Twisted Twenty-Six by Janet Evanovich
Mar. 10th, 2020 05:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaI really enjoyed it! I’m kind of shocked about that, tbh. This is the most I've enjoyed a Stephanie Plum novel in ages. This is a really big turn around from yesterday, and maybe I'm so much more pleased with this book because of the comparison?
+ I really appreciated that Stephanie is seriously questioning her life. She’s had moments of dissatisfaction in other books before but she's never really made any mental progress on what she wants and so it’s always come to nothing. But this time she doesn’t just muse on how she doesn’t like her job but acknowledges that she doesn’t care about it. There’s a difference between the two and it felt like her acknowledging it is a big step. And then she muses that it isn't the danger she hates but 'the ick'. She doesn't like the crappy (sometimes literally!) people she has to deal with, that she keeps being covered in gross things and humiliated by failed captures. She doesn't have a passion but knowing that might lead her to discovering one. Maybe I've got my hopes up too high and they'll be dashed in the next book but this really did feel like forward movement finally.
Honestly I think Stephanie rather likes the danger and certainly she deals with it amazingly well. Sure, she'll break-down in tears and internally panic occasionally but she usually keeps it together really well and she is one of the most resilient characters I can think of. After whatever terrible thing happens to her she always bounces back. She was so calm in this book! She handled being shot without a whimper and her tears after the kidnapping and almost torture were confined to after they'd escape and were safe. In the moment she was in control and thinking, and got them out of there.
That was the other thing I really loved about this book - Stephanie didn't feel inept and she didn't need other people to do her job. She got help and there were certainly bumbling and pratfall filled captures, sure, but it felt like Stephanie (and Lula) had it a little more together in this book. Starting with two completely drama free captures was super weird but I think it set a tone for the book. Yeah, Carol ran circles around them but it didn’t bother me for some reason? And I loved him giving Stephanie shopping advice and her taking it.
I loved how the Cross situation played out. Yes, Stephanie got really lucky that he didn't decide to just shoot her and Lula, but that's Stephanie's greatest asset (luck) and has been since the beginning of the series so it doesn't bother me (see Shine and Salgusta leaving at the end). I loved how calm she was, her instantly figuring out that the glass wouldn't be bulletproof and then her tackle take down of Cross.
I liked that Stephanie did her own investigating and was successful at it (if not in the way she was expecting). Getting Benny to talk with pizza bribery and respect and lying the trap with Barbara and Jeannie were great.
+ I loved Grandma Mazur. I think a large part of why this book worked was because of her. The moments of genuine seriousness and emotion with Grandma with her being sad/upset over Jimmy’s death, dealing with the funeral and contemplating both death and the fact that he killed people were really nice and grounded the story unexpectedly after her initial breeziness over the situation. Grandma having a life philosophy of happiness being a choice you make, even in terrible times, and that sometimes you really had to work at it, was great. Plus her usual drama was fun. I loved her making friends with the Rangemen bodyguards. I also really liked that she got to see the other side to Stephanie's drama/danger and how it gave her a different view on Stephanie's job. She was just really great all around.
My favourite thing though was Grandma’s words to Stephanie. Telling her that the best part of the funeral/wake was Stephanie's hair with its sparkly blue streaks which let her always know where Stephanie was and how looking at it made her feel less tired - ♥ And then her telling Stephanie that she wasn’t boring and – “The blue streaky things work because that’s who you are. You’re like the sky at midnight, when the moon is shining, and the wind is blowing.” was beautiful. I can’t blame Stephanie for getting choked up over it. This was a really great Stephanie/Grandma book.
+ I loved the end. I'm actually rather excited to read the next book. Stephanie and Grandma on a treasure hunting Indiana Jones style adventure to find what the Keys open? Absolutely. The fact that the next book is called Fortune and Glory instead of Something Twenty-Seven is a little shocking and dare I hope a shake-up in titling will mean a shake-up in story?
+ Then there's Morelli/Stephanie/Ranger which didn't really make any forward movement but there were hints. Morelli/Stephanie are still 'on' and seem perfectly happy. Stephanie didn't really express any discontent here unlike the last book. Meanwhile Stephanie/Ranger are still having slightly more repressed feelings and wanting each other, though there was less flirting/UST this book. But weirdly it also felt like their scenes were more meaningful in ways? Like we learn a little more about Ranger - he likes chocolate chip cookies - and he seems more emotionally open to Stephanie.
There was one line that got my eyebrows raised; when Ranger asked if she was going to propose and she answers "Not at this moment, but I'm thinking about it." Wait, what?! Was she just messing with Ranger or has she seriously been thinking about marriage, presumably as part of her desire to move out of the rut of her life? And if the latter I'm annoyed it happened 'off-screen'. To be honest I'm not sure that I want a choice to be decisively made even as I'm tired of the never-ending limbo of their relationship. She's in love with both, they're both in love with her. A stable poly v would be my pick but I know it's not going to happen. I have no idea how I'll feel if she does actually pick one and commits. I've always loved Ranger more but if she picked him I'd feel really bad for Morelli! And if she picked Morelli I probably be rather dissatisfied about it.
