Customer Reviews

Plum Girl

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Plum Girl starts out as just another story about a girl who hates her job. She lives in a studio apartment with her sister. She's a temp at a law firm with the world's most annoying boss. Then it builds to include a hot new romance and a intra-office mystery at the law firm that begins with one of the head honchos being murdered at the company holiday party. This book really has a little of everything. There's lots of comedy, a murder mystery, a little romance, a little sex. Nothing is too over the top. I never felt like I was reading a romance novel or dry crime fiction. It reminded me a little of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich (I'm thinking of Four to Score, in particular). Lots of fun and unexpected twists.

I gave the book four stars instead of five because of the ending. It left me with a few unanswered questions. I got the feeling that the author didn't quite know how to wrap up the book. I was a bit disappointed. But, overall, I thought the book was fantastic. I definitely plan to check out future books by Jill Winters.

This book deals with Lonnie who had just graduated from college with Master degree and was working as a temp in a law firm. It was one of those monotonous job where your boss can't even remember your name. The firm had also interesting characters. It was in the same building that Lonnie met up with an old college friend, Dominic. Sparks flew but Lonnie was fighting to control her desire for him as she was semi-attached to Terry, a struggling comedian. At the same time, Lonnie was also dealing with her mother who felt that Lonnie should lose some weight, her sister moving in and accidentally discover the dead body of one of the partners in her law firm. She was also working with a local cop to snoop around the office and to observe her colleagues as the cops believed that the partner was murdered.

I really like this book because it doesn't just deal with romance which I find is too boring and predictable. Jill Winters did a good job in interwining the romance between Lonnie and Dominic with the murder mystery. Another thing that is good about this book is that it is not slow-paced unlike other books and the characters are very likeable. There are also funny moments in the book especially with Lonnie's mother and her relationship with Dominic. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a relaxing yet enjoyable book.

Lonnie Kelley and her younger sister Peach have been best friends since they could remember. They live together, and share each other's thoughts on boyfriends, work, and life in general. But when Lonnie's demanding boss, Beauregard Twit, mysteriously dies, she decides that it's up to her to investigate his death. In the meantime, she needs to think of a good way to break-up with her semi-long distance boyfriend, Terry. So she can start seeing Dominick, the guy who "sends her into a meltdown of raging lust in seconds flat."

This is a hilarious contemporary romance. Readers will enjoy the relationship between Lonnie and her quirky sister Peach, and relish in Lonnie's hilarious commentary. Fans of "The Boy Next-Door" written by Meggin Cabot will love this novel, and vice versa. A must-read.

Erika Sorocco

Heroine: Average/Plump

Lovely Lonnie Kelley, with her multiple Master's degrees, has finally decided to end her career as a permanent student and start a new one: as a temp at a law firm. Not that any of her degrees are in law, or that her job as assistant to the capricious Beauregard Twit is much of a "career", but at least it's paying off her student loans and gives Lonnie time to decide what she really wants to do with the rest of her life.

It also gives her time to figure out how to drop her semi-sorta-long-distance-almost-boyfriend in favor of the hunk from downstairs. And, unfortunately, it gives her time to do some snooping around after one of the firm's partners mysteriously turns up dead at the office party. Can Lonnie find a direction for her life, land the perfect guy, and serve justice without getting herself "terminated" in the process?

What worked for me:

I don't know what was more fun, reading about Lonnie's yummy love interest or keeping tabs on her life at work. Twit & Bell has the same sort of bizarre goings-on you'd expect at that other infamous Boston law firm, Cage & Fish.

Size-wise this story is another case of the heroine being assigned a smallish-sounding dress-size, but the descriptive language leads the reader to picture her as being larger than that. Lonnie loves her junk food, and the poor dear has one of those mothers whose favorite mantra is "Your face is soooo pretty, if only . . "

What didn't work for me:

I personally didn't have a problem with it, but some die-hard sleuths might be disappointed that the mystery doesn't present itself sooner.

Overall:

A great read; definitely take this one to the beach with you this Labor Day weekend. Be aware that this book is steamy and does use some coarse language.

If you liked "Plum Girl" you might also enjoy The Stephanie Plum mystery series, "Princess Charming", "Infernal Affairs", "Fast Women", "Looking for Laura", or "Lola Carlyle Reveals All".

