Customer Reviews

3 Men and a Body (Body Movers, Book 3)

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

 

 

I have always enjoyed Stephanie Bond's books and had high hopes at the beginning of this series... unfortunately this latest book is disappointing. After waiting so long for the story to continue, this book felt like one long placeholder. Nothing of any relevance happens and the story just seems to drag on - as if the author is trying to stretch a short story over multiple novels. I found the book difficult to finish and just didn't care by the end.

Also, for a book touted as a "sexy mystery" the storyline offers nothing sexy (or romantic!) and the so-called mystery is a trite afterthought.

Hopefully the next book in the series will accelerate the story and unveil new information that will bring the excitement back.

I love this series but after awhile Carlotta starts to get a little heavy. She has deliberately painted a big "V" for victim on her forehead and then seems confused when her brother, ex-lovers, girlfriend and father take advantage of her invitation. Carlotta is a toss up between Lucille Ball and Stephanie Plum (J. Evanovich). Instead of dealing with her immediate problems of living hand to mouth and dealing with an immature brother, she goes out of her way to look for drama. Her choice to pimp herself for a father, who abandoned his children and walked away from a son being held at gun point is a mystery. She all but ignores the one person that sincerely cares for her. No matter how many times her friends give her advice, she does what she wants, and then expects them to bail her out. High maintenance friends like this soon become too burdensome and find themselves alone. The whole Wren family needs to grow up. I kept waiting for Carlotta and Wesley to learn from their mistakes and have a eureka moment but it never came. The fruit didn't fall too far from the tree here. I love SBs writing style and character backgrounds but the plots are forced and stretched beyond the point of caring.

Coop figures out a way to get some alone time with Carlotta, or at least, he thought he had until Wesley crashed the party. Coop is diggin' Carlotta and Carlotta is pretending to be diggin' him, when what she's really doing is hitching a ride down to Daytona Beach to see if she can flush out her fugitive parents. She even goes so far as to let the man get his head between her legs when Wesley actually saves the day - for Coop. (Coop is really too good for Carlotta).

I zipped through books one and two and eagerly sat down with three. I started this series with so much anticipation, and boom! right here is where it got tiresome. I really liked Carlotta and Wesley, but now I see them for the users they are. While Wesley tries to get himself out of loan shark and other assorted trouble, he pimps Carlotta to Peter, totally turning on his boss, Coop; and Carlotta, while well aware that Coop wants an exclusive and meaningful relationship with her, is also well aware that she doesn't necessarily want that type of relationship with him. (Don't know when she's going to get around to telling him, though.) But, gosh it's been so long since she had sex and her best friend (who has a crush on Coop and Carlotta knows about the crush) directed her to have some meaningless sex (best friend didn't know Carlotta would be trying Coop). Like Stephanie Plum, Carlotta's a closet skank. Trying to "choose" which of three men would make her happy when she's really channeling her inner whore. Carlotta is thirty years old or somewhere thereabouts. She needs to grow up.

So, should Carlotta pick Jack? Negly. Jack is handsome and good in bed, but he also makes it clear that his job comes FIRST. Should Carlotta pick Coop? Again, negly. Coop is handsome, but he's also sincere, thoughtful, kind, and funny, so while she makes up her mind between him and the other two, she uses him. Should Carlotta pick Peter? Ding, ding, ding! Jack is rough and exciting, she knows what sex is like with him. Coop is sincere and thoughtful and has no intentions on using her, so of course, he'll probably be the one to get the "let's just be friends" bounce. She almost found out what sex would be like with him. Yep, I figure that since Carlotta often daydreams about that privileged life she once had; she ought to get back to it before she pushes Jack to hurt her or totally screws up Coop's rehabilitative efforts. Oh, and she knows what sex is like with Peter since he was her first.

I finished reading this book and the plan was to rush to the library tomorrow and get #s 4-5, but I tried something. I had #6 which I had put aside until 4-5 could be read, but I decided to just browse through it to see if anything improved. NOPE!!!!!! And so I'm done. My advice? Stop at #2 and do like a fanfic thing. Imagine what would happen if . . . Books 1,2,3 and 6 go back to the library tomorrow; I'm no longer interested.

