Eleven on TopReally ALL of the Stephanie Plum’s I have Read Thus FarJanet EvanovichI have a soft spot in my heart for the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. I started this series about 3 years ago. A friend of my mother-in-law raved on and on about them while we were at their pool one day, so I thought I would check them out. I picked up the first one in the series, One for the Money, at my local library. I remember reading it over the course of about 3 days. The book was well written, had a pretty funny story line, and some twists and turns that made the ending turn out well for me, but honestly, after reading that first one, I just wasn’t feeling like running around and raving about the book like my MIL’s friend. I mentioned this to a co-worker that I knew had read most of the series, and she said she felt the same way about the first book, and encouraged me to give the second one a try.During this time period I was traveling quite a bit for work, and I was spending more time in my car than normal. I picked up the next few books on CD in the series at my local library to pass the long hours on the road. This was when I really fell in love with Stephanie Plum. The narrator brought the characters into a whole new realm for me, and I finally couldn’t get enough of the books.I can’t remember exactly which book in the series I was on, but I was heading out of town again, and wanted to put another one behind me – I mean, I really needed more hijinks of Lula and Stephanie, not to mention more descriptions of Joe and Ranger! I popped in the CD, headed down the road, and immediately let out a very loud groan. Alone in my car with no one to judge, I spew forth a stream of profanity that would have made even ME blush if I were in a public setting. THE NARRATOR CHANGED! There was no way I would like these books any longer! Nope! Not going to happen!But I was wrong! I still loved the mystery surrounding Stephanie Plum, I still cheered when she and Joe got back at it, but secretly wanted her and Ranger to settle down or at least get jiggy with it. I loved their family, their crazy life, and the fact that every woman in the Trenton area carried a gun – even the seniors!So, the Stephanie Plum series have been my little secret of reading for the past three years. I don’t talk about them a lot, and it’s not because they aren’t good, but because I fly through them so fast that I am afraid that I can’t give them the true credit for what they are worth to reading, therefore, the reason for this review.Last Saturday I had some downtime during a home improvement project. It was one of those do a small bit of the project, wait for an hour, do another small bit, rinse and repeat. I am struggling with a book club book and didn’t want to deal with that. I wanted something I could rip through and enjoy all at the same time.I picked up Eleven On Top and it was like having lunch with an old friend I hadn’t seen in a long time. I got right back into the groove, the laugh out loud moments, the fun, the twists and turns, Lula’s outfits, Ranger’s rock solid body… And by 9:00 that night, I had finished the book! A mere total of maybe 4 hours of reading, but an afternoon that made me smile and remember why I fell in love with Stephanie Plum in the first place.Most of Ms. Evanovich’s books are picked up on PaperBack Swap. On occasion I will grab one from the library, but my To-Be-Read pile is stacking up by the second, and I don’t want to put time restraints on myself. These books are great little reads, fun little mysteries, with a sprinkling of good food, bad fashion, big hair, and sex, along with gun toting grannies and a funeral home that’s packed every night of the week.If you need something for Spring Break to pass the time while traveling, ANY of the Stephanie Plum books will fit the description! I do recommend reading them in order – there is a method to the madness, and the characters do evolve. All of the books are extremely well written and you get to know the characters easily. You have a sense of accomplishment at the end of each book, but you always want more and more!!! I’ve already put Twelve Sharp on my PBS Wish List!
The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich is incredible.Fun characters. Exhilarating mystery. Crimes to be solved. Lusts to be sated. Eleven on Top is a neat book. It is however, not on my top picks for this series. Nonetheless, the novel is amazing and I enjoyed every minute of it.Old men disappear and an old enemy keeps trying to blow Stephanie away. She has an idea who is behind the threats, but as Morelli and Ranger keep explaining to her, she has no evidence and is working based of ‘supposedlies” …Stephanie quit her job and suffers through other career options. The fragile and intense team effort between Ranger and Morelli becomes interesting when Stephanie accepts an office job by Ranger. Stephanie is one of my favorite characters ever. She is hilarious and is followed closely by Lula in the badass contest.I’ve been stalked by crazed killers, taunted by naked fat men, firebombed, shot at, spat at, cussed at, chased by humping dogs, attacked by a flock of Canadian honkers, rolled in garbage, and my cars get destroyed at an alarming rate.Ranger is my sexy devil. I could snuggle in his bed and never get enough.Ranger is the mystery man. He’s a half head taller than me, moves like a cat, kicks ass all day long, only wears black, smells warm and sexy, and is percent pure perfectly toned muscle. He gets his dark complexion and liquid brown eyes from Cuban ancestors. He was Special Forces, and that’s about all anyone knows about Ranger.Mrs. Plum and Grandma Mazur finally have their special moment. If you have read the books in order, you will appreciate Mrs. Plum being licked silly from drinking and instigating a cake food fight with her mother and pulls in Stephanie and her father.“Excuse me?” my mother said. “No control? Did you say I had no control? I am the queen of control. Look at this family. I have a daughter in Disney World with oogly woogly smoochikins. I have a granddaughter who thinks she’s a horse. I have a mother who thinks she’s a teenager.” My mother turned to me. “And you! I don’t know where to begin.”“That’s it,” Grandma said, narrowing her eyes. “Eat dirt and die!” And Grandma scooped up a wad of cake and icing and smushed it into my mother’s face.“I can’t see!” my mother shrieked. “I’m blind.” She was wobbling around, flailing her arms. She lost her balance and fell against the table and into the cake.I recommend this book to everyone with a mature mind Some vague sexual content and interesting semi mild violent scenes.~Happy reading!
