I picked this up because I needed something light after a particularly brutal stretch of horror audiobooks that left me sleeping with the lights on for a week. (Shirley was judging me. She always judges me.) And here's my complaint: this book made me laugh out loud on a crowded bus. Multiple times. Do you know how embarrassing that is? People were staring.
But let me back up. Full Scoop is the sixth book in Evanovich and Hughes' Full series, and it's basically the literary equivalent of comfort food. Mercury's in retrograde in Beaumont, South Carolina, which means everyone's losing their minds, secrets are spilling everywhere, and there's a goat named Butterbean who's apparently irresistible to a hound dog named Fleas. Yes, really. That's a subplot. And somehow it works?
Full Bloom has that same whipped-cream-on-a-haunted-week vibe, minus the part where I pretend I am above it.
Lorelei King Sells the Chaos
Lorelei King is doing the heavy lifting here, and she knows it. The woman has won Audies, AudioFile Earphones, the whole deal—and you can hear why. She's got this warm, sparkling quality that makes even the most ridiculous moments land. When Maggie Farnsworth is dealing with her jailbird ex-boyfriend showing up to cause problems while simultaneously trying to ignore her attraction to the FBI agent protecting her? King sells every awkward beat.
Here's the thing though—and I've seen other listeners mention this—if you've listened to King narrate other Evanovich series, some of the character voices might feel familiar. Like, suspiciously familiar. There's a certain Southern belle voice that shows up, a certain gruff male voice, and yeah, I could see how that might pull you out of the story if you've got a hundred hours of Stephanie Plum in your ears already.
But for me? First time really diving into King's work with this series. So it all felt fresh. Her pacing is excellent—she knows when to speed up during the screwball comedy moments and when to slow down for the romantic tension. That's not nothing.
Her range gets a darker workout in Bone Crossed, which is much more my usual midnight-cat-staring-at-the-corner territory.
When Horror Kids Need a Break
Okay, confession time. I grew up in a household where horror was forbidden, right? But you know what else was forbidden? Romance novels. Anything with "scandal" or "attraction" on the back cover. So there's something deeply satisfying about listening to a book where the biggest threat is gossip at the ice cream parlor and whether the psychic astrologer named Destiny is going to admit she has a crush.
This isn't deep. It's not trying to be. The mystery elements are pretty predictable—you'll probably figure out where things are going before the characters do. But that's almost the point? It's like watching a sitcom where you know everything will work out, and you're just there for the journey and the jokes.
The ensemble cast is genuinely fun. Jamie Swift and Max Holt discussing babies, Destiny fighting her feelings, the entire town being unable to keep a secret because they all hang out at the same ice cream shop. It's cozy chaos. And King juggles all these storylines without ever making me lose track of who's who.
Skip If You Want Suspense, Stay If You Want Banter
If you're looking for a complex thriller that'll keep you guessing? Skip this. Seriously. This is not that book. But if you want something for your commute that'll make you smile? If you need a palate cleanser between heavier reads? If you just want to spend eight hours in a quirky Southern town where the stakes are low and the banter is high? Get in.
I listened to this while doing meal prep, while folding laundry, while walking to work. It's perfect background-but-not-quite-background listening. Engaging enough that you won't zone out, light enough that missing thirty seconds while your cat knocks something off the counter won't ruin the experience. (Shirley. Every time.)
Sometimes You Just Need a Goat Romance Subplot
The production is clean, King's performance is solid if not revolutionary, and honestly? I had fun. That counts for something. Not everything needs to be a psychological deep-dive into human darkness. Sometimes you just need a goat romance subplot and an FBI agent with good timing.
Would I recommend this to my podcast listeners? Only the ones who've texted me saying they need something that won't give them nightmares. For everyone else, I've got other suggestions. But for what it is? Full Scoop delivers exactly what it promises. Light, funny, and surprisingly charming.
