Customer Reviews

Full Bloom (Full Series)

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

In the little town of Beaumont, South Carolina things are not as "sleepy" as one would think. An extravagant and secret wedding is being carefully and lovingly planned at a local B&B. Everything seems to be going along when a boarder, Destiny reveals that there is a ghost with a secret residing in the B&B.
An unexpected boarder posing as a photographer begins to stir things up, and Annie, the owner of the B&B falls for the secretive boarder but what is he really doing in Beaumont??
Annie's missing husband also turns up under very unusual circumstances and accusations begin to fly.
What is the secret boarder investigating? What does the ghost know? What are the circumstances behind Annie's husband disappearing? Is someone in the quaint town of Beaumont capable of plotting a murder??
Throw in a cast of characters from a caretaker with a drinking problem, a friend who cares a little too deeply, the euthanasia prone veterinarian, and a scroungy looking dog named Fleas, just to highlight a few..............what you wind up with is a quirky, entertaining tale that is quick paced, funny and a lot of fun to read.

Now this is a book I could sink my teeth in to. A romance-Mystery-Comedy that I really enjoyed reading. As usual Janet Evanovich has done it again. Written something that is true brilliance. Hope to see her on the top of the New York Times bestsellers soon!
also read in same genre: Fire In The Ice by Katlyn Stewart and Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

In Beaumont, South Carolina, Annie Fortenberry is trying to prepare her historical mansion turned B&B into a wedding reception for her best friend Jamie Swift and millionaire Max Holt. Her handyman Erdle Torney who came with the place she inherited from her grandmother has failed to do his job so she loses her temper and goes after him with a rolling pin. Visitor Wes Bridges gets in the way and is knocked out.

A gardener borrowed from her neighbor finds human skeletal remains in an isolated area where foliage has grown. The victim is Annie's spouse Charles who allegedly ran away several years ago. In fact, Wes is a private investigator working for Charles' mother to prove that Annie lost her temper and harmed her son. As the police suspect Annie as the killer, Wes believes she is innocent, but wonders if that is because he really likes her when she is not holding a rolling pin.

This amusing romantic who-done-it has the audience laughing from the moment Wes finds out how insane the Peach B&B is that is after he awakens from a bonking and swallowing a horse tranquilizer given by a retired vet. The story line gets even zanier, but never loses focus on the murder investigation handled by the cops and Wes separately. FULL BLOOM is a strong comedic romantic mystery that readers will want more plums from Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes.

Harriet Klausner

Twist and turns, sexy and wonderful....a bit naughty and oh so nice. You will love this book from the moment you crack it open. I haven't read the other books, but I will now!
Also recommended: Fire In The Ice by Katlyn Stewart

Zany. Fun-filled. Sexy. The fifth in the Full series, Full Bloom is full of eye rolls and arched eyebrows to the extent that I began seeing mental pictures of Groucho Marx every time I read that someone either "gave an eye roll" or "did an eye roll" or "arched one brow" or "arched both brows." All that was needed was a cigar and the Marx picture would've been complete.

Romantic comedy novels are generally not my genre, but I'm adding more of them to my repertoire and getting used to the flavor. The list of characters in this story is long, perhaps too long, but there are the usual standouts. The main character, beautiful red-haired Annie Fortenberry; the hunky Wes Bridges; the lovable old neighbor, Doc; the soon-to-be-marrieds, Max and Jamie, whose approaching nuptials at Annie's B&B, a former bordello in its day, is one of the plotlines in the book. Add Theenie, Destiny, and Lovelle, Annie's wacky boarders at the B&B; a drunken, cranky handyman (well, he's not really so handy), Erdle; and Annie's devoted friend (and wanna be lover), Danny, and we have the basic set. Many other characters come and go and each adds his/her essence to the tale (including Fleas the dog and Peaches the cat).

The plot surrounds events at the B&B; primarily the preparations for Max and Jamie's wedding, and everyone's interest in getting Annie hitched again after the disappearance of her wayward husband three years previous. Annie is a major klutz, so there is a great deal of what approaches slapstick comedy involved in her every move. When hubby Charles's remains are found buried in Annie's backyard, the plot thickens, and Annie finds she is in deep doodoo. Oh, yes, I almost forgot, there's also a unhappy ghost haunting the B&B (for sure?). Yes, reader, this story does include the kitchen sink, so enjoy the entertainment it provides.

Carolyn Rowe Hill

If you want a hard core, hard boiled murder mystery this is not the book for you. If you want a light-hearted, book that will cause you to laugh out loud in place, read this book as well as others in this series. I was not impressed with the first books, but they did improve as they proceeded. Branching out into other characters that interact and populate Jamie/Max's town of Beaumont has improved the books greatly. The wedding of the century as well.

The authors kept my interest with the frolicking escapades of Annie, Wes, Destiny, Doc, and company, in the anticipation of a somewhat thought-out, acceptable conclusion. Not so. At the climax of the story, when the reader would expect the characters to "grow up" and the story to come together, it just goes from insane to ridiculous. Extremely disappointing. Would not recommend this book at all. It is outrageous slapstick, without the humor.

I found "Full Bloom" lacking a bit in the storyline and not as funny or as good as the other books in the series. I think Janet needs to go back to her roots with Steph Plum and Lula and give us more entertainment in that area.

I bought a few books of this series and couldn't put them down, and found that the first 4 or 5 books were quite funny. After reading Full Bloom, I found that this book, while still funny, wasn't as good as the previous I had read. It still has the mishaps of Jamie Swift and friends, but in this one it is more her friends than Jamie herself. If you have read any of the Stephanie Plum series you will get a kick out of this series as well. Janet gets 5 stars from me, but this book in the FULL series only gets 3.

I absolutely love the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich! I quickly read all of them and wanted more! Then I found the "Full" series, including this volume, "Full Bloom". I was really disappointed to find that this is just an average romance, not very well-written. The humor, which just flows in the Plum novels, is very strained. A better choice for Stephanie Plum fans who are waiting for the next installment might be "Bubbles in Trouble" or any of the "Bubbles" books.