lavendermarch's review
4.0
This was a cute introduction to the series. I laughed, and I was intrigued. I then went on to eventually read my way through all the published book in the series, and I've really enjoyed them.
Reread May 29th, 2022
This held up better than I thought that it would, which was a relief. Lacey was a bit of a ditz, but she's relatively endearing, the books are funny, and I quite like most of the side characters. 3.75 stars.
Reread May 29th, 2022
This held up better than I thought that it would, which was a relief. Lacey was a bit of a ditz, but she's relatively endearing, the books are funny, and I quite like most of the side characters. 3.75 stars.
crownab's review
3.0
I picked this book to read as my "book with a one word title" for the Popsugar reading challenge. I was tempted by the cake pop at first but quickly learned the cover is misleading. I'll admit the story is extremely cheesy and frivolous; however I found myself being drawn into the story of Lacey and her friends. I even bought the other two books in the series because they are quite entertaining. I would recommend this one for a long, lazy day by the pool or if you need a good pick me up and escape from reality.
turtlemagix's review
1.0
Another one I couldn't finish. Too many things annoyed me in this book: the constant talk about Meg's boobs, she calls her grandmother Auntie Nora instead of grandma(or just Nora), her roommate is completely boring, also there's the fact that the granddaughter of a Mafia don wouldnt do half the shit she does nor would he allow it. The author tried too hard to make these characters seem funny and likable but it just made me hate it even more.
readermomaz's review
4.0
Book is amusing and I went in for a light, easy breezy read and I got just that. Overall fun read.
It actually made me laugh out loud at parts. It had a “Stephanie Plum” feel to it but that was OK, because the characters were pretty funny in their own right and Lacey is a sassy main character. The only drawback is I feel she is seriously naïve some of the things that happened to her and she was unaware of basic stranger danger safety ha! Which made her seem more stupid than flighty and silly! I will give the next book in the series a try though.
It actually made me laugh out loud at parts. It had a “Stephanie Plum” feel to it but that was OK, because the characters were pretty funny in their own right and Lacey is a sassy main character. The only drawback is I feel she is seriously naïve some of the things that happened to her and she was unaware of basic stranger danger safety ha! Which made her seem more stupid than flighty and silly! I will give the next book in the series a try though.
thekarpuk's review
1.0
I read roughly 13% of this book before giving up, but my problems were pervasive enough that it felt like a good call.
I know this may seem odd, but I don't require my humor novels to be funny. Yes, I know that sounds, on the surface, like it would defeat the purpose of the endeavor, but there's a logic here. I've read a fair number Jim Butcher and Christopher Moore books, even though I find both authors deeply, almost achingly unfunny. But they tell fast-paced, engaging stories, often with characters I like despite the jokes. It's a bit like older relative whose company you enjoy despite corny stories and dated jokes lifted from old television.
That's fine. Humor is subjective. We're all unfunny to someone. Many of us are unfunny to most people. (Sorry to point this out, but sometimes your friends laugh at your jokes because they like you.) I don't begrudge people for telling jokes that don't land. This author in particular feels a bit like a Cathy comic strip, where the character brags about her vices like that confidence is hilarious. It's up there with people who constantly post Facebook image jokes about how funny it is to be addicted to coffee.
But it gets annoying when it's unrelenting. I was briefly acquainted with a guy who desperately wanted the people around him to find him funny. He'd throw out jokes that had the structure of something that should have played, but lacked the sort of feel for the room, that low level empathy for the audience that helps even a mediocre joke land, and there was no charisma to boost the soggy material. It made him exhausting to be around, because the jokes felt like something that everyone mentally tripped on.
And that's what LaManna does here. She mentally trips me up with endless banter and lame jokes every time I start trying to invest in the story. It kills the pacing, it wrecks the flow, and at times the quips feel like a substitute for real character interaction.
The characters also seem to lack self-awareness. The writer thinks the way these characters behave is awesome and hilarious, so there's no room for any sort of earnest exploration, or the sort of self-deprecating humor that might actually ground this sort of thing. It's a wish fulfillment where the protagonist gets to riff all their hilarious one liners, and no one is around to make them feel crappy when they don't land. Everyone who doesn't laugh is either dense or a killjoy.
And the focus on jokes seems to have left a lot of mechanical and structural issues. The book starts in medias res, but then vomits up a ton of exposition, killing the excitement. It's also sometimes pretty unclear what the characters are doing, or what actions are happening in what sequence. It felt like it needed another draft or a better editor.
