What do you think?
Rate this book
Bustin'
Sam Hammett, a ghost and paranormal pest controller, is forced to team up with a sexy rival, Nicolas Strakhov, owner of Monsters 'R Us, to rid the world of an ancient Greek myth that is turning people to stone. Original.
323 pages, Paperback
First published January 2, 2007
1 person is currently reading
103 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 11, 2023
At 323 scant pages, this should have been an easy read. But because it was so jam-packed with random pop culture references - especially in regards to Humphrey Bogart's canon of work - I spent as much time googling obscure phrases and movie titles as I did actually paying attention to the plot.
Distracting though it was, I can honestly say the book would have been significantly more boring without them. THAT being said, ignoring this book's quirky delivery makes some structural issues all the more glaring: while the front half is fairly sedate - but spookily-occupied - generic Romance, the second is an about-face, completing changing both setting and theme towards more of a Mystery angle.
The characters were equally strange. The Heroine spoke in the model of a fast-talkin', Pan-Atlantic moll from Hollywood's Golden Age... and came equipped with some severely anti-Communist sentiments to share, relatively unprompted. The Hero - a gruff Russian, one gold chain short of straightforward stereotype - plays the lover with equal parts malice and apathy, and enacts a revenge plan so jaw-clenchingly awful that its absolutely shocking that the only thing to come out of it is a substandard apology (couched within phrasing that suggests it as the most low kind of ego-sacrifice, and therefore the Heroine's obligation to accept). There's a third act reveal that feels like it counteracts other previous sections of the book. There's a movie-referencing final scene involving a piano that wouldn't make nearly as much sense for someone who hasn't a solid understanding of Casablanca. For some reason, the Heroine just cannot shut up about how she always wanted to be a hairdresser.
At the end of it all, it's almost impossible to parse out what feels strange because it's a pop culture reference, and what feels strange because it's just bizarrely written.
Distracting though it was, I can honestly say the book would have been significantly more boring without them. THAT being said, ignoring this book's quirky delivery makes some structural issues all the more glaring: while the front half is fairly sedate - but spookily-occupied - generic Romance, the second is an about-face, completing changing both setting and theme towards more of a Mystery angle.
The characters were equally strange. The Heroine spoke in the model of a fast-talkin', Pan-Atlantic moll from Hollywood's Golden Age... and came equipped with some severely anti-Communist sentiments to share, relatively unprompted. The Hero - a gruff Russian, one gold chain short of straightforward stereotype - plays the lover with equal parts malice and apathy, and enacts a revenge plan so jaw-clenchingly awful that its absolutely shocking that the only thing to come out of it is a substandard apology (couched within phrasing that suggests it as the most low kind of ego-sacrifice, and therefore the Heroine's obligation to accept). There's a third act reveal that feels like it counteracts other previous sections of the book. There's a movie-referencing final scene involving a piano that wouldn't make nearly as much sense for someone who hasn't a solid understanding of Casablanca. For some reason, the Heroine just cannot shut up about how she always wanted to be a hairdresser.
At the end of it all, it's almost impossible to parse out what feels strange because it's a pop culture reference, and what feels strange because it's just bizarrely written.
March 31, 2024
Idioms and play on words this book is a little young adult for what I was expecting. The Book could probably have been cut down by a fourth if you took out all the main characters griping at how the guy is a liar and did her wrong and blah, blah, blah. Yes it happened, she's not 100% innocent either, let it go. I'm not saying she needed to forgive and forget sooner, but the rants got old.
February 24, 2019
Sam and Nic are amazing. I loved them
March 25, 2024
Fun to read
September 16, 2020
Original review written/published in 2011, from my other Goodreads account
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I had read two other books by Minda Webber before reading this one; I enjoyed The Remarkable Miss Frankenstein and loved The Reluctant Miss Van Helsing so when I picked this book up, I assumed that I would enjoy it as I had done the others...WRONG!
Most romance I read, whether it has a paranormal twist or not, is historical; I have read very few contemporary romances, and so maybe that was part of the problem with this novel for me. But ultimately, my main problem was the heroine; I'm sure she was meant to come across as spunky and tough, but I confess I found her just plain bitchy. Then, ** SPOILER ALERT ** she's supposed to be this paranormal monster expert, but she can't tell the difference between an actual vampire...and a guy whose pretending to be vampire? And whatever happened to her moral code about "not getting involved with clients?" Guess that only applies to the ones that don't get her libedo racing...
The hero was a bit of a jerk too, but I didn't find him half as annoying as the heroine. The truth of the matter is, this book was a chore to read, and I was more than happy to sell it at a used bookstore when I finished.
