Ready to Run by Lauren Layne ★★★ (I Do, I Don’t #1)

Reality TV Producer Jordan Carpenter is pursuing a lead for her new concept show, Jilted. Firefighter Luke Elliott has been to the altar three times and walked away at the last moment. When Jordan shows up in Lucky Hollow, Montana to convince him to be the first star, all he sees is a fast-talking city girl who’s meddling in business he’d rather have left alone.

I questioned my judgment in deciding to read this book, my first by the author I heard so many good things about, as I’m not a fan of reality TV shows and especially despise The Bachelor. Still, the premise and the characters sounded interesting so I gave it a shot. Unfortunately, even the talented narrator couldn’t make this one work for me.

I really liked Jordan and the people of Lucky Hollow. The author mastered creating the small town feel and dynamics I find endearing. Who I didn’t like was Luke. He was horrible to Jordan from the start who never did anything to earn that level of animosity. And, he was that way for most of the book even after their relationship heated up and there was a bump in the road. His pitiful attempt at redemption didn’t pass muster with me though it did with Jordan. Maybe I could have forced myself past all of this but there was a constant rinse and repeat of him being nasty, apologizing, a step forward and then one backwards. It was a bore.

The narrator was really good, capturing Jordan’s personality aptly. She made all of the scenes not involving Luke fun and interesting. I’ll still try another book by the author but this was a miss for me. I should have known reality TV wouldn’t work for me in any format, especially with a lead character who was so unlikable.

Book Info

• Release Date: January 24, 2018
• Narrator: Amy Melissa Bentley
• Audio Length: 6 hours, 11 minutes

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(I received an advance copy from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review)