Customer Reviews

Licensed for Trouble (PJ Sugar)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I would like to extend a heartfelt "Thank you" to Susan May Warren and her publisher for sending me a copy of "Licensed For Trouble" to review for them. I am truly grateful for this generosity. I really appreciate the time, effort and expense it takes to make a reviewer copy available to me.

"Licensed For Trouble" is the fabulous third installment in Susan May Warren's witty and thoroughly entertaining PJ Sugar series. This latest adventure for PJ picks up six weeks after the kiss in book two that offered promise for a relationship between PJ and her boss, Jeremy Kane. The fact that nothing romantic has happened since that kiss has PJ guessing about the meaning of the kiss to begin with. But now, there are more changes in her family and more fumbles with cases that are weighing heavily on our heroine. Boone is exhibiting too much influence on Davy. PJ has her hands full with an inheritance, as well. And a brand new missing person case has fallen into her lap.

This is the best PJ Sugar book to date. The heat with Jeremy is turned up. The challenges are bigger - mansion sized, in fact. The narrative sparkles and the dialogue is witty. Plus, my favorite tattoo artist is back for a cameo appearance. This is a beautiful showcase of Susan May Warren's talent. I'd love to see her write many more PJ Sugar adventures. But since SMW traditionally writes three-book series, if there are none planned for the future, this is a terrific book to end on.

This series just keeps getting better and better!! It's got romance, mystery, humor and PJ is still having mishap after mishap. I'd recommend this series to any who wants a light fun read with a female amateur sleuth who you'll love from the beginning. I would suggest reading this series in order.

PJ Sugar is still crime solving. Or at least trying to. In book three of the PJ Sugar series, we find PJ tracking down bail jumpers. She is on the job at the annual Kellog's Harvest Festival, when she spots a woman who she has been looking for. Tricked and outwitted by the woman, PJ is desperate to prove that she will and can find her.
Adding to the general disorder that PJ's life seems to always be in, PJ is amazed to find out she has inherited the fairy tale house of her childhood dreams. Of course it is no surprise to her, to find the fairy tale house is in ruins. But an offer from a man from her sister's church, seems to be the answer, he will fix her house, if she will find him. He has amnesia and has had it for four year and she agrees to help him find out who he is and where he came from.
This is the beginning of trouble for PJ. Trouble from Boone, her childhood sweetheart, trouble from Jeremy, who she really thinks is interested in her. And trouble for PJ. Will she finally figure out who SHE is?
Another awesome book from Susan M. Warren. Definitely a book that will keep you reading to the end! 372 pages $13.99 US 5 stars

This book was provided for review purposes only, no payment was received for this review.

I have loved all of Susan May Warren's books and I have especially enjoyed this light fun romantic mystery series featuring amateur PI PJ Sugar. This series stands out because event though the frame of the story may seem familiar (amateur sleuth, coworker of opposite sex that shares attraction), Warren takes it make it her own with a very likable heroine. Personally I felt this to be the best book in the series. As I have stated in previous reviews, I have never really been a fan of PJ's sister. Connie has just always rubbed me the wrong way throughout the series so I was rather glad that she didn't show up much in this book. It's just how she treats PJ and then the whole business of her new marriage just really irk me. Although I was bit sad to see interaction with Sergei's parents reduced to nothing in this book after the rollicking ride from the last story.

There seems to be two different subplots happening, both with the same focus of finding out about one's past. There is Max, who has amnesia and hires PJ to help him find himself again. As they go along the way, there are details that may make Max NOT want to really discover himself again. There's a good mystery into his background but honestly I felt it played second fiddle to other one that I was more interested in. The other plot deals with PJ being the sole heiress to the Kellogg inheritance and having to discover why she was chosen. PJ hunts down the reasons as to why the Kelloggs might have included her in the will and along the way finds more about the family history than she had been expecting.

In addition to all this, PJ is finally having to come to terms with her relationships between childhood sweetheart Boone and coworker with insane chemistry Jeremy. This love triangle is handled exceptionally well with equal amounts of tension, humor, and awkwardness. While all these subplots may seem to make the story sound very busy, they don't. Warren is an expert story teller and manages to make each one stand out on its own as well as tie them all in together.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and the great way it tied up the series. It's a good light romantic suspense mixed with fun characters and an intriguing storyline. PJ's discovery of who she is has helped to understand her character completely. She has also made me realize that I will never want to be a PI if I can help it. It'd be too nerve wracking for me!