What do You think about Eleven On Top (2006)?
In Evanovich's most recent Stephanie Plum novel, Stephanie quits her job as a bounty hunter because she’s getting tired of all of the shooting and explosions. She decides to try her hand at something else. Lula, the one-time filer down at bounty hunter headquarters, decides to take her vacant position – and SHE manages to keep Stephanie busy helping HER with apprehensions. What’s more worrisome is that the explosions don’t stop, and now they’re accompanied by death threats. It seems as though Stephanie has made an enemy. She’s got some suspicions about who it may be, but things don’t come together until the end when she unravels the mystery. Meanwhile she takes jobs at the button factory, the dry cleaners, Cluck in a Bucket – all with disastrous results. She finally seems to find a good position with Ranger’s company, Rangeman. We’ll see in the future if she manages to keep it!You just have to love the characters in these books, from Stephanie the rather poor bounty hunter to her Grandma Mazur whose energy level is on par with that of a teenager. Grandmas, funeral directors, secretaries, and ordinary dry cleaners are all packing heat. And there are Stephanie’s two love interests, Morelli and Ranger, who make it all a little more interesting as she’s escaping death and being blown up by the seat of her pants.Readers, both new and returning, will love this Stephanie Plum book – it’s got plenty of new hijinks and humor for everyone to grin at. I devoured the first 10 when I was taking a genre-fiction class - we had to read outside our comfort zones, and Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels were my mystery choice. They crack me up; I'm so glad I tried them!
—Arminzerella
I let someone at a library sale convince me to pick up a couple of her books, once she learned I'd never read the author. She handed me what felt like ten, and I discretely put a few back when she wasn't looking. Reading the back cover of this book, I kind of think I should've put this one back, too. Giving it a shot.----Color me shocked. I loved this character. I'm not exactly known for my grown up taste in books, nor for my appreciation of anything that comes close to "chick lit" (GOD, I hate that term). So, I really was expecting to hate this.Skimming the other reviews, I see a lot of complaints that the Stephanie Plum series is formulaic. Well, I read James Patterson, and let me tell you. Formulas are used for a reason. Stephanie Plum is a fantastic character. She's smart, effing hilarious, with just the right amount of imperfect, the right amount of self deprecation. She's not "the greatest bounty hunter this little town's ever seen", she doesn't like carrying a gun. She doesn't swoon over the two men she's involved with. No love triangle? No woe is me, what shall I do? No, "No, no, Stephanie, you must choose!" Why was I not reading these before?So, there you go. I'm a Janet Evanovich fan. Woo.
—Bunny
★★★½Ok, so let's be honest. Each book in the Stephanie Plum series does not differ all that much from one another. Sure, this installment had a bit of a twist in that Stephanie decides that "enough is enough" and quits her job as a bond enforcement agent. But we all know that she is still going to get involved. It seems like in at least half of the books in the series, at this point (book 11), Stephanie is being stalked or harassed. And you can pretty much expect that she is going to disappear, or be kidnapped at some point- and then be rescued by Ranger, and safely returned to Morelli.I don't think this was the best of the series, but I still did get my usual bits of laughter which is precisely why I read this series. Stephanie on a no-sugar diet was amusing, especially since I could see myself just like that. There are other authors that I go to when I want to read something heart breaking, or intense. I read the Stephanie Plum series when I need a laugh. Stephanie gets herself into the usual trouble, and as long as you throw in a sexy Morelli scene or two, I am sure to enjoy it.
—Jennifer
