Sherri B. (sharalsbooks) reviewed on 7/8/2013 + 259 more book reviews

First of all, ask and you shall receive! Janet Evanovich must have heard my desperate plea for more Ranger after I read Explosive Eighteen because I am happy, no, not happy. I am deliriously ecstatic to report that where Eighteen left me with an extreme Ranger withdrawal, Notorious Nineteen more than made up for it and provided me with the Ranger fix I have been desperately needing!

One of my favorite things about this series is how Stephanie has several sticks in the fire. With every book, Stephanie has several FTA's she is actively looking for and occasionally she will have the opportunity to get involved in something exciting. Notorious Nineteen gave me more than I dared to hope for. In addition to looking for Cubbin, Stephanie finds herself saddled with a wooden Tiki carving that she confiscates from another FTA. There are several amusing scenes where the FTA continues to try to steal Tiki back and I loved how Stephanie resolved this FTAs situation. The best part of this book for me was that Stephanie gets to work for Ranger as a bodyguard, of all things! Im sure I sound like a broken record, but I think Ranger is one of the best written heroes in contemporary womens fiction. I dont think we have yet learned any of Rangers faults or shortcomings. And if there are any that have already been revealed to the loyal members of Team Ranger, we have blocked them from our minds because of all of his extraordinary traits dominate everything else. The man is either a saint or a god. He would have to be to put up with Stephanies crazy antics, especially when he has got to be out at least ten vehicles (though its probably more), due in large part to Stephanie. Unfortunately, for Joe, he loses a car in this book too, so these things seem to have a way of spreading out and sharing the love, so to speak. Theres definitely a lot more story there between Ranger and Stephanie and Im anxiously waiting to see what happens next.

Another great part of this book is Lula really steps up her game in this story. On more than one occasion, Lula thinks outside the box and with some fast thinking actually brings about some interesting and hilarious results. I really like seeing this side of Lula. Shes great as a sidekick, but I think she would be brilliant as Stephanies equal partner.

If you enjoy light mystery, campy comedy, drool-worthy heroes and a wacky heroine who is a hot mess but manages to succeed and comes out ahead in spite of the odds, then I recommend this series. I believe they are best read in order. Notorious Nineteen may not be the best story of the series, but this book gave me hope that the series does not appear to be on the way out. Thats a very good thing.

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