Pearl Jinx

Jinx #2

by Sandra Hill

The Jinx Inc. treasure-hunting company has a new mission - to find the 'cave pearls' rumoured to exist in the bottom-most cavity of an ancient cave. But first, mission leader Caleb Peach has to find an expert consultant. An ex-Navy SEAL, Caleb is used to getting his man but Dr Claire Cassidy, archaeologist extraordinaire, is proving hard to pin down. Only after he tracks her down on her fishing holiday and proves that Jinx Inc. is an upstanding, responsible company does the she sign on the dotted line.

The attraction is immediate but Caleb and Claire are very different people. He's buttoned up and goes by the book and still carries a lot of bitterness because of a painful past. She's a free spirit and truly self-sufficient and independent, yet she's not opposed to the possibility of love in her life.With Claire's help, along with the assistance of Cajun Healer, Tante Lulu, Caleb and his family reconcile. At about the ame time, adventure and hilarity abound as the crew of Jinx Inc. begin the search for and find the fabled cave pearls.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Humor, Fiction, Chick Lit, Southern

346 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Sandra Hill is a graduate of Penn State and worked for more than 10 years as a features writer and education editor for publications in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Writing about serious issues taught her the merits of seeking the lighter side of even the darkest stories. She is the wife of a stockbroker and the mother of four sons.

This biography was provided by the author or their representative.

Reviews

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is really special. It is fun and the characters are just wonderful. Sandra Hill has really done an excellent job on research and I am just fascinated with the caverns, the Amish characters and the Lenni Lenape tribe of Pennsylvania Native Americans. Lots to unpack in a romance.

Ex-Navy SEAL, Caleb Peach is the project manager for his first time on Jinx Inc. newest project to find cave pearls on the bottom of a cavern in a cavern in Pennsylvania. But, he is having a really tough time connecting with Dr. Clare Cassidy, the historical archaeologist assigned to the project by the Park Service. When the do finally connect, boy, do they connect. With so much going on Caleb is not ready to reconnect with his Amish family, who he hasn't seen in 17 years. That doesn't stop Claire from bringing them all together. When Tante Lulu and her great-nephew Tee-John LeDuex join the crew, you know that the Pearl Project is going to end with one big party, and when the whole LeDuex clan shows up, you have one big Louisiana style party.

[SamBFN · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky funny characters and dialogue all show up including Tante Lulu, an Amish J-Lo wanna-a-be American idol contestant,ex Amish Navy Seal, Tee-John,and of course St. Jude all make an appearence in this solid offering from Hill.

[May Mostly Romance · Rating 2 out of 5]

แม็กซ์ไม่ได้ชอบหนังสือที่ฉากเซ็กส์หรอกนะ ขอบอกไว้ก่อนแล้วกัน แต่พูดกันตรงเลยนะ ถ้านักเขียนเอาความฮ็อตมาล่อคนอ่านไว้แล้ว ก็น่าจะส่งมอบของได้ตามที่โฆษณากันไว้สิ

ซานดร้า ฮิลล์ไม่ใช่นักเขียนที่ขึ้นเรื่องเอ็กซ์ แต่เป็นอารมณ์ขันที่คนอ่านแสวงหา และสำหรับเรื่อง Pearl Jinx หนังสือเล่มสองในล่าสมบัติของเธอ ก็ยังคงมีอารมณ์ แม้จะไม่อยู่ในระดับที่เราคาดหวัง

แต่ยอมรับตามตรงเถิด คนที่เคยอ่านงานของซานดร้า คงต้องสังเกตว่า นอกจากอารมณ์ขันแล้ว ฉากเข้าพระเข้านางเอกที่ฮ็อต ฮ็อต ฮ็อต ก็คงจะต้องสังเกตเห็นกันบ้างนะ แต่ไม่รู้ว่าเพราะอะไรนะ อาจเป็นเพราะเดี๋ยวนี้ซานดร้าเธอดัง ก็เลยบั่นทอนฉากพวกนี้ลง

แม็กซ์ก็ไม่ได้ว่าอะไรหรอกนะ เพราะไม่ได้อ่านที่ฉากเซ็กส์ แต่ขอร้องได้ไหม อย่านำคนอ่านให้นึกว่ามันจะฮ็อต

