Review: WICKED APPETITE (By: Janet Evanovich)

Author: Janet Evanovich
Rating: 4 of 5


St. Martin's Press / September 14, 2010 / Hardcover

Seven Stones of Power. No one knows when they were created or by whom, each said to represent one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
For centuries, treasure hunters have been eager to possess the stones, undeterred by their corrupting nature. The list is long -- Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, to name a few. Now the Stones have found their way to Salem, Massachusetts, and so has Gerwulf Grimoire, adding himself to this rogues' gallery of power seekers. He's an uncommonly dangerous man, with a hunger for the forbidden, and a set of abilities that are way beyond ordinary. Abilities that he feels entitle him to possess anything he might desire.
That would include Elizabeth Tucker, the woman he needs to find the Stones. She's freshly transplanted from New York City to Boston's North Shore. With a new job as pastry chef at Dazzle's bakery and an old house inherited from her Aunt Ophelia, her life is pretty much on track …until it's suddenly derailed by a guy named Diesel, a rude monkey, and a ninja cat.

Lizzy can handle the monkey and the cat. She's not sure about Diesel. He's offering up his own set of unusual talents, promising to protect her from Grimoire. The kind of protection that Lizzy suspects might involve guarding her body day and night.
The Seven Deadly Sins are pride, greed, lust, envy wrath, sloth and gluttony. That pretty much covers everything that is wicked. Diesel thinks it also pretty much covers everything that's fun. And Lizzy thinks Diesel and the Seven Deadly Sins cover everything her mother warned her about.

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For years the women in my life have raved about Janet Evanovich's books and have gone so far as to force them into my hands. Of all those times though I never took the opportunity to actually open one up and read it, until now. After buying the above book for my stepmother for Christmas I realized that she already had it in her posession and was on her way to finishing it. What was a girl to do? Bite the bullet and crack it open. Thank goodness I did because this series will now be one of my guilty pleasures.

 

Elizabeth Tucker, Lizzy, is living just outside of Salem and spends her days working at a bakery where she  makes the most delicious cupcakes on earth. Her life up until this point has been quite relaxed, and her biggest worries have been how to make some more money to fix the foundation of the house she inherited. This is until Diesel shows up. As the hero of this book Diesel is forward, charming and is dripping with sarcasm. The way that he gets under Lizzy's skin will keep you in stitches before reminding you of how jealous you are of her situation. Diesel's entry into Lizzy's life is kind of a package deal because a cat and a monkey are along for the ride. The dynamic between Diesel, Lizzy, the cat and the monkey is absolutely hilarious and adds something really unique to the storyline.

 

As the first of the Seven Stones of Power, reading about Lizzy and Diesel going after gluttony was much more fun than ever anticipated. The power that gluttony had on the many characters in this book was always different which made it very exciting. Specifically the impact of gluttony on Lizzy made me laugh out loud and kept me quite intrigued. As a reader of Young Adult novels I was prepared for this Adult novel to have some scenes that were a least a little racier. While there were a few sexual innuendos thrown in, the search for the first Stone of Power was priority. The focus on adventure in this book was kind of refreshing and I think it set it apart.


From the ending of this book it seems that Wicked Appetite is going to continue as a series which is fabulous news. It will be interesting to see how Lizzy handles her new fast paced lifestyle, and how she deals with Diesel's tempting good looks. This book is great if you are going on vacation and need something fun to read. If that is what you are looking for then Wicked Appetite will satisfy you.

-Christie