3.8 ⭐

I’m annoyed.

SPOILER ALERT

The romance has frustrated me from the beginning and I wish it didn’t exist. But it’s here so I’m going to judge.

I love a good love triangle. However it annoys the hell out of me when one of the guys is turned into or does a jerk move to justify the girl going to the other man.

Joe acts totally out of character and I saw it coming. And when it happened, I rolled my eyes.

I wasn’t surprised by the fluffy ending and feel no rush like the last fluffy to read the next book.

I like Ranger, a lot. But he seems like a fling. Joe feels more solid.

Curiosity will bring me back, but I won’t pay to read it. I’ll wait until available through my library.

The narrator. I love her. She made me laugh out loud in this book. I haven’t in the previous, so maybe the delivery. Unfortunately, she reads one of my favorite series and I had a hard time separating the characters for a moment there.

Another hilarious Stephanie Plum adventure! Always love these books and series!

Seven Up (Stephanie Plum #7) by Janet Evanovich

Synopsis /

All New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has to do is bring in semi-retired bail jumper Eddie DeChooch. For an old man he's still got a knack for slipping out of sight--and raising hell. How else can Stephanie explain the bullet-riddled corpse in Eddie's garden? Who else would have a clue as to why two of Stephanie's friends suddenly vanished? For answers Stephanie has the devil to pay: her mentor, Ranger. The deal? He'll give Stephanie all the help she needs--if she gives him everything he wants.

My Thoughts /

n  Truth is, I think naked men are kind of strange looking what with their doodles and ding-dong hanging loose like they do. Nevertheless, there's the curiosity thing. I guess it's another one of those car crash experiences, where you feel compelled to look even if you know you'll be horrified.n

And, this is the mindset of the girl who has two major alpha men after her? I'm not saying that I disagree with the awkward boy-parts thing, but Stephanie has to be the most un-sexy girl I have ever read. She's probably the type of girl who the guy can only tell if she orgasms because she drops her nail file for a moment.

So, we have the usual crazy shenanigans, insanely fun characters, and lots of car mishaps in this book. Stephanie doesn't seem to be getting any better at this bounty hunter job. She is, however, really good at making people mad enough to want to kill her. And, her apartment seems to be the easiest place to break into in the world. In this one, she has two old guys breaking in all of the time. They are nice though. They bring her gifts and do her dishes. Considerate burglars are the best kind.

As for her relationship with Morelli? Well, it's gotten kind of sticky. Somehow, everyone thinks they are engaged and it keeps snowballing as people actually expect them to get married. Stephanie's mother convinces her to try on wedding dresses and her grandma is renting a hall. I see a shotgun wedding that will involve both Stephanie and Morelli being led to an altar at gunpoint.

n  "My mother and grandmother showed up and next thing I was trying on gowns."

"You'd tell me if we were getting married, wouldn't you? I mean, you wouldn't just appear on my doorstep in the gown one day and say we were due at the church in an hour."n

Yeah, I could see this happening...

But, of course Janet Evanovich is a sadist and is determined to make our Stephanie as unlucky in love as she is in automobile ownership. That's all I will say...

Books like Stephanie Plum and the likes are pretty much out of my comfort zone. I read everything supernatural and every once in a while, I foray out of those boundaries and plunge into the non-supernatural. The exact definition of ‘once in a while’ does get stretched when I have a rather non-pleasant encounter with a book like that, as was the case with the sixth Stephanie Plum. Despite it being my favourite non-Fantasy series, Hot Six just wasn’t as great as I hoped it would have been. This made the gap between that and the seventh one grow to over a year. As is mostly the case when I take so much time between books, I regretted it, cause Seven Up was Stephanie in all her former glory.

When Stephanie has to bring in the retired bail jumper Eddie DeChooch, she gets more than she bargained for. He might be old, but not too old to make her life a living hell. When two of her friends go missing, she has to strike a deal with Ranger in order to get the information she wants, but only if she gives him what he wants… On top of that, a lot of crazy and strange happenings occur at the home front.
A Stephanie Plum novel isn’t a book you read because of its plot. If you know that, you can only be pleasantly surprised by its craziness and the hilarious events taking place. The main case is a pleasant enough affair and is fun to read about. The fact that Stephanie is having a hard time trying to catch an old man provides plenty of opportunities for a good laugh and the main plot, although quite flimsy and simple – as is the case with every novel in this series, but it’s part of its charm – is satisfyingly wrapped up. However, just like its predecessors, everything that goes on besides the main mystery is what makes this book so much fun to read about. I’m really liking the triangle – it’s a bit much calling it a love triangle, though, more of an attraction triangle – between Stephanie, Joe and Ranger. This book raises the stakes in that particular game and I’m enjoying Stephanie’s freak-moments there. Another hit is everything that happens at home. I mean, Grandma Mazur is simply gold and her interactions with Stephanie’s parent is simply to die for. A nice plus is that we finally get acquainted with Stephanie’s sister and her daughters, which gives plenty of great moments and for once, they make Stephanie look quite stable and sane, imagine that!
That’s the great thing about these books, its characters are just so hilariously funny and not one of them is not interesting. Even the dog, Bob, is a source of laughter. If I do have to pick a favourite, it would be Lula. Introduced in the first book, she turned in a star overnight. Who could not love this girl? Incapable of not wisecracking with every word she utters, she’s just an amazing character and I adore her to bits.

I find it quite hard to write a decent review for these books, cause despite that there is a lot going on, there isn’t all that much to talk about. The plot really takes the backseat and it’s all about the characters. Evanovich knows how to write a funny story and how to engage the reader in the lives of her over the top crazy characters. Seven Up is no different and if I could, I’d give this one seven thumbs up.

Another amazing book from the series there just so awesome and funny and I can't help myself

Yes, I read book 6 and 7 in one day . . . I am on medical leave. It is the weekend. These books are my entertainment. So, book 7 finds us looking for an old retired Mob guy who may have killed a kind old lady. Ranger ups the heat on Stephanie by making a deal with her . . . if she wants his help it is going to cost her. Stephanie attempts to entertain the wedding proposal and out of fear of giving her mother, who comes unglued when perfect daughter Valerie returns home after her marriage crumbles, says she may have a heart attack. She sets a bogus wedding date to appease the women in her life and if puts pressure on Joe and she to discuss what their relationship is going to look like when the lights are on, they are fully dressed, and not on a surface they can use for sex. I believe Joe's fear that something horrible is going to happen to Stephanie really freaks him out and makes him say things -- really stupid things. This opens the door for Ranger who is continuing to up the heat by making a deal with Stephanie. The deal involves her having to pay him in nonmonetary ways should she need his help bringing in the old mob guy. Oh, yeah . . . I totally forgot about her two missing stoner friends. No one could ever say Stephanie is a biggot. She has friends from all walks of life.

I know people really love this series, but I am only finding it ok. I have liked some parts of some books, but overall I'm not in love with them.

In this 7th book, it's more of the same. Feed Rex, check the contents of her purse, make up her hair big, ignore the semi-serious relationship with Joe while continuing to lust after Ranger, take Grandma Mazur to a viewing, blah, blah blah. It's a cookie utter, that I actually mind less when I'm listening to than reading. I usually listen to these on audio, but my library system doesn't have this one...

Anyway, I think that formula worked for a bit but it's time to change things up a bit. I don't really love Mooner and Dougie as permanent additions to the stories- they don't really add anything to the story except harmless potheads. Nothing seems to bother them, so it's hard to be bothered for them. After the last book, we've had almost too much Grandma Mazur. She's like ice cream. As an occasional treat she's awesome, but if you eat the whole carton she makes you sick. Even Lula seems to need a new thing. And don't get me started on Stephanie's love life. There's Joe Morelli, and I like Joe. After his intro in book one, I looked ahead and hoped he'd be in the rest of the series. I like their relationship when it progresses, but added the tension between her and Ranger seems weird and it's also a little icky. I mean, in the first book she was single and he came to her while she was handcuffed to a shower rod and nothing, then suddenly 4 books later he's all over her? It's weird. And I still say the fact that she thinks it's okay to even kiss Ranger when she's seeing Joe is ridiculous considering she's ready to shoot Joe if he spends time with someone else even when it's purely work related. And she was the one pushing for commitment and then once she got it, she started lusting after Ranger? Ick!