เพราะปฏิกริยาระหว่างพระนางเอกในเรื่อง มันได้ข้อสรุปเดียวว่า เวลาถึงฉากนั้น มันจะต้อง เอ็กซ์ เอ็กซ์ เอ็กซ์ และเอ็กซ์

และเมื่อมันไม่ใช่ คนอ่านที่บิวท์อารมณ์มาแล้ว มันก็ย่อมผิดหวังเป็นธรรมดา

คาเล็บพระเอกของเรื่องเป็นอดีตอามิช (ซึ่งเป็นเชื้อชาติที่ยึดประเพณี และอาศัยอยู่ในโลกราวกับเป็นยุคโบราณ เป็นชุมชนที่ดังพอสมควรในอเมริกา ถ้าใครยอมรับว่าตัวเองแก่สักหน่อย ก็คงบอกว่าให้นึกถึงเรื่อง Witness ที่ป๋าแฮริสัน ฟอร์ดเล่นสมัยยังเอ๊าะ) และเป็นอดีตเนวี่ ซีล ซึ่งบัดนี้เป็นนักล่าสมบัติ ภารกิจล่าสุดของเขาคือการค้นหาไข่มุกที่เกิดในถ้ำ (ไข่มุกไม่ได้เกิดจากหอยเพียงอย่างเดียว --- นี่เป็นความรู้ใหม่ของแม็กซ์ที่ได้จากเล่มนี้) โดยมีนักโบราณคดีสุดฮ็อตอย่างแคลร์เป็นคนช่วย

เรื่องราวการผจญภัย และการปรับความเข้าใจระหว่างคาเล็บและครอบครัวชาวอามิชของเขา ทำให้เรื่องนี้อยู่ในระดับที่สนุกใช้ได้ แม็กซ์ชอบเรื่องนี้มากกว่าเล่มแรกในชุดอย่าง Pink Jinx แต่ก็ไม่ถึงยกให้อยู่ในระดับเดียวกับงานในอดีตของเธออย่าง Wed & Wild หรือ The Love Potion

แต่ที่แม็กซ์ผิดหวังสุดสุดก็คือ การที่ซานดร้าหลอกให้คนอ่านนึกว่าจะเจอเซ็กส์ชนิดที่ระเบิดหน้าหนังสือ แต่สุดท้ายก็ส่งมอบของไม่ได้

คงต้องย้ำอีกทีสำหรับคนที่อาจจะอ่านบลอกไม่ละเอียด แม็กซ์ไม่ได้เรียกร้องฉากเซ็กส์ว่าต้องฮ็อต เอ็กซ์ พลิกแพลงอะไรหรอกนะ แต่อย่านำให้คนอ่านคิดว่ามันจะมีฉากอย่างนี้ แล้วกลับกลายเป็นว่าไม่มี

อารมณ์มันค้างโว้ย

คะแนนที่ 63

[SB · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made it less than a chapter into this book. Our main man is misogynistic and high handed. Everything about him is setting my teeth on edge. Also we’ve dropped the names of multiple brands and films. Why?

[Leeanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m finding myself skim reading large chunks of this one and the one before it. I’ve checked out the third Jinx book, but am not looking forward to reading it.

[Pandora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, funny story

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love her work.

[Barbara Cryer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a crap beach read, nearly unreadable at points. The dialog is terrible, the macho banter unforgivable. And the plot points so unbelievable as to be ridiculous. Really not worth a read.

[Angel Umenye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always love her books

[Cornelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I needed a second time to finish the book. I was more interested in Caleb and his dealings with his family or them with him.

[Myra Wray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread. Again I found a good read. I would not mind to read more of this author.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man...this was a slog to get through. I was so sick of the Native American history yammering that I was ready to DNF after the third chapter.

