I've finished my second book as part of my Summer Reading Thing 2007 goal and am ready to report!
If you've ever read Janet Evanovich you probably know what I'm going to say, if you haven't read her before, I want to say right up front that I am not endorsing her. She's out of my usual reading barrel and if you're a conservative reader, you will likely not enjoy this book.
Metro Girl is a suspence PI type novel written in first person, which I don't always like (Julie Wright and Sue Graphton are my exceptions) and it moved very fast, perhaps too fast at times. There was a lot of sexual content, though no actual sex scenes, as well as suggestive dialogue and bold descriptions of things which I felt the book could have done without. But the story was good. The characters were also well done and pretty well developed for a first person novel. I especially appreciated all the imperfections and quirks of the main character, Barney. Evanovich had a fun writing style that was quick and quippy, with fun ending statements and a quick wit. I'd have liked to shake the book upside down and get rid of the dirt--in my mind it would have been a better read--but it could also have been worse.
Will I read Evanovich again? I don't know. Maybe if I have a four hour flight and nothing new by Sue Graphton. She's a worldly writer, and not something I'd read a lot, but I also won't swear her off forever. How's that for being of the world? Anyone else ever read her? What did you think?
2 down, 8 to go.
8 comments:
I saw that book at the airport and thought about getting it, but then got Book of the Dead instead. I'm always so hesitant to try new national writers because you never know what you're going to get, what with all the sex and violence and swearing that seems to be pre-requisite for a best seller these days. :(
Don't forget to link your review to this Mr. Linky.
See, now, I don't know Evanovich but I'm so new to LDS fiction that I almost don't know anything different but all that dirt and stuff. I really gotta get my act cleaned up!
I appreciated your review, but it probably just renews my desire to read only LDS fiction for a while.
Thanks for the review. I might pick it up sometime (when I get through the other fifteen novels on my night stand).
I started to read Smitten by Janet Evanovich and never finished it. I could go into a ten hour dialogue on all the reasons the book didn't work for me, but I'll spare you the details. The first person had moments where it wasn't so bad, Often I went back to see if someone had torn pages out of the book or if I'd accidentally skipped a chapter because the plot made no sense in some areas. The main character was quirky but she was weak. The hero was too much muscle and not enough intelligence. Their romance was unbelievable in every way (oh wait . . . I wasn't going to go into the dialogue) Suffice it to say, I won't pick up further books unless, like you, I'm left with no other option. And since I always have my alphasmart with me, there are always other options.
Thanks for the review.
Like Julie implied, isn't it fun that if we can't find a book we like, we can write one instead??
Forgive me for revealing my ignorance, but what does a "suspense PI" mean or imply? Especially the 'PI' part?
Sorry Aneeka, PI stands for Private Investigator, so it's a suspense novel centered around solving a mystery as a PI :-)
Thanks Josi!
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