If this is your only exposure to Webber's writing, give her a second chance with Miss Frankenstein, Miss Van Helsing and Miss Bluebeard (and yes, that is the order you need to read them in--it will make more sense if you do). While some may find her "groaner, tongue-in-cheek" jokes a little much, I find them charming and funny. But not when the characters bug you, like they did in Bustin'.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I had read two other books by Minda Webber before reading this one; I enjoyed The Remarkable Miss Frankenstein and loved The Reluctant Miss Van Helsing so when I picked this book up, I assumed that I would enjoy it as I had done the others...WRONG!
Most romance I read, whether it has a paranormal twist or not, is historical; I have read very few contemporary romances, and so maybe that was part of the problem with this novel for me. But ultimately, my main problem was the heroine; I'm sure she was meant to come across as spunky and tough, but I confess I found her just plain bitchy. Then, ** SPOILER ALERT ** she's supposed to be this paranormal monster expert, but she can't tell the difference between an actual vampire...and a guy whose pretending to be vampire? And whatever happened to her moral code about "not getting involved with clients?" Guess that only applies to the ones that don't get her libedo racing...
The hero was a bit of a jerk too, but I didn't find him half as annoying as the heroine. The truth of the matter is, this book was a chore to read, and I was more than happy to sell it at a used bookstore when I finished.
If this is your only exposure to Webber's writing, give her a second chance with Miss Frankenstein, Miss Van Helsing and Miss Bluebeard (and yes, that is the order you need to read them in--it will make more sense if you do). While some may find her "groaner, tongue-in-cheek" jokes a little much, I find them charming and funny. But not when the characters bug you, like they did in Bustin'.
November 29, 2011
I had read two other books by Minda Webber before reading this one; I enjoyed "The Remarkable Miss Frankenstein" and loved "The Reluctant Miss Van Helsing" so when I picked this book up, I assumed that I would enjoy it as I had done the others...WRONG!
Most romance I read, whether it has a paranormal twist or not, is historical; I have read very few contemporary romances, and so maybe that was part of the problem with this novel for me. But ultimately, my main problem was the heroine; I'm sure she was meant to come across as spunky and tough, but I confess I found her just plain bitchy. Then, **SPOILER ALERT** she's supposed to be this paranormal monster expert, but she can't tell the difference between an actual vampire...and a guy whose pretending to be vampire? And whatever happened to her moral code about "not getting involved with clients?" Guess that only applies to the ones that don't get her libedo racing...
The hero was a bit of a jerk too, but I didn't find him half as annoying as the heroine. The truth of the matter is, this book was a chore to read, and I was more than happy to sell it at a used bookstore when I finished.
If this is your only exposure to Webber's writing, give her a second chance with "Miss Frankenstein", "Miss Van Helsing" and "Miss Bluebeard" (and yes, that is the order you need to read them in--it will make more sense if you do). While some may find her "groaner, tongue-in-cheek" jokes a little much, I find them charming and funny. But not when the characters bug you, like they did in "Bustin'".
Most romance I read, whether it has a paranormal twist or not, is historical; I have read very few contemporary romances, and so maybe that was part of the problem with this novel for me. But ultimately, my main problem was the heroine; I'm sure she was meant to come across as spunky and tough, but I confess I found her just plain bitchy. Then, **SPOILER ALERT** she's supposed to be this paranormal monster expert, but she can't tell the difference between an actual vampire...and a guy whose pretending to be vampire? And whatever happened to her moral code about "not getting involved with clients?" Guess that only applies to the ones that don't get her libedo racing...
The hero was a bit of a jerk too, but I didn't find him half as annoying as the heroine. The truth of the matter is, this book was a chore to read, and I was more than happy to sell it at a used bookstore when I finished.
If this is your only exposure to Webber's writing, give her a second chance with "Miss Frankenstein", "Miss Van Helsing" and "Miss Bluebeard" (and yes, that is the order you need to read them in--it will make more sense if you do). While some may find her "groaner, tongue-in-cheek" jokes a little much, I find them charming and funny. But not when the characters bug you, like they did in "Bustin'".
February 15, 2019
This is a prime example of WHY I should start reading reviews before picking up an unknown author.
I did not find this funny. I did not find the romance parts especially romantic. All characters were annoying. The "banter" was not fun or intriguing, just plain boring.
The whole novel seems to be based on odd quotes from old movies which probably falls flat on the face have you not previously seen at least some of these mostly good, but admittedly dusty, classics. I have, but still it wasn't that funny to me. It some times felt like someone had spent faaaar too much time on IMDB's quote section picking them out and some times twisting them almost beyond recognition.
I will not go into detail of how bad I thought everything was, just believe me it is bad, characters, plot, quotes, romance, well everything except the actual writing. Yes, there was a nice flow to the writing and not any (or at least not any that caught my eye) grammatical errors.
Reading other peoples reviews has made me aware of that this book is not typical for the other works of this author and I strongly suggest you listen to them and try an other book. I know I might try one more before giving up on this author.