Carlotta Wren finds herself still recovering from a close call with death at the hands of a friend/killer; worrying about her gambling, now pill addicted brother Wesley; fighting her attraction to Jack; wondering should she trust her heart to her ex, Peter; or should she give Coop (the disgraced ex-medical examiner turned body mover) a chance. She is also wondering will she still have a job at Neiman Marcus when she returns or will she ever be able to get out of debt. So when Coop asks her to accompany him to retrieve a body of a celebrity from Florida, and when she finds out (from Jack) that her father may be alive in a town near her destination, she believes the trip may lead to the answers to questions that she has longed to know. And while both Coop and Carlotta had hoped for romance, they both find themselves in the middle of a mystery....why someone wants the body of the famous person he has been asked to transport back to Atlanta. After several attempts to get the body, Carlotta begins to realize that there is more to the death of the celebrity than was believed...and she's leaning more towards murder. Soon Carlotta has just as many attempts on her life as she does missed romantic encounters with Coop.

I enjoyed this book, especially because it picked up where the last "Body Movers" book left off. The tension between Carlotta and Jack is still as interesting as in the last novel. Peter is still trying desperately to prove that he is worthy of her love. Coop is still the underdog that you cheer for, hoping that he will have all that he desires (both in his relationship with Carlotta and maybe even get his old job back). I am not sure if I'd want to continue reading about the love triangle or her close brushes with death..... for let's say....10 more books, but right now, I am interested enough to continue the series to see how everything will work out. I desperately want Wesley to find peace and stop making immature decisions. I would also like Carlotta to really find happiness ...whether it be Jack (maybe), Peter (definitely not, he had his chance) or Coop (definitely the least selfish of the three). And of course, who doesn't want to get to the bottom of her parents disappearance.

I would definitely recommend this book for those who want a quick and easy read. Even if you do not know the story, or haven't read the previous books in the series, you will be able to follow the storyline. It was an enjoyable read.

I like Stephanie Bond books and this is a great story line, but when will this all end. The books keep you hanging. The stories are all off the mark of what should be going on, they just have enough in them to remind you of what they started with.

This series is on my keeper shelf (along w/ my other Stephanie Bond books). Carlotta manages to surprise me every time. With the first book in this series, I knew who I wanted her to end up with. Now, I'm not so sure anymore, especially with the curveball (courtesy of Jack) near the end of the story. But it was fun to have the chance to learn more about Coop so I'm glad he played a major role in this book. And just when I think Peter is counted out, he steps up and does something amazing.

I am eagerly awaiting the next three and I'm sure from having read Stephanie's work since her Harlequin Temptation days that I'll be just as pleased.

Stephanie Bond's 'Body Movers' series is more of a romantic mystery than anything else. Bond has a great touch with adding humor to her stories, the mysteries are well-plotted, and there are ongoing and changing relationships (romantic and familial) that run throughout. There are currently six books in the series and the author's website says there may be more. These books made me laugh and made me sigh and even get a little overheated in some spots. In some ways, this series reminds me of Evanovich's 'Stephanie Plum' series.

In book three, Carlotta is recovering from events at the end of book two and has a few more weeks off work. When one of the men in her life, very sexy Cooper--current body mover and former head medical examiner, invites her along for a special body-moving job in Florida Carlotta can't think of any reason to refuse him...er, the job! But this is Carlotta's life so pretty soon there's run-ins with corpse-snatchers, her brother Wesley tags along, she hears from her fugitive father, and she and Cooper...uh, you'll have to read it for yourself to find that one out :)

This series is not deep mystery. It's just fun. If you need a break from the normal routine, this is a series that might be for you.

You'd think that by book #3 of a series the lead characters would have learned, grown, improved themselves, or heck even decided who they like. Not so in this book, as Carlotta and Wesley Wren continue to be self-serving jerks that don't deserve the good people around them.

Stephanie Bond's writing is quick pased, full of good detail, and interesting and my romantic heart has always assumed she was going to take this series to a happy place. The supporting cast is colorful and I love them all. Sadly, I can't figure out why anybody hangs around our lead characters. He (Wesley) is heavy in debt to loan sharks and can't think of anyone but himself. She (Carlotta) is the kind of girl who'd kiss a guy her best friend is crushing on and who'd sleep with a guy that is together with her dad's ex lover. EWWWW.

The ending of this book leaves nothing settled and I was left totally unsatisfied. My advice would be to wait until June 2009 or later, then see where she takes books 4-6 and decide if it's worth your time and money. I strongly belive this series could go somewhere great still- even if this book had me cursing.

That's right, I'm not giving up on this series yet- I'm going to wait and see if she takes it somewhere worth going, or just lets it continue down a junky path not worth following.

Another in the Carlotta wren series - want it to end to "know who did it" and don't want it to end! great series - fun reading.

I don't know why some people have rated this series so low. There's humor, mystery and romance. Love this series and am anxiously waiting (hoping) for book 7.