To the Nines

Another Airbnb beach read. I don't think I've ever read Evanovich before, and was pleasantly surprised. Although this is #9 in the Stephanie Plum series, you can definitely hop in without prior knowledge and still enjoy.

The pros: A more diverse cast than is typical for these types of novels, which felt both true to the New Jersey setting and refreshing. Evanovich has a good sense of humor, so the novel doesn't take itself too seriously, either, which is always a plus. Finally, the heroine gets to enjoy two different love interests with no pressure to make a choice at the novel's end. Good for her!

The cons: A weird amount of fat phobia, actually? Which caught me by surprise. There are also moments when character diversity gets flattened into caricature, especially at the intersection of race/size/past history of sex work in ways that I don't think would have been funny when this was written, and certainly aren't funny now. Also, while Stephanie is a great protagonist in many ways, she is actually written as too smart to have it be fully believable that she missed the plot twist that the reader can clearly see coming at least as early as halfway through.

So, I don't feel a need to dip my toes in these waters again, but don't regret that I did.