I finished Bobbie Faye's (kinda, sorta, not exactly) Family Jewels by Toni McGee Causey. It can be hard to review the sequel to a fresh, surprising, laugh-out-loud book like Bobbie Faye's (very, very, very) Bad Day. It was easy to rate the first one: it was a five on a scale of five, filled with humor, action, romance, and the unique character of Bobbie Faye, who attracts disaster like nobody's business. And when I finished it, I thought, "There's no way she can top this." But I was dying to read the sequel anyway. The sequel is flawed; the humor is a bit more forced, there are too many bad guys, and the plot is neglected a bit to make way for an expanded role for the Love Triangle. Does this mean I don't recommend this book and I won't be first in line to buy Bobbie Faye #3? Absolutely not. The first book was so good that the second pales in comparison, but it was still a fun ride.
Bobbie Faye is having another Bad Day. This one begins with a weird dream in which she shoots a man, and then she wakes up with blood in her hair. Uh oh. Cousin Francesca brings her a huge problem: Bobbie Faye's Aunt Marie has run off with some diamonds and Marie's husband has put a hit out on her. Bobbie Faye JUST HAS TO find those diamonds. Unfortunately for Bobbie Faye (and the state of Louisiana) Francesca isn't the only one looking for the gems. There are THREE groups of bad guys, and to be honest, I didn't always bother with keeping them straight. Which group has the sniper on the roof? Whatever. Who's using which tracking device? I don't care. Bobbie Faye sets off to find the diamonds/escape from the three groups of nutcases trying to kill her, and becomes the main suspect in the murder of a jeweler along the way. This is fun stuff, and if there weren't as many laugh-out-loud moments as in the first, that's understandable. More time is devoted to her evolving relationship with Trevor and some realizations about her past relationship with Cam. Bobbie Faye is so likeable that I just want her to be happy!
A revelation at the end suggests that book #3 is probably in the works. I personally hope it involves retrieving that one thing from book #1 and going on the adventure it would suggest, because that sounds really fun. I expect that future books will be even more involved with the relationship stuff, but as long as Causey keeps up the smart, funny writing, I'll keep reading.
Holly's Review Here
My review of the first book here.
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2 comments:
I agree with everything you said! I, too, just skimmed over the bad guy parts with a "who cares" attitude. And I think your idea for the 3rd book sounds great! That would be fun, wouldn't it? I actually thought going into book #2 that the "family jewels" were related to the "thing" she lost in the first book. :-)So I was a actually a bit disappointed about that.
Yeah, I thought the "family jewels" referred to that thing after I finished book #1, too. I bet she brings it back. It's too good not to!
I'm a little bummed that the romance part was such a big part of this book. The first book was so fun without that much of it. The action and crazy destruction is really where the fun is :)
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