Fortune and Glory by Janet Evanovich

 

Title: Fortune and Glory (Tantalizing 27)

Author:  Janet Evanovich

Narrated by:  Lorelei King

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 7 hours and 13 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  Thank you @simonandschuster #BookClubFavorites for the free books!

What is the longest running series that you’ve read?  I believe for me it is the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.  I finished up book 27 this fall, but there are currently 30 published books in the series.

Grandma Mazur’s new husband passed away on their wedding night.  Grandma Mazur is left with an old La-Z-Boy chair and the keys to a supposed fortune.  Stephanie Plum and Grandma Mazur become treasure hunters in this novel, while trying to avoid the people out to get the keys from Grandma. All of the old favorites are in this book, the love triangle between Stephanie – Morelli- and Ranger, cars blowing up, Lula causing mayhem, and great descriptions of food.

I always return to this series when life is stressful and I need a good laugh.  I love the audiobook versions narrated by Lorelei King.  She has the perfect voices for all of the characters and makes it a joy to listen.  I do wish that Stephanie would make some forward movement in her life at some point and chose between Morelli and Ranger.  I still think the book series could just be just as fun if Stephanie is married and has kids.  This was another fun installment in the series, and I can’t wait to read what is next!

The Recovery Agent by Janet Evanovich

 

Title:  The Recovery Agent

Author:  Janet Evanovich

Narrated by:  Lorelei King

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 7 hours and 26 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster.  Thank-you!

 Happy Publication Day to The Recovery Agent by Janet Evanovich!  I love her Stephanie Plum series on audio, and I was very excited to be able to review the start of her new series, The Recovery Agent.  It has the same narrator, Lorelei King, who happens to be my very favorite audiobook narrator. She was great again in this novel.

 Gabriela Rose is a recovery agent and works for clients to retrieve lost treasures or information around the world.  After her hometown is devasted by a hurricane, she decides to try to solve an old family legend and look for the ring of Solomon to raise enough money to repair the town.  Unfortunately, this means that she must look in the home that her ex-husband Rafer received in their settlement.  Rafter is handsome, but also drives Gabriela insane. He decides he needs to be on this adventure as the map came from his home.  Soon the two are traveling to exotic locals with a madman on their trail.  Will they be able to find the ring and save their hometown?

 The Recovery Agent was just the type of audiobook I wanted to listen to right now.  It was funny and a great adventure.  It reminded me of Romancing the Stone, but with a more capable heroine.  It had all of the adventure and treasure seeking that I loved in the Indiana Jones and the National Treasure series. Rafer is kind of a blend of Morelli and Ranger from the Stephanie Plum series, but he seems to lean more towards Morelli.  Rafer and Gabriela have great chemistry.  I love the witty banter throughout the novel.

 Overall, The Recover Agent is a great new humorous adventure series.  I’m looking forward to the next book.

Twisted Twenty-Six by Janet Evanovich

 

Title:  Twisted Twenty-Six

Author: Janet Evanovich

Read by:  Lorelei King

Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio

Length: Approximately 6 hours and 45 minutes

Source: Overdrive through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

When I need a fun book pick me up, I look no further than the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.  I have enjoyed this series on audiobook the past few years as I LOVE the narrator. Lorelei King is my favorite audiobook narrator, and she brings this series to an entirely new level.   She has a different unique voice for each character and just makes the entire audiobook a joy to listen to.

Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter and is not sure about her job and the predicaments it gets her into.  In Twisted Twenty-Six, the job gets more personal when someone appears to be out to get Stephanie’s Grandma Mazer.  Grandma has become a widow again after her groom of 45 minutes, Jimmy Rossolli, dies of a heart attack.  Jimmy was a local mobster and was the keeper of the keys for the goods for his group of mobsters.  No one knows where he puts the keys and are sure that Grandma has the answers.  Will Stephanie and Grandma be able to find the keys while Stephanie also works with her partner Lula to track down her bounties?

I love how this book was self-aware.  Stephanie reflects on what she would look like if she were fifty-six years old and is disturbed.  I think that would be her age is she aged along with the series.  She also reflects on how she never changes and is stuck in the same rut.  This made me laugh a lot as that has been my complaint the last few novels!  I like that Janet Evanovich took my and other readers complaints and made them into a point of humor in this novel.

Overall, Twisted Twenty-Six is a funny novel that is a perfect audiobook when you need a pick me up!

Look Alive Twenty-Five by Janet Evanovich

Title:  Look Alive Twenty-Five

Author: Janet Evanovich

Read by:  Lorelei King

Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio

Length: Approximately 6 hours and 52 minutes

Source: Overdrive through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

Look Alive Twenty-Five is another fun book in the Stephanie Plum Series.  I find this series great for a light entertaining audiobook.  Lorelei King is my favorite audiobook narrator and she brings this series to an entirely new level.   She has a different unique voice for each character and just makes the entire audiobook a hoot to listen to.

In Look Alive Twenty-Five, Stephanie and Lula work in the Red Rover Deli in Trenton.  Over the past few weeks, the managers have disappeared leaving only one shoe by the dumpster.  Who is responsible for their disappearances?

I enjoyed that the mystery was new and the story was different with the ladies working in a deli for this one.  There were some very funny scenes and dialogue in the deli.  I especially love how Lula is always sure that the mysteries are caused by the supernatural.

  I was still annoyed by the love triangle of Stephanie, Morelli, and Ranger.  Especially as Stephanie seems to mostly be with Morelli, but also seems to have continuous one-night stands with Ranger.  Just pick one!

Overall, Love Alive Twenty-Five is a funny novel that is a perfect audiobook for these trying times.

Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich

Title:  Hardcore Twenty-Four

Author: Janet Evanovich

Read by:  Lorelei King

Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio

Length: Approximately 6 hours and 10 minutes

Source: Overdrive through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

Janet Evanovich’s novels are my go-to novels for light comedy entertainment.  I strictly listen to the audiobook versions of her novels now as Lorelei King is the best audiobook narrator in the business.  Her characters are lively and entertaining in themselves.  Together with Evanovich’s unique and hilarious characters – it’s a great combination.  My husband heard me listening to this audiobook and was amazed it was the same voice actor doing all of the voices.

Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter who works in Trenton, New Jersey, with her friend Lula.  Her first bounty is Simon Diggery, a local grave robber.  He allows her take him in if she cares for his pet boa constrictor, Ethel.  While caring for Ethel and trying to track down other bounties, Stephanie discovers that there is a mysterious rash of zombies in town that seems related to corpses suddenly losing their heads.  Who is taking the corpse heads?  Who are the zombies?  Will Stephanie choose between boyfriend Joe, love interest Ranger, and a third hot mysterious guy, Diesel?

Hardcore Twenty-Four was entertaining and truthfully it reminded me of a Scooby-Do mystery where you have to find out what is really causing zombies to appear in town.  I was still sad that Stephanie still has not made any forward growth and is still unable to decide between her men.  Stephanie keeps saying she is average looking, but she must be more than that with all of them chasing her.  It’s getting distressing that she seems to be dating Joe, but has no problem sleeping with Ranger once in a while.

Overall, Hardcore Twenty-Four is an entertaining humorous book that you can’t really think too much about.   It fulfilled it’s purpose to keep my mind off of current events.

Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich

Title:  Turbo Twenty-Three

Author: Janet Evanovich

Read by:  Lorelei King

Publisher: Random House Audio

Length: Approximately 6 hours and 13 minutes (5 CDs)

Source: Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

Larry Virgil skipped out on a court case after being arrested for hijacking a semi-truck full of bourbon.  His next attempt is to hijack a freezer truck full of Bogart ice cream.   He is thwarted by bounty hunter Stephanie Plum and her partner Lula.  They are shocked to find a dead man frozen as a Bogart Bar in the back of the truck.  This threatens to change the ladies love of the ice cream bar forever. 

With the help of her cop boyfriend Joe Morelli and the mysterious bounty hunter/security guru Ranger, Stephanie works on hunting down bounties and trying to solve the Bogart Bar mystery.  Ranger is doing security at Bogart ice cream and at a rival company across town.  He uses Stephanie as an undercover worker in the factories to try to determine who would have a beef with Bogart.  Side characters also have stories of their own.  Lula is making a “Naked and Afraid” audition tape with Randy Briggs while Grandma Mazur has a new boyfriend who owns a motorcycle.

Turbo Twenty-Three is an entertaining novel.  Being in the depths of winter, I need a book to cheer me up!  I still am annoyed by Stephanie’s love life.  I thought she was making some progress in this book by deciding to move on to a relationship with Ranger, but then after sleeping with Ranger she keeps on dating Joe.  I was disturbed by this.  A love triangle where you sleep with both men is a little much.

Lorelei King is the best audiobook narrator in the business.  She has great unique voices for each character in the audiobook.  She makes the Stephanie Plum audiobooks for me.  I am entertained by her rendition.  It makes me laugh out loud.

Overall, Turbo Twenty-Three is a light humorous book with a great audiobook narrator.