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Saturday 11 September 2010

WICKED APPETITE by Janet Evanovich


Number one bestselling author Janet Evanovich has created a brand-new heroine in Elizabeth Tucker: Marblehead resident, bakery worker, unlucky in love... and descendant of witches.

Life has had a pleasant predictability to it for Lizzy. That is until a tall, black-haired, dark eyed man shows up in a black sports car, touches her hand and leaves a burn mark. His name is Gerwulf Grimoire, also known as Wulf. And he wants what Lizzy has: knowledge. Almost simultaneously comes another man, a different man, but this one just as dangerous in his own way. His name is Diesel. And he wants several things Lizzy has, only one of them being knowledge.

Unbeknownst to Lizzy, she has the ability to find 'empowered objects'. Turns out, a collection of stones that represent the seven deadly sins have made their way to Marblehead. Nothing bad can happen if the stones are all separated. But if they are grouped together, they have the power to unleash hell on earth. Wulf wants them. Diesel wants to stop him. And Lizzy is the key to all of it.

When I received this book for review, I was excited on several levels. For one, I didn't know that Janet Evanovich had a new series coming out. So, yay! And then when I started reading the blurb I thought: awesome, this sounds interesting. Because mixing Salem, witches, and Janet Evanovich's humour was bound to be a good thing. But then, when I read that Diesel was in it, I was totally sold!

Diesel has made an appearance in every Between-the-Numbers novel, so I thought it would be great to see him in another setting, doing his thing without Stephanie and the gang.

Lizzy Tucker has a nice, average life. She lives in an old house that she inherited from her great aunt in Marblehead (near Salem and Boston). She works at Dazzle's Bakery, which is located in Salem, and makes the best cupcakes. She enjoys her job, and is also putting together a book of recipes that she hopes to sell to an agent and/or publisher. Her life is relaxed, routinal and she's happy with that.

Except, everything changes the day a man dressed in black steps out of his sport's car and into the bakery, touches her hand and leaves a burn mark on her skin. That's the first of many, many strange situations that send her simple life into a downward spiral of danger and the unknown.

But it's not all bad. Diesel (who happens to be an Unmentionable and works for the Board of Unmentionable Marshalls. BUM for short) soon arrives in her life too. He's a persistent and frustrating man who's bound to raise any girl's temperature, and he's decided to stick to Lizzy like super glue. After all, his cousin Wulf (the guy in black) wants to get his hands on Lizzy and use her to find some very powerful Stones he wants to use in evil ways.

She doesn't know what to believe at first, but soon finds herself being thrown into a chaotic new way of life. A life where she happens to be an Unmentionable with skills she didn't know she possessed. Lizzy also manages to drag her employer, Clara, her co-worker and (hopeful) spellcaster, Glo, into the mess. Before she knows it, she's got herself a stalker, an alluring man that's playing havoc with her body, charms that are altering her compulsions, a cat with only one eye that seems to possess some degree of ninja skills, and a monkey who can't stop giving people the finger.

Wicked Appetite is a hilarious, totally LOL-kinda book that I'm sure made me look like a nut while I was sitting on the couch reading it. I say that because it's exactly what my husband and daughter said to me last night. :) But it was worth it, I really enjoyed myself and had a great time meeting this new cast of characters. And since we're dealing with the seven deadly sins, I just know there'll be more books to come. Yay!

Like I said, I'm totally sold on this series and can't wait to see what else happens between Lizzy and Diesel. Because personally, Unmentionables or not, I think they were made for each other.

If you're a fan of the Stephanie Plum series then you'll get a kick out of this one because there are several crossover characters. But even if you're not, you gotta check out this book. It's a total blast!

Wicked Appetite, September 2010, ISBN 978-075-535277-7, Headline Fiction Paperback (Royal)

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