This was a great read. I enjoyed the banter between Joe and Stephanie. I laughed a lot because of them. I thought that the book could have been more thrilling and I thought there were parts where I was bored. I did enjoy the characters more, especially Stephanie. I thought her character grew from the first book. I thought Stephanie was a great character. She had a lot of humor, sass, and determined. You cannot help, but root for her to win. I hope that the story gets better as the series continues. Book 3, here I come. Overall, an enjoyable read.

Rating: 4/5

Stephanie Plum is the new bounty hunter in Trenton, and after her first big case she is going after some more easy targets. Kenny Mancuso was supposed to be one of those easy targets but she can't seem to find him anywhere and Joe Morelli, her old fling, cop and Kenny's cousin seems to be following her. Stephanie will go from stake outs to funeral homes to find Kenny and figure out why he doesn't want to be found.

This was the first Stephanie Plum novel I read and I can't say it disappointed me at all. I've watched the movie One For The Money over a dozen times and I always wanted to see more of Stephanie and her adventures. I was kind of skeptical picking up this one without reading the previous one but, even though there were a few changes, it wasn't hard to keep at all.

Stephanie was as hilarious as I remembered and I enjoyed her every step of the way. The mystery behind Kenny was quite interesting. And the interactions with Joe were pure perfection. I love their dynamic. I am glad I found a series like this one and wait to read more of Stephanie's adventures.

**Content Warnings at Bottom**

Two for the Dough is a solid sequel to One for the Money by Janet Evanovich. It holds onto all the parts of the first novel that made it compulsively readable, a fast pace, and a main character that is far from perfect in the most relatable way possible. While most of us have never gotten a job as a bonds bail retrieval agent, we have been torn between getting groceries and paying the light bill. Stephanie Plum is in a much better place in the first novel, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t struggling like the rest of us. The way she navigates her mundane struggles is what makes her just as relatable while the ridiculousness of her life makes these books fun to read.

The plot of this novel feels far more connected and coherent than One of the Money. The original review I wrote for this novel (below) stated that this story felt more like a thriller than a mystery and I hold onto that statement. There is never a question as to who the bad guy is, but how Stephanie is going to stop him from terrorizing her and her family. I will say that I noticed in this novel that she really doesn’t find any clues so much as clues stumble upon her. While part of the charm of Stephanie is the fact that she is better lucky than good, it is a little too noticeable in this novel. There was none of the dogged determination that got Stephanie some of the clues in the first novel, just events happening in the way that they needed to for the plot to move forward.

Since I have read further into the series, I know that the progression between Stephaine and Morelli is more of a toddler's scribble than a straight line. I think that this novel does good work on thawing some of the animosity and hostility from One for the Dough, but I like that they are still working out how they are going to deal with being around one another. As an adult, the steamy scene and everything around it also makes far more sense. Morelli has some really sweet moments with Stephanie in this novel and the reader starts to warm up to him as a person more than just a hot cop who keeps trying to get in Stehpanie’s way.

This novel still very much feels as if it was written in the 90s, and it’s not just with the tape decks, but the language that is used. I don’t know much about Evanovich as a person, but I am not getting any maliciousness in the language used, more of a product of the time that it was written. Something that is a particular issue for me is Stephanie’s focus on her weight and how she isn’t dainty at 130 pounds. When I was reading this as a teenager, it didn’t really register to me how completely ridiculous it is for Stephanie to be watching her weight constantly at five foot eight and 130 pounds. The 1990s was the mindset that no woman was thin enough, but now it is just sad that this was seen as normal and something all women strived for.

This was previously a five-star read, but it is now a 4 star read given the little hiccups I saw this time around. I still enjoy this series, even with it’s problems. This series is not supposed to be serious and so I am being a lot more lenient than other novels I have reviewed.

**Content Warnings**

Fatphobia, Gore, Sexual content, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence

**Old Review**

The second book in the Stephanie Plum series is a fun and energetic series of events from start to finish. Once again Stephanie is over her head trying to catch a dangerous FTA, but refuses to give up. While there is less of a mystery and more suspense in this novel, it still keeps you entertained and on your toes the whole way through. The addition to a very steamy interlude between Joe and Stephanie also adds to making this a well-rounded novel. It picks up right where the first novel left off and keeps the plot moving.

