The Full Box is a four-book audio set. I previously listened to and reviewed Full House here on KariAnnAlysis. It was one of the first audio books I listened to. I’ll always turn to Janet Evanovich when I need a good, light read. That’s why I was thrilled when I found the rest of this series in a complete box.Here’s a short synopsis of each book:Full Tilt: Jamie Swift’s newspaper is running on fumes. If something doesn’t turn around soon, she will have to stop the presses. Her silent partner Max Holt comes to town to lend her a helping hand, but he also brings more danger than has already hit Beaumont, SC. Someone is after Holt, most likely for his money, but he’s not the only one with a secret admirer. Frankie Fontana, former pro-wrestler, is running for mayor and he has also been receiving threats. In true Evanovich fashion, cars will explode, buildings will be blown up and a killer or two will be stopped in their tracks.Full Speed: Things are heating up between Jamie and Max. They tracked down Fontana’s stalker, and got a track on Max’s….a popular minister who Max turned down for a deal. So Jamie and Max, separately, hit the road. Max wants to stop the minister in his tracks and Jamie wants to crack the story of a lifetime, with her new dog Fleas in the bed of her old jalopy truck. Jamie gets into character, and undercover, to get up close and personal with the man after her man.Full Blast: The final book in the Full series doesn’t let down in the drama department. Jamie is back in Beaumont where a new, controversial lingerie store has opened in the very religious conservative town. Oh and aphrodisiac brownies are being sold at the local bakery. It seems love is in the air in Beaumont. But murder is also in the air and it all seems to lead back to Jamie’s new personals ads that she has started in the newspaper. So once again, she has to turn her journalistic powers on high so it’s not her newspaper making front page news!My thoughts on this series are up and down like a roller coaster. I absolutely loved Full House. I loved the characters and the action. I expected more of Nick and Billie in the series, but did not get them. Instead, the books branch out to others in town. The only ones who make appearances in the rest of the books are Frankie and his wife DeeDee. They are a funny pair, but I wasn’t connected to them like I was Nick and Billie. I loved their chemistry and hoped to follow up with them. I do like Jamie and Max. They are the traditional, fight against the odds, fight against the chemistry couple. When will people just start giving in and getting on with love?I do love the action of this series and feel a connection with Jamie for her work in the journalism business.Like all Evanovich books, the Full series keeps you turning pages. The books are fun and action packed and the thing I love about them the most is that Evanovich always thinks up the greatest, silliest characters that you can’t help but love and laugh with.My favorite book in the series was definitely Full Blast. I loved the plot with the personals ads being the grounds for the murders, but also the little steamy side plots of the dirty little lingerie store and the brownies that make you go to a deep-dark dirty place. Oh it’s so dirty! I give Full Blast 5 bookmarks.I give Full Tilt 4 bookmarks. I loved that characters from the previous book were brought back and the new ones that were brought to life. I loved the sexual tension between Jamie and Max. But the first book set such a high bar to follow.And I give Full Speed 3 bookmarks. I didn’t hate this book, but I definitely didn’t love it as much as the others. Normally, I’m all about mobsters, but in this
This is the third book in the "Full " series. Full Speed, written by Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes, is a light romantic crime novel. Jamie and Max are on the outs with each other. Max is looking into a corrupt minister. Jamie wants a good story for her paper. So, they team up again to see what mob ties the minister has and where that leads them.I would have enjoyed the book more if I hadn't felt like I was missing something by not having read the previous book. Most of the background is explained for those of us that didn't read the last book, but there seemed to be a bit of a continuation of the previous novel, instead of being a whole new story. It's still good though. Don't go into this series trying to compare it with the "Plum " novels. This is a light read, and Jamie is silly at times, but the humor is toned down here and there is a great deal of sexual tension between Jaime and Max. There are some tense moments in the last few chapters as well. Overall, a C+. I will give this series another try by going back and reading the first two. I would strongly recommend starting at the beginning with this series.
What do You think about Full Speed (2003)?
This was on my 2009 TBR challenge. I picked up this book because I needed some light reading. I had just finished reading Snowflower And The Secret Fan and it profoundly touched me, yet left me feeling like nothing could quite live up to it. So I figured he Evanovitch novel would be fun. Afterall, she writes those wonderful Stephanie Plum novels.Evanovitch actually co-authored this one (with Charlotte Hughes?). I almost stopped reading it because I was not comfortable with the topic of an evil preacher. Then I decided as long as they didn't totally trash born again Christianity, I could read it. And they didn't do that, they just presented the pastor in this book as one bad egg. After reading a little further, I figured the book would be 2 star at best. It was kind of like a fake Stephanie Plum without all the memorable characters. Suddenly, the quarter or so of the book suddenly got really good for me. There was a lot of suspense and some interesting twists and turns. So the book ended up being a 3 star. It's an okay read that heats up before it ends. It was a good gap book, just the thing to fill in between Snowflower and Peony.
—Linda
I can't say this enough but....This lady can write!! This newer series of Jamie Swift and Max Holt is great!From back cover:"Jamie and Max have intense chemistry-even though they drive each other crazy. Max thinks Jamie is a magnet for trouble and Jamie thinks Max is the most annoyingly sexy, mysterious man she's ever met. She knows she should stay away from him. But boy, oh boy, do the sparks fly when they get together. Jamie is a newspaper owner from a small Southern town. And in FULL SPEED, she's after the story of a lifetime. Max Holt is right in the middle of that story, and so Jamie tracks down the millionaire playboy, forcing him to take her on as partner. What follows is a story of a corrupt minister, a gang of mobsters on the loose, a hound dog called Fleas, a wise cracking computer genius, and lots of love in the fast lane. Not to mention plenty of steamy action between Jamie and Max."
—Louise
I enjoyed Full Tilt, although not as much as I do the books in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. However, I knew it would be unfair to hold Max and Jamie to such a high standard. At any rate, I liked millionaire (or is it billionaire?) Max Holt and small-time newspaper publisher Jamie Swift enough to hurry and order the sequel, Full Speed.I tried to like it. I really, really did. But Max's and Jamie's behavior becomes so outlandishly stupid and the Elmer Gantry-style preacher who figures as the villain is so cartoonish that I simply got halfway through and quit in disgust. Why does sensible Jamie suddenly start taking idiotic risks? Why does sweet-natured Max suddenly become so arrogant and controlling? It was all out of character.By all means, enjoy Full Tilt. And then make a full stop. Don't bother with the sequel.
—Ivonne Rovira
