by Ellen Byerrum

I read all of the books in this series and, in fact, often preferred them over some of the books below them on the list. So it feels wrong to say I didn’t like them. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say there were some aspects of the books I never enjoyed but I liked enough I felt compelled to keep reading? Does that work? I liked Lacey Smithsonian with her quirky name and even quirkier fashion sense. There were times I wished the book came with illustrations or that it were a television series just so I could see the outfit Lacey was wearing. I also liked several of Lacey’s friends and co-workers. It was her love interest I never warmed to and still find hard to like. I know that shouldn’t overshadow the whole series but, at times, it did. I must also admit that these books never had quite as much humor or action in them as the other books I was reading did. I wanted to know more about Lacey but I was never fell in love with her like I did Maddie or the Abbys or Jane. There was just something slightly off about the books that kept me from liking them that much.