Reviews and Comments

Lula witnesses the murder of a chef famous for his barbecue sauce. More specifically, she sees two killers chopping off the chef's head and they also see her. So Lula is a big moving target, which makes Stephanie and her many cars targets as well (albeit much smaller ones). Ranger has a problem of his own and asks for Stephanie's help. So she is back at Rangeman in part-time, while Lula and grandma Mazur try their hand at barbecue sauce.

Bad cooking, lots of bowel movements and the title of this book has "finger lickin'" haha As always, Evanovich does not fail me... she always makes me laugh. I may not understand exactly how and why something happened, but as long as I am smiling I do not care. I don't really understand why Ranger enlisted Stephanie to help him on his "mystery". But that's fine because as long as Ranger appears a lot I'm happy even with logic fails. I could say the same about the main murder but it was funnier because it does not make sense. And there's explosions. Both in parking lots and toilets.

Dresden just can't let go. Susan may have become a vampire because of him and he will not rest until he finds a way to cure her. However, not eating, not paying the rent and not showering is not the image of a respectable wizard of the White Council. Billy the werewolf is worried about Dresden and finds him a client that turns out to be the Winter Queen, Mab. To get his freedom back, Dresden has to work for her and the first of three tasks is to find the murderer of the Summer Knight. To make it a more pressing matter, his status as a wizard is also in jeopardy.

This book was so good. I tried to make it last but in the end I was just rushing page after page and completely ignored the pace of the narrator - James Marsters is an excellent narrator, by the way. This book did not have a pause, everything was happening at the same time and I could hear the time running in my head: "tick-tock, tick-tock". What a wonderful magical book! Meep meep!

Dom Rizzi and his untrustworthy partners robbed a bank some years ago and stole 9 million dollars that the police could not recover, even though they got Rizzi. Rizzi is finally out of jail and it is time to divide the money amongst the partners, but Rizzi disappears as most of his partners drop dead. Stephanie gets involved because she has to take care of Rizzi's nephew - who looks like Morelli a little too much - while his mother is waiting to be bonded. To make things even more interesting, the money may be hidden inside Morelli's house where she is keeping the kid safe.

I understand why the title has "fearless" in it as Stephanie is getting more "professional" at what she does, and calls the shots even when it means facing an angry Morelli. I do not think the story was as inspired as some of the previous ones, but it is immensely entertaining and that is the reason I keep reading this series. I like the characters (I felt for Tank during this one!), and I am always amused by the storyline. If I am too tired or just feeling low, Stephanie never fails to make me laugh out loud.

Teppic was born into a sort of Ancient Egypt and is the son of the current pharaoh/king/god. However, he is sent to study abroad at the Ankh-Morpork's famed assassins' school even though he is not big on the killing bit. However, his father dies and Teppic has to go back as the next king and build a pyramid in honour of his late father - and that's when his problems really start.

I always have high hopes for a discworld novel and this one is even more brilliant than I suspected. All the main characters are very well defined and I felt connected to the book since the start. It actually became one of my favourites from the series. It is full of funny moments and magic - as always - but with that curious insight into human behaviour and right vs wrong that is so typical of Pratchett. He even got to squeeze in some camels and mathematics. I am always amazed at how he is able to get all these ingredients together and come up with plots that are works of art.

Ranger asks Stephanie to plant a bug on her ex Dickie Orr. It all goes according to plan, except for a minor fight and the fact that Dickie goes missing afterwards, which makes Stephanie the prime suspect. Of course Stephanie also has her hands full of entertaining FTAs that range from a grave thief to a taxidermist.

I woke up to a massive headache, so I decided listening to this book would at least improve my somber mood. It worked because even though I felt miserable, I could not help but laugh out loud at some parts. Lula and Grandma Mazur are always a big hit, but the taxidermist and his "bombs" were hilarious! Evanovich knows what she is doing. Her books are written to entertain, and not exactly to move the plot forward when it comes to Stephanie's personal life. She wrecks cars, runs from exploding buildings ( and sometimes exploding animals), while falling for Morelli or Ranger - and that is exactly what I need every now and then. I love this series and I secretly hope the taxidermist appears again.

Charley is pregnant, which sounds hazardous just by itself. To make it more perilous, twelve beasts of Hell are after her and Reyes may not be able to stop them. But Charley has a work to do and there is no baby or beasts (or even a hot fiancé) that will keep her from solving a string of suicides that sound more and more like a serial killer is on the loose.

There is something special about Darynda's writing that hooks me to her books. I love the characters and I really enjoyed that the "dealer" was back. Charley discovers more of her powers, but her place in the prophecies is still foggy. I do not think I laughed as much as I did reading the last one, but there were definitely some great "I must be obnoxious and share this passage with everyone I see" moments. The only thing I did not enjoy as much was the ending, it left me utterly confused like a puzzle where the pieces do not fit to complete it - which is why I did not give it 5 stars. I may change my mind once I know more of the plot in the following book. Which I am totally reading and buying once it comes out!

The main characters of this story are three witches: the permanently-angry awesome Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and a new witch called Magrat that believes in using too much makeup and jewellery. And she may think that covens involve witches dancing naked during the full moon. When the king of Lancre is murdered by his cousin, his son is rescued together with the crown and the witches decide to give them both to the care of travelling actors. Unfortunately, the new king does not like witches, and the kingdom (earth and animals) does not like the new king, which makes the witches realise they may need a plan to get rid of the new king as soon as possible - waiting for the baby to grow is not an option. Of course they still firmly believe witches should not meddle in politics.

I have no idea how Pratchett manages to write fun books that are so insightful. It made me think about power and the power of words, and how much they can change a person or affect other people. It is by no means random that the wisest character is the fool. As I've read in some other reviews, I think the book is funnier if you know the basics of Shakespeare. It also made me laugh out loud several times (I love the footnotes). I think my friends will now avoid me while I am reading Pratchett because I always want to share passages... And the book is way too quotable!

Chicago's nights are becoming chaotic and Harry can't reconcile his crazy work schedule with his relationship with Susan. Helped by his good friend Michael, who acts in the name of God as a Knight of the Cross, Harry tries to calm down the spirit world as ghosts appear every night more violent and powerful. Things get out of hand when Harry's close friends begin to be targeted by the "nightmare".

When I first started reading this book I thought I had picked the wrong one in the series. New characters and references to people and cases I had never heard of made me think I was reading this book out of order. Then I realised this was indeed the third book and the introduction by Jim Butcher saying this story is a turn point in the series made total sense. I enjoyed the first two, but if I were to advise anyone to start reading this series, I would probably recommend them to start here. Filled with action, ghosts, a fairy godmother, vampires, Harry's family and way too much for Harry (and myself) to handle, this novel is surprisingly good. As Harry puts it, "I'd hate to find out that the universe really wasn't conspiring against me. It would jerk the rug out from under my persecution complex."