So, on my Kindle I am about 65% into the book. No where in the description of this book does it say anything about LGBTQ. While I do not mind having a gay guy as a best friend, why are you making half of the secondary characters gay? If I wanted an LGBTQ romance, I would request it. Are you bowing to PC? Why?

My Review - Ready to Run is just as advertised with a delightful mixture of The Runaway Bride and The Bachelor. Jordan’s job as a producer is to convince Luke, a firefighter who left three women at the alter, to be the next big star for the TV show Jilted, a similar concept to The Bachelor. Jordan and her colleague, Simon, go to Lucky Hollow, small town Mayberry, to ask Luke personally to be the first bachelor of the new show. Luke has not responded to Jordan’s calls or texts. Thus, the need to visit him personally.

Luke is not the guy Jordan expected. He is a gentleman, trustworthy and loyal without being arrogant. And, he avoids her for the half of the book. Luke does not want his life opened up to the television viewing community. But, he cannot help but fall for Jordan. Their connection is immediate. He begins to see her as truly a small town girl with a big heart. Yet, he is struggling with trusting her completely.

To make matters worse for Luke, the whole town is helping Jordan, including two of the women he left at the altar. The third ex no longer lives in LH. Jordan, too, is trusting and loyal, more so than Luke. She fits right in with his small town community.

This is another sensual Lauren Layne book that is super enjoyable. Layne is one of my favorite authors writing with a good combination of heart, love and true feelings. What I did not like is that Layne may be trying to be too PC. About half of the secondary characters are LGBTQ, nothing more than light kissing, but if I wanted an LGBTQ book, I would request one.

I've read a couple of books from this author, and I really enjoy them. I was excited to be invited to review one of her books on NetGalley, and although it took a bit to finally develop, I really enjoyed Ready to Run. Loved the sleepy town of Lucky Hollow and all of the great people who made it a hysterical place to live. Luke was a gentleman who put the feelings of the three brides he supposedly left at the alter first. Jordan was a pushy producer from New York who was just what Luke needed. Loved Weston and Luna, could definitely picture Luke's house sitting there on the lake front property. The story definitely took turns I wasn't expecting, totally had the storyline going in a different direction, so that gave some intrigue for me. Really great start to the series.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC copy of this book.

Everything Lauren Layne writes is pure genius :) This series is no exception.

In the market for a light, humorous and romantic read. Then pick up Ready to Run. Trust me, you will not be disappointed by this book. I giggled from page one and this book did something that most romance/humor books don’t do to me….got belly laughs. Between Jordan and Simon’s witty banter to the townspeople of Lucky Hollow pushing Luke into accepting Jordan’s offer, I was amused almost the whole book.

The plotline of Ready to Run was very interesting and I could actually see a TV show like Jilted being picked up by a network. I thought it was pretty interesting at the lengths Jordan was prepared to go to have Luke agree to star on the show. I mean, she was willing to go track down his ex-fiancees to get the dirty about why Luke was a runaway groom. She even rented a house in town just to be close to him and hopefully wear him down.

The nuances of small town life were perfectly captured also. It made me want to pack up and move to such a town. I live in a smallish city (population around 40k) and I have always wondered what it would be like to live in a small town where everyone knew everyone. I thought it was hilarious that the townspeople were not only siding with Jordan but were also trying to play matchmaker between them.

I liked Jordan. She was sassy, thought on her feet and wasn’t afraid to show or tell Luke what she thought of him. Her back story was very sad…when she got around to revealing it. She loved the city….with all of its hustle and bustle but secretly wanted to live in a small town again. I think she fell in love with Lucky Hollow before she fell for Luke. The only thing that I didn’t like about her was that she did come off as almost teenagerish at points in the book. But that is such a small detail to the book and overall, she was a pretty fleshed out character.

Luke, I liked but I found it a little hard to connect with him. Understandably, he didn’t want to take about his ex’s but he was really rude to Jordan. He even called her a vulture at one point in the book. But, he did have a reason for being a jerk and it was really sad. Let’s just say that it involves his best friend and his ex and leave it at that. But I did end up liking him towards the end of the book. He did something very unexpected that gave me warm fuzzy feelings inside.

I do have to give a shout out to the secondary characters in Ready to Run. They truly made this book. While Luke and Jordan did a great job on the romance angle, it was the secondary characters that really fleshed the book out. I could only wish to have a best friend as supportive as Simon or ex’s as great as Hailey and Stacey or a family member who wasn’t afraid to tell you how it was like Tawny and all of the other characters.

The romance between Luke and Jordan wasn’t a slow-burn and it did have a touch of Instalove. But it was cute to watch them both fight it and then give in. And when they gave in….the sex was hot. What I liked is that the sex wasn’t overly descriptive (and don’t get me wrong, I like that but sometimes a change of pace is needed) and you got to use your imagination as what happened between the sheets.

The end of the book was perfect and I loved the epilogue. If I was Jordan, I would have been nervous too. Want to know what I’m talking about….read the book!!

How many stars will I give Ready to Run: 4

Why: great storyline, great characters, and a sweet romance

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Language and sex

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

<a href="http://laurenlayne.com">Lauren Layne</a> is writing a Bachelor type series and <em>Ready to Run</em> is the first book. It follows our heroine Jordan Carpenter as she makes her way to a small town Lucky Hollow in Montana to try to get firefighter Luke Elliot to join the cast of her upcoming Bachelor type reality show called Jilted...as the bachelor. Jilted is a reality show that will help runaway grooms find true love.