I really loved Morelli explaining his and Ranger side of the tale and how his heart stopped and Ranger went pale, and how Ranger took off speeding after Stephanie. I loved that moment in Morelli's kitchen after Steph got shot when she got emotional over the danger to her grandma and she thinks "Their eyes were dark and serious. They understood my problem. It was their problem too." We only get Stephanie's side of this triangle and I really do want to see more from either of the guys. Or even just seeing them having to interact more would be great.
+ I found it very weird that Ranger didn't show up after Stephanie got shot. Not in the immediate aftermath, nor at any random point during the next day as she was running around (and he always knew exactly where she was) and he waited until the day after that. I did love him running to pull Stephanie out of the truck and into his arms. I loved her line about always feeling safe when she was with him. I also loved him showing up after her capture of Cross to congratulate her and the conversation that followed was great.
Also more specific to the Ranger side of the triangle at one point Stephanie (after saying she can't ask him to stay) muses "because he was part of the problem, and I wasn't ready to confront him with the issue" which I find really interesting. Is it the issue that he keeps flirting/coming on to her even though she's with Morelli and she wants him to stop because she doesn't have it in her to do so herself, or is it that he refuses to commit to her while still flirting and sleeping with her, and she wants him to either choose to commit or leave her alone (romantically)? I hope this gets brought up again in the next book.
+ I liked Lula a lot. She felt like she had Stephanie’s back which isn’t always true. I liked her and Stephanie both having that shared wet moment of ‘fuck this’. I loved her genuine concern for Darlene. I even loved her choosing to go topless and I admire her brazen don’t-give-a-fuck attitude and lack of shame over it. I liked her confidence and optimism about their job and abilities.
+ Stephanie’s mom clocking the man who shot Stephanie in the face with the iron was amazing. I loved that when Lula arrived they shared high and low fives over it.
+ I liked Stephanie getting the blue highlights. I want her to keep them up or do something else like that.
+ I enjoyed the cookie pass-around hyjinks with Barbara, Grandma and the Rosolli sisters and how that played out. Actually all the Grandma vs Rosolli sisters shenanigans were insane but fun.
+ I totally thought Jeannie was going to be the mastermind behind something including Grandma's kidnapping so I got that wrong. Though I did think she had her husband's help. I was also wrong about the Keys because I thought it would turn out they weren't literally keys and that Jimmy's last words would be important. That Grandma had heard 'oh crap apples' but he was saying something else.
+ I hope we see Carol again because he won me over in that one short scene between him and Stephanie and now I want him to show up as her shopping fairy to help her in her journey of changing her life by helping her to dress better but still comfortably. I was surprised we didn't get a follow up on him at the end.
+ I was also expecting the panic necklaces not working to be addressed. Why did they not work/stop working?
+ I really appreciated that Stephanie is seriously questioning her life. She’s had moments of dissatisfaction in other books before but she's never really made any mental progress on what she wants and so it’s always come to nothing. But this time she doesn’t just muse on how she doesn’t like her job but acknowledges that she doesn’t care about it. There’s a difference between the two and it felt like her acknowledging it is a big step. And then she muses that it isn't the danger she hates but 'the ick'. She doesn't like the crappy (sometimes literally!) people she has to deal with, that she keeps being covered in gross things and humiliated by failed captures. She doesn't have a passion but knowing that might lead her to discovering one. Maybe I've got my hopes up too high and they'll be dashed in the next book but this really did feel like forward movement finally.
Honestly I think Stephanie rather likes the danger and certainly she deals with it amazingly well. Sure, she'll break-down in tears and internally panic occasionally but she usually keeps it together really well and she is one of the most resilient characters I can think of. After whatever terrible thing happens to her she always bounces back. She was so calm in this book! She handled being shot without a whimper and her tears after the kidnapping and almost torture were confined to after they'd escape and were safe. In the moment she was in control and thinking, and got them out of there.
That was the other thing I really loved about this book - Stephanie didn't feel inept and she didn't need other people to do her job. She got help and there were certainly bumbling and pratfall filled captures, sure, but it felt like Stephanie (and Lula) had it a little more together in this book. Starting with two completely drama free captures was super weird but I think it set a tone for the book. Yeah, Carol ran circles around them but it didn’t bother me for some reason? And I loved him giving Stephanie shopping advice and her taking it.
I loved how the Cross situation played out. Yes, Stephanie got really lucky that he didn't decide to just shoot her and Lula, but that's Stephanie's greatest asset (luck) and has been since the beginning of the series so it doesn't bother me (see Shine and Salgusta leaving at the end). I loved how calm she was, her instantly figuring out that the glass wouldn't be bulletproof and then her tackle take down of Cross.
I liked that Stephanie did her own investigating and was successful at it (if not in the way she was expecting). Getting Benny to talk with pizza bribery and respect and lying the trap with Barbara and Jeannie were great.
