kitstercronk's review against another edition
4.0
Oh, how I have missed Janet Evanovich books. It's been too long.
This one didn't disappoint... whimsically funny chick lit amidst a backdrop of crime and a smidge of violence that is more entertaining than scary. Just the escape I need when real life is too stressful!
This one didn't disappoint... whimsically funny chick lit amidst a backdrop of crime and a smidge of violence that is more entertaining than scary. Just the escape I need when real life is too stressful!
ijm's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
karen_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
3.75
kindallunlimited's review against another edition
1.0
Suspension of disbelief is often necessary in novels like these, however this book asks for a little too much. The events are just too outlandish to keep the story interesting for me. I also did not appreciate the weird and misplaced but very obvious McDonald's ad towards the end - "They ordered Big Mac Extra Value Meals.." "used the restaurants free wireless access to transfer $500 million" like cmon. That's just tacky.
I put the entire series on my Kindle thinking it would be a fun series to get through, however I highly doubt I'll even start the 2nd book.
I put the entire series on my Kindle thinking it would be a fun series to get through, however I highly doubt I'll even start the 2nd book.
felinity's review against another edition
2.0
If you're looking at this thinking Kate O'Hare will be a wacky character like Stephanie Plum, or that it'll be more of a mystery, you might want to re-evaluate. It's actually a little more like the TV show Leverage: strange, with weird characters, but not Stephanie/Diesel weird, and with a few interesting cons along the way. (Although obviously it's a different universe, as Kate's supposedly an ex-SEAL.) I also felt disconnected from the story, as if I were watching it unfold through a window rather than all around me. (I'm sure there's a technical writing term for that issue.) The characters are a little flat .
So, it's a little fun to read - but not too much fun - and not something I'll buy, even secondhand. But if you want a 2-hour beach read, go for it. Just know this: the fascination with death-by-tweezer is never explained.
Spoiler
but Jake does an excellent Deus Ex MachinaSo, it's a little fun to read - but not too much fun - and not something I'll buy, even secondhand. But if you want a 2-hour beach read, go for it. Just know this: the fascination with death-by-tweezer is never explained.
mokeish's review against another edition
4.0
Easy read, predictable but fun characters. Great little palate cleanser between heavier reads. Loved the relationship between the female protagonist and her father.
dalaia's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Definitely plot heavy, there was no character development whatsoever. It’s literally what the blurb says, con man and FBI agent fighting crime. It was a fun read, lighthearted.
There was some plot points that I thought could be developed a little bit more/didn’t make a whole lot of sense. There was no major conflict to derail the action, which for a lighthearted read is appreciated but if you want more, you’re not gonna get it. However the actual plot was fun! The antics, the settings, the plans, it was a fun read. It kind of reads like how one of the Psych movies does except the crimes are heists.
The characters were typical, which I didn’t love. For example the protagonist was 100% what you’d imagine her to be from reading the first chapter. I don’t mind that so much in side characters but I wish I had seen a bit more depth in her. Maybe there’s more character development in later books.
There was some plot points that I thought could be developed a little bit more/didn’t make a whole lot of sense. There was no major conflict to derail the action, which for a lighthearted read is appreciated but if you want more, you’re not gonna get it. However the actual plot was fun! The antics, the settings, the plans, it was a fun read. It kind of reads like how one of the Psych movies does except the crimes are heists.
The characters were typical, which I didn’t love. For example the protagonist was 100% what you’d imagine her to be from reading the first chapter. I don’t mind that so much in side characters but I wish I had seen a bit more depth in her. Maybe there’s more character development in later books.
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual content
holdmybookmark's review against another edition
2.0
What do you get when you assemble a rag-tag group of criminals and miscreants, including a shlock horror film director, a carpenter, an egotistical actor, a driver, an FBI agent, and a con man, to run their own covert con for the government? You might think this would be a setup for comedy gold, but it meanders into B-level sitcom territory.
