Thursday, March 6, 2014

HOOTIE'S REVIEW: I DO...OR DIE BY DONNA CUMMINGS

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: Adult
Publication Date: December 10th 2012
Pages: 290
Format: Mobi/Kindle
Source: provided by author

“Always a bridesmaid, never a bride” is Shelby Atwood's personal credo. She’s managed to avoid commitment all her life – no pets, no plants, not even a long-term lease. Heck, she’s had colds last longer than her romantic relationships. How could she be any other way when she has a gigolo for a father? But then gunfire erupts at the latest wedding she’s agreed to be in, and it ends up being the best thing to happen to Shelby’s love life. Detective Ryan Nichols is assigned to the case, and when the shootings don’t stop, he becomes her 24-hour bodyguard. Shelby wouldn't mind except Ryan is too appealing, too sexy, and too happy to remind her of the raucous bachelorette party when she mistook him for a stripper. Shelby’s plan is simple: find the shooter, have a fling with Ryan, and return to her non-committal life. Unfortunately, the shooter is very elusive. Shelby’s feelings for Ryan are way more than adrenaline-fueled lust. And returning to her normal life is now impossible since, despite her lifelong resistance, she’s managed to put her heart smack dab in the line of fire.



My Review:

"Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't."

Remember that classic candy jungle? This is exactly what comes to mind when I think about what kind of book I am in the mood for at any given time. Sometimes I need a good angsty read, sometimes I need a good laugh. Which is exactly why I was happy to get I do...or Die fro Donna Cummings. She always makes me laugh in her books and so far I haven't been disappointed.

At yet another of her best friends weddings (this makes 4) Shelby Atwood is fulfilling her maid of honor duties when shots are fired and her best friend Alexa is wounded in the chaos. When she gets to to the hospital to visit her friend she comes face to face with detective Ryan Nichols. He's there to question everyone about the shooting taking a special interest in Shelby seeing as how she was the one standing next to Alexa when the shots were fired. After several rounds of questions Ryan is escorting Shelby home when they are hailed with gunfire again. Now with Shelby in obvious danger being the intended target Ryan hides her away at his place to keep her safe until they can figure out who the shooter is. Spending so much time together working on the case and fighting a strong attraction Ryan and Shelby soon find themselves possibly facing a more dangerous situation. 

This was such a fun and hilarious story. I thought this was going to be sort of a "Whodunit" mystery and it was to a certain extent but the humor inside was more prominent than the suspense aspect. Ryan and Shelby are thrown together in a  somewhat serious situation but the good times that come out of it are worth as the two fight the obvious attraction between them. Shelby was such quirky upbeat character. While being shot at could make most people a quivering mess, Shelby found the humor in almost every situation she found herself in. I loved her spunk and her inner voice was so goofy at times I found a lot of myself in her mannerisms. I did find surprising depth to her character offsetting the humor that was ever present. Growing up knowing her father was a gigolo who she thought cheated on her mother and thinking marriage was a joke she's kept herself separated from love and marriage never wanting to settle down.

Detective Ryan Nichols was exactly the kind of guy a woman like Shelby needed. He was strong, dependable and stable. He was the right mix of stoic and silly that counterbalanced Shelby's personality. It wasn't hard to totally fall in love with his character because he was so protective of Shelby throughout even putting his Hawaiian vacation on hold to help find the person shooting at her. I loved the way he kept her on her toes non stop throughout the story. Especially when she finds out they share a past connection. Turns out that before Ryan was a detective and still a cop he was called out to a noise violation at a bachelorette party where Shelby was. She mistook him for a stripper and he hasn't forgotten her all this time and I absolutely enjoyed watching him hold it against her. As sexy as Ryan was it wasn't hard to understand how she made that mistake. He was so patient and devoted to showing Shelby he wasn't going anywhere and I wanted to die every time Ryan called her shotgun, it was so sweet given their gun related experiences in this book.

There's no shortage of characters in this book as the main fact remains that someone is trying to shoot Shelby. from her best friends would be husband, a crazy prowlers not to mention a cat there's no shortage of mild suspense to keep you guessing. The story was upbeat and fun to feature such a serious plot but still enjoyable. I only found a couple of things that irked me a little bit. One of those was the whole cat thing. Ryan has a somewhat stray cat that comes and goes and at times the little bastard became a cock blocker for the sexy times between Ryan and Shelby. I didn't mind it at first but at certain points it became a little ridiculous to me. Mainly because I'm not much of a cat person but to each his own. Secondly I would have liked to get a pov from Ryan because I felt like I didn't connect with him as much as I did with Shelby. It was like I only got to know OF him from what Shelby experienced. I wish I could have gotten into his head and experienced scenes from his eyes but I still enjoyed the story. The sexy times between them were a huge bonus when they finally got everything figured out.

I Do...Or Don't was another great read from Cummings with lots of humor that always makes me feel happy and upbeat when I'm done with her books. Whenever I need a good laugh and a sexy story I know exactly where to go first. It's on the milder side of the adult contemporary spectrum so if you like books with a little sexy and little silly you should really check out any of Cummings' books, especially this one.


Quotes:

The laws of attraction didn't make much sense to me. Maybe someone should write a policy manual, with guidelines and suggested procedures. It would be a lot easier for me to follow the rules if it didn't feel like they were written on a sticky note that kept getting glued to my butt. Mobi/Kindle 6%

I was tired of ducking gunfire. It was frightening, and exhausting, and I needed to stay alive so I could have mad monkey sex with Ryan before I sent him off on his overdue vacation. Mobi/Kindle 34%

"Shelby, if I'd known I would love you this much, I would have been the one shooting at that wedding. Just so I could get to know you." I grabbed his lapels. "I know that's meant to be a compliment. But seriously. It sounds a little twisted. It's not like I can repeat that to friends and family." Mobi/Kindle 99%



About The Author:
I have worked as an attorney, winery tasting room manager, and retail business owner, but nothing beats the thrill of writing humorously-ever-after romances. I reside in New England, although I fantasize about spending the rest of my days in a tropical locale, wearing flip flops year-round, or in Regency London, scandalizing the ton. I can usually be found on Twitter talking about writing and coffee, and on Facebook, talking about coffee and writing.

Links:















3 comments:

  1. You're not a cat person, but how do you feel about alpacas?

    I'll keep Cummings in mind when I'm looking for the funny.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Erin reviewed this one too. She had similar thoughts. Sounds like it could provide some laughs.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dude!! That fucker in the background looks like a total creeper. lol

    ReplyDelete

We love getting your comments so lay it on us! Thanks for stopping by!