Stars: 2.5 / 5
Recommendation: As irritating as it was at the beginning and frustrating, the plot becomes more sinister as it neared the end. Evanovich has similar theme like her Stephanie Plum series, but more romance involved. I am half-minded with this book, so it will not be likely I will pick up another book in the series to read. Sorry, Evanovich, this series is not my cup of tea.
Full House is the first book in the Full Series by Janet Evanovich co-written with Charlotte Hughes originally published in September 2002. Evanovich had already written this in 1989 under the name Steffie Hall. And this is a rewritten of the same book with a larger plot and sub-plots that lead to a series of books after.
Nicholas “Nick” Kaharchek, a polo trainer, meets Billie Pearce, a divorced mother of two, who continually trips his balance. He knows horses, but he also knows to tame and satisfy any woman in the same way, which he thoroughly enjoys. However, when this “girl-next-door” Billie lands on top of him literally, things shift for both. They enter into the dangerous world of seduction and romance edged with someone hunting them down as if they were prey.
Evanovich acknowledges in the beginning of the plot that she re-wrote this book again for fans who wanted to see her earlier works in print again. She did upcycle the plot to keep the romance and danger on even keel with the plot being more sneakier. Having not read the original one, my opinions stick to only this one.
The characterization of Nick irritated the heck out of me in the beginning. A total womanizer and a shameless cad, he doesn’t hesitate to use his charm and wit to con Billie into doing something that she wouldn’t have agreed to if she wasn’t confused and befuddled by him. I always hated (sorry a strong word!) that about in people – using your charm and wit to get your way, or getting out of any situation while the rest face the repercussions. And to top it, they don’t even acknowledge that they are using people or regret about it.
But as the plot progressed, he turned out to be different than I expected. On the other hand Billie is every bit a stern mother with a short leash on her kids, protects and loves them fiercely, and yet falls for Nick’s womanizing attempts. It bothered me that Evanovich doesn’t stress on the fact that “no means no”. She keeps having Nick pursue Billie despite Billie’s constant push back.
And what woman would be stupid enough to dress up like a stripper and crash her fiancee’s bachelor party just because she waned to confront him about his idea of ogling at women. But is that the way to do? Oh it all made less and less sense to the plot. smacking my head
Not to discount the selfish cousin Deedee who doesn’t care about anything except for her alimonies from her ex-husband, her hour-glass model figure and her appearance that she keeps up for the sake of others. Again she doesn’t care for the consequences or how the people around her are impacted by her recklessness. Another irritating character that goes on and on screaming “Eeyeuuw” at every other line.
Despite all the drama of seduction and dysfunctional characters , the conning of Billie, and eventual doom her characters keep falling in at every turn of the page, Evanovich puts in danger into the mix – someone is trying to infest Billie’s community with spiders and roaches; burglaries around their neighborhood; weird noises in the night in Billie’s backyard; missing spare housekeys; an ex-fiancee who doesn’t want to let go; fight against some real estate company trying to erase the marshlands in favor of buildings and businesses; and of course attempted murder.
Evanovich tried to blend in humor with seduction, jealousy and obsession that lead to all the crimes in the book. However, she created non-sensical scenes that no sane woman would get involved in. They are very theatrical and nothing close to reality.
As irritating as it was at the beginning and frustrating, the plot becomes more sinister as it neared the end. Evanovich has similar theme like her Stephanie Plum series, but more romance involved. I am half-minded with this book, so it will not be likely I will pick up another book in the series to read. Sorry, Evanovich, this series is not my cup of tea.
Spoiler Alerts:
1. Book Trivia and Plot Reveals:
a. Nick's people on his land and friends: Zeke, the horse Billie is training on for polo; Sheridan Flock, Nick's ex-fiancee; Arnie Bates, Nick's stable hand; his dogs - Spike, Snuffy, Otis, Daisy and Beans; Ryan's Velvet, another horse Nick buys for Billie.
b. Nick's family: Deedee Holt, a cousin; Frankie the Assassin, wrestler whom Deedee is marrying; Maximillian "Max" Holt, Deedee's brother; Fong, Nick's manservant who never really appears in the plot.
c. Billie Pearce's family and friends: Works as a 6th grade teacher at Purcellville Elementary; two kids - a son Joel, 8yrs; a daughter Christie, 10 yrs old; Buffy, a dog; Spot, a cat; Raoul Hernandez, their community pest-control man; Lisa Marie, Christie's friend; her siblings - Mary, Margaret and Richard.
d. Sheridan and Nick were engaged to be married and Sheridan broke it off.
e. Max stays back at Billie's home while Billie and Nick honeymoon to work on the marshland and protest the developers. Definitely a segue into the next book in this series.
2. Grammatical / Character / Plot / Geographical / Historical / Mythological Errors:
a. On Pg. 13, there is no indication the Sheridan would be calling Nick or vice versa. However, On Pg. 27, Evanovich weaves a tidbit that Sheridan would be waiting by the phone for Nick's call.
b. On Pg. 139, line 3, Nick is addressed as "Neil".
Galavant Reflections 