Having faced down the demons from her past that kept her running from her hometown of Kellogg for ten years, PJ Sugar is ready to embrace her new life as a private investigator-in-training. However, the final step - believing in and accepting herself - may be the hardest task she's attempted yet. PJ longs to explore the chance of a future with her enigmatic boss, Jeremy Kane, but she has a more difficult time than she expected closing the door on her feelings for her old flame, Boone, and the memories of their legendary exploits that resulted in branding her with the moniker "nothing but trouble." When PJ finds herself the beneficiary of the town's wealthiest widow - a woman she barely knew - the unexpected legacy forces PJ to make a choice. In order to live the life she wants, she must quit running from her past and accept the divine grace that can turn her mistakes and shame into a redeemed treasure, a springboard for a future better than she ever imagined. Couple that with an unexpected mystery surrounding an amnesiac handyman, and PJ's sleuthing and survival skills will be put to the ultimate test. If PJ can come to terms with her past, she might just have a shot at a dream-come-true future - but only if she survives the trouble her latest investigations throw her way...

Susan May Warren's PJ Sugar series just gets better with each successive installment. PJ's laugh-out-loud exploits remain as funny and fresh as ever, and the mysteries she stumbles into and solves with her unparalleled sleuthing instincts have gotten better and more suspenseful with each volume. And the romance - wowzers. For my money Warren pens some of the most swoon-worthy romances in the business, and Jeremy's character is no exception. She excels at writing the male point-of-view, and I absolutely loved how she develops Jeremy and PJ's relationship - they are a beautiful illustration of the "face of God's grace" to each other, and I loved each twist and turn in their budding romance (even if PJ's nose for trouble was apt to give me whiplash). Each character in this novel is incredibly well-drawn and so realistic it hurts - but that's just one of the many things I love about Warren's novels. The worlds she builds and the characters she creates never fail to leave an impact because like PJ, Warren's writing is real, and her heart for authentic stories of redemption and grace drip from every page of her books.

The crowning jewel of this series is PJ, and the character growth she experiences in her quest to find redemption and that elusive "fresh start" for which her heart longs. I think any believer, if we're being honest with ourselves, will not be able to help but relate to PJ's penchant for living loud and messy and seemingly unable to escape the mistakes and scars our pasts have tattooed into the very fabric of our beings. Like PJ, we can spend so much time trying to remake ourselves and prove to others that we've changed that we forget one very important truth - namely, that God can redeem the messiest past, and use that mess as a springboard into a future more glorious than we could ever imagine. But we have to allow Him and then accept that grace - and it's characters like the lovable, endearing PJ that bring that truth to vibrant life. PJ's latest case leads her on a page-turning adventure to seek the truth that grace can truly redeem the past, and that one's past, when washed with the sweet rain of God's grace leads to a life worth savoring.

I just love Susan May Warren, and this is one of her best series! PJ is well rounded and grows through her struggles. And Jeremy...well he's just dead sexy :)

I've been able to read the first two and have enjoyed all 3.

Susan May Warren writes in a fun easy to read style. Her mysteries always have a nice twist to them. I hate figuring out a mystery before the book is over!

Her characters are funny--especially PJ Sugar. PJ always seems to get something wrong, but learns along the way.

I like that Susan includes Christian themes without making them come across preachy or obvious. She shares what PJ learns about herself and God and it fits right into the book.

Oh and PJ finally reveals her real name!

If you've never read Susan May Warren, you'll enjoy her books for a fun read. Check out my other reviews here. [...]

I enjoyed the first two books in the PJ Sugar series, and this one was a delight as well. PJ Sugar has had the nickname Nothing But Trouble for so long, she has begun to despair of ever knowing anything other than mishaps and mayhem. Of course, some of her adventures land at her feet without any assistance from her! Such as the sudden inheritance of the massive Kellogg estate, the appearance of an amnesiac handyman, and a stubborn bail-jumper. Why did a woman she had barely ever seen leave PJ her estate? Who is Max and why doesn't he know his own background? There are plenty of situations for her to hone her PI skills and prove to her boss, Jeremy, that she would be a capable partner. After all, a work relationship is all they have, right? Or is it? And what about Boone, her long-time boyfriend and best friend, whose name is tattooed on her arm and whose presence is stamped on her heart? PJ Sugar makes me smile, and this is a great story for anyone who's wondered if there is such a thing as a fresh start in life.

Thanks to Tyndale for providing a copy of this book for my review. I was not required to write a positive review.

This was a great follow-up to the PJ Sugar series. I was a little disappointed when I finished the book as I wanted to read it more since I had finished it in a matter of a few days.

PJ Sugar is back in the latest installment of the Troubled series. After inheriting a strange mansion, from a stranger widow, PJ embarks on a journey of adventure, self-discovery, and house renovations with a cast of hunky, overprotective men. Throw in a bail jumper and you've got a great summer read! Oh, to be PJ, just for a day! What fun and mishaps I'd be in for!