georgeous, and wasn't thrilled with it. I read this one hoping for a better story, I hoped in vain. I will not read another in this series. The charaters are undeveloped and the stories are just lame. I am truley disappointed. It seems the author is just too busy churning out the books that no real thought or effort is put into telling the story well. I hope this is not a continuing trend in her writing. That would be tragic.

Although DROP DEAD, GORGEOUS! is the second in the GORGEOUS series, the author states herself that if you can't afford to help her pay her mortgage by buying the first book, Hello, Gorgeous! (The Gorgeous Series, Book 1), don't despair -- this book can stand alone quite nicely.

Where in the first book we were introduced to Caitlyn, the nanobyte-filled new superhero of the O.S.I., we're now given a glimpse into the staid, steadfast life of Jennifer "Jenny" Branch. She's the secretary/receptionist/administrative assistant of Mag, the salon owned and operated by Caitlyn -- who also happens to have parental issues, a brown belt in judo, the ability to shoot a gun with accuracy, and the desire to get a real life.

That opportunity arrises when Stacy, Caitlyn's best friend and a co-worker at Mag, is nearly gunned down during her wedding to The Boss, the leader of the O.S.I. When Jenny overpowers the gunman (or, actually, when the gunman allows himself to be overpowered), Jenny gets her chance to star in her own action-adventure movie. It seems that Kevin Stone, once a covert operative for C.O.P.S., has been deep undercover in The Snakepit for four years - and then was forgotten by his superiors when the operation lost government funding.

What follows is Kevin's reemergence into the lair of the bad guys, accompanied by Jenny. Sex, as sex always does in an MJD story, follows, as does a quick and intense romance.

DROP DEAD, GORGEOUS! is romantic fluff - but fun romantic fluff. This is a super-quick, easy read, but it's good for a couple of hours of laughs.

It seems that MJD is just writing the Gorgeous books just to fulfill a quota. She's never been wordy, but this one was just lacking everything. Romance, character development - all missing. Such a disappointment.

When you read a MaryJanice Davidson book, you expect breezy dialog, a plot no less believable than any other paranormal out there, and not many pages. In some of her most recent books, she has almost seemed to be skimping on those criteria. However, with DDG, she is back and in full, laugh out loud form.

The sequel to Hello Gorgeous, Drop Dead doesn't have the same compelling characters as the first book, although Jenny and Kevin are likable. Another 50 pages or so of character development, combined with Davidson diaglog would not have been amiss, but I found them irresistable even if sometimes frustrating in the brevity of the book. At least, in DDG, no one asked themselves what year it was when trying to figure out when they last had sex.
It is rare to find authors who can create characters who should by no means be likable -- and then make the reader want to know more. Best if read in sequence, DDG is a fun, if too short, sequel.
But then again, I would pretty much buy anything the woman writes. She makes me laugh.

there just wasn't much of a story line... it was all over before it go started and you're like that's it?... it was funny and good quick read but definitely not her best