Fearless Fourteen
by Janet Evanovich
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Book Reviews of Fearless Fourteen
Book Review: Morelli and Plum take mostly center stage in this installment...
Summary: 4 Stars
My number finally came up at the library for Janet Evanovich's Fearless Fourteen. Since I enjoy the Stephanie Plum series, it didn't sit around the house long before I picked it up and started into the latest adventures of Ms. Plum and all of her surrounding characters. The novel is a decent installment in the series... Not one of the best, but I did enjoy the read and the plot.
Plum ends up babysitting a punk gamer when she picks up his mom on a bond violation. It should only be for a couple of hours, but the kid watching duties stretch into days when the mom is held longer than normal, and then disappears after she's released. Morelli also pitches in on the duties, as they decide to have the kid stay at Morelli's place instead of Plum's apartment. Of course, nothing is ever normal in Stephanie's life, and this is no exception. People start sneaking into Morelli's place, and a few don't come out alive. The kid's uncle, Dom Rizzi, wants to kill Morelli, as he thinks that Morelli was responsible for getting his sister pregnant, which would possibly make the kid Morelli's son. Rizzi was also involved in a bank heist where the money was never found. For some reason, many of these murky people following Morelli seem to think that Morelli's house holds the clue to the missing money. And really, all Morelli and Plum want to do is find the kid's mom and be done with it all...
Fearless Fourteen covers much of the same ground as other novels in the series. Morelli and Plum seem to be getting a bit more serious, and the potential fatherhood thing forces them to contemplate life as instant parents. Many of the other supporting cast aren't quite as active here as they are in other novels. Grandma Mazur plays a decent role, and Lula's pending marriage to one of Ranger's guys is pretty funny. Ranger is pretty low-key here, as are Stephanie's parents. Bottom line, it was mind candy for a few hours of entertainment among "friends". It wasn't absolutely must-read, but as a fan of the series it was OK.
Book Review: One of her best
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved Fearless Fourteen, loved it. It had it's faults alright but nothing is ever perfect so I'm willing to overlook them. At first glance The Brenda plot point seemed unnecessary and redundant but it was needed to give Ranger a place in the book which I appreciate because despite my continued aversion to his sexual relationship with Steph, I like the character. His role may have been minimal but he's a supporting character and he's had his fair share of being front and center in other books so I wasn't bothered by his absence much. The only problem I had with him was him saying he didn't know why he still liked Steph since he wasn't getting what he wanted? What did he mean by that, sleeping or being more open to his sexual innuendos is what it'll take for him to continue liking her? If that's the case, may he go straight to hades! I don't need that kind of attitude
Call me pathetic but I cheered when Stephanie called Morelli to tell him "I've got it" . I wanted desperately for her get better at this Bounty hunter thing if she's going to stick with it and this was like a turning point for me where that's concerned. Now can she work on the gun issue pretty please? ;)
Lula and her engagement to Tank is extreme even for Lula but it was funny and Tank is just so adorable, fainting and all that. Poor guy, I'd faint too if I find myself engaged to Lula
I fell more in love with Morelli in this book. I have a new found appreciation for the man. It takes a real man to grow up and straighten his act as Morelli has managed to do. The author has made it a point to point out that the Morelli men are dead beat men who drink, cheat and chase after women until their untimely deaths and so far Morelli is the only man that has been able to break away from tradition. More power to him. He's very aware of the kind of teen, man he was and while he makes no apologies for being the way he was, he knows it was not the way to live and has changed for the better. More power to him.