// FBI Special Agent Kate O'Hare must track down a notorious con-man and use him to help take down an even bigger mark. //
Okay, so this started out pretty well. O’Hare seems like a fun gal with a quirky personality, but she has a penchant for narrowly missing her mark. Her mark is Nick Fox, a con artist who always gets away but does so in the most flamboyant way, all the while flirting with Kate. The overall setup was fun in the beginning, but the observational humor really did not do it for me. Don’t get me wrong. I love a good joke, wisecrack, and pun, but when fast food name drops, TV show titles, and references to book plots are your mic-drop moments, I find it more eye-rolling than rolling on the ground with laughter. For example, Kate says the guys that she has dined with the most in the past few years have been Colonel Sanders, Long John Silver, Ronald McDonald, and the Five Guys. I rest my case.
// “The best way to win at a game of chance is to remove chance from the equation.” //
The cat-and-mouse games are supposed to be fun! I had a hard time getting into the espionage moments because the amount of foreshadowing was overwhelming. You could guess exactly what was going to happen around every corner, and I think that it was by design. A quick quip or a throwaway joke does not mask the fact that the setups are just not exciting or plausible in any way, shape, or form. I don’t know; everything felt extremely written and surface-level. It had quite a bit of potential. An Ocean's Eleven comedy sounds great, but it just missed the mark in my opinion. I will give it one thing though. The vehicles that were selected to do the cons were exquisite, beautiful, and out of the box. I’m looking at you, 60s-era Jaguar E-type. <--- favorite car of all time. right alongside the DB5 and the F40.
// “Sometimes when a plan is right, everything else, all the things you can’t control, falls into place just the way it should.” //
I’m king of struggling to think of anything else. It was just ok; would I recommend it? Probably not, but if the comedic parts worked for you, then you might like it. It just did not work for me.
──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗──Extra
// FBI Special Agent Kate O'Hare must track down a notorious con-man and use him to help take down an even bigger mark. //
Okay, so this started out pretty well. O’Hare seems like a fun gal with a quirky personality, but she has a penchant for narrowly missing her mark. Her mark is Nick Fox, a con artist who always gets away but does so in the most flamboyant way, all the while flirting with Kate. The overall setup was fun in the beginning, but the observational humor really did not do it for me. Don’t get me wrong. I love a good joke, wisecrack, and pun, but when fast food name drops, TV show titles, and references to book plots are your mic-drop moments, I find it more eye-rolling than rolling on the ground with laughter. For example, Kate says the guys that she has dined with the most in the past few years have been Colonel Sanders, Long John Silver, Ronald McDonald, and the Five Guys. I rest my case.
// “The best way to win at a game of chance is to remove chance from the equation.” //
The cat-and-mouse games are supposed to be fun! I had a hard time getting into the espionage moments because the amount of foreshadowing was overwhelming. You could guess exactly what was going to happen around every corner, and I think that it was by design. A quick quip or a throwaway joke does not mask the fact that the setups are just not exciting or plausible in any way, shape, or form. I don’t know; everything felt extremely written and surface-level. It had quite a bit of potential. An Ocean's Eleven comedy sounds great, but it just missed the mark in my opinion. I will give it one thing though. The vehicles that were selected to do the cons were exquisite, beautiful, and out of the box. I’m looking at you, 60s-era Jaguar E-type. <--- favorite car of all time. right alongside the DB5 and the F40.
// “Sometimes when a plan is right, everything else, all the things you can’t control, falls into place just the way it should.” //
I’m king of struggling to think of anything else. It was just ok; would I recommend it? Probably not, but if the comedic parts worked for you, then you might like it. It just did not work for me.
──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗──Extra
pixiestyx22's review against another edition
3.0
Read it for work book club. Not my usual style but fun, fast-paced, quick read.
mdlaclair's review against another edition
2.0
I love the idea of this book more then the book its self. While this has the same outline as the show white collar. with the FBI agent in this case being a female. So you think the sexual tension would be good......not so much.... Lots of unneeded scene descriptions and switching POV witch gets old fast in this book. overall the book is not as ridiculous as Stephanie Plum books stories. However the sex id turned down.