I was skeptical starting another Evanovich novel as I thought they have been going downhill for the past several years, but was hoping that a new series would bring back that Evanovich charm. Sadly, this missed the mark.

For those fans of of the other series, you know what you're getting: quick light read with action, silliness, and sexual tension. And you'll get that all with this book, but that's about it.

I miss the humor and quirky characters that I've come to expect from Evanovich. Here they all felt flat and I didn't laugh once. Rolled my eyes at several times and was bored. And the descriptions kept listing brand names which made it feel more like a product placement than part of the plot. I'm bothered by how much that distracted me from the story.

Just too out there/ over the top for me to enjoy without the humor I look for when picking up a book by Evanovich.

Readers have long enjoyed Evanovich's series about bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. Now the author is launching another series about a global detective and bounty hunter: Gabriela Rose. I found this book somewhat over the too- and not in a good way. Rose is Stephanie Plum on steroids, not pretty.

Fun, full of adventure. Many parallels to Stephanie Plum series. Comedic and outrageous, as expected.

None of Janet Evanovich’s many non-Stephanie Plum series quite match those of her original heroine for lovable, goofball mysteries, but this feels like a promising start to a likable and amusing (if not exactly Steph-caliber) heroine and storyline.

This isn’t as funny as the Stephanie series, but I’m not sure it’s trying to be, and the more subtle and less ridiculous humor works for the narrative. And there’s still enough goofy stuff to remind you who wrote this. Even the sorta outdated designer fashion name drops were kind of unintentionally funny.

I loved the treasure hunting premise and I hope it’s sustainable. It seems like it should provide plenty of diverse material for plot lines if the series continues. Gabriela is no Stephanie, but she’s likable enough and it feels critical that while she and Steph share a few common traits, she doesn’t just feel like a knockoff.

This one gets a little messy in terms of the narrative by the end, but I enjoyed it anyway and hope that the series has a green light to continue.

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

The Recovery Agent is the first book in a fun new adventure thriller series from Janet Evanovich featuring Gabriella Rose. She is hired to find lost treasures of any kind whatever the reason, whether it’s lost or stolen or even insurance theft Gabriela tracks things down. In this first book, Gabriela has returned home after a job to find out her hometown of Scoon, including her parents are in trouble. After a hurricane blew through, everyone is losing their home to developers due to businesses closing and no work. Her grandma tells her that the ghost of a long-dead aunt told her in a dream that there's a chest hidden in her Aunt Margareet's house on St Vincent that has Blackbeard's maps and a diary. It will lead to a treasure that will save the town. Unfortunately the house now belongs to her ex-husband Rafer, and she can't get into the house to search without involving him. The two end up going off on the adventure of a lifetime, on the hunt for that hidden treasure.

I loved Ms. Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series and was worried that Gabriela Rose would not measure up, but I didn't need to worry. Gabriela is very different, she has a lot of skills and is very smart. She doesn't just fall into her success, she follows clues and plans. She remains calm in situations that would have others panicking or running away. This story takes her and Rafer to the jungles of Mexico and to a snake infested mansion and tunnels of California, Ahhhhh. I will say there was a lot of heat between Gabriela and Rafer (shades of Stephanie and Ranger). Rafer makes a great foil, their banter adding some humor to the story. They made a great pair, with different strengths needed to solve this mystery and recover what was needed. This was an exciting action story with a lot of fun and humor throughout. A wonderful escape on a rainy afternoon.

The Recovery Agent is the first book in a brand new series by bestselling author Janet Evanovich. I have read most of the books that this author has written and have liked all except for two including this one. I just could not get into it. The story did not pull me in like most of her stories and I didn’t love the characters either. The story is about Gabriela and Rafer who go on this adventure to try to find treasure, that is based on an old family legend, all in the hopes that the treasure will be able to save their home town after it was devastated by a hurricane.

Hunting for lost treasure? Something of yours gone missing? No worries, Gabriela Rose, recovery agent extraordinaire, can find anything that's missing...for a price. She's willing to travel into the deepest, darkest jungle, knows how to kick butt, and has a thing for high powered guns.

The Recovery Agent is the first book in Janet Evanovich's newest series. I'm a long-time fan of her Stephanie Plum series, but I have to admit they've gotten stale the past few books so I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this novel, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

It was fun, adventurous, had Evanovich's trademark humor (although not as funny as Stephanie Plum), and I really enjoyed the interaction between Gabs and her ex-husband Rafer, who was her partner in this treasure hunt to find the Ring of Solomon that her grandmother says belongs to their family (a ghost told her this), which Gabriela must find to save her hometown that was destroyed by a hurricane. Yet, she and Rafer aren't the only ones searching for the Ring of Solomon...their adventures lead from the Peruvian jungle to New York to LA that turn dangerous and deadly as they are chased by devilish bad guys.