This is a "never reading again" book.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading "Pink Jinx", I was anticipating this book. The hero is ex-SEAL, ex-Amish, and was one of the more intriguing characters of the last book. Writing strong silent types in romance is hard because, well, they're silent! Somehow, Hill manages to pull this off with her usual writing style and witty characters. I enjoyed this book much more than the last one, though I had some reservations bout the plot and the religious aspects. Again, like the last book, the characters were populated with wacky and zany people in situations that only happen in books and movies. But it was funny and entertaining. I liked the heroine as well. She was smart, witty, and was a chatterbox which was a perfect foil to the hero.

There was only one thing that kept this book from a five star rating. Hill made a major detail mistake. As all of farm girls know, John Deere tractors are green NOT red. Yes, I'm petty enough to cost a any book a star because of this one detail. Color is so important to John Deere that they have it copyrighted.

Overall, an entertaining read, however, I would recommend reading one or two in the series before this one, as the characters have evolved somewhat.

[Amy Denim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I normally LOVE Sandra Hill books, but I just can't get into this Jinx series. It sounds like all the things needed to make a good story. Ex Amish Navy Seal, treasure hunting, falling in love etc. I think I'm having a hard time with all the extra internal dialog that is thrown in, usually in parentheses. She does it in her other books, but much more sparingly. I've had a hard time following these characters train of thoughts. Its as if there is an inside joke that I'm not in on. I'm sure something there is supposed to be funny, I'm just not laughing, which is rare in a Sandra Hill novel.
I'm not giving up. The next one is about Tee-John, so it should be fun. But truth be told, I can't wait for the next Viking novel to come out.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a 3.5 book just not quite 4 stars. It is an interesting book about more treasure hunting but this time they are in an old Indian cave that through the thousands of years has made pearls with dripping water. There is also a rumor that there is hidden treasure from the 1800's buried in the cave. We have Caleb Peachy leading this team for the Jinx Company. He meets an archaeologist who works for the Park Service that will be a supervisor over the historic aspects of this hunt.

It is a book about families and how your family can hurt you more than your friends do but it is also about redemption. It is humorous at times with the Cajun Grandmother who loves matchmaking from Louisiana.

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really 2.5 stars. This romance had a lot going for it. An unusual setting (cave exploring in Pennsylvania) and an interesting plot about a hero who left his Amish life behind, but it didn't spend enough time cave diving or with the heroine's interest (the Lenape Indians) to actual use those to the fullest. One incredibly annoying character apparently makes an appearance in every book in the series (I won't be reading more) and so much time is spent setting other books up that it really takes away from the characters we're supposed to focus on.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ex-Amish, retired Navy SEAL Caleb Peach has not returned to his hometown for 20 years, since he was shunned by his church, community, and family. Now he in charge of a treasure seeking expedition looking for lost cave pearls. How he juggles his feelings, his love for his family, doing the quality job that is expected of him, and his attraction to the local archeologist who is to ensure the cave is left intact as possible. Add in a dash of Cajun matriarch Tante Lulu who is still matchmaking with her St. Jude statues and hope chests for the men, you have a funny (and fun) story

[Mo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started but gave up halfway through. This is a giant book and while it was okay, it did not keep interested enough to want to finish. There were so many extra characters that I couldn't keep track of. Many characters spoke in a different dialect that I had to keep rereading to understand. If it had been pared down to the interaction between the main characters, I would have liked it more.

[Lina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure what's wrong with me at the moment. I had to force myself to finish this for a reading challenge. It has it's moments of humour, but it seems to try too hard to be hot and funny and just ended up falling short for me.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy the wacky characters in these books, but the language always seems a little stiff. This one was even more unusual because the main character is a shunned Amish, former Navy SEAL who suddenly finds himself face to face with a family he hasn't seen in 17 years.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I've never really thought about the Amish people but in this book I really disliked them.

[Kathrynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ordered 12/24/08

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tante Lulu in Amish Country with an Ex-Amish former Navy Seal. Hilarity ensues. I also learned a lot about the Amish, the Mennonites, and the practice of shunning.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Treasue hunting book/Cajun characters....Tante
A wonderful book.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one more than Pink Jinx.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

i was glad that sandra did caleb's story .it was even better with the amish plot line.!! i love that she added it!

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the jinx series are great and funny especially if Tante Lulu and her favorite St. Jude is involved.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

great series

[Karen Desmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

4