I did not find this funny. I did not find the romance parts especially romantic. All characters were annoying. The "banter" was not fun or intriguing, just plain boring.
The whole novel seems to be based on odd quotes from old movies which probably falls flat on the face have you not previously seen at least some of these mostly good, but admittedly dusty, classics. I have, but still it wasn't that funny to me. It some times felt like someone had spent faaaar too much time on IMDB's quote section picking them out and some times twisting them almost beyond recognition.
I will not go into detail of how bad I thought everything was, just believe me it is bad, characters, plot, quotes, romance, well everything except the actual writing. Yes, there was a nice flow to the writing and not any (or at least not any that caught my eye) grammatical errors.
Reading other peoples reviews has made me aware of that this book is not typical for the other works of this author and I strongly suggest you listen to them and try an other book. I know I might try one more before giving up on this author.
December 6, 2012
Alright,
When I think of the worst book I have ever read, I typically say Twilight...but it's actually this one. I don't mention it, because I don't want people to get curious and maybe pick it up.
I love this type of book. I like campy horror humour.
This went over the top. Every other line was a bad one liner about some sort of pun, or bad joke. It sounded like the characters had stayed up too late one night watching Turner Classic Movies, because all of the jokes are old, the quotes are old.
I normally give books like this a chance. Instead, I closed it, and shook my head, and decided I wasn't going to tolerate any more of the book's crap.
And I fed it to a friend of mine. She actually ate about two pages before she said enough was enough, and I disposed of it elsewhere.
When I think of the worst book I have ever read, I typically say Twilight...but it's actually this one. I don't mention it, because I don't want people to get curious and maybe pick it up.
I love this type of book. I like campy horror humour.
This went over the top. Every other line was a bad one liner about some sort of pun, or bad joke. It sounded like the characters had stayed up too late one night watching Turner Classic Movies, because all of the jokes are old, the quotes are old.
I normally give books like this a chance. Instead, I closed it, and shook my head, and decided I wasn't going to tolerate any more of the book's crap.
And I fed it to a friend of mine. She actually ate about two pages before she said enough was enough, and I disposed of it elsewhere.
March 20, 2009
I've ready some cheesy paranormal romance novels, but this one just left me groaning. This is the first book I've read by this author, and I'm regretting having purchased a couple others at the same time. I'm hoping they aren't all this ridiculously campy and uninspired. I don't mind snark and puns, but this book was just horrible. Ugh. I still have another 100 pages to go, and I don't know if I can do it.
June 7, 2011
There is only one word to describe this book and it is CHEESY!! I was expecting a cute light read, instead I was hit with Main characters speaking in movie quotes! My other big problem was that i could not for the life of me figure out what time era they were in , the cheesy 1950's movies quotes didnt help the cause much. I will not be reading anything else from this author i felt that this damn book dragged on forever!
June 14, 2012
I wasn't very impressed. The premise was good, liked the characters. If the author spent more time developing the characters and the storyline alot more and the stupid little cliche one-liners alot less, I think I would've given this book/author a higher rating. I might try this author again later when I forget about this book.
September 13, 2008
Not nearly as funny as her other books. Yet this one is set in modern times and uses movie and tv references from the 1940's to present day. If one isn't familiar with old shows, it will be easy to miss her little jokes.
February 18, 2011
This was my first book by this author and I will purchase books by her again, but I won't be running to the store to look for them.
I thought the book was a cute, fluff story. It was a good idea for a story line and while quirky, it was fun to read.
I thought the book was a cute, fluff story. It was a good idea for a story line and while quirky, it was fun to read.
July 11, 2012
This book was quirky and hilarious. The corny pop culture references kept me smiling. The one problem I had is the main character. She was kinda childish and took way too long to come to her senses. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good laugh with their romance.
July 29, 2012
Annoying protagonist.
Really REALLY bad puns.
World build from hilarious (parents killed by rampaging Godzilla) to ludicrous (Gorgons like to have sex with statues).
Contrived plot and weak structure.
So happy I'm done with it.
Really REALLY bad puns.
World build from hilarious (parents killed by rampaging Godzilla) to ludicrous (Gorgons like to have sex with statues).
Contrived plot and weak structure.
So happy I'm done with it.
September 1, 2016
Tongue in cheek on this one, and this is the first Minda Webber's I've read. I kinda like the cheesy humor, it made it stand out. A lot of cliches there. Not bad for a sunny afternoon on the beach book.
July 6, 2008
Groan. A good idea gone so very wrong. This book is just one bad pun after another. Literally! Boring romance. Not nearly as funny or poignant as her other novel, The Reluctant Miss Van Helsing.
September 1, 2010
I hated it and I couldn't finish it
November 30, 2024
I really liked this book and I would love to see it on an ebook.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews