Title: "The Recovery Agent" by Janet Evanovich - A 5-Star Fan Delight

Rating: ★★★★★

I must admit, as an ardent fan of Janet Evanovich, my expectations for "The Recovery Agent" were nothing short of sky-high, and I'm overjoyed to share that this book not only met but exceeded them. This latest addition to Evanovich's repertoire is an absolute gem, showcasing her signature humor and storytelling prowess.

In "The Recovery Agent," we're introduced to the indomitable Gabriela Rose, a captivating protagonist with a knack for recovering precious items. Evanovich's writing is, as always, a delightful blend of wit and charm, and the plot she weaves is both captivating and fast-paced. The characters are a lovable bunch, and the camaraderie between Gabriela and her team is a joy to behold. While the storyline may not break new ground, the familiarity of Evanovich's style is like a warm hug to her fans. "The Recovery Agent" is a 5-star masterpiece that I wholeheartedly recommend to both die-hard enthusiasts and those new to Evanovich's work. It's a delightful, humorous, and thoroughly entertaining adventure that will leave you craving for more.

First off, I love Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series. I came into this both expecting a Stephanie Plum novel and knowing that it would likely not be the same thing. It’s hard not to compare Gabriela to Stephanie, but both of these leads are their own powerhouse of a woman. I really got to enjoy Gabriela as a protagonist - she has the same no-nonsense attitude with a touch of quirky humour as Stephanie Plum, but she’s very much her own character.

The biggest difference is obviously the genre. It’s still a mystery, but more of an “Indiana Jones” nature. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of the exploration and the digging for lost treasure trope, and I felt like the entirely of this book was one hop after another to try to find this treasure. After a while, I found it a bit boring, but the last few chapters made up for it. I got to caring for the characters more than I thought I would buy the end of the book.

I can’t believe I’m saying this but I would probably read more books… for the romance! I really loved the chemistry between Gabriela and her ex-husband Rafer. He was probably my favourite character - he reminds me of Morelli, and as a team Morelli girl, this was completely fine by me! However, I hope the series continues more into mystery than exploration, but that is to be seen!

A new series from Janet Evanovich starring Gabriela Rose that gives me Tomb Raider vibes and I can't wait for book #2. This was non-stop from the beginning as Gabriela traverses the globe trying to find a hidden treasure that she was lead to by the family ghost. I like the banter between Gabriela and Rafer, and I thought the supporting characters were quirky and fun.

This book was an absolute pleasure to read. Anything by Janet Evanovich is actually. I highly recommend this book.

Personally, this book was not for me. While it started off amazing, I felt as if the character growth was stagnant at best. However, the lighthearted and fast pace of this book balanced it out, and in the end, this book turned out better than I expected.

I LOVE all Stephanie Plum books. I think they’re fun, well written and I love love love all of the female characters. Lula, grandma, mom. Love them. This book felt flat and unbelievable. I got through 22% of it and couldn’t continue because I kept falling asleep each time I picked it up. The jungle setting, $15M, panthers. Yuck. Not for me. I very much miss Stephanie Plumb and her lady crew.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was an easy fun read. I've always been a big fan of Janet Evanovich, It was a chill low stakes read.

Gabriela Rose makes her living as a recovery agent, finding lost items for individuals and corporations. But this new case is personal. A hurricane has devastated her home town of Scoon and, without money, the town and her family and friends will be left with few options, either leave and start elsewhere or stay and try to live with the devastation. But Gabriel's grandmother has a solution received from a very unusual source. Gabriela must find Blackbeard's treasure map leading to the Ring of Solomon. Unfortunately, the map is buried in her old house which she gave to her ex-husband, Rafer, in the divorce and he won't let her have it unless he can come along.

It's been a while since I read a Janet Evanovich book and I was a bit leery about this one. She used to be one of my favourite writers but, for whatever reasons, I had stopped reading a lot of old favourites. I have picked up a few after a long time away and was disappointed. But, in this case I needn't have worried. Although this was the first in a new series, I enjoyed it as much as I used to enjoy the Stephanie Plum series.* The story opens with a bang and never lets up and it kept me glued to the page from beginning to end.

The Recovery Agent is one roller coaster ride of an adventure taking the unlikely pair across much of South and Central America pursued by fanatical worshippers of the God of Death, fending off deadly snakes and bullets, and, perhaps, hardest of all, having to find a way to work together throughout without killing each other. There is plenty of action to keep the story moving at breakneck speed with a nice touch of humour, just a little nod to the supernatural, and characters easy to root for or, conversely, root against. Enjoyed every minute of it and recommend it highly to fans of Evanovitch or anyone who loves a fun fast story.

*Note to self: go back and read Stephanie Plum books you missed.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

As always Janet Evanovich hits gold. Great plot and a crazy family. This dose not feels the same as the plum books but still has the same level of enjoyment.

This was such a quick and fun read about a recovery agent that goes on some wild adventures to track down lost/stolen items. This time it became personal when she begins searching for a treasure to save her childhood town after a hurricane wrecked most of the town.