One of the things that make these books so much fun to read is the relationships that are developed and explored. While we met all the main characters in the first book, in this story we get a better idea of Stephanie's relationship with her family and Joe Morelli. I especially loved that her mother was rounded out as a character, not just an overbearing mother hen but a woman who had aspirations and heart. The same it true for Grandma Mazur, especially when she is shown being scared and human. The expansion of Joe and Stephanie's relationship was also something that I really love about this novel. We see that him as more than a smart-mouthed horn dog, but a guy that despite himself cares about Stephanie. I wish there would have been more Ranger in this book, but the relationships that were presented were we developed and characterized.

Overall I love this book and Evanovich's writing style. It is also very conversational and humorous while also being realistic. You can't help but feel like Stephanie is your friend and you really care about what happens to her as you read through her story.

Another good effort by the author. She has settled into a pattern and it appears we have our core characters for the series. We have Stephanie our bounty hunter, her parents and grandmother, her hamster Rex, policeman Morelli and a 2nd bounty hunter named Ranger, quite possibly along with former prostitute turned filing and assistant bounty hunter named Lulu.
Evanovich has a gift for writing comedic dialogue and considering Stephanie lives in the Italian neighborhood and I am Italian there is a lot that makes me laugh out loud. Her dad is great as a long-suffering soul who doesn't do a lot but comment and stay out of the way. Her mom is a typical Hungarian/European character that strikes home since my wife is from Romania. To me the most forced character is her grandmother whose humor and actions seem totally forced and unrealistic.
So why only 3***? The plot is easy to figure out and while Stephanie figured a lot out by page 143, most readers will figure it out about 100 pages earlier. It is about the resale of government weapons and ammunition, and it is pretty apparent who is behind all of this. Also, her encounters with the perpetrator are all by chance and in real life she would have been killed about 10 times in each book.
Nevertheless it is a true light, cotton candy, read and I will probably go back for more since the characters are endearing enough to offset the holes in the plot and actions of the same characters.
Once again, a big shout out to my daughter Sara for introducing me to this series.

This series has become my guilty pleasure lately. My go-to place after a dark or otherwise exhausting book. I know that there are a lot in the series and this has only been the second one, but I've become hooked already.
I like and care about the characters. The writing is really witty and outright hilarious sometimes. The whole thing is just ridiculous and really nice at the same time somehow.
The whole story is really not a priority and the crime fighting storyline seems to be needed only to maintain some framework for the other craziness happening. This will possibly change slightly (if Stephanie gets into the business a little bit more), but if not, it does not bother me.
It's just pure, innocent fun.
I really recommend it.

The adventure and the scene is very entertaining.

Nonna Mazur ed una calibro quarantacinque.
Morelli con i gioielli al vento dopo essere andato in bianco.

Niente di tutto questo ha prezzo.


"Sono invitato a pranzo?"
"No. Hai già avuto il budino. Se ti porto a casa per pranzo non molleranno più l'osso. Due inviti sono come un fidanzamento".
---
"Cosa ci fai qui? Ti avevo detto niente pranzo".
"Ti sto proteggendo. Ti aspetterò in macchina".
"Bene".
"Bene" ribatté Morelli.
"Stephanie" chiamò mia madre dalla porta. "Cosa ci fai là fuori con il tuo ragazzo?"
"Hai visto?" dissi a Morelli. "Cosa ti avevo detto? Adesso sei il mio ragazzo".
"Donna fortunata".


Ehi TU! Sì, tu che non hai ancora iniziato questa serie.

Not quite as good as the first one, but definitely fun!

n  "Sweetie, you are the worst bounty hunter in the history of the world."n

This is true. Stephanie has settled into her life as a bounty hunter, but that doesn't mean she is necessarily good at it. She blunders her way through things, annoying the hell out of enough people to make sure she is targeted (not exactly on purpose. It just happens), and eventually things work out for her. Eventually.

In this book, she is looking for a cousin of Morelli. This guy was supposed to be an easy pick-up, but things go downhill very quickly for Stephanie.

n  "You're not doing too good here, babe," Morelli said. "You've had your car stolen, your apartment vandalized, and someone tried to snuff your hamster. Maybe you should drop back and punt."n

No!! Not Rex! Poor little Rex never hurt anyone!


Shhhh, Rex! I'm trying to make you look good here!

