The Misfortune Cookie by Laura Resnick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It's been a while, so it was definitely time to catch up with the Esther Diamond series.
Esther's finally got her job back at Bella Stella and is enjoying a shift during New Year's Eve, when the OCCB—led by the guy who failed to call her after an intimate Christmas Eve together—busts a bunch of mob guys and even arrest her. After that, she has no job, her money is disappearing, the weather is miserable and she can't stop thinking about Lopez. Lucky for her, she's about to fall into some trouble in Chinatown...
This started out like every other one in this series: a hilarious and mystical ride. But somewhere along the line, something happened. The usual fun factor started to fade a little because the magical mystery wasn't as exciting as it usually is. Actually, it really wasn't much of a mystery, tbh.
I don't know why, but all the characters seemed a little off in this book. Like they were mere shadows of themselves and didn't shine with their usual zany charm.
I'm all for relationship drama in all genres because it adds an extra level of complication to a story, but even I have to admit that what goes on in this installment is off the charts. I know Esther's an actress, but gosh, this was too much. I really wish these two would make up their minds already and stick to on or off. I mean, are they a thing or not? Will they or won't they? Maybe one day they'll choose one path. Hopefully.
Otherwise, what's going to happen is that everything that made their romantic mishaps funny and cute, will get old and boring. Because I was in fact, mostly bored by their ongoing problems and they started to feel silly to me.
Anyway, I liked the location of Chinatown and how Esther always manages to find herself in the middle of new problems and takes Max and Nelli along for the ride. She even lands another dead-end acting gig and meets new people via the mobster-in-hiding, Lucky.
Not too much excitement in this one. It lacked the usual suspenseful thrills. There was definitely too much padding and excess stuff that made this book drag in sections. And I'm starting to think that this Esther and Lopez thing has to end or it's going to doom a great series.
Hope the next book is back to speed!
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