I loved Gab and all the side characters, especially Rafer, Pepe, Fanny & Annie the Ghost. They added so much to the story! This book was far-fetched but that's part of the fun with Evanovich's books.

If you've read any of the Stephanie Plum series and enjoyed it, then you'd enjoy the new Gabriela Rose series!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Recovery Agent (Gabriela Rose #1) by Janet Evanovich from Net Galley, Simon & Schuster Canada &, Atria Books in order to read and give an honest review.

…an adventure filled with dangerous drug cartels, creepy cults, Incan legends, a psychotic antagonist, and snakes…. yep, lots and lots of snakes…

In Evanovich’s first book The Recovery Agent in her new Gabriela Rose series we get what we expect from the prolific author. As with the author’s Stephanie Plum novels in her new series we get a feisty, fast, fun (bordering on silly at times) adventure story reminiscent of Indiana Jones, Lara Croft, Romancing the Stone and the like.

Gabriela Rose, the protagonist of this new series a recovery agent hired to find missing treasures, for insurance companies and private clients uses her skills to help her hometown rebuild after a storm. A supposed descendent of the famous pirate Blackbeard Gabriela receives a call from her eccentric grandmother asking for help. Her hometown of Scoon, South Carolina, gets hit by a storm all but wiping out the city’s infrastructure and they are in desperate need of $15 million to rebuild. Her grandmother receives a message from Annie, a long dead relative, who claims to know the whereabouts of a journal that was in Blackbeard’s possession detailing the location of a long-lost buried treasure. The journal the key to finding the elusive Treasure of Lima, in particular the Seal of Solomon, was said to have been in the possession of Spanish conquistador Pizarro, who stashed it somewhere in the Incan city of Paititi.
There is one catch the journal is buried under the floorboards in a former family house in Barbados, a house she lost in a divorce, a house in possession of her Ex-husband Rafer

Gabriela leaves the comforts of her Soho condo to start her mission. First stop is Barbados to sneak into the house to retrieve the journal only to get caught by none other than her ex-husband, Rafer. Always an opportunist, Rafer pressures Gabriela to partner up with him and share what they find. After they come to a mutual agreement the head off on to an adventure filled with dangerous drug cartels, creepy cults, Incan legends, a psychotic antagonist, and snakes…. yep, lots and lots of snakes.

It is a fast-paced fun read that is for pure entertainment. If you’re looking for literary fiction, this isn’t for you however if you want a few hours of escapism replete with adventure and witty banter, then I recommend giving it a read.

I don’t know what I really expected as I’ve despised every other Janet Evanovich book I’ve read. But the premise sounded so promising and I thought, <i>just maybe</i>, after decades as a writer Evanovich might have evolved her writing skill. No dice.

This book is the equivalent of a Twinkie; it’s cheap and easy and has no nutritional (or in this case, literary) value whatsoever. There’s also the fact that it is a direct rip-off of Laura Croft and makes no effort to hide this.

If you’re already an Evanovich fan, you’ll probably like this too, but for everyone else, don’t waste your time or money on garbage like this.

Gabriela is a recovery agent ... she is an expert at finding missing items and will use any means possible for a big financial payoff. A hurricane devastated her hometown and unless she comes up with $15 million to repair it, developers are swooping in and buying up properties because the residents can't afford the repairs.

Fanny, Gabriela's grandmother, tells her that Annie, the ghost of her ancestor (supposedly Blackbeard's mistress), told her there are maps in a chest that will lead to enough treasure to pay for the repairs. The problem is the chest is hidden in her late great aunt Margareet's house in St. Vincent ... the same house Margareet had left to Gabriela when she passed away but Gabriela gave up in a divorce from her ex-husband, Rafer. Rafer lives there and runs a dive shop and he and Gabriela didn't split up on good terms.

When Gabriela heads to St. Vincent and sneaks into the house, she is caught by Rafer as she is searching for the chest. Rafer doesn't buy her story that it's just family mementos and wants half of whatever she's after (since the chest is in what's now his house) so tags along on her adventures. They are looking for the Seal of Solomon ring but so is a religious nut who willing to kill to get the ring.

I've read many book by this author and this is the first in the Gabriela Rose series. While I liked the writing style (it's reminiscent of her other books), treasure hunts through the jungle don't interest me nor do ghost stories. Gabriela seemed a bit cold but I liked the quirky other characters, even Rafer. I found it unbelievable that they were able to take off to the jungles of Peru and Costa Rica, to California and more just like that. And Rafer is a nice lazy dude who runs a dive shop but didn't think twice about taking off with Gabriela with no reaction to the danger they were in.

I'll keep an eye out for the next one in the series ... hopefully it won't be as farfetched as this one.

