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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
This book has the honor of being the first one a librarian handed to me, like "you should read this one!" Years of regular library visits and that only just happened. She said it was very funny. I agree, but I also found it maybe 50 pages too long with a little too much "X happened, and then Y happened, and then Z" style of narration. The events were amusing, the characters were hilarious, but the narration didn't pull me along quite fast enough to sustain that.
personally I'd recommend this one if you're looking for Carl Hiaasen style southern-coastal slapstick with a high body count and wacky wildlife cameos. Not so much as a romantic comedy; the couple was good for each other (and I'm willing to buy that they fall that hard for each other in just a week, for comedy purposes) but there just wasn't much "on-screen" dialogue or chemistry before someone had to dodge another bullet.
personally I'd recommend this one if you're looking for Carl Hiaasen style southern-coastal slapstick with a high body count and wacky wildlife cameos. Not so much as a romantic comedy; the couple was good for each other (and I'm willing to buy that they fall that hard for each other in just a week, for comedy purposes) but there just wasn't much "on-screen" dialogue or chemistry before someone had to dodge another bullet.
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fun rom-com with a darker twist! Enjoyed this one.
Was so excited to reread this for the first time in many years and I'm so happy that it didn't disappoint. This is just a really fun romp. Hijinks and wedding shenanigans and found family and lovable characters. Just what I needed.
Agnes and the Hitman is one of my favorite books. I remember the first time that I read it it took me completely by surprise. I wasn't expecting to love it so much!
The plot of this story is that Agnes is a food columnist who is trying to put on a wedding for her best friends daughter. The only problem is, men keep showing up with guns to kill her! Her friend Joey, an ex-mobster, calls his nephew Shane, a government hitman, to help him figure out who's out to get Agnes and to keep her safe.
Hilarity and excitement ensue! The romance is fantastic. Shane is exactly what I love in an alpha male character. He's strong, sensitive, funny and loves Agnes because of her faults. Agnes is hilarious. She cares so much about everyone around her, taking in one of her attempted killers with the same determination as when she took in her beloved pooch. But, she's a flawed woman with an anger problem. As her past fiances can tell you, cross her and you'll be seeing the backside of a frying pan.
The old mobsters who kept coming out of the woodwork and the unraveling of the mystery was artful and exhilarating. Even after many reads, this story keeps me at the edge of my seat until the very end!
http://vickireadsbooks.blogspot.com/2014/10/agnes-and-hitman-jennifer-crusie-reread.html
The plot of this story is that Agnes is a food columnist who is trying to put on a wedding for her best friends daughter. The only problem is, men keep showing up with guns to kill her! Her friend Joey, an ex-mobster, calls his nephew Shane, a government hitman, to help him figure out who's out to get Agnes and to keep her safe.
Hilarity and excitement ensue! The romance is fantastic. Shane is exactly what I love in an alpha male character. He's strong, sensitive, funny and loves Agnes because of her faults. Agnes is hilarious. She cares so much about everyone around her, taking in one of her attempted killers with the same determination as when she took in her beloved pooch. But, she's a flawed woman with an anger problem. As her past fiances can tell you, cross her and you'll be seeing the backside of a frying pan.
The old mobsters who kept coming out of the woodwork and the unraveling of the mystery was artful and exhilarating. Even after many reads, this story keeps me at the edge of my seat until the very end!
http://vickireadsbooks.blogspot.com/2014/10/agnes-and-hitman-jennifer-crusie-reread.html
It took me a little while to shift into the mood for this one. I had just finished a fairly serious historical mystery so at first the tone was a little jarring. But once I decided to just go with the Married to the Mob vibe I really enjoyed it. Just like Agnes I had to embrace the killer within and then it was all good. :)
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book. I loved Cranky Agnes, and I always enjoy the close-knit family (whether related by blood or not) that Jennifer Crusie gathers around her characters. I could have done with a little less violence, although given the title I knew there would be some going in (which is why I waited so long to read this book). The reason I am giving this book a 3 is that there were some structural problems in plot regarding timing of what happened in the past, which I would not expect from two experienced authors like Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer.
But I expect I'll be re-reading this book numerous times.
But I expect I'll be re-reading this book numerous times.
This is Crusie back on top form ! This book was brilliant, hilarious, chaotic madness. This time I couldn't tell where Mayer had a hand, I know he must have been behind the action scenes but in this book the collaboration was seamless, I think they managed to iron all the kinks out and it really works. Take the beginning for instance : this one sucked me right in, I was hooked right away, unlike the beginning of Don't Look Down where I struggled.
