The last few months I’ve had a hard time finding a good book to read. Thus, I’ve re-read the entire Stephanie Plum series of 24 books by Janet Evanovich. I had read most of those books before, but not all in order and not back-to-back. Since that series came out in the 90s, some I had read years ago, so it was fun to refresh my memory. 
I discovered that these are even better books than I thought. So many little subtleties that enrich the stories and foreshadow the future of the characters are dropped here and there. I didn’t notice those when reading them hit or miss. In the writing game, this is tricky business. Plain and simple, Janet Evanovich is a good, maybe even superior, writer.
WARNING – A TINY SPOILER…
Through the whole 24 books up to this point, an ongoing and more solid relationship has been building between Stephanie and Joe, advancing a few inches in each book. A few books into the series, through all of the mayhem and zaniness, Joe tells Stephanie he loves her. A few books later, she tells him she loves him. He appears to be a one-woman-man and she is almost totally loyal to him.
The last two books threw me for a loop. Up to that point, I thought I saw a relationship with a future more-or-less established for Stephanie and Joe. Then Stephanie shocked me by hooking up with Ranger! So now, I can’t even guess where Stephanie and Joe are going or if it’s going to be Stephanie and Ranger. If Joe finds out she’s fooling around with Ranger, he might kiss the whole thing good-bye. Or maybe, deep down, he knows and doesn’t want to confront it.
This relationship is a super cliff-hanger at the end of every book and masterful marketing. The upshot of all of it is I can hardly wait to read the next book coming out in November.
AN ETERNAL FAN…
I’ve always been a fan of these books; however, I wasn’t anxiously waiting for the next one until I read the entire series back-to-back. I’m by no means the only one who is waiting for the next book. All I can say is if you enjoy zany humor and haven’t discovered these books, you’re missing lots of reading fun.
AND SPEAKING OF BOOKS…
If you like the feel of a book in your hand, SWEET WATER, Book #1 in my West Texas series, is now available as a print book. It’s for sale at Amazon and at Barnes & Noble for $14.99. This one has a glossy cover that sort of portrays how the hero and heroine might look.
Amazon: http://a.co/d4SmKXU
B&N: https://bit.ly/2HKTU5m
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Terry Ledger, a wealthy West Texas developer and builder of high-end homes, isn’t looking for romance. He has a goal to construct an exclusive development for senior citizens. He has searched for years for the right location, but never expected to find it on an eBay auction. Now he has paid a million dollars to win the tiny town of Agua Dulce, Texas and he’s ready to start building his dream.
But not if Marisa Rutherford has anything to say about it. The ostensible town mayor, manager of the only cafe, flea market and tourist trap and caretaker of her dying mother, never expected to have to protect the town’s odd population, as well as her heart, from an outsider like Terry and his plans. But she will fight to the end to keep Agua Dulce from becoming just another stop on a wealthy developer’s path to riches.
As Terry and Marisa battle it out, romance takes root between them. Can Marisa reconcile her heartfelt feeling for Terry with the loyalty she feels for the town’s citizens? Can Terry’s love for her make him understand her need to protect them, even from him?
Let me know what you think!
colors her hair a little too blonde, and instead of going into medicine and law like her sisters, she runs a diner. She’s also the only single sibling left. And while she won’t change her style, and her meatloaf is to die for, thank you very much, she wouldn’t mind her share of wedded bliss. So she makes an early New Year’s resolution: No more meaningless flings.
the Wind” on audio. I read it the first time a long, long time ago. Then I read it again after I saw the movie. Now I’ve listened to it as an audio book. The audio of this dramatic book is over 40 hours long and it’s just as wonderful to hear it as it was to read it. The woman who narrates it does a great job.
anti-hero who violates every rule there is, one a foundation-of- American-life hero who built the West and a a starchy Easterner heroine whose true grit makes her a more than worthy heroine. One of the things I often find in romance novels is that the heroines don’t live up to the magnitude of the heroes. Not true with this book. Maybe that’s why I like it. It’s a book to love with characters to root for whether you like Westerns or not.
Always ostracized because they’re different—until someone needs their help—they live in poverty at the edge of a tiny Virginia backwoods village where rumors plague them. After Granny’s death, Prudence leaves for Richmond. There, Prudence is fortunate to be chosen to accompany Lydia Harrison to Tarnation, Texas. She believes she’s left trouble and gossip behind to establish her healing business and begin a new life. But, trouble follows Prudence.
Anna Jeffrey: I'm Just Saying... 