It was nice to read about a competent badass woman, while still being a quick, funny and light read.
I enjoyed this book. The supernatural element was a surprised.
I’m glad El Diablo won’t come back in future novels, one story per book, that’s awesome.
Is the ex-husband supposed to be the love interest? I don’t know how I feel about that. Unless they get involved again because they’ve grown up and changed a lot…

Janet Evanovich’s books are fast paced, well written and packed with a mix of humour and calamity. Her books are always a fun read!. The Recovery Agent does not disappoint.
Gabriela Rose is on a mission and she’s a force to be reckoned with -a hybrid between Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum and Ian Hamilton’s Ava Lee. Buckle up and enjoy the adventure!
3.5/5 rounded up to 4
Thank You to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Canada and Janet Evanovich for the opportunity to enjoy this ARC.

A typical Evanovich novel, we have a new cast of misfit characters coming together to tell the story of the Recovery Agent, who recovers things that go missing.

Although Evanovich tends to stick to the same story arc and subsets of characters, there was something so familiar about this novel and it made it an easy read, and a good introduction to a potential new series of characters to get to know and grow with. Any fan of Stephanie, Ranger, and Joe will like Gabriella and Rafer, and their tag-along peruvian guide.

This was a good book, if you have read the Stephanie Plum series by this author you will probably enjoy this book. Gabriela Rose is a recovery agent, she gets paid usually by insurance companies to find items that have gone missing. Her mom and grandma convince her to search for an ancient treasure to raise enough funds to rebuild the town they live in that was damaged by a hurricane, they know about the treasure because grandma's ghost "Annie" told her exists, all she has to do first is search in the house she gave up in her divorce, to her ex husband Rafer. Needless to say Rafer is drop dead gorgeous, for that matter so is Gabriela, and during her search of the house she finds a journal that may lead to the treasure, of course Rafer insists on tagging along to help her find it. They are off on a grand adventure, trying to avoid a very bad dude who also wants a ring that's part of the treasure that he believes will give him special powers. Gabriela and Rafer enlist the help of a few 'coffee growers' to get both to the treasure and recover it. This book does go at a quick pace, never a dull moment, I would highly recommend especially if you are a fan of the author. Thank you to #Netgalley and #Atria for the ARC

When Gabriela Rose’s grandma wants to sell a hidden treasure hidden so that she can rebuild her South Carolina home after it’s been devastated by a recent hurricane, she calls on her insurance fraud investigator granddaughter to help. Oh, it’s not her skills as an investigator that grandma is relying on, it’s Gabriela’s side job as a recovery agent that will come in useful.

What’s the treasure? Well, Gabriela is a direct descendant of Blackbeard and family stories tell of a diary and jewels hidden in a treasure box under the floorboards of the St. Vincent home. They hope to find a map leading to the Seal of Solomon, a ring guarded by the descendants of Spanish conquistadors. The sale of this ring should provide them with the $15M to revitalize Scoon, S.C.

The problem? Gabriela gave the Caribbean home to her ex-husband in a divorce settlement 7 years ago.

Solution? He insists she includes him in her expedition and provides witty banter and daring rescues as they traipse through the jungles in Peru and Costa Rica, and Ecuador working alongside a drug lord guide. As they search out antiquities appraisers in New York and California, they are pursued by an evil villain who won’t stop short of obtaining the object of Gabriela’s quest.

Not the adventure and excitement she was planning on for her 30th birthday, Gabriela is still in her element with wild flesh-eating panthers, ghosts who give directions, bad guys with tranquillizer darts, Jolly Roger flags and pirate ships….and the adrenaline rush she gets from fighting her ex-husband and outmanoeuvring the enemy.

Despite being disappointed at the play-by-play telling not showing adventure sequences, the whiplash resulting from around the globe travel at breakneck speed, and the lack of character depth, I’m confident that Evanovich’s new launch is sure to be a blockbuster! It’s the perfect blend of adventure, great characters and laughable moments that we’ve come to expect.

I was gifted this advance copy by Janet Evanovich, Simon & Schuster Canada, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

2.5 stars

I was so excited to receive an early copy of this book! It was a fun concept but I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would based on the author and the synopsis. It took me weeks to finish it as I never fully engaged in it. This could very easily be a case of "it's me, not you" so if you think the synopsis sounds good, you should definitely give it a try!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Simon & Schuster Canada | Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Simon & Schuster Canada | Atria Books.

I was so excited to get an e-ARC of Janet Evanovich's new book! I generally avoid books set in the jungle, but I've read the entire Stephanie Plum series and already knew that I enjoyed Janet Evanovich's writing.

I have a *severe* phobia of danger noodles (yes, to the point where I can't even speak or say their actual name), and at first I was so thrilled because the first 'danger' scene involved a panther (yay cats!). Unfortunately, at 19% my phobia was absolutely ambushed. Usually I can just skip the short parts where the-things-that-shall-not-be-named are mentioned, but it started off with a horrifying "surprise" and then just kept going and going... pages and pages of... terror. The stuff nightmares are made of *shudder*

Caution!: Definitely avoid this book if you have a danger noodle phobia as I do!

However, if this book wasn't set in the jungle I'm sure I would have enjoyed it!