And, unfortunately for Morelli, when things go downhill for Stephanie, his car seems to take the brunt of the bad juju. After getting his last car blown-up, she does a more methodical approach to ruining his present car in this book. Let's just say that her insurance must be sky-high. But, it's funny. Really funny.

Along with our mystery, and some slow-burn romance budding, we get treated to a lot of Grandma Mazur in this book. She is crazy in the best possible way. She has a way of causing mayhem at funeral parlors to such a degree that she has been dubbed "Granny Disaster". But, she just loves going to viewings, even if it's just to take a peek inside a closed casket.

The characters in this series are so great. I have never been anywhere near New Jersey, and my family is nothing like this, but it feels so real that I kind of wish I had. Everyone knows everyone and most of them are related in that big Italian family way. Stephanie's mother is constantly comparing her to other daughters and trying to set her up, along with worrying about what the neighbors will think.... Hmmm, never mind. I'm okay with being from a small family that minded their own business. But, it's hella funny to read about other people's dysfunctional relationships.

I need to keep reading this series because I am dying for Stephanie and Morelli to get together. He is circling her, but taking it very slowly. Come on already!!

3.5 ⭐️

I loved this series in my early 20s, so it seemed appropriate that I should revisit it in my early 30s. And this one, frankly, is pretty fabulous. The series gets more and more slapstick-esque as it progresses, but the early books are the perfect mix of funny and creep-tastic. It's a lot darker than the recent books (although not QUITE as dark as One for the Money) - Steph is constantly being sent hacked off body parts by a psycho creep and yet she still follows through on the case, even after Grandma Mazur gets attacked with an ice pick.

Speaking of Grandma Mazur, she's a total badass in this. Ice pick through the hand? Bandage it up, take some pain pills, keep up your everyday routine. Shoved into a morgue locker by a psycho? Pretend to be dead, then fight like hell when he tries to shove you back in, then shoot at him repeatedly. And, you know, accidentally burn down a funeral home. Whatever.

Steph's relationship with Morelli takes a turn for the romantic in this book, and it's a lot of fun to see her grappling with her feelings of this-is-a-terrible-idea-but-he's-really-hot-and-I-deserve-some-happy-times. And her reaction when she finds out that he's been bugging her purse is absolutely phenomenal.

In short, I wish the entire series was like this, rather than descending into slapstick ridiculousness and Steph's inability to choose between two men.

Stephanie's latest skip should be easy to collar, local boy Kenny shot his best friend in the knee during an argument but it was only a minor incident and Moogey didn't even want to press charges so there is no need for him to do a disappearing act. Then, after Kenny misses his court date, Moogey is murdered and prime suspect Kenny falls completely off the radar. Not one to walk away from a case Stephanie becomes determined to track Kenny down but when her investigations lead her to a funeral parlour with a missing batch of caskets and then various body parts start going missing things get much more complicated.

This series is just so much fun to read, it's pure entertainment from first page to last and every book has me giggling the whole way through. I must be on my third read through of the early books in the series yet I never get tired of them. Stephanie is such a likeable character, she has a knack for finding trouble and she gets herself into the most ridiculous and crazy situations but I love her all the more because of it. The best thing about these books are the characters, Stephanie's whole family is brilliant but it's Grandma Mazur who steals the show in this book, she manages to cause even more trouble than Stephanie and that's really saying something. I love the things she comes out with and I could happily quote half the book in this review.

I also love the men in the series, Ranger is still pretty much a complete mystery at this point but I know from later books how brilliant he is and I'm looking forward to unravelling him a bit more. Morelli is fantastic and the chemistry between him and Stephanie is great, they have a very complicated history so she is very wary of trusting him but it's obvious he's more than a little interested and I'm enjoying watching their relationship develop.

I've been wanting to reread these books and catch up with the most recent releases (I think I got to about book 15 in my last read through) for a long time now so I'm glad to be reading the series with a group of friends. At one book a month this is going to be a very long ongoing project but I'm actually enjoying having at least one really funny and light hearted read to look forward to each month and I think having such a relaxed schedule is going to make it much easier to stick to. Roll on January so I can get started on Three to Get Deadly!
_______________________________________

Series group read with Buddies, Books & Baubles starts 1st December. We're planning on reading one book a month so it'll be easy to keep up with if anyone else wants to join us :o)

A takie to miłe, niezobowiązujące i dowcipne czytadełko. W sprawie kryminalnej się pogubiłam, ale teksty padają tu kultowe :D