Nice Girls Don’t Bite Their Neighbors (Jane Jameson #4)

I finally finished listening to the Jane Jameson books. Let me tell you it has been a fun ride. Yes, I have listen to these characters about a couple of times each, and they are still hilarious. So, we draw a close with Nice Girls Don’t Bite Their Neighbors. In this book we find Jane forced to turn Jamie. Now she’s trying to raise a teenage vampire, plan a wedding, and figure out who’s trying to harm her and Gabe. The girl can’t cut a break.

Anyway, Nice Girls Don’t Bite Their Neighbors was a fun read. I don’t know where to go with my thoughts on this story, because a lot happens. We watch Jane become a sire and she has to find balance between siring and her relationship with Gabe. We have some psycho trying to harm Gabe. It wouldn’t be a Jane book without the craziness that happens in her life. I thought it was pretty fun when Jamie tries to hit on Jane after he wakes up. However, there’s so much more going on into the story. We also get to meet Iris Scanlon, which helps us introduce us to Half-Moon Hollow books.

Overall, Nice Girls Don’t Bite Their Neighbors gives us nice closure on Jane’s portion of life. I mean there is so much going on in Half-Moon Hallow that it’s going to be a blast to revisit, and listen/read to all the antics. Amanda Ronconi does an amazing job with all the Jane Jameson books. She’s one of my top narrators. So, if you are in need of a read, you might want to check out the Jane Jameson books. You are going to need to start with the first book, otherwise you won’t get the full effect of Jane’s life.

Rating:
5 Stars

This book ties up all the story arcs in a nice but plain bow.

I didn’t hate it but it just didn’t seem to measure up to the first three. That being said, the first three did raise the bar quite high.

Jane continues her misadventures through this slice-of-life undead book but now she has to deal with her impending marriage, raising a newly turned vampire, and a werd stalker.

In the old books, the author usually picked the arc that most authors wouldn’t concentrate on and made it shine like crazy. Most authors, who would start off with the first book’s premise, would concentrate on the adventure of who killed her, how it would affect the town, and those author’s would probably even make a “world” leader out of the main character. This author chose to focus on the simple things. The everyday complications that arise from finding yourself in an undead vampire state. She focused mostly on living in a small town and the trials of family life.

One of my biggest problems with this book is the number of story arcs happening at once and how much time the author spent on each. One of the he main story lines, for example, is how she deals with raising a new vampire that she created. Mostly she doesn’t. Which is a strange thing because this is supposed to show her growth as a person. It’s quite important but doesn’t get much attention in the writing, most of the important stuff was implied to have happened.

The other big problem with the book is the humor. It just seemed like the author wanted stuff to happen to Jane but neglected to make it as interesting as the author usually does. Don’t get me wrong, it’s interesting. But it doesn’t shine as much as the older books.

Between those two problems is the bloated cast list, and the sheer number of characters beginning with the letter J. The cast of this book is huge. Many carryovers from the previous book are here and new ones are added. I never noticed how large the cast was until they all gathered together and started talking to each other. Adding to this is the number of characters with the letter J in their name, Jane, Jolene, Jaime, and Jenny. There was also an Aunt Jettie but luckily she usually had an “Aunt” proceeding her name so I knew who she was. As someone who is really bad with names and mostly knows characters by their actions, the way they talk, and importance to the story, having a lot of J supporting characters makes me stop and try to figure out who is who, ultimately taking me out of the story.

All in all it isn’t a bad book. It’s just not one that you can pick up without reading the previous ones. I believe this may be intentional though. It felt like the author was trying to wrap everything up from previous books and tie it in a nice bow, which is great for fans of the series, but may confuse everyone else.

The ending seems a bit too perfect to me, but it’s nice that the characters get this ending. It makes me feel like the author may not continue with a new book for the series now that everything is the way it is.

3 stars. It’s a good book but read the first three to appreciate it.

Jane and Gabriel have just moved in with each other and are in the process of planning their wedding. Since it’s Jane’s upcoming wedding, you know things are going to go wrong before she can walk down the aisle. The trouble starts when Jane turns a teenager she used to babysit into a vampire to save his life. Suddenly, Jane finds herself saddled with a vampire childe she never wanted. Things only get worse when Jane’s dead grandmother starts haunting her and someone starts trying to kill Gabriel.

I’ll admit I went into Nice Girls Don’t Bite Their Neighbors reluctantly since I thought Jane’s story had been wrapped-up nicely at the end of the third book. My main concern was that Jane and Gabriel wouldn’t be able to hold my attention without their usual relationship drama and, sadly, I was right. I spent the majority of the story bored and had a hard time finishing the book. The writing was still great and there were quite a few funny moments, but the story just didn’t hold my attention.

Jane and Gabriel’s interactions fell really flat, which was due to Gabriel never having been really fleshed out in the other novels. So having so much of him in the story caused it to drag because he was very one dimensional. In contrast to just how much Gabriel we get, we get very little Dick and Andrea. I have to say that I really missed their presence since they were always great in the other books.

Despite my issues with this addition to the series, I’ll still continue to read the spin off books starring other characters. However, I won’t be reading any other Jane books if they come out. I think her story is done.

*Two vampires talking. Mother to son scenario.
Shes four hundred years old! I blurted out.
Jamie did a bit of a double take. Really?
Yes. That doesnt make her a cougar, that makes her a saber- toothed tiger.
Jamie grinned. Thats kind of hot. Youre going to ask her out just to spite me, arent you?
Maybe.
Why couldnt you have been a girl? I groaned.

Funny… and kinda brilliant.

As always Molly Harper entertains, this may be the last of the Jane Jameson series, as the author picks up on another character in Half Moon Hollow after this book. Jane and Gabriel continue their love affair with plenty of interference from family and friends, plenty of humour, complicated relationships. Very enjoyable read

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