+ I loved Grandma Mazur. I think a large part of why this book worked was because of her. The moments of genuine seriousness and emotion with Grandma with her being sad/upset over Jimmy’s death, dealing with the funeral and contemplating both death and the fact that he killed people were really nice and grounded the story unexpectedly after her initial breeziness over the situation. Grandma having a life philosophy of happiness being a choice you make, even in terrible times, and that sometimes you really had to work at it, was great. Plus her usual drama was fun. I loved her making friends with the Rangemen bodyguards. I also really liked that she got to see the other side to Stephanie's drama/danger and how it gave her a different view on Stephanie's job. She was just really great all around.
My favourite thing though was Grandma’s words to Stephanie. Telling her that the best part of the funeral/wake was Stephanie's hair with its sparkly blue streaks which let her always know where Stephanie was and how looking at it made her feel less tired - ♥ And then her telling Stephanie that she wasn’t boring and – “The blue streaky things work because that’s who you are. You’re like the sky at midnight, when the moon is shining, and the wind is blowing.” was beautiful. I can’t blame Stephanie for getting choked up over it. This was a really great Stephanie/Grandma book.
+ I loved the end. I'm actually rather excited to read the next book. Stephanie and Grandma on a treasure hunting Indiana Jones style adventure to find what the Keys open? Absolutely. The fact that the next book is called Fortune and Glory instead of Something Twenty-Seven is a little shocking and dare I hope a shake-up in titling will mean a shake-up in story?
+ Then there's Morelli/Stephanie/Ranger which didn't really make any forward movement but there were hints. Morelli/Stephanie are still 'on' and seem perfectly happy. Stephanie didn't really express any discontent here unlike the last book. Meanwhile Stephanie/Ranger are still having slightly more repressed feelings and wanting each other, though there was less flirting/UST this book. But weirdly it also felt like their scenes were more meaningful in ways? Like we learn a little more about Ranger - he likes chocolate chip cookies - and he seems more emotionally open to Stephanie.
There was one line that got my eyebrows raised; when Ranger asked if she was going to propose and she answers "Not at this moment, but I'm thinking about it." Wait, what?! Was she just messing with Ranger or has she seriously been thinking about marriage, presumably as part of her desire to move out of the rut of her life? And if the latter I'm annoyed it happened 'off-screen'. To be honest I'm not sure that I want a choice to be decisively made even as I'm tired of the never-ending limbo of their relationship. She's in love with both, they're both in love with her. A stable poly v would be my pick but I know it's not going to happen. I have no idea how I'll feel if she does actually pick one and commits. I've always loved Ranger more but if she picked him I'd feel really bad for Morelli! And if she picked Morelli I probably be rather dissatisfied about it.
I really loved Morelli explaining his and Ranger side of the tale and how his heart stopped and Ranger went pale, and how Ranger took off speeding after Stephanie. I loved that moment in Morelli's kitchen after Steph got shot when she got emotional over the danger to her grandma and she thinks "Their eyes were dark and serious. They understood my problem. It was their problem too." We only get Stephanie's side of this triangle and I really do want to see more from either of the guys. Or even just seeing them having to interact more would be great.
+ I found it very weird that Ranger didn't show up after Stephanie got shot. Not in the immediate aftermath, nor at any random point during the next day as she was running around (and he always knew exactly where she was) and he waited until the day after that. I did love him running to pull Stephanie out of the truck and into his arms. I loved her line about always feeling safe when she was with him. I also loved him showing up after her capture of Cross to congratulate her and the conversation that followed was great.
Also more specific to the Ranger side of the triangle at one point Stephanie (after saying she can't ask him to stay) muses "because he was part of the problem, and I wasn't ready to confront him with the issue" which I find really interesting. Is it the issue that he keeps flirting/coming on to her even though she's with Morelli and she wants him to stop because she doesn't have it in her to do so herself, or is it that he refuses to commit to her while still flirting and sleeping with her, and she wants him to either choose to commit or leave her alone (romantically)? I hope this gets brought up again in the next book.
+ I liked Lula a lot. She felt like she had Stephanie’s back which isn’t always true. I liked her and Stephanie both having that shared wet moment of ‘fuck this’. I loved her genuine concern for Darlene. I even loved her choosing to go topless and I admire her brazen don’t-give-a-fuck attitude and lack of shame over it. I liked her confidence and optimism about their job and abilities.
+ Stephanie’s mom clocking the man who shot Stephanie in the face with the iron was amazing. I loved that when Lula arrived they shared high and low fives over it.
+ I liked Stephanie getting the blue highlights. I want her to keep them up or do something else like that.
+ I enjoyed the cookie pass-around hyjinks with Barbara, Grandma and the Rosolli sisters and how that played out. Actually all the Grandma vs Rosolli sisters shenanigans were insane but fun.
+ I totally thought Jeannie was going to be the mastermind behind something including Grandma's kidnapping so I got that wrong. Though I did think she had her husband's help. I was also wrong about the Keys because I thought it would turn out they weren't literally keys and that Jimmy's last words would be important. That Grandma had heard 'oh crap apples' but he was saying something else.
+ I hope we see Carol again because he won me over in that one short scene between him and Stephanie and now I want him to show up as her shopping fairy to help her in her journey of changing her life by helping her to dress better but still comfortably. I was surprised we didn't get a follow up on him at the end.
+ I was also expecting the panic necklaces not working to be addressed. Why did they not work/stop working?
