All Jacked Up

FBI #1

by Penny McCall

Since Jack Mitchell barged into her life, librarian Aubrey Sullivan has been abducted at gunpoint, taken on a death-defying car chase, and kissed within an inch of madness. If only she does what he says, they might just get out of this mess alive. That is, if they can keep their hands off each other long enough to think straight.

Genres: Romantic Suspense, Romance, Contemporary, Suspense, Contemporary Romance, Military Fiction, Mystery Thriller

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Okay, so I have to write a new bio because, well, life happens whether you want it to or not. And while I was at it, I decided to answer that question everyone asks me: How did you start writing? The only answer I have is To keep the voices in my head from driving me crazy. Now, you probably think those voices mean I am crazy, except for a couple things. When I write down what they're saying, they leave me alone. And they never tell me to kill or maim anyone. Both of those are definite pluses in my book. So, where do the voices come from? That's a toughie, so I'll start at the beginning. I'm the seventh of nine children, and we are not chips off the old block. We all possess distinct, unique personalities. In the summer my mom would send us outdoors until lunch time (for her own sanity, I'm sure) and we'd amuse ourselves in the woods behind our house, catching tadpoles, sneaking into the orchard next door, tormenting each other. We used to take picnic lunches and I remember this one time we put ants in my brother's mustard sandwich. Not those puny little sugar ants, either, big, fat black ones. Another time we buried his watch in the sand pile behind our house. He's still holding a grudge. Hey, we were kids before cable and video games, we had to find some way to amuse ourselves.

So, the voices? Well, I turned out to be that kid who was painfully shy. I was only happy with my nose in a book (okay, and tormenting my brother, but it was my sister's idea, and really, he deserved it), and when I wasn't reading I made up stories in my head. If I'd had the courage and discipline to write them down I'd be the most prolific author ever. So, why didn't I? Life, that's why. Marriage, crafts, kids, crafts, gainful employment, crafts, divorce. And did I mention crafts? I've done it all, ceramics, knitting, macramé, origami, crocheting—I even sold a couple of original patterns. Yeah, I know, the voices weren't impressed either. The crafts didn't shut them up for long, so one day I exorcised them onto paper, and after writing at least a half dozen historicals, the you-sound-too-contemporary comments in all those rejection letters finally sank in and I tried my hand at writing contemporary romance. My first story, Happily Ever After, sold in exactly four days, followed by four more to the now discontinued Precious Gems series at Kensington Publishing. I wrote another four for Harlequin's American series, all nine under the name, Penny McCusker. And then the voices got sassy and took me into the world of life-or-death, car chases, gunfire, and sarcasm, and I'm happily chugging along in that vein as Penny McCall.

I realize after all this rambling that I haven't exactly answered the question of where the voices come from, but hey, you'll just have to accept that they exist. I have.

Reviews

[Michele bookloverforever · Rating 3 out of 5]

at first, I did not care for this book. The hero was obnoxiously arrogant and poisonous with testosterone. I liked the heroine: smart, resourceful and not that impressed with her 'rescuer". However, he did come to admire the heroine and respect her so I started to like him. It ends happily with most of the bad guys being caught/punished and the lovers end up together personally and professionally.

[Cassandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't have much to say about this book. It was funny and the dialogue was fun to read, but the characters annoyed the crap out of me! This is supposed to be a romance novel... but I wasn't invested in the characters' relationship at all. Aubrey and Jack changed viewpoints so many times that it was just hard to keep track of who felt which way. And Jack? What a freaking asshole. He was a chauvinist pig (Aubrey's words not mine) the entire book and treated Aubrey like shit. Yet Aubrey still fell in love with him? Aubrey pissed Jack off just by entering the room... yet he fell in love with her? Very unbelievable. I saw no character development. The plot was weak, and the writing cliche.
It was a fun, easy read but I won't be reading anything by this author again.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know that some romance novels like to play the I hate you but I'm attracted to you then I fall in love with you game, but this time it just rang so false. The main characters could not stand each other, and didn't trust each other throughout the book, but I'm supposed to believe they fell in love? It seemed more like he was just lusting after her and her eidetic memory of the Karma Sutra, and she was just addicted to the adrenaline.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is part of a series, the nest books are:

Tag, You're It!
Ace Is Wild
Packing Heat
The Bliss Factor
Worth the Trip

Characters from the top of the list appear in the later books.

[Nae · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5-2 stars

Genres, settings, categories, themes: romantic suspense (M/F), action, contemporary, FBI, drug cartel, corruption, on the run

💗 Tropes: 💗
> Danger
> Forced Proximity
> Hate to Love
all about tropes here

POV: 3rd person

Series/Sequencing Style: standalone

🔽🔽🔽

Overall ratings

~ Pacing ~ 2/5 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
~ Plot ~ 3/5 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑
~ Romantic connection ~ 1/5 🌕🌑🌑🌑🌑
~ Action ~ 5/5 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕
~ Writing ~ 3/5 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑

~ Angst level: low-med
~ Sadness level: low

🔽🔽🔽

📝 Review/Notes 📝

The hate to love is too weirdly done for me here. Halfway through the book here’s some of what he’s saying about her:

“Just the sound of her voice had Jack’s eyes glazing over…Aubrey Sullivan was plain, opinionated, condescending, whiny, and she acted like she had PMS most of the time. And those were her good traits.”

Just not a very enjoyable read. I didn’t feel a romantic connection between the leads and the H was a mega asshole. The h wasn’t freaking out whiny or anything – she could have been a badass cool librarian, but instead just kept being hella stupid.

I like the 'on the run' premise, but just didn’t feel like it was very well done overall here, maybe because of all the dislike and semi-boring plot despite all the action.

[Nat · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really tried to enjoy this book and finish it. It's taking me longer to read than any other romance novel. I kept pushing myself to continue reading it though not with much enthusiasm.
The author has the MCs going through one ridiculous situation after another with almost no breathing room. And, while I'm not at all against this sort of plot, it was seriously exhausting in this case since the situation didn't really seem to bring the two MCs closer together. The shift in their relationship from hate to some sort of admiration and even love is so minimal that, while perhaps convincing, isn't the best pay-off.
Add to that the sex scenes which are fade-to-black, and it was just too much work for too little literary satisfaction.
Had the author done a little better on their sexual chemistry and maybe slowed some of the action down, I think I'd really like this book.
I also think the author could've toned down the general incompetence of the male MC and too-stupid-to-live moments of the female MC.

[Alexa Jakob · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is an absolute ride.

I found it at a used bookstore, for free, and boy was it worth every penny.

I can't give this book one star because I actually enjoyed it for the chaotic, confusing, trainwreck that it was but it deserves no more than a solid 2 stars of five.

Tropes on tropes on tropes is what this book is. A skinny little librarian woman is feisty enough to win the guarded heart of a troubled FBI agent when some drug lord catches wind that she knows something about him???? I tried so hard to understand what was actually happening in this book and after finishing it I still feel like I'm missing most of the plot.

On top of that, the dialogue is confusing. The final reveal was seriously lackluster. I found the main characters banter unhealthy rather than flirty and fun. The situations they found themselves in were impossible, but it was undoubtedly a greatly entertaining mess to read. Everything bad that could happen, does. It's exciting and insane and the characters make the worst decisions over and over again. Worth a read for the experience.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute read. Aubrey is the braniac librarian who is thrust into the world of intrigue when a notorious drug dealer has a contract put out on her. Jack is the FBI agent who may or may not be on the 'right' side of the law who is working to keep Aubrey alive. Jack and Aubrey were a little bit one dimensional to me. Lots of dialog and Aubrey pointing out how chauvenistic Jack is. In my head, Jack was more suited to the 1980s are before than current day. I definiely did NOT picture him in my head as ripped as the cover model.

What really saved the book for me was the witty dialog between Aubrey and Jack.
"Some of your attitudes are, and since this place is bound to lift your male chauvenism to a level even a deaf stripper would recognize and run away from, you'll have plenty of time to hit the Sixteenth Street Market".

The resolution of the plot to kill Aubrey was settled, allbeit a bit predictable. Both characters did bend in order to find their HEA.

[Helena · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Jacked Up (2007) is very much a product of its time, full of banter, sharp snark, and fast-paced action that reflected the romantic suspense trend back then. Many newer reviews written after 2020 do not take that context into account, but when you do, the book becomes much more enjoyable. It is witty, well-written, and had me laughing more than I expected. The male lead embodies avoidant attachment (and who doesn’t love a red flag in romance?), while the female lead is smart, headstrong, and full of comebacks. If you want something light, quick, and entertaining, this one is worth the ride.

[Holley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This started with a shootout in the library and never stopped. It was pretty much nonstop action. The sex is very present but mostly off page and not very graphic. Both hero and heroine were well developed, intelligent characters. There was a lot of good banter and snarking back and forth. And I do love a smart woman/nerd as a heroine.

[Jocelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a very average read.

[olivia Van winkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

so fun and just the right amount of scandalous… thank you penny for writing this book i read it by the beautiful beach in a tommy bahama t shirt j’adore!!

[Stacey Brutger · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars


DESCRIPTION:

Ever since Jack Mitchell barged into her life, librarian Aubrey Sullivan has been abducted at gunpoint, taken on a death-defying car chase, and kissed silly. She’s starting to think that maybe she should try to shake the brawny hunk…


But Aubrey doesn’t realize she’s ticked off the biggest mobster in the western hemisphere. It seems that somewhere in her photographic memory is something he’d kill to keep quiet. And Jack can’t exactly go to the good guys because, well, suddenly they think he’s a mole.


Now, Jack needs Aubrey to help clear his name. If only she’d do what he says, they might just get out of this mess alive. That is, if they can keep their hands off each other long enough to think straight…



Review:

If you enjoy romantic comedies, Penny McCall does a bang up job with All Jacked Up. The Characters antics kept me laughing in each chapter. Their hijinks were not only amusing, they were laugh-at-loud. Their advenure was unique and real, and I loved the back and for by-play between them. Their action-adventure was a thrill ride I’m glad I didn’t miss.


The only reason this book didn’t get a full five stars is that some of the story dragged a little bit. I loved the witty dialogue, but it did slow the story down just a bit. Not much, but I did notice that it took me a little longer to finish. Maybe it was because I didn’t want to miss a word, I don’t know.


Anyway, if you like romance and a good writing, I would recommend Penny McCall…any of her books. What a hoot! I’ve read two other books from Penny McCall, and I will be reading more.


Posted from my site www.StaceyBrutger.com.

[Pattianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

ALL JACKED UP - FBI #1 - (JACK AND AUBREY)

Inside a nondescript cinder-block building in Manhattan, beyond the misleading sign that reads "Global Fish" and the attractive plainclothes FBI employee at the reception desk, Special Agent Nick Vanko is running a surprisingly successful undercover operation. His bosses consider him a hard case and the members of his squad a bunch of self-destructive freaks with disciplinary problems. But despite the regular investigations by internal affairs, the squad is capable of doing real Bureau work. They've been chipping away at the Brooklyn mob, where their prime target, the don's anointed capo, Mike Parisi, is in the middle of a bitter power struggle with underboss Danny DiMiglia. DiMiglia is ruthless and unimaginative, but Parisi is smarter, and when Manny, one of his crew, finds twenty grand and a page from a hand-drawn map in his father's abandoned safe deposit box, Parisi realizes he's got the means to bring DiMiglia down. But first they have to retrieve the other half of the map, and it's in an evidence room at the FBI.
While the agents at Global Fish obstruct the FBIHQ inspector who's just arrived, a female agent is assigned to the squad. Sheila's got as many problems as the rest of them, but the most serious is her obsession with a serial murder investigation she's been unable to solve. Vanko is rattled by his attraction to her and diverts the squad to help her find the killer, just as Parisi uses the map in a whopper of a scam to keep DiMiglia in check.

[Nikky Lemus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. 4.5 stars but it was a near thing.

I loved the characters, most especially the characters, the romance, the action, oh, the action; it was a thrill to read. Nothing like sarcasm in almost every paragraph mixed with the ever present near death experience to get your blood pumping.

