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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 (Ratmammy@lofton.org)
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