Rating: 
Summary: It's an okay chick-lit...
Review: "I do (but I don't)" by Cara Lockwood deals with Lauren, a junior wedding consultant whose life revolves around her work with crazy brides and their mothers. It didn't help too that Lauren's employer (by the nickname of "G") is insufferable and out to make life miserable for Lauren. Besides work, Lauren, a recent divorcee, wouldn't mind meeting another man who can filled the place her former husband left. Then comes, Nick, a hunky firefighter who managed to save Lauren twice during her clients' disastrous weddings. Lauren can't believe that someone like Nick would be interested in someone like her. However, Lauren soon discovered that Nick was in fact engaged to one of her most difficult and important client, Darla. Lauren knew that pursuing anything with Nick would mean an end to her career.
I think this was an okay chick-lit. I definitely agree with the other reviewers here that the author used too many parentheses in her writing. It totally disrupts the flow of the book and the author could just have said what she wanted without any parentheses. In addition, I find that this book is extremely predictable. Half way through the book, I can more or less tell the entire plot and there was no suspense whatsoever. The other thing that I didn't like about the book is that there is hardly any secondary characters development, which is a shame as I think it would definitely strengthen the book. However, it is still rather interesting to read about Lauren's analysis of brides, the MOBs ("Mothers of Brides") and just weddings in general. It's basically an okay read... just don't expect too much from it.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Good Chick-lit
Review: "I Do (But I Don't)by Cara Lockwood, is a better than most Chick-lit. Ms. Lockwood writes in the first person about Lauren Crandell a wedding planner, who has everybody else love life under control, but not her own. Durning the course of two weddings, Lauren meets handsome firefighter Nick Corona. But due a misunderstanding Lauren thinks Nick is going to marry Psycho Bride Darla. I won't give away the ending, all is well. Some reader many think that Ms. Lockwood drags the books, but this makes it even more fun for the reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Laugh out loud funny!
Review: A must read for the beach, a plane ride or for just curling up on your couch. I identified with Lauren and got caught up in her relationship with Nick. The outrageous weddings described in the book were hysterical. Anyone who has been through the craziness of planning a wedding or dealing with a Psycho Bride must read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Laugh out loud funny!
Review: A must read for the beach, a plane trip or curled up on your couch. The wedding debacles are hilarious, especially after experiencing the insanity of planning a wedding. Lauren's relationship with gorgeous Nick kept me turning the pages to see how it turns out.
Rating:
Summary: from the BestWeddingSites.com editor
Review: A WITTY ROMANTIC COMEDY NOVEL - a must read to ease the stress while planning your own wedding. It's a book you won't want to put down. One evening, I sat down to read this book, I was so engrossed that when I looked at the clock, I saw that I had opened up the book 2 hours earlier. WOW!This book is great for anybody getting married, recently married and even for wedding planners. Lauren, the main character, encounters many hilarious situations, making for a fun read and one that you just might have finished in a couple of days.
Rating:
Summary: Frothy chick lit
Review: An easy beach read that goes down without a hiccup. Lauren is a successful wedding planner who has been less successful in her own personal life. Nick is a studly fireman who seems determined to remedy the situation. A series of snafus in her business put everything in jeopardy, and Lauren learns you can't always plan EVERYTHING.
Rating:
Summary: Great for wedding planners and the people who love them!
Review: As a wedding planner, I couldn't help but pick up this book about Lauren, a great wedding planner with serious self-esteem issues. She's funny, smart, and incredibly entertaining in this book that follows her adventures in wedding planning, including falling in love, of course. I bought this book yesterday and just finished it today--it was quite addicting! Get this book for the wedding planner or soon-to-be-married in your life. Great beach read! :)
Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: Awesome first novel from Ms. Lockwood! I was a little nervous in the beginning that the story would parallel the movie 'The Wedding Planner', and I was sooo excited and surprised as the story progressed. Great storyline about a woman not looking for love who ends up finding it anyway, with loads of twists and turns along the way. I had a lot of fun reading this, and I actually had to take a long lunchbreak from work just to finish it. Can't wait for this authors next book!
Rating:
Summary: A Fun Light Summer Read --- Typical "Chick-Lit" Fare
Review: Cara Lockwood's debut novel, I DO (BUT I DON'T), is the story of a wedding planner and her adventures with (what else?) weddings. This is a typical chick-lit book that follows the trend with writing that is very fluffy and very light, and lots of action from start to finish. I DO (BUT I DON'T) is told in the first person narrated by the wedding planner, Lauren Crandell. She is the perfect wedding planner, as she's highly organized, extremely neat, and very anal about her job. Unfortunately, her shock of big, wild curly hair does not fit into this description of neat and tidy, and is probably the most noticeable feature on her body. On a good day it is wild and unruly. On a bad day it may look like a bird's nest --- literally. The reader is made aware of Lauren's hair problem, as she is inside Lauren's head throughout the book. She rambles on about life in general, about her job, her boss, her hair (of course), and the many psycho brides and other interesting family members she encounters during the preparations for that big day. Lauren works for a consulting firm called Forever Wedding, sharing a suite with the owner, Gennifer Douglas, or "G" as she is called, and G's stuck-up spoiled cat Whiskers. What Lauren goes through with Whiskers alone could make for a hilarious book. Scenes in which Lauren is dealing with problems such as cat poop under the desk helps add to the humor. (Whiskers has a knack for showing her hatred for Lauren by constantly using the floor under her desk as a litter box). Early in the story, Lauren finds herself working a series of weddings where ambulances and firemen are called in as rescuers. During the start of one wedding on a beach where the bridegroom is attempting to parachute to his lovely bride waiting on the sand, the parachuting attempt goes awry and the rescue crew is summoned. It is at this event that Lauren meets the most gorgeous man on the planet, Nick Corona. Her thoughts run wild as she envisions him in all sorts of positions and places, but the wedding must go on and she is pulled back into reality. Lauren meets him again at yet another wedding, and on another occasion they bump into each other in a bar. She soon figures out that he is the groom in the wedding that she is working on, which is bound to become the "wedding from hell" if judged by the bride's behavior. Life goes on, and Lauren continues to work on Darla and Nick's wedding. At the same time, she finds Nick coming on to her at every opportune moment, and she is torn between whether to follow his lead or tell him to buzz off. Losing her client would be disastrous if she was to blame, and she is constantly worried that she'll be fired. But what should she do with Nick? How could she say "no" to him? She's strongly attracted to him and finds him totally irresistible. I DO (BUT I DON'T) was a pleasant book to read, although at times the narrator's chattiness may be a bit irritating. The plot line did keep me in suspense, and I wanted to finish the book to find out how it ended. There were a lot of funny scenes and I enjoyed Lockwood's writing style, and though there was not anything special about it, it was a fun light summer read. --- Reviewed by Marie Hashima Lofton
Rating:
Summary: Great Summer Read
Review: Cute & light hearted summer read. The male romantic lead fell head over hills just a little to quick for me, but overall a fun read.
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