Ready to Run

I'm a huge Lauren Layne fan. Her books are always on my auto-buy list. READY TO RUN, the first book in her I Do, I Don't series did not disappoint me. I love the take-off on the Bachelor and one of my favorite movies, Runaway Bride. Poor Luke Elliott, he didn't know how ready he was for his life to be completely intruded upon and turned upside down. He especially didn't expect all of his friends and family to join in on the plot. But Jordan Carpenter, or "City" as he calls her does a fine job of working her way into his somewhat reclusive world. After three fiancée's he never made it to the altar with, he's been keeping to himself. Publicizing his heartache on national television is the last thing he wants to do. Jordan, however, he'd really like to do her. This book has a great storyline, characters, dialogue, and setting. Ready to Run is an excellent read I highly recommend. 4.5 stars ~Complimentary copy downloaded from NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

4.5 stars — OK, I will admit I’m NOT much of a reality TV fan. Usually they showcase the worst of humanity in my opinion, and trade ratings for abominable behavior. BUT, I have watched the Bachelor and Bachelorette a time or two (before I got tired of the antics), so I was curious how this book was going to play out. And I was worried for a few moments about how I would end up liking Jordan, but she won me over pretty quickly, and in general surprised me in good ways. Which is not to say she was a perfect heroine, not by any means. But she was solid. She had a good head on her shoulders, she had some things in her past that had shaped who she was now, and honestly? While I was already pretty sold on her, it really did help to get that deeper dive into her character. I appreciated that she was sassy, tenacious, bold…and extremely likable. Luke was a bit of a different animal. Yet again, learning about his past definitely helped me get past some of his more boneheaded moments, but I was a bit disappointed with him in the climax. And yet, he mostly turned it around for me. He was human, and he had some great friends to smack him when he needed it. Mostly, he was damaged, and that damage had made him wary. While the conflict made my heart ache more than once, I did actually like them together when they were letting themselves be with one another. They were fun, and sexy, and had great chemistry. This book had an AMAZING secondary character cast, it was the perfect small town read. From members of the town, to friends, to exes, to the hilarious Simon, to even Winston and Luna — they made a great book even better. I was surprised by all the emotions I felt in this one. I wasn’t expecting it, but it wasn’t out of place. All in all, it delivered what I always love from Ms. Layne’s books, and I have no idea why it took me so long to get to it.

Another fantastic Lauren Layne book filled with her typical humor and snarky banter that will have you laughing out loud. This kicks off a new series and what a way to begin. Reality TV producers have come up with a new show concept and Luke Elliott would make the perfect contestant. It's Jordan Carpenter's job to go to small town Montana and convince the rugged firefighter to do the show. Ha, good luck with that! I loved the small town romance feel of this one with all the great townspeople and the way the pulled Jordan in. I can't wait to read the next one in this series. I highly recommend this one.