Book Review: VENGEANCE PLANNING FOR AMATEURS

Melis Noah Amber

Vengeance Planning for Amateurs by Lee Winter book review. Book Cover A penguin in foreground. In background is a van with muffins drawn on; words "Love Muffin" written on it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ylva Publishing for a copy of Vengeance Planning for Amateurs in exchange for an honest review. 

Summary

Muffin maker Olivia Roberts has had it with her awful exes taking advantage of her good nature. The theft of her nana’s beloved stuffed penguin is the absolute last straw.

She puts up an ad at her local crime bookstore for a henchperson to help her enact a little mild revenge. To her astonishment, Margaret Blackwood, the mysterious, icy and annoyingly opinionated bookstore owner, applies.

For two clever, capable women, they turn out to be woeful at vengeance. But much to their dismay, they discover they’re pretty good at falling in love!

A Strange Love

Vengeance Planning for Amateurs is a strange book. Author Lee Winter builds a rich world with a fascinating cast of characters, including a taxidermied penguin and peacock. These characters are quippy and quirky. It was also fun to read a book set in Australia. Not enough books from down under make it “up over,” which needs to change. Aussies have a very specific sense of humor, and I’m here for it. 

Unfortunately, the story lost me as it unfolded. As the summary mentions, the vengeance plots are meant to be somewhat asinine. That means that they get a bit tired by the time you get to the third one. Had the book been a bit faster-paced or shorter, this wouldn’t have been a problem. Vengeance Planning for Amateurs also seemed to have about five different endings, which was excessive. 

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And while I guess it’s not totally necessary for Winter to have dived deeply into the pathology of Olivia’s litany of crappy exes, it would have been nice. What leads a person to a series of thoroughly unhealthy relationships? There’s a way to explore this soundly without getting victim blamey.

All criticisms aside, I did enjoy the book’s central romance. The characters have a nice grumpy/sunshine dynamic, which I appreciate. But even beyond that, there was a sense of profundity behind Margaret Blackwood’s reasons for being a grumpster. It’s also lovely that for all her reasons to be a grumpy person, Olivia is still generally positive. 

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Overall, I enjoyed Vengeance Planning for Amateurs, but I didn’t devour it. If I love a book, I’ll read it in one sitting. I had to break this one up in chunks due to its, at times, tedious nature. 

If you want to check this one out, consider checking it out from the library. Vengeance Planning for Amateurs is out on February 14, 2024. 

 

https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/the-absinthe-underground-book-review-jamie-pacton/

Melis Noah Amber
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