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cgibson05's review against another edition
3.0
It was an ok book. I listened to this as an audio book. I wish there was a different narrator than the Stephanie Plum books. It was very hard to picture these as new characters.
bookishblondegirl's review against another edition
3.0
Gabriela Rose is a recovery agent who retrieves stolen and/or rare artifacts. Gabriela decides to retrieve the Seal of Solomon, a priceless ring. She gets help along the way, including from Rafer, her ex-husband whom she still finds both infuriating and attractive. Drug operations, ancient cults, and ritualistic sacrifice abound as Gabriela tracks down the treasure.
Overall, this fell a little short for me. This was my first Janet Evanovich novel, but I've been seeing from other reviewers that the setup to this story is remarkably similar to that of her Stephanie Plum series. Even without having read any of that series, I feel like I could sense that this one felt a little 'uninspired', per se, which tracks with those who are saying that Gabriela is essentially a slightly tweaked Stephanie.
When it comes to the characters, I liked Gabriela and Rafer, and enjoyed their interactions with each other. I also especially enjoyed two of the side characters: Pepe and Caballo. There were many attempts at humor, but frankly they almost all fell flat for me. I thought the scenes where the characters were traversing jungle and exploring ruins were cool, but the action scenes, though plentiful, were not that exciting.
Ultimately, I'm going back and forth between 2.5 and 3 stars, because while I was underwhelmed, I didn't necessarily dislike this. I guess I was expecting more of a Lara Croft, Tomb Raider-esque thing, and was bummed when I didn't get it, so that could be on me! Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review!
Overall, this fell a little short for me. This was my first Janet Evanovich novel, but I've been seeing from other reviewers that the setup to this story is remarkably similar to that of her Stephanie Plum series. Even without having read any of that series, I feel like I could sense that this one felt a little 'uninspired', per se, which tracks with those who are saying that Gabriela is essentially a slightly tweaked Stephanie.
When it comes to the characters, I liked Gabriela and Rafer, and enjoyed their interactions with each other. I also especially enjoyed two of the side characters: Pepe and Caballo. There were many attempts at humor, but frankly they almost all fell flat for me. I thought the scenes where the characters were traversing jungle and exploring ruins were cool, but the action scenes, though plentiful, were not that exciting.
Ultimately, I'm going back and forth between 2.5 and 3 stars, because while I was underwhelmed, I didn't necessarily dislike this. I guess I was expecting more of a Lara Croft, Tomb Raider-esque thing, and was bummed when I didn't get it, so that could be on me! Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review!
historyguru2007's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
jadmire97's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
2.0
lexib0902's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
rachelsears11's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
shhh_thisisalibrary's review against another edition
2.0
I’m SO sad to say I didn’t love this book.
I had high hopes for this because she’s a very popular author who has written a lot and I’m LOVING the Stephanie Plum series she wrote in the 90’s and after.
Here’s some key points for my review:
Had amazing story that I was super pumped for but just didn’t seem to be executed well.
Main info or back stories introduced in the beginning was never again brought up or went anywhere till the very end.
The build up in the middle the “hunt” for the treasure felt like it just kept building but not going anywhere.
The writing style seemed completely different than I’m used to with almost juvenile verbiage.
If you were expecting this to be basically Stephanie plum in a jungle it seems to start that way. And you know if this was meant to be different that’s ok too I went into it with an open mind. It just fell flat.
Great ideas that just didn’t turn into anything sadly. This is a whole new series so maybe I’ll give book 2 a try when it comes, in hope for the story to find it’s footing or rhythm but this was just a bummer.
Just a girl trying to do honest but not harsh reviews ✌️
I had high hopes for this because she’s a very popular author who has written a lot and I’m LOVING the Stephanie Plum series she wrote in the 90’s and after.
Here’s some key points for my review:
Had amazing story that I was super pumped for but just didn’t seem to be executed well.
Main info or back stories introduced in the beginning was never again brought up or went anywhere till the very end.
The build up in the middle the “hunt” for the treasure felt like it just kept building but not going anywhere.
The writing style seemed completely different than I’m used to with almost juvenile verbiage.
If you were expecting this to be basically Stephanie plum in a jungle it seems to start that way. And you know if this was meant to be different that’s ok too I went into it with an open mind. It just fell flat.
Great ideas that just didn’t turn into anything sadly. This is a whole new series so maybe I’ll give book 2 a try when it comes, in hope for the story to find it’s footing or rhythm but this was just a bummer.
Just a girl trying to do honest but not harsh reviews ✌️
fhicks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25