One for the Money (Janet Evanovich)

Yes, this is the book that has turned into a recent movie (starring Katherine Heigl, Jason O'Mara and Daniel Sunjata).  I must admit that before reading the book, I did watch the first half of the movie.  Long story short, I fell asleep during the movie (must have just been too comfortable on the couch?) and I haven't been able to watch the second half yet.  At this point, it would definitely need a full re-watch. 

One for the Money is about Stephanie Plum, a girl who is recently unemployed and decides to take a job from her cousin as a bounty hunter.  She's given the case of finding Joe Morelli, an old "friend," which is proving to be harder than she anticipated.  Having little experience, running short on money, and finding it hard to keep up the courage to continue on her man-hunt, Stephanie starts uncovering realities that others are trying to keep hidden. 

I really liked this book.  I found it very entertaining because of the characters and the way they interact.  I also enjoyed how everything unfolds - it's exciting and a bit unexpected.  It has lots of mystery throughout the book as you are trying to put all of the pieces together.  You really start to feel for Stephanie Plum and want to see her make her capture, but because you can clearly read into her lack of experience, you see her struggling with her daily tasks. 

In the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, there are actually EIGHTEEN novels.  This is a little insane, but I must say that I am a bit excited.  How often do you read a novel, start to love the characters, and then find that the book is over?  This is that opportunity to keep reading into her life way after this "One for the Money" experience.  I don't think it would be a wise move for me to read them all in a row (because I would probably lose interest), but since I enjoyed the first novel, I would definitely continue reading the series.  (It actually is quite overwhelming the number of novels that Janet Evanovich has written!  Really, check it out.)

It was an easy-to-read, good book.  The story was easy to follow and was a good summer read for me!  Excited to find a copy of the second book, Two for the Dough.