I thought this was a great first book in the series and I look forward to Gabriela's next adventure!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

-Review posted on Goodreads, Twitter and Amazon on 3/22/22

Title: The Recovery Agent
Author: Janet Evanovich

Ch: 26

Pg: 297

Series: Gabriela Rose Book 1

Genre: Mystery

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher: Atira



The Recovery Agent introduces readers to Janet Evanovich's newest heroine Gabriela Rose. And is the first book in the Gabriela Rose series. Gabriela has the humor of Stephanie Plum but when it comes to abilities she's more like Evanovich's heroine Kate O'Hare in the O'Hare and Fox series. And the book itself reads like a modern day female Indiana Jones and I love that. As Indiana Jones is one of my favorite movie series. I have to say that The Recovery Agent is one of my favorites of Evanovich recent books. And like all of her books you've got interesting sidekicks and at least one relative that's slightly off their rocker and it this one its grandma Franny who could give Grandma Mazer a run for her money. I am looking forward to the next one in the series. I think I have a new Evanovich series.





I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

“The Recovery Agent” is a fantastic action packed new story, and the first in a new series. I absolutely loved this and read it in one sitting! This is everything you would expect from Janet Evanovich with strong women leads, full of action, steamy scenes, and adventure. It’s a fast paced read and very entertaining. This is her best work yet!

Thank you to the publisher, Janet Evanovich, and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was a fun and quick read for me. I've been a long time fan of Janet Evanovich and The Recovery Agent stays true to her style. Fun, quirky characters, lots of steamy tension between characters, and several laugh out loud moments.
Thank you to Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Recovery Agent by Janet Evanovich was a great read. I enjoyed every single page and I had to force myself to stop reading so I could get back to my day job haha. I really hope that Gabriella Rose will be around for a long long time. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this copy. If you haven't already go and purchase this book now!

The Recovery Agent is what Janet Evanovich does best. Hot, steamy tension between main characters; a female heroine that kicks butt and knows she can do it; treasures and uncomfortable situations all cut with snarky, fun humor . . . the list goes on.

In order to fully enjoy one of these books, you have to set aside a healthy dose of skepticism and just lean in. Once I've done that, I've found I can laugh along and fully enjoy the story. So why don't I give it five stars? Because that skepticism still wins out in the end. Do I really believe people can walk through a pit of danger creatures and walk out unscathed? And that's just the least of it.

Still, it's fun and flirty and the sexual tension between Gabriella and the love interests sparks off the page. Highly recommend for a fun beach read this summer.

This is classic Janet Evanovich styling. If you’re looking for deep and detailed, this isn’t it. It’s fast and quippy and marginally ridiculous but a whole lot of fun. Fantastic new main characters with great attitude/charisma and chemistry. Competent and with a purpose but still flying by the seat of their pants. Humorous side characters and dangerous fanatics abound. Lush jungles and islands along with visits to NYC and Cali. It’s a great adventurous escape.

I recently joined the Janet Evanovich universe with her Fox and O'Hare series- which I absolute love. So I figured I'd try this book too. I was not disappointed. Great characters and fantastic storyline kept me invested in this book. I hope there will be more to this series.

JE is one of my all time favorite authors, and Stephanie Plum is one of my favorite characters. Her other series, also phenomenal. So when I got the chance to read an early copy of the first book of her new series, I will admit, I did a fan girl dance around my living room.

This series reacquaints us with Gabriella Rose, who we met in another book already. It also introduces her ex husband Rafer, assistant Marcella, and a wonderful supporting cast of characters. It takes us on a river rapid ride through jungles and cities alike. A quick, funny and satisfying read, I cannot wait to read more from this series.

I will note, it’s hard not to make comparisons. Maybe because we first met Gabs in a Stephanie Plum book, but she’s the exact opposite of Steph. Literally, on every sense of the word. The same can be said for Rafer (still bad ass) but so much more laid back than Ranger, and for Marcella, who seems to be everything Lula is not (competent, organized, dependable). Both women manage to step in 💩 frequently, but luckily Gabs has bullets in her gun and knows how to use it!

Thank you to the author @janetevanovich @netgalley and @atriabooks for the advanced copy of this book!

Never having read this author's work or picked up a book that was based on adventure, I really wanted to like this book. But unfortunately, this did not.

