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Thursday, August 13, 2015

81) Thirty-Two and a Half Complications by Denise Grower Swank

The Blurb :

There’s no denying trouble finds Rose Gardner like a divining rod finds water, especially when Rose lands in the middle of a bank robbery. But after the robbers steal her deposit bag—containing a large amount of cash—she soon finds out that trouble is threatening her business as well, thanks to her sister Violet’s financial mismanagement.

To top it off, Rose’s ex-boyfriend, Joe Simmons, has moved back to Henryetta to fill the chief deputy sheriff position. Rose’s involvement as a witness is the perfect opportunity for Joe to reinsert himself into her life. But Mason Deveraux, Fenton County Assistant District Attorney and Rose’s new boyfriend, has waited too long for Rose to give her up without a fight.

Rose’s pregnant best friend, Neely Kate, suggests they find the robbers using Rose’s visions and Neely Kate’s knowledge about everyone in town. The women are soon hot on the trail of the stolen money, but Rose is caught off guard when Neely Kate’s snoopiness detects the biggest complication of all: Rose might be expecting a baby of her own.

My Thoughts :

The Rose Gardner series is one of my favourite audio series and I am slowly getting to the newest installment.  This fifth part is one of the most dramatic yet and if this was a TV show I would have thrown something at the TV at some points and if I had read this I may have given up because it was sometimes too much to handle.  However listening to the story is amazingly good and very addictive.

I love the concept of this series.  The idea that someone has visions of the future is a nice supernatural twist.  The fact that the 'gift' Rose has is so clumsy and unreliable is just an added bonus.  Rose herself is a nice character and it has been great to see her grow and change into the person she is.  She keeps getting stronger but her life keeps getting more and more complicated.  It is real.  It happens.  Her problems are problems we can relate to and although some of the situations she gets into are more over the top than normal everyday life it makes you realise that there are other people out there that are having a worse day/life than you.

The mysteries are always well thought out and keep me guessing.  I like the twists and turns the author builds in to keep you muttering 'crappydoodles' along with Rose till the very end.  This time around the danger wasn't as life threatening as in the previous book.  However it was a situation that had Rose very close to losing everything.  Things definitely spiral a little out of control in this one and there are some very huge relationship problems and dramas involved.  Not everything is resolved and it has you looking for the next installment before you are even finished with this one.

I have to say that the drama in this one was a little irritating at times.  The whole Joe aspect was really starting to annoy me.  I wanted Rose to say so many things to him or take different actions but dragged on throughout the book and frustrated me.  Also the drama with her sister Violet was getting on my nerves a little.  Especially at the end with the revelation of what she had done.  The character just keeps making decisions and doing things that are not hers to make and shouldn't be made without Rose and I can't believe Rose hasn't done more about it legally.

Yeah, I know this is all a work of fiction but this is a series that you can really get your teeth into and can't help but fall in love with.  There are some amazing characters and quirky, funny and exciting moments.  The story is always interesting and well thought out with you always wondering what will happen next.  There are sides to be taken, clues to watch out for and problems to be solved.  Sometimes you won't like the outcome but on the other hand there will be times when you will be over the moon with what happens.

This is a series that is well worth trying out.  It is very addictive and emotional but in a very good way.  I always want to listen to the next book straight away but manage to at least listen to one book in between.  Oh and any worries I had about the change in narrator are long gone ;)




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