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erica_o 's review for:

Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich
3.0

You: "You don't read Janet Evanovich. What gives?"
Me: "Witches."
You: "You know there's going to be romance in this story, right?"
Me: "Yes, but...it's October. I wanted a witchy story."
You: "So you picked this one? Out of all the witchy stories out there, you picked a genre you don't like by an author you no longer read?"
Me: "YOU DON'T KNOW ME! Also, everything else was checked-out."
You: "Well, don't come crying to me when you hate this."
Me: "...well...you see..."
You: *walks away, shaking head*

Ok, so maybe you do know me. Maybe you know me really well and so you're probably surprised by those three stars. Is this a 3-star book? Absolutely not! Did I like this book anyway? Yes, I did!

I used to read the Stephanie Plum novels back in the ‘90’s and I know I loved them then but I also know when I tried to pick 'em back up in the last several years, I couldn’t do it. I went into this fully aware that I might not like it at all based on how dated and sexist and plot-holey and formulaic and ridiculous those Plum novels are.

This one is no different only it's not yet dated, not quite.

So we start with an inherited house in Marblehead between Boston and Salem and a bakery where Lizzie makes cupcakes, the best cupcakes. This story is about as sweet and filling as the cupcakes Lizzie makes. She works with Clara and Glo. Diesel and Wulf are the guys in her life. There's a cat with a marble eye and, later, a monkey. Also, a spellbook and a broom and some charms that hold the power of gluttony.

At first, I kept thinking, "This is totally written like a sitcom. It’s so fast-paced and lacking in depth, just a big infodump to get the tale across in 30 minutes." Then I thought, "No, it’s more like a Saturday morning cartoon from the ‘80’s." After rolling my eyes one too many times, I put it on 1.5 speed and found it sounds like a bad radio play from the 40’s. Delightful!

So, ok, yes this is fluff and it’s dumb and corny but...there’s a one-eyed cat and a monkey. I was entertained and listening to this helped my day fly by. And, seriously, that monkey is worth the price of admission ergo, 3 stars!