Book Review: finally
Summary: 5 Stars
I know that some readers did not like this new novel, but I have to disagree. I loved the earlier Plum series books, but somewhere in the middle of them Steph's character started to get a bit "immoral". I liked the interplay between her and both men, but I for one could do without the cheating. Her first encounter with Ranger was not that bad, since she and Joe were not together but by TS-yuck. I appreciated that Stephs's character in this book redeemed herself. Yes, she still has feelings for both men, but none of the sneaking around things that women would crucify a man for doing, but seem to revel in for this woman's character. I would have liked to have had more of Ranger though, I like his character. Perhaps throwing two more women in the series would make these last few books better. I for one would like to see Ranger meet a female version of himself which he also finds himself attracted too and I would also like to see Joe find another interest as well. Even if neither of them has a sexual thing that happens it would perhaps make the series more interesting and I would like to see how Janet would write about Steph's feelings on being just "one of the women" for a change and not being the only one flipping between two men. Turn about is fair play. But as for this book, I liked how comfortable Steph and Joe were with each other, it shows that there is more then just a sexual emotion there even though one of the sections says that that's what it is. I also loved when Joe told her he would be so devastated if something happened to her that he would have to be tied to a bed and tube fed. Wow...strong feelings there. I wonder if Steph's character would feel the same about him??? Great read, but light on the bounty hunting antics of past novels, so if that is what you are looking for you may not like this one. If you are a strong Ranger/Steph fan and I see alot of the previous reviewers were, then you also may not appreciate it. Lula and Grandma were their same wonderful selves.Book Review: a bit more here, but still. . .
Summary: 3 Stars
I've reviewed the Plum books before, and much of my dissatisfaction in recent years has been over the utter predictability of these novels. This one at least wasn't as predictable.
I find it interesting that many reviewers' complaints focus on the lack of those predictables. I'm GLAD that Ranger isn't as strong a presence here, especially since the little bit he does show up includes a couple of interesting comments (such as one about him not being clear about what he's getting from his "relationship" with Stephanie--I found myself thinking "you go, Ranger. Find someone who wants what you want, not this woman who needs saving more often than not and who basically is a risky proposition, at the very least for your fleet of vehicles").
I really like Morelli here. He's basic, funny, and clearly getting ready to settle down in some way, hopefully with Stephanie.
Although this one wasn't as predictable, it did have exploding things (this time, a briefcase of paperwork, I think) and Stephanie getting "slimed" by said explosion. It had OTHER characters getting stuff in their hair (a monkey, for the most part; a VERY amorous monkey).
The plot was so-so. Nothing terribly interesting.
More monosyllabic characters got introduced, so now Ranger has company.
All in all, it wasn't utterly terrible, but it wasn't great. Kind of. . .average.
I'm with those reviewers who said they weren't going to pay for a hardcover in this series again. I won't, either, unless I can get it on the (really) cheap. Like, $5 or less. Between these and the "between the whatever" books (way too short for the ridiculous prices), I feel ripped off most of the time, especially since my favorite authors do books double this size for the same price, and since those books are so substantial compared to this one.
Adios, Stephanie. See you in the Half Price Books store, preferably on clearance.
Book Review: A Rebound from the Unnumbered Novella
Summary: 4 Stars
Evanovich's fans are always looking forward to another Stephanie Plum book - with the exception of the unnumbered novella that we hope was ghost written or the product of a midlife crisis, both of which are obviously not at issue in this novel.
Plum has two loves, as usual, Ranger and Morelli. Some books revolve mostly around one and not the other. This one revolves around Morelli. With his starring role emerges the introduction to family members: (1) convenience/liquor-store robbing Loretta and (2) her bank-robbing brother Dom. They come via Loretta's bail skipping incident which triggers Plum and a kidnapping, etc. As Loretta disappears, we meet her computer-infatuated son Zook and a fellow computer guru Mooner.
The small Ranger intervals involve his guarding of a Dolly Parton-like has been singer: Brenda. She has the Parton figure, an Elizabeth Taylor track record of husbands, and a libido of Cher or any male rock star. Morelli and Ranger received numerous offers from Brenda within minutes of their respective introductions to her. Amazingly, neither accepts. Then we learn about Brenda's stalker, named Gary, whose visions are both peculiar and potentially accurate.
During this book we learn that Zook may be Morelli's distant cousin or first cousin, or he may be both his cousin and son. When you read the book, you will learn that the prior sentence validly describes Morelli's relationship to Zook. But, that's Evanovich.
Thankfully, this book seasons certain portions of the book with a scene at the dinner table of Stephanie's dysfunctionally harmless family. More would have been well received, but that is a personal request, not necessarily an editorial observation.
After reading the unnumbered novella, I had purchased a ticket to the boat to "Leave the Evanovich Plum Series." I feared the worst. This was a pleasant surprise which suppressed that fear, and allowed me to tear up the ticket.