This book reminds me a lot of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft and they made a baby. Which are my favorite movies of all time!! With this starting out reminding me of these movies, I was super excited on this read.

This book started with Gabriela in the jungle, hired as an recovery agent to find a lost amulet. Agh…see reminds me a little of Indian Jones. Except in this book, she never really successfully retrieved the item. With that failed miserable attempt, Gabriela goes back home to South Carolina that was devastated by a hurricane. Only way to really save the town is to find the Ring of Solomon that Annie (a ghost) told her grandmother to find.

To get to the diaries of the lost treasure, she would need to go to her ex husband Rafer’s house that she lost in the divorce. Without even blinking, this guy joins her to recover the Ring of Solomon.

While searching for the ring in an ancient cave, they face an evil cultist guy named El Dragon, who believes that he needs to have the Ring of Solomon to please his god Supay. Which to come think of it, not really sure why that was important to his god. Just that he HAD to have it for his god to please him.

So from there, the action begins of Gabriela and Rafer retrieving the ring and then El Dragon stealing it from them. You get to see them fight with drug cartels, exploring islands and visit different locations to find clues. Lots of fights, explosions and adventure.

What I liked about this book is that Gabriela makes a living being a recovery agent and she is her own boss. She sets out for this ring to help save her town from falling apart. You did get to read how she got into the business after her divorce and that she is a different person than she was then.

I felt that this story wasn’t bad but it was lacking important details to make this a great book.

For example:

There were a lot of descriptions of Gabriela’s gun, car, apartment, lots of clothes and even several times describing her panties. But no real description of what she or Rafer looked liked. Felt there were too many details in describing objects and not enough in appearance, emotions or back story.
There is no explanation of how Rafer got the skills that qualified him in tagging along with Gabriela to find the Ring of Solomon. I guess, I would have liked a little more back story as to why he was good at weapons and was willing to put himself in danger. As far as I knew, he was the ex-husband who owned a dive shop in the bahamas.
Action scenes were a lot of blur. It was over in a paragraph most of the time. Felt very cut short and if you weren’t careful, you could blink and miss the whole scene. Several times I had to reread it just to understand that an action scene happened.
The ending was too short lived and confusing. I felt like all that they went through. That is how it ended? I felt like I had to read it a few times to see that it actually ended that way.


All and all, with having read any of this author's books, this has potential to be a good read. In my opinion, it just needs more substance to bring it together for me.

This was my first book of Evanovich's. So many are always singing her praises, so I thought I would jump in at the beginning of a new series instead of trying to play catch up on a longer running series.

I feel underwhelmed by this story. Is it just me? What am I missing that so many love about this author? I found my self bored and disinterested too much throughout this book. I can honestly say, I must have daydreamed while reading it. I already forgot some of it. I am missing pieces of the story.

I couldn't really connect to any of the characters. They felt flat and dull. The story itself had a little action and intrigue. Nothing to get too excited about though.

I can appreciate this book though. In some ways, I see where people like her writing. It's very unique. It, unfortunately, just wasn't for me.

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.

Gabriela Rose is a recovery agent, hired to find lost treasures, stolen heirlooms or your missing item. In Janet Evanovich's first installment of the series, Gabriela goes on a quest for the Ring of Solomon to save her family's hometown. Gabriela and her ex husband Rafer, join in this hunt with nefarious evil people trying to get the Ring for themselves. This was a lovely romp, with Gabriela jetting around the world and saving the day. Evanovich created a great easy fun read, and I look forward to the next installment in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

The Recovery Agent is super fun and over the top. Don’t think about it too hard, just enjoy the ride – or jungle trek.

Gabriela’s family is in the midst of losing their home, their town, and their jobs after a hurricane did severe damage and they didn’t receive any federal aid. Her grandma has a plan. Gabriela just needs to get the chest hidden for decades, over a century maybe, in her ex-husband’s house and use the maps and journals to find a treasure. Of course, her ex-husband finds her when she’s searching under his floors and decides he’s going to tag along with her on the treasure hunt. They head to Peru, on the trail of the Ring of Solomon and the lost treasure of Cortez.

Rafe, the ex-husband, and Gabriela are a good team, whether she wants them to be or not. The banter is funny and the chemistry is good.

We’ve got a lot of chasing, globetrotting, drug lords, and explosions. There are some helpful, nice criminals and some crazy bad guys. The plot moves along quickly and the touch of romance is just enough without being overwhelming. It’s not a “great novel,” but it’s entertaining and that’s what I was looking for.