Should I start the Plum series? Is it good? Is it considered romance and/or chic lit? Are the characters likeable?

Yes you should start the series. I love this series. The characters are deifinately likeable and it is so easy to get in to the book.  I am up to the ninth book.  I don't think it would be considered romance , possibly chic lit and mystery together.

Start the first book, you won't be dissappointed.

I'm just on the second and was sold after finishing the first. I had never heard of her before PBS.  The style seems to be definitely more chic lit than romance. I have the first eight and will have to search for the others when I get close to finishing those. I think if you like chic lit, you'll love Stepanie Plum.

I listened to the Stephanie Plum books on audio and loved them.  They are really funny.  I also read the Rocky Road to Romance which was one of her first.  Her books are strictly for entertainment.  They are light hearted books. At least the Plum books and the one other one I read were.

I like the series but mostly for the funny scenes. stephanie as a bounty hunter is a joke..she never really improves. And later on there's the tension of should she stay with morelli or go after ranger type drama that goes through several of the book, esp fter 8. also in the first book there's some pretty brutal stuff going on that's sorta glossed over in the later books. I love stephanie's grandma mazur? and Lula or Lulu is funny too. and I adore Ranger though he changes some too..in the first book he seemed 'sillier' in a few scenes then he's portrayed as a totally tough ex-ranger who can't be bested....I do enjoy the series though but have to be in the mood for that type of writing (usually I am though I get more serious sometimes). I just don't see Stephanie 'finding herself' or 'improving' in certain areas I'd have expected from c hick lit (i'm still sorta new to chick lit so maybe improvement isn't the main theme??) and the romance isn't overwhelming..some sex here and there and thoughts of it but by far not the main theme...these are mosty hilarious!

They are very cute. I've read the first 3 so far. The characters are funny. Love the grandmother. They are a mix of chicklit/mystery.

I LOVE HER BOOKS!

I have read all 13 of the Plum, the 2 Metro books and right now I am working on the Full Series. She is so funny

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These are great books!! I am currently reading the second Metro book (those are good too) and I am waiting to start number 12 and 13 in the plum series. Definately worth reading!! I have some of the plum books on my bookshelf as well.

Jen

I believe there are 15 in the Stephanie Plum series (one for Christmas and one for Valentine's Day).  Two aren't "numbered."  I don't know where the Christmas story comes in the series, but the Valentine's Day one is between books 12 and 13.  I stumbled up the Christmas book and liked it so much I went back to start on number one.

If I need to describe the books to someone, I tell them "Lucy and Ethel Become Bounty Hunters." 

Lucy and Ethel.... that's cute! The Christmas one is "Visions of Sugar Plums" and I just looked in the front of the book and it looks like it was written after #8 and before #9. It's really thin. I haven't read it yet. I could probably finish it in an hour or two. The other one is Plum Lovin' and I think it came out right before 13 was released. Again it was another short book.

I've read all the Plum series. I love the characters and Evanovich is one of my favorite authors.

They're actually considered cozy mysteries and sit in the mystery section of the bookstores/libraries. I've never heard of them referred to anything other than mysteries.  The romance with Morelli (and attraction to Ranger) is simply a side issue. Never the focus. In some books her relationship with Morelli is only talked about/dealt with for a couple of pages. The mystery is ALWAYS the focus. I would not classify them as chick lit either.

The other books people are  mentioning, like the Metro series, do not feature Stephanie Plum. Neither does Rocky Road to Romance. I have both of those too and i'd classify one as simply fiction and the Rocky Road to Romance (plus Smitten, Love Overboard etc ...) to be romance.

I have all of her Full series but haven't read any of them yet. Maybe in the next book or two I will start the first one.

Read the Plum series - they're some of the best, most entertaining books I've read but only read them if you like cozy mysteries because if you're expecting true chick lit (like we've talked about in other threads), you won't get that. They are considered cozies.  Likewise, if you're expecting a "romance" story, you won't get that either.

Oh, I just though, they talk a lot about her in the mystery forum. There are, or were, some threads in there about the Plum series. 

I got hooked on Stephanie Plum after I read "One for the Money".  However, by about "Hard Eight", I was getting tired of Stephanie's bumbling bounty hunter skills and always putting herself into impossible situations from which to be rescued by Morelli and Ranger.  I made it through to "Twelve Sharp", but lord, it was a chore.

Grandma Mazur and Lula are the characters that make me laugh out loud in this series.  They are very different, but they are incredibly funny.

And that's my .02.

Lissa

Ditto on Grandma Mazur - she's such a character! And I like Lulu too. And i'd LOVE to meet a Ranger-type clone. ;-p

Thanks for all your replies on this! :)

I get a kick out of the Plum series. I like the very light read to them. They are funny and light and sometimes I wonder why I keep reading them they kind of verge on the dumb. But on occasion I laugh out loud. Grandma Mazur is a kick in the pants. I just finished 12, and look forward to 13 is paper.

Janet and the Plum series ROCKS!!!!!  You MUST start them and I promise you wont want to put them down! lol  I got some on here and then couldnt wait that long for mail and started getting them at the library! Lol  THe are an easy carfree read. There are a few "hot" moments with her men...but not romance! lol  The characters are GREAT!!

I just starte the FULL series too!  Well, actually Im on the 3rd book! There are only like 5 or 6 of these. I dont know what I will do then...Im all caught up on her books! :( 

She's at the top of my very favorite authors.  I've read and reread all of her books.  They never fail to make me laugh, hard, out loud.