Customer Reviews

Full Speed

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

First, I wish Amazon allowed for half stars because my true rating is a 3 and one/half. I expect by Full Blast the authors will have a smoother style. Can you tell I'm a true half cup full person? This book is definitely a step up from Full Tilt although I disagree with a review I read that said this book has a Nick and Nora repartee....not quite there yet.

Things are still a bit stilted in dialog and plot. I like the premise of Muffin's interaction but the sizzle is still lukewarm between Max and Jamie. Dave's paranoia doesn't quite catch if he was to be the comic foil. The writing is still to static...for a visual think pop-up videos.

If you are a Stephanie Plum fan consider these books the half hour TV sitcom to Ms Plum as the feature presentation. But as I said before I am optimistic. I anticipate that Ms Evanovich and Ms Hughes will become more comfortable in combining their writing styles and hopefully future books will display this.

This is a step up from the first two books in this series, which were...well..not too great. Much more of Janet Evanovich's voice comes through (resembling the Stephanie Plum series.)

While the depth factor here is still rather low, this is a fast read. I bought it at the airport and it sufficed for a full day of travel and flight delays.

This wasn't up to Janet Evanovich's usual high jinks. It was hard for me to get interested and stay interested in her story line. This isn't what I call a keeper. Which is a book I keep and reread several times and do not let go from my collection. Although I did buy the book I will probably trade or resell it.

This book is almost a waste of time. There is very little plot, very little character development, and the romantic scenes between Jamie and Max lack any kind of believable sexual tension or romance, for that matter.

I definitely disagree that this book was better than the first two. In no way, shape or form does the humor in this book match that in Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. In those books, the humor flows from one scene to the other. In this book there are only brief snippets and most of them concern Fleas, the bloodhound Jamie "buys". Any reader of Evanovich could probably pick out the few scenes she worked on. The plot is almost abysmally simple and cliched - Max and Jamie are trying to get the goods on a shady preacher, Max doesn't want Jamie to come along so that she doesn't get hurt, Jamie plays intrepid girl reporter trying to get her "big story", a mobster is blackmailing/controlling the preacher, a murder occurs, yadda yadda yadda. We've been there, done that in too many books, and there's no new twist on it in this one.

By the end of this book, I just found Jamie to be annoying and the scenes of "sexus interruptus" way too predictable and frequent. In this book, Jamie and Max are totally one-note characters lacking any kind of personal depth - if you didn't read the earlier books I don't think that you would care at all what happens to the characters. The secondary characters - the mobster, the preacher, and the sidekick - are all very stereotypical. You know it's bad when you're reading a story and you're rewriting the characters in your mind to make them more interesting.

I've always bought Evanovich's and Hughes' separate books and have enjoyed them. I'll probably continue to do so. I doubt, though, that I'll buy anymore of their Jamie Swift/Max Holt collaborations - I'm just not interested anymore.

I agree so totally with Mayfayre's review that I couldn't even finish this book. It was a terrible disappointment. The characters are flat, the dialogue boring (yeah, as Max or Jamie would say) and you could almost pick out the few parts that evanovich had a hand in.

The first two "Full" books had promise, though not up to Stephanie Plum. This one falls horribly flat. Nobody could believe Max and Jamie are real people. Even the hypochondriac Dave is annoying - worried about much more than a hypochondriac would be, worried about more than a real psycho would be. He's just plain nuts, and the other characters don't pull you in at all.

I wish evanovich wouldn't waste her time on these books, and spend more time on the plum series, which, written on her own, are clever and funny and interesting. Please, more Stephanie Plum and no more of this nonsense.

I am a great Plum fan having read one thru nine and eagerly anticipating number 10. Full Speed story line was too weak to be a soap story, the characters too predictable, the dialogue mundane and trite. I pride myself in finishing every book started but this one really was an effort. Evanovich's characters (Stephanie Plum, Joe, Ranger, LuLu, Connie, Grandma) scream off the page. I have been looked at severely on my train commute because I find myself laughing out loud, actually howling at times. Max and Jamie didn't stir anything in me. Yes, I loved Fleas, the dog. The sex wasn't steamy more highschoolish. Sorry, give me more PLUM!!

`Full Speed' is the third installment of the series but only the second one of Max Holt & Jamie Swift. The story starts right where we left off from "Full Tilt." I like that we didn't miss any of the action. Max and Jamie are hot on the trail of Harlan Rawlins. He is a T.V. Evangelist who is somehow tied up into the attempts on their lives.

Max and Jamie aren't together long before Max decides to send Jamie home (to keep her safe). However, Jamie wants the story for her paper so she decided to continue on her own. Since Max literally left her standing on the side of the road, Jamie purchases a beat-up truck with a surprise. His name is Fleas, a bloodhound who comes with the truck. He has his own personality, much like Muffin.

As Max and Jamie go off to Sweet Pea, TN to resolve the mystery that started back in Beaumont, SC, they catch up with each other at the good Reverend's revival. Jamie has decided that since Harlan has a weakness for women, she will get his attention to gain his trust. Max meets up with her here and they start working together...again.

The tension was kept on low during this story. I figure it's sort of like dating...things should be heating up after the third date (in this case the third book in the series) not cooling off. Max and Jamie had their moments but nothing too electrifying. I will continue to read this series but it hasn't made me crazy waiting for the next installment. It's a good series but hard to settle for when the Plum series is SO incredible. It has that something extra that is just missing from this series.

Why Evanovich decided to take on a writing partner is beyond Little Willie. Could it be blackmail? Why else would she put her name to such forced, contrived, unfunny, stultifying dreck? The "Full" series ("Full Speed" particularly) is nothing at all like the Stephanie Plum series which has always been bright, fresh, funny and compelling. Gone is the breezy style. Hello the heavy hand. I personally will not being buying any others in the "Full" series.

Please Janet, don't dilute the fruits of your labor with any more of this committee-written rubbish. Pay the blackmail, give Hughes her walking papers and treat us, your devoted readers, to the real, unvarnished and delightful you and only you.

I, too, am an avid reader of the Stephanie Plum (SP) novels. Janet Evanovich (JE) can't write them fast enough for me. As another reader mentioned, I was having a JE reading withdrawl, so I bought Full Speed. I didn't expect it to be like SP, but I expected it to be just as funny. Not quite...

I have to say that I hated "Muffin" in this book. As unbelieveable as some of the things JE writes about are, Muffin was going overboard! The main characters somewhat reminded me of a SP/Joe Morelli/Ranger type of attraction, but didn't come close to exuding the same energy or attraction.

The book was somewhat entertaining. It had its slow parts. I thought the last 100 pages were probably the best since the story started to really come together.

Go buy the 1-9 Stephanie Plum novels instead. Guaranteed you will NOT be disappointed in those!

This can't be Evanovich! These books stink! Unfortunately for me, I bought all four of the Full House, Full Tilt, etc. series all at the same time and have packed them up to give away -- I certainly can't recommend them to anyone I know. I would like to give this series a "minus" star (negative star? black hole?), but "1 star" is as low as it goes. The characters and dialog seem like something a junior high school girl might write for a practice novel and it's something the public should never see. I LOVE the Stepanie Plum series as well as Evanovich's new book "Metro Girl". Save yourself some money and time on the Full House series.