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430 of 468 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
More fizzle than sizzle..., June 28, 2010
Having read the vast majority of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, I was more than a little excited about the latest installment in the series. I pre-ordered it for my Kindle and began reading it on the subway ride the morning it was released. That alone should tell you how eager I was about the release of this book. Unfortunately, not only did it fall short of my expectations (I also found a downside to the Kindle, you can't chuck it across the room when you're ticked-off like a regular book), but left me incredibly frustrated. While I'm used to the madcap adventures of Stephanie, Lula, and Grandma Mauzer I was more than a little put off with the pure insanity of this book. First off there was this lucky bottle, which is made out of glass that Stephanie carries around in her handbag throughout most of the story. I'm still trying to figure out how it never broke, especially considering she was chased by an alligator at one point (don't ask!) and ran off a collapsing fire escape. Also not to mention the fact that Ranger willing gave her two cars (which of course end up destroyed). I'm certain he likes her a whole lot, but I don't think anyone could like someone so much so that they would let them destroy two vehicles and not make her pay for them. Odd. What was also odd was how she was saved when she was in a terrible pickle, Hobbits anyone? My other biggest issue was the sheer amount of Lula I had to endure. Don't get me wrong Lula is a fun character, but in moderation. I felt like she was in every scene, spewing bad grammar at every turn. At some point it grated on my nerves and I almost wished the alligator would've eaten her! Mean I know, but there's only so much tight pink spandex and Cluck-in-a-Bucket a girl can take. The most glaring problem is the continuous flip-flopping Stephanie does when it comes to her love life. Nothing developed on this front at all. No choice has been made. She moons for Ranger when she sees him and then longs for Joe when she's in his presence. I don't know how either man tolerates her inability to commit to one of them for more than a week. It's getting a bit played out. Janet, it's time Stephanie grew up. She grumbles constantly about how much she hates bounty hunting, well get another job and/or settle down! She can't bring herself to decide who she wants as a permanent fixture in her life. She needs to stop stringing two guys along like a sixteen year old who can't decide if she wants to take the cool motorcycle bad boy or the star quarterback to the prom. I understand that if she does one or both of these things the series is over, but maybe it's for the best. It's been a fun, wacky ride and I've enjoyed every minute until this installment. The next book should be called Sayonara Seventeen.
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197 of 212 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Sizzle? Did I Miss Something?, June 23, 2010
I love this series but I completely agree with other reviewers. There was no sizzle at all. Yes, it had very funny moments that reminded me of Plum books past, but the redundancy of said humor, action sequences and even style of writing made this book almost tedious. In fact, the comedy and action is starting to play like a sitcom...and I don't want to read a book that plays like a tv show. The men 'in' her life were hardly 'in' her life, as we didn't see much of them in this one. Please, PLEASE make a decision about your love life Stephanie. It's gotten very old and extremely stale. I know I keep coming back because I want to see some movement, some resolution, in her love life and her professional life, and its just not happening.
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142 of 152 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Stone-cold Sixteen..., June 26, 2010
I have been a Janet Evanovich-junkie from the very beginning. Maybe it's because I'm from New Jersey and live less than 20 miles from The Burg. Maybe it's because Evanovich's bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum is funny, irreverent, outrageous and unpredictable. Even the books that weren't as good as her first efforts were still entertaining, with at least a few great belly-laughs. Well, I'm sorry to say that her latest, Sizzling Sixteen, could be called Stone-Cold Sixteen instead. This book is barely entertaining--and mostly stupid. I hate to admit this, but it's the truth. Stephanie works for a bonding agency run by her cousin Vinnie. Unfortunately, Vinnie has run up gambling debts with his bookie. The bookie has him kidnapped with the threat to kill if the money isn't forthcoming by Friday. Worried about losing their jobs, Stephanie, Lula and Connie decide that they must act. Their first goal is to find Vinnie. Afterward, they'll try to come up with the money. This plot is pretty lame, and if that isn't enough, it's filled with cows running through the streets of Trenton, a 6 foot alligator that guards drug money in a private home and a hobbit convention. There are enough donut and chicken stops to swear you off grease for the rest of your life. Some of the best parts of Sizzling Sixteen are Evanovich's descriptions. As for Trenton, The Burg "is a neighborhood of hardworking second-generation Americans. Families are extended and proudly dysfunctional. Although dysfunction in Jersey might be hard to measure." As for Plum's relationship issues with Joe Morelli and Ranger, "I was in a state because I had two men in my life, and I had no clue what to do with them....I was too traditional and Catholic to just enjoy them. How sick is that? I wasn't a practicing Catholic, but I had guilt." Unfortunately, Evanovich's characters have become stale, the antics are boring and the plots are dumb. It's definitely time for her to get back to her old-self or else, marry off Stephanie and end this series. I always look forward to a new Evanovich, but I'm sorry that I spent the money for this one.
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