This story has murder, mystery and romance. All three are combined in a very amusing way, making this a fun to read book.

Lonnie is a super fun leading lady that I could totally relate to. She went to college, got a degree that is of no use in the real world and is now working as an office temp. She hates her temp assignment, hates her boss, and doesn't even like her boyfriend very much.

Her ho-hum job gets interesting when people start dying. A boring office party gets exciting when one of the partners is found dead in a closet. Lonnie takes it upon herself to solve this mystery and enlists the help of her sister and the boy she likes that isn't her boyfriend.

I read through this book at lightening speed and then wished that I'd read slower to enjoy it longer. I would highly recommend "Plum Girl" to fans of romance and mystery.

Lonnie Kelly the star in Jill Winter's "Plum Girl" has found herself working as a temp for Beauregard Twit of Boston's Twit and Bell. One day she meets up with Dominick a man she knew from college, who now makes her heart beat faster. But things are not so good at Twit and Bell, and after Lonnie and Dominick find one of the senior partner dead its up to them to the killer.
I really enjoyed "Plum Girl" up to the last twenty pages. It seem that Ms. Winters was rushed in finishing this book, it really did make sense. "Plum Girl" is a good book, but don't expect the endind to be great.

The main character is Lonnie Kelley. She has been working as a "temp" at a law office for 6 months now for a boss that can't seem to get her name right. Although she has a boyfriend, the guy downstairs, Dominick, makes her melt. Although things around the office are always unusual, they have been even more so lately. When the 2nd partner of the law firm has a heart attack in a closet at an office party, Lonnie starts an investigation of her own with Dominick and her live in sister, Peach.

This book is highly romantic and an exciting mystery. Jill Winters knows her stuff when it comes to good love scenes and things that make you go "hmmm".

This was my second time reading a Jill Winters novel, and I don't think I'll bother to read a third. This is a romance novel trying, and failing, to be a zany romantic mystery. Lonnie is an academic stuck temping at a hellish law firm with an often amusing cast of characters. She falls for Dominick, a college acquaintance who now works nearby, and struggles with having a grown-up relationship with him. My main problem with the book was how much I hated Lonnie. She was so irritating, insecure and clueless that the book was painful to read. Her decisions were frequently spineless, childlike and made absolutely no sense. There was also some strange sizeism. Lonnie and her mom both complain about Lonnie's weight constantly, but she's only a size 9. Very weird. There is an actual fat character, and he's described as a disgusting pig. I was stuck on a plane, otherwise there's no way I would have finished it as it made me alternately angry and bored. Two aspects of the book did work for me: 1) it was delightful having an openly feminist female lead and 2)the sexual tension and sex scenes were well written, believable and fun to read. Sadly, the book fails as a feminist friendly novel (for example, Lonnie is depicted as "sexist" for not forgiving her boyfriend) unless the goal was to show feminists can be "too stupid to live" heroines too.

I was not impressed with this book at all. I thought the characters were corny and superficial. If you like funny, contemporary romances with great, in-depth characters, don't waste your time with Ms. Winters - try Rachel Gibson or Susan Elizabeth Phillips instead. They definitely won't disappoint you like this book will.

Lonnie is a well-educated woman who can't find a job. Feminist theory doesn't open up a lot of job opportunities, you know. So, she is temping at Boston law offices of Twit & Bell. Surrounded by strange characters from the pompous, obsessive Twit, who can't remember her name, to the friendly, but suspicious Marcy. BJ, the liar, Matt, the schmooze, Lunther Bell, the lurking partner, and his vindictive, vicious assistant. Lonnie is managing to cruise through her days there, but the nights are tough, especially with her immature boyfriend Terry, the stand-up comedian, living in New York. And then there is Dominick, the sexy computer guy who works at the firm two floors down from Twit & Bell. He is sweet, considerate, and sinfully good-looking. And Lonnie is confused. Good thing her sister Peach is there to help. When Lunther dies in the middle of the firm Christmas party and the irritating Detective Montgomery enters the picture, the cast of characters is complete.

This book is a must for any Crusie fans out there. It is wry, funny, a little dark, and doesn't always run on the expected romance lines. There are some eccentric characters, not all of which are completely developed. Some of them get a bit confusing, and seem a bit on the static side, as if they are only there to serve their plot purpose. Motivation doesn't seem a priority for Churchill, but the book was great nonetheless.