Cranky Agnes is a cooking columnist with anger management issues who just bought her dream house, on the condition that she must put on her best friend's daughter's wedding. The problem is, people keep turning up and trying to kill her. And everything that could go wrong with the wedding is going wrong. It's almost as if someone doesn't want the wedding to go off... Thank goodness her friend Joey, an ex-mobster, is there to help.
Shane is a hitman. His latest hit didn't go to plan, and then his uncle Joey calls and asks him to protect "his little Agnes". But when Shane arrives it turns out Agnes isn't so little and knows how to wield a frying pan to devastating effect. What's more, she seems to attract an amount of chaos he has never encountered before.
This book is a wild ride of complete insanity, so first of all, suspend all disbelief and strap in for the ride. Some things you'll encounter are old mobsters, 5 million lost somewhere around the house, a secret den in the basement, several hitmen of various levels of competence, several fierce Southern ladies, flamingoes, a bridge that threatens to collapse at any moment, a court-ordered psychiatrist, frying pans used as weapons, some delicious breakfasts, and a wedding. There is even a cameo of Moot. It's wonderful.
This time around we get some of Crusie's trademark top-notch characters : I really liked Agnes and Shane. Agnes is warm and caring, she has that spark that makes her relateable, she's also a strong character who knows what she wants, and she has a delicious streak of complete lunacy : let's just say you don't want to cross her. I loved that and wanted to cheer her on every time she lost it. The voice of her court-ordered psychiatrist in her head slowly transforming as the story went on was gold. I LOVED that. It was a perfect touch.
Shane was good people. He felt real and three dimensional (much better than Wilder) and he was really good to Agnes, he appreciated her and helped her out. He had some sweet moments and I liked them as a couple.
Then there is a whole slew of colourful secondary characters, all of them memorable and fun. There was a lovely feeling of found family, and I love books where you get that feeling of one big crazy family coming together, even when they quarrel. It reminded me a bit of the Dempseys.
This book has a lighter, wittier tone, more like some older Crusies, and for me, this is when she is at her best. Some bits of dialogue had me laughing out loud and that's not easy to get out of me when I read. I loved it.
There were a couple breathless action scenes with Shane, he is definitely very competent at his job (what a man !)And that first scene when Agnes has rage-sex with him was hot. There is also quite a bit of violence, but the story is zipping along in such a zany, madcap way, it doesn't feel very brutal.
I don't really know what more to say except that this book was delightful and fun and such a treat.
Cranky Agnes is a cooking columnist with anger management issues who just bought her dream house, on the condition that she must put on her best friend's daughter's wedding. The problem is, people keep turning up and trying to kill her. And everything that could go wrong with the wedding is going wrong. It's almost as if someone doesn't want the wedding to go off... Thank goodness her friend Joey, an ex-mobster, is there to help.
Shane is a hitman. His latest hit didn't go to plan, and then his uncle Joey calls and asks him to protect "his little Agnes". But when Shane arrives it turns out Agnes isn't so little and knows how to wield a frying pan to devastating effect. What's more, she seems to attract an amount of chaos he has never encountered before.
This book is a wild ride of complete insanity, so first of all, suspend all disbelief and strap in for the ride. Some things you'll encounter are old mobsters, 5 million lost somewhere around the house, a secret den in the basement, several hitmen of various levels of competence, several fierce Southern ladies, flamingoes, a bridge that threatens to collapse at any moment, a court-ordered psychiatrist, frying pans used as weapons, some delicious breakfasts, and a wedding. There is even a cameo of Moot. It's wonderful.
This time around we get some of Crusie's trademark top-notch characters : I really liked Agnes and Shane. Agnes is warm and caring, she has that spark that makes her relateable, she's also a strong character who knows what she wants, and she has a delicious streak of complete lunacy : let's just say you don't want to cross her. I loved that and wanted to cheer her on every time she lost it.
Shane was good people. He felt real and three dimensional (much better than Wilder) and he was really good to Agnes, he appreciated her and helped her out. He had some sweet moments and I liked them as a couple.
Then there is a whole slew of colourful secondary characters, all of them memorable and fun. There was a lovely feeling of found family, and I love books where you get that feeling of one big crazy family coming together, even when they quarrel. It reminded me a bit of the Dempseys.
This book has a lighter, wittier tone, more like some older Crusies, and for me, this is when she is at her best. Some bits of dialogue had me laughing out loud and that's not easy to get out of me when I read. I loved it.
There were a couple breathless action scenes with Shane, he is definitely very competent at his job (what a man !)
I don't really know what more to say except that this book was delightful and fun and such a treat.