I'd actually love to continue to read the MCs' story, and considering that criminal romance is not my usual cup of tea, that's says a lot about my opinion of this book.

The character's personalities really stand up and capture your immediate attention. A few key points in the book did irk me, hence the .5 subtraction, but it was exhilarating to be part of their journey. I try not to give away spoilers, but for those that could miraculously stumble upon my review, listen close.

Not many books can mix a sarcasm'drenched plain librarian with a framed undercover, ego-the-size-of-jupiter, agent and make them into a clever team. Though he always tries to make the said librarian do what he tells her to, but she always pulls a Houdini and gives him the slip. Did I mention her eidetic memory and that mouth that never stops moving?

They make... and unexpected well-oiled team that, quite bizarrely, works.

So, yes, I give a full recommendation to whoever is listening (I mean reading) and I wish them a very happy reading.

[MBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 4.5 star romantic thriller

My first book by Penny McCall and I as a reader would have to say that there is nothing more a gal could ask for in a romance once you have read this one. There is a hotter than sin hero in Jack and a feisty as they come heroine in Aubrey Sullivan who just has a mind of her own which lands both of them in the most darning of situations. This book is packed full of humor and you can’t help but smile at the impatience in Jack when Aubrey keeps talking a mile a minute and land them both in a hefty load of trouble when they are barely out of the latest stint of trouble Aubrey has landed them both in.

The sex is steamy, the adventure is action packed and fun and you would never have a boring moment when reading through this book.

Great read, recommended for those who love romantic comedies, thrillers and hell, just anyone who loves a good bout of romance.

My review: http://bit.ly/cMIQUG

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I had a really hard time liking Jack. He was obnoxious and irritated the hell out of me. His ideas about women must've surely come from the sixteenth century and if it wasn't the fact he started admiring the heroine I would've given up completing this book. However he did change and I gotta admit she did some pretty crazy decisions that would have gotten her killed without Jack. I enjoyed the action immensely and I love reading through a character's emotional growth...but it sort of drags on for me. I wouldn't have missed half the book. Some turns of plot were too complex and idiotic.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Jacked Up starts out with FBI agent, Jack, working his way into the Library of Congress where Aubrey is working. Telling her that her life is in danger; he kidnaps her just as people begin to shoot at them both. The action and humor just keep coming in this fast paced book. Jack can't stand Aubrey's continual talking but begins to admire her spunk as they travel from Washington DC to Miami, Florida. The mystery had lots of layers meant to keep the reader guessing right to the end. It's too bad this wasn't part of a series with Jack and Aubrey as main characters since they were so good together.

[Shawna · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars - Romantic Suspense

I read this in about four hours because frankly, there wasn't a whole lot to it. With very little suspense and even less romance, the claim of "romantic suspense" doesn't quite ring true. There was a little bit of action and humor, but not much else. Overall, it was a boring read, and I would prefer to have my four hours back.

[Marti Guthrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good romance book! It has it all. Humor, action, sex! It's very fast paced and the ending isn't as predictable as you would expect for a romance book. I can't wait to read more from this author.

[Pamela(AllHoney) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book in Penny McCall's FBI series. Librarian Aubrey Sullivan is abducted by Jack Mitchell (FBI). I enjoyed the balance of suspense and romance mixed with some humorous banter.

[Ladiibbug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romantic Suspense

A light RS read.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. Also, a good debut by McCall. I suggest everyone gives this a try. For fans of Christina Skye, Laura Griffin, and Linda Howard. Sort of drags on for me, though. 3/5 stars.

[Missy Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some movies are popcorn movies. This book was a popcorn book. Plot holes, general silliness, completely unbelievable. But it was fun. It made me smile, and isn't that enough?

[Kaetrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Funny book, a little light on the smex but really good.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending surprised me. Overall this book was just ok for me. Definitely not much on romance. I had problems with some of the details - parts of the story just didn't make sense or fit.

[Karen Desmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

5

[Hina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

[Nothing Like A Good Book!!!! wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just loved it..