I think overall my problem is that no one is moving forward really. Time jumps forward at least a month, sometimes almost 6 months withe every book, but the characters seem to be stuck in the rut of the same old, same old. Her mother takes a step in this book, but other than that... It would be so interesting to see Stephanie actually get better at being a Bounty Hunter. Maybe learn to shoot even if she never does. Maybe use her stun gun once in a while, possibly be prepared and use her pepper spray. Maybe actually fully commit to Joe and start trying to grow up figure out how to be in the relationship and still be herself. Maybe while living with him, still trying to sneak out and handle things.. I don't know what the answers is.

All that being said, I'll probably continue the series. I'm back on the audio books and they are great because I can listen to them at the gym and in the car and I have no problem putting them down and it's just as easy to pick them up again. I like CJ Critt, the reader she makes the whole thing interesting as well.

Je n'avais pas forcément prévu d'enchaîner ce présent tome car j'avoue être un peu lasse des cavalcades de Stéphanie Plum ! C'est non seulement toujours la même chanson mais souvent excessif et assez débile car trop immature. À force, ça use.
Cette fois, Stéphanie se coltine un vieux teigneux - déprimé et carrément cinglé - qui fuit dans toute la ville au volant d'une Cadillac et qui riposte avec une arme au poing. Sa mission se barre dans tous les sens et ne tient pas nécessairement en haleine...
Non, hélas, ce n'est guère excitant. Toujours les mêmes combines, les mêmes situations ubuesques, les mêmes tergiversations. J'ai parfois l'impression de retrouver les mêmes chapitres prémâchés qu'on recolle mot pour mot au fil des tomes. Ça me saoule.
Heureusement j'y trouve aussi mon compte car je suis absolument, totalement, complètement fan de Morelli. Ses rares apparitions sont du miel pour mon cœur. Et j'enrage contre Miss Plum qui ne reconnaît pas l'évidence et qui joue un jeu dangereux avec Ranger. ARGH.

It's no secret that I love this series, Stephanie's antics and her crazy family never fail to make me giggle and these books are the perfect thing to pick up when you're having a bad day and just need something to make you smile.

You'd think that Stephanie might be getting the hang of this bounty hunter thing by now but unfortunately for her she's just as terrible as ever. Even when she's up against a pensioner things don't go to plan for our plucky heroine and her sidekick Lula. I swear these two could get themselves in trouble in a kids soft play area!

Throw in family drama with her not-so-perfect sister Valerie who has moved back home with her two daughters and put Grandma Mazur on a motorbike and you know you're going to be in for an interesting ride, especially since all that's before we even think about the two men in her life.

Stephanie somehow seems to be accidentally engaged to Morelli even though he never officially proposed and now that it looks like she's off the market (her mother is already shopping for the wedding dress and Grandma Mazur has the hall booked!) Ranger has decided it's time to up the ante and make his presence felt. What's a girl to do when she's stuck between two very hard, very hot alpha men who both want to stake their claim? Personally if I was Stephanie I'd be tempted to keep them both but I'm not sure if either Morelli or Ranger would be willing to share.

There's no point me going into detail about the plot, if you're familiar with this series you know what to expect by now and you'll love this just as much as the first six books. If you're new to the series what the hell are you waiting for - go and grab a copy of One for the Money now and prepare to laugh from start to finish.

This was another roll-on-the-floor-laughing-helplessly entry in the Stephanie Plum series. Stephanie's after another ancient mob-connected FTA who seems to have an uncanny ability to disappear even when she seemingly has him in her grasp. The plot revolves around the disappearance of a mob guy's heart. It was removed after his recent death and thereby hangs a tale. Amidst it all, Stephanie's perfect sister turns up with her two kids, in from California where her perfect husband has just taken all their money and deserted them. She now thinks she might like to become a bounty hunter like Stephanie, and, oh yes, perhaps turn lesbian.

There are some truly crazy and scary characters in the book as well and, of course, Stephanie's usual posse of Lula, Ranger, Grandma Mazur (who gets kidnapped), Mooner and Dougie (who get kidnapped), and even Vinnie (who doesn't get kidnapped). Of course, it all comes out right in the end, except that the wedding with Joe has been called off and she's feuding with him. Now here comes Ranger again and we are left with the tease of will she or won't she? Tune in to "Hard Eight" to find out, I guess.