I Do (But I Don't)

Rating:
Summary: I DO want to recommend this!
Review: Great summer read - both funny and entertaining! Readers get a true glimpse into the hectic life of a wedding planner, and appreciate all the issues they have to deal with.

Rating:
Summary: I DO Love It!!
Review: I absolutly love this book. The author's style was so refreshing, I couldn't put this book down! Anyone can relate to these characters. There is a Lauren, Nick, Dianne and Veronice in every crowd, and yes, there is always a Darla too!

Rating:
Summary: My favorite
Review: I bought 20 books to read this summer... many of the chick-lit genre, and this was definitely my favorite. I could see it as a romantic comedy movie easily... It was great. Perfect. Wish there were a sequel already written!!

Rating:
Summary: I do!
Review: I DO (BUT I DON'T) by Cara Lockwood

Welcome to the world of wedding planners! Cara Lockwood's debut novel I DO (BUT I DONT) is a hilarious romp of a book that isn't very serious on plot line but is fun to read. Lauren Crandell is a wedding planner, and she tells her stories about the botched weddings, the crazy weddings, and the outlandish weddings, including the two where she meets super gorgeous hunk fireman Nick Corona.

Her dilemma occurs when she feels the sparks flying between herself and Nick, but after meeting several times by accident, and finding that they both seem to have a mutual attraction, she finds out later that he is the groom of one of her brides. What is a girl to do?

Read along as Lauren works on some of these crazy weddings, figures out her own love life, deals with an aggressive boss and her aggressive cat Whiskers. As far as chick-lit is concerned, I don't feel there is anything special about this book. The narrator, Lauren, tends to get a bit chatty on occasion, but the story is fun and this book is a great summer read. This reader recommends I DO (BUT I DON'T).

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book
Review: I have read quite a few books with a "Wedding" theme. This one had everything, a great story line, the boss from hell, and the girl who lives through it all and lands the sexy hunk in the end. I give this book 2 thumbs up:0)

Rating:
Summary: A-Ok!! Chick-lit book!!
Review: I have to admit, I skimmed this book sometimes. The only fun parts where when she was with Nick and not being a wedding planner, I feel the author waited too long to bring in the story line at the begining of the book. It dragged in some spots and then the ending was the real treat. Such a messed up family she has to deal with, left alone the one she lives with now (her own). Read it if your getting married, or a wedding planner for a laugh, but if your looking for a serious book gto settle down with, I'm afraid I would pass on this one.

Rating:
Summary: I Do (But I Don't)
Review: I just wanted to say that I enjoyed reading the book when it first came out. I also wanted to say congradulations for becoming a Lifetime Movie. Dean Cain and Denise Richards aren't exactly who I pictured while reading the book but...hey thats me! I can't wait to see the movie!

Rating:
Summary: I Bought (But You Shouldn't)
Review: I LOVE chick lit. I don't care that it is currently fashionable among the literati to slag off on bright, breezy novels with pink covers aimed at 20/30-something females - I say more power to the writers who can create fun, humorous yet insightful tales of young women's lives today.

However, when snooty critics look down their pointed noses at chick lit, perhaps it is because they got a hold of I DO (BUT I DON'T) and mistakenly thought that it stood in for the whole genre. Because although I really wanted to like this book, it's a whole lot of nothing (and I mean NOTHING, as the narrator blathers on and on in parenthetical asides. Someone needs to remove the "9" and "0" keys from Cara Lockwood's computer, quick, before she uses her power of parentheses for banal instead of good!)

Somewhere in the bloated narrative is the tale of one Lauren Crandell, put upon wedding planner. Lauren falls for bohunk firefighter Nick Corona, but jumps to the conclusion that he must be the fiance of her latest psycho bride, Darla. Although Nick blatantly comes on to her, Lauren continues to harbor the misconception for pages and pages, without it once crossing her mind to, oh, I don't know...ASK HIM if he's the groom?

This type of amateurish plotting foils the story. And the book isn't helped by several copy errors, such as mistaking "queue" for "cue." Sometimes the writer forgot what she already wrote -- when Lauren first sees what turns out to be the bohunk's brother, she is stuck by the resemblance (p. 34), but the next time she sees the brother, the resemblance is only superficial (p. 80). Add in some sound or look-alike names: Darla is the pyscho bride but Diane is the best friend; Robert is Diane's fiance, while Bobbie is the psycho hairdresser; G is the boss, while Jay is psycho bride's groom; Lauren is the heroine, Lily is her sister, and Lynda is the mother of the bride - and oy! instant splitting headache from trying to keep the names straight.

Some of the above would be forgiven if the story was absorbing, but the mistakes are the only thing I found keeping my attention as the narrator rambled on (and on and on and on).

There's some fun stuff buried beneath all the extraneous filler; Lauren tells some great bridal horror stories and it's always fun to go behind the scenes of a wedding not your own. However, wading through the unneccessary fluff takes far too much energy for what should be a fun, entertaining ride. At 335 pages, the book is easily 100 pages too long, and for this new author the kindest thing would have been to take a machete to her empty prose long before publishing.

If you are looking for a fun book about wedding planning and resulting disasters, I recommend "Shopaholic Ties the Knot" instead of I DO (BUT I DON'T).

Rating:
Summary: A Dream Come True
Review: i loved this book soo much, from beginning to end. I would want a hot, sexy fireman to come into my life like Nick did with Lauren. I loved this book so much and is my favorite book. I wish Cara Lockwood would write a sequal to this book, it is one i would definately read!!!

Rating:
Summary: I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!
Review: I loved this book! I orginally bought it to keep me occupied during my breaks from classes. Unfortunately, it never made it that far, I couldn't wait to read it so I picked it u one evening and I ended up reading the entire book that day. It was so good, I didn't want to put it down! I was even more amazed when I learned it was the author's first novel. That girl has some TALENT! I can't wait to read her future novels. I STRONGLY recommend this book.