Which is a shame, because it's not a bad premise, and the plot, when it reared its head, had potential, but it felt like trying to cross a shopping mall where every shop is a Spencer's Gifts.
I know this may seem odd, but I don't require my humor novels to be funny. Yes, I know that sounds, on the surface, like it would defeat the purpose of the endeavor, but there's a logic here. I've read a fair number Jim Butcher and Christopher Moore books, even though I find both authors deeply, almost achingly unfunny. But they tell fast-paced, engaging stories, often with characters I like despite the jokes. It's a bit like older relative whose company you enjoy despite corny stories and dated jokes lifted from old television.
That's fine. Humor is subjective. We're all unfunny to someone. Many of us are unfunny to most people. (Sorry to point this out, but sometimes your friends laugh at your jokes because they like you.) I don't begrudge people for telling jokes that don't land. This author in particular feels a bit like a Cathy comic strip, where the character brags about her vices like that confidence is hilarious. It's up there with people who constantly post Facebook image jokes about how funny it is to be addicted to coffee.
But it gets annoying when it's unrelenting. I was briefly acquainted with a guy who desperately wanted the people around him to find him funny. He'd throw out jokes that had the structure of something that should have played, but lacked the sort of feel for the room, that low level empathy for the audience that helps even a mediocre joke land, and there was no charisma to boost the soggy material. It made him exhausting to be around, because the jokes felt like something that everyone mentally tripped on.
And that's what LaManna does here. She mentally trips me up with endless banter and lame jokes every time I start trying to invest in the story. It kills the pacing, it wrecks the flow, and at times the quips feel like a substitute for real character interaction.
The characters also seem to lack self-awareness. The writer thinks the way these characters behave is awesome and hilarious, so there's no room for any sort of earnest exploration, or the sort of self-deprecating humor that might actually ground this sort of thing. It's a wish fulfillment where the protagonist gets to riff all their hilarious one liners, and no one is around to make them feel crappy when they don't land. Everyone who doesn't laugh is either dense or a killjoy.
And the focus on jokes seems to have left a lot of mechanical and structural issues. The book starts in medias res, but then vomits up a ton of exposition, killing the excitement. It's also sometimes pretty unclear what the characters are doing, or what actions are happening in what sequence. It felt like it needed another draft or a better editor.
Which is a shame, because it's not a bad premise, and the plot, when it reared its head, had potential, but it felt like trying to cross a shopping mall where every shop is a Spencer's Gifts.
bookgyrl's review
4.0
So, I started to read and .. yes... I kept on reading. A book has to pull me in, otherwise I get bored and start to skip stuff or I stop reading altogether.
At first I was confused as the story did not make much sense and I did not really like Lacey. I mean, there is not but backstory to help me endear to her. We are told Lacey has searched for her family after her mother died and found the Luzzi Family (yes, the mob). She is now working for her grandfather.
But it is not explained why her mother kept her from her family, who her father is, what the heck Lacey has been doing all these years. She is 28/29, her mother has died 3 years ago and after her death she tried stripping (her mother was a very good stripper) but failed at that. According to her CV she has been the manager of a strip club for years, but that does not work with the timeline. Also because there is a necklace mentioned Lacey got for her 16th birthday by her grandmother. But maybe that is a typo and should be 26.
The timeline thing bothered me, but I started to like Lacey, Clay and the other odd characters (especially Anthony).
So, I bought the next book and kept on reading. This is clearly the first in a series so I read and rate this accordingly.
At first I was confused as the story did not make much sense and I did not really like Lacey. I mean, there is not but backstory to help me endear to her. We are told Lacey has searched for her family after her mother died and found the Luzzi Family (yes, the mob). She is now working for her grandfather.
But it is not explained why her mother kept her from her family, who her father is, what the heck Lacey has been doing all these years. She is 28/29, her mother has died 3 years ago and after her death she tried stripping (her mother was a very good stripper) but failed at that. According to her CV she has been the manager of a strip club for years, but that does not work with the timeline. Also because there is a necklace mentioned Lacey got for her 16th birthday by her grandmother. But maybe that is a typo and should be 26.
The timeline thing bothered me, but I started to like Lacey, Clay and the other odd characters (especially Anthony).
So, I bought the next book and kept on reading. This is clearly the first in a series so I read and rate this accordingly.
More...