Mini Book Reviews: "Allegiant," "Takedown Twenty" and "Duck the Halls"

I've read a few books lately that are new installments in various series and I didn't think they warranted entire reviews, but I still wanted to mention them. All book covers are from Goodreads.

"Allegiant" by Veronica Roth

4 out of 5 stars

 I was soooo excited for the last installment of the Divergent trilogy, which came out in October. I read "Divergent" and "Insurgent" last February and had been anxiously awaiting the conclusion ever since. But as I closed the back cover I was disappointed -- this was my least favorite of the three books. Both Tris and Tobias kind of got on my nerves and I wasn't happy with the ending. Plus, the constantly changing point-of-view between Tris and Tobias every few pages got confusing. However, I do think this was the most well-written book of the trilogy, and I'm looking forward to whatever Veronica Roth writes next.

 

"Takedown Twenty" by Janet Evanovich
3 out of 5 stars

Well, this is book #298 million of the Stephanie Plum series, and it's pretty much the 298 millionth (err, 20+) iteration of the same basic plot. The first dozen or so of the Plum books are GREAT! I absolutely recommend them to everyone. But they've been going downhill ever since, and while I'll keep on reading every single one until Janet finally puts the series to bed and solves the Great Stephanie-Morelli-Ranger Love Triangle, I've been let down by the quality of the last several books. Surprisingly, though, I actually enjoyed "Takedown Twenty." It was had a decent little mystery, some romance and it even made me laugh out loud. Plus, it had a giraffe.

"Duck the Halls" by Donna Andrews
3 out of 5 stars

I don't know if I'm outgrowing this once-favorite series or what, but the last few books have been quite underwhelming for me. Several years ago I grabbed "The Penguin Who Knew Too Much" from the new shelf at the library because the cover looked intriguing (who doesn't like penguins?) and I quickly proceeded to read all the previous books in Donna Andrews' bird-titled series of cozy mysteries. If you already read Donna Andrews, you'll probably like this holiday mystery. But if you're not acquainted with her work, I would recommend starting on the earlier books because these recent ones -- yawn, what was I saying? Oh yeah, they were a bit of a bore. And also bogged down in a ridiculous amount of information about whatever particular event the plot is centered around. I now know far more about heritage livestock breeds than I ever cared to (from "The Hen of the Baskervilles," the previous book in the series) and various terms and practices of every type of Christian church (undercroft, anyone?).