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Books : Fearless Fourteen
Rating: 
- don't fear fourteen
I am a plum fan, having been given One for the Money by a friend of my mums when I was 17. I recently came back to the series and have read it again, and bought 14 as the latest installment. I did read the online reviews first and have to admit, the main reason I wanted to read this one was to see if it really was as bad as the reviews suggested. I've read it in one go today, and am relieved to say its not as bad as I feared. Actually, in a lot of ways, its quite good - silly, funny, uplifting, entertaining. Its certainly not in the same league as 4/5/6 or 12 and I would describe it as a filler, if I'm being totally honest. It lacks tension, and most importantly, its not sexy enough. It does have a strong Morelli leaning, which I am more than happy with, but there are at least two scenes where I feel Evanovich could have really gone to town but didn't and this is a little disappointing - there is a lot of Joe, but not enough Sexy Joe. No mention of the chocolate eyes. Or an exploding car, for that matter. I also think that Stephanies easy acceptance of Joe as a father was a mistake - raging jealousy would have been more in character and given Stephanie an opportunity to really consider her feelings towards him. I was glad of a move away from the stephanie/ranger/joe love triangle which was starting to annoy me a bit, Stephanie at one point tells Ranger the situation needs a rethink and he agrees - and I hope this is a sign from Evanovich that there is going to be a change to come.
Overall - if you read plum for a lightweight, easy, entertaining read, you'll enjoy it, but it isn't as good as the earlier books and there is no getting away from that. I am still looking forward to Plum Spooky and 15 next year though - bring it on!
Rating: - same old, same old
If you like Janet Evanovich as a writer and enjoy the Stephanie Plum stories then you're not going to go far wrong here. The trouble comes if you're looking for the storyline to develop or anything to happen that hasn't already happened.
Yes, they are amusing and the characters are still well written, but there is no forward impetus in these books. In the fourteen adventures Stephanie has had to date she has made no real progress as a character and is increasingly becoming a cariacature, which is a shame, because Evanovich is capable of much better than this.
This is a by rote adventure and yes I do still have affection for these characters, and yes it still makes me chuckle, but that's all. I feel sad about this because I used to wait for the next book to be released with something approaching religious mania and now I am happy to wait and pick it up at the library or wait until it comes out in paperback.
Rating:
- fearless fourteen
i so enjoyed stephs latest adventure,the birthday cake bit had me crying tears of joy,it was a wonderfull read i never put it down, and yet having read reviews i was a little worried as they all seemed disappointed,most however wanted stephs relationship with ranger and joe to highten but as far as im concerned this has already been clearly addressed and bounderies established,so for me this book follows on heavenly.a must for all stephs fans,enjoy.
Rating:
- Tired Series!
I agree wholeheartedly with the previous comments. I absolutely loved the first 10 books in the Stephanie Plum series but like the previous reviewer I think Evanovich has lost her way. The plot is one-dimensional and other than the characters is just a rehash of previous plots. There is very little comedy as in previous books and there is absolutely no development of Stephanie's relationships with Morelli and Ranger. This I think is the key to the stories.
It seems to me that Evanovich has been trying to write another successful series alongside this one (see the 'Full' series) but has failed miserably so she is spinning this one out as long as she can.
If I were her, I would write 2 more books to finish the series, one featuring Stephanie ending up with Morelli and an alternative one with her ending up with Ranger. This would satisfy all the fans of her previous books and finish on a high note instead of spoiling the series by letting it fizzle out into nothing.
Rating: - Great light Read
Once when bored on a holiday I found a book called "to the Nines" in the house we were stayning in. It was a great light holiday fun read! Since then I have read all the Plum books and have found them all a good read.
Number 14 is the same. Perhaps the stories could move on alittle but all I can say is its a great read!
However if new to this. Read number one first!
- don't fear fourteenI am a plum fan, having been given One for the Money by a friend of my mums when I was 17. I recently came back to the series and have read it again, and bought 14 as the latest installment. I did read the online reviews first and have to admit, the main reason I wanted to read this one was to see if it really was as bad as the reviews suggested. I've read it in one go today, and am relieved to say its not as bad as I feared. Actually, in a lot of ways, its quite good - silly, funny, uplifting, entertaining. Its certainly not in the same league as 4/5/6 or 12 and I would describe it as a filler, if I'm being totally honest. It lacks tension, and most importantly, its not sexy enough. It does have a strong Morelli leaning, which I am more than happy with, but there are at least two scenes where I feel Evanovich could have really gone to town but didn't and this is a little disappointing - there is a lot of Joe, but not enough Sexy Joe. No mention of the chocolate eyes. Or an exploding car, for that matter. I also think that Stephanies easy acceptance of Joe as a father was a mistake - raging jealousy would have been more in character and given Stephanie an opportunity to really consider her feelings towards him. I was glad of a move away from the stephanie/ranger/joe love triangle which was starting to annoy me a bit, Stephanie at one point tells Ranger the situation needs a rethink and he agrees - and I hope this is a sign from Evanovich that there is going to be a change to come.
Overall - if you read plum for a lightweight, easy, entertaining read, you'll enjoy it, but it isn't as good as the earlier books and there is no getting away from that. I am still looking forward to Plum Spooky and 15 next year though - bring it on!
Rating:
- same old, same oldIf you like Janet Evanovich as a writer and enjoy the Stephanie Plum stories then you're not going to go far wrong here. The trouble comes if you're looking for the storyline to develop or anything to happen that hasn't already happened.
Yes, they are amusing and the characters are still well written, but there is no forward impetus in these books. In the fourteen adventures Stephanie has had to date she has made no real progress as a character and is increasingly becoming a cariacature, which is a shame, because Evanovich is capable of much better than this.
This is a by rote adventure and yes I do still have affection for these characters, and yes it still makes me chuckle, but that's all. I feel sad about this because I used to wait for the next book to be released with something approaching religious mania and now I am happy to wait and pick it up at the library or wait until it comes out in paperback.
Rating:
- fearless fourteeni so enjoyed stephs latest adventure,the birthday cake bit had me crying tears of joy,it was a wonderfull read i never put it down, and yet having read reviews i was a little worried as they all seemed disappointed,most however wanted stephs relationship with ranger and joe to highten but as far as im concerned this has already been clearly addressed and bounderies established,so for me this book follows on heavenly.a must for all stephs fans,enjoy.
Rating:
- Tired Series!I agree wholeheartedly with the previous comments. I absolutely loved the first 10 books in the Stephanie Plum series but like the previous reviewer I think Evanovich has lost her way. The plot is one-dimensional and other than the characters is just a rehash of previous plots. There is very little comedy as in previous books and there is absolutely no development of Stephanie's relationships with Morelli and Ranger. This I think is the key to the stories.
It seems to me that Evanovich has been trying to write another successful series alongside this one (see the 'Full' series) but has failed miserably so she is spinning this one out as long as she can.
If I were her, I would write 2 more books to finish the series, one featuring Stephanie ending up with Morelli and an alternative one with her ending up with Ranger. This would satisfy all the fans of her previous books and finish on a high note instead of spoiling the series by letting it fizzle out into nothing.
Rating:
- Great light ReadOnce when bored on a holiday I found a book called "to the Nines" in the house we were stayning in. It was a great light holiday fun read! Since then I have read all the Plum books and have found them all a good read.
Number 14 is the same. Perhaps the stories could move on alittle but all I can say is its a great read!
However if new to this. Read number one first!