Jordan can't figure out why this guy wouldn't want to join the show. Who would walk away from that much money? Apparently, Luke Elliot has no problem walking away from the money and her. He just wants to live his life out of the limelight and wants nothing to do with a tv show, a big shot city slicker and he doesn't want his personal life and the reasons he walked away from each of his exes to be public knowledge. He had a good life and he didn't want strangers all up in his business.

Jordan is trying to make a name for herself in the television business and her boss is really excited about this new reality show. If she wants to move up the corporate business ladder, she's got to land a heartthrob that viewers will connect with and Luke is the perfect candidate for that. It's too bad he wants nothing to do with Jilted.

The romance between these two was kind of more of the same that you normally get from Lauren Layne. She writes a lot of those hate-to-love romances and while I liked Luke and Jordan, they weren't my favorite hate-to-love couple of Layne's. Jordan was chasing a guy for a tv show with no good reason for not giving up and moving on. She kept pressing this guy even though he made it plain that he wasn't going to change his mind. She set up camp in his hometown and infiltrated his family, his friends and expected him to what? Be elated? Come on now...

Luke was not happy about the fact that he was attracted to this woman who wanted to turn his life into a freaking circus but damn, the attraction was there and it was strong as hell. The longer she stuck around, the more pissed off he became because the attraction wasn't anything he planned on acting on but the more time that he spends trying to dodge her, the more he realizes that there's more to this city girl than meets the eye. His interest in her grows and feelings creep up because this is a romance novel and even though this isn't my favorite Lauren Layne novel, it still held the charm and warmth that I've come to expect from a Lauren Layne book.

I'm definitely interested in reading the other books in this series and I've got my fingers crossed that we'll get to see some of my favorite characters from this book in those ones. I really did like the small town of Lucky Hollow.

<strong>Grade: 3.5 out of 5</strong>

Great story of a hot firefighter/runaway groom and a television associate producer determined to get him to agree to a reality show. They meet in small town Montana and sparks fly. Will he agree to the show or will her career take a hit?

"Small towns were different. They could reach inside of you and demand everything."

I love, love, love, loved this book. Did I mention that I loved this book? Ready to Run was such an incredible and fun read, it's honestly one of the most fun I've had reading in a very long time. From the moment I read the synopsis and got my hands on this book, I just knew this was going to be a fun and different read. The story-line is totally unique and I loved the idea of having a runaway groom. It was so refreshing and different. The plot sucked me in and I devoured this book in just a few short hours. 

Ready to Run is a fabulous read from beginning to end. From an original plot to the small town setting. To the broody lead male and scorching hot chemistry. To the sweet, sweet romance, entertaining banter and just the right mix of angst, this book is the perfect summer read.

Ready to Run is the first book in the exciting new series I Do, I Don't from author Lauren Layne, and I can tell you that she definitely knocked it out of the park with this one. Simply put, this book was a really enjoyable read and I am super excited to see where this series is going to go next!

4.5 stars!
When I need a really good “Calgon take me away” kind of book. You know, the kind of book that you can completely escape your own world, and jump into a romance novel world kinda book? Well that author for me has always been Lauren Layne. She has been one of my very favorite authors for a long time, and continues to be my favorite with her fabulous writing and story telling skills. She draws you completely in with her characters and story. I own and have read almost all of her books/series. (With the exception of this book, which is an advanced copy). If I haven’t read one, it’s definitely on my “to-read Goodreads” list.
At first when I started reading this book, I wasn’t so sure I’d like the characters… glamorous blonde, New York girl with gay male best friend… I’ve read that story a hundred times. But this one was refreshing and totally different from all the others I realized as I kept reading.
The characters aren’t so perfect as you might think from the beginning. They are real and flawed. After I read through one-fourth of the book I just didn’t want to put it down. I was hooked quite simply. The story was new and fresh, and had some added humor, which made me smile. The characters, whom some of them I didn’t really like in the beginning, I fell in love with by the end, and finally understood them.
I loved this first book in this series and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next one.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys contemporary romance and is looking for a great book to read.
*A special thank you to NetGalley, Random House-Loveswept Publishing, and the author Lauren Layne, for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.*

I have terribly mixed feelings about this book. The premise: A television producer (Jordan), in effort to cast the lead in “Jilted,” a new reality show about runaway grooms, swoops down from Manhattan to Little Hollow, Montana to convince firefighter (Luke) to bare his three matrimonial near-misses to all of America. In exchange Jordan promises he’ll get to date a couple dozen women “hand-picked” for him. And to find True Love, Reality TV-style.

Little Hollow and it denizens are of course charming and mystifyingly welcoming to Jordan, who is struggling to reconcile her own small-town roots and its bittersweet memories with her current big city life where she’s supposedly livin’ the dream.

I struggled with Jordan. Not only because she was willing to stalk a stranger and broadcast his romantic pain to the world in order to secure her job, but because she’s kind of boring. Her friends—her boss, her colleague Simon as well as the besties she makes in Little Hollow—were way more interesting. And Luke is funny in a mildly sarcastic way, riddled with pain from his past relationships, undeniably sexy and entirely too tolerant of this invasion of his privacy. It’s clear from the beginning that he’s not the bad guy and that things are seldom what they seem, even if Jordan doesn’t get it. Before we reach our HEA both must confront their pasts but for me at least, that wasn’t particularly compelling.

As I said, I struggled because Lauren Layne is a favorite of mine. But not “Ready to Run.”
ARC provided for an honest review.

I almost filed READY TO RUN into my 'your hero is my zero' shelf but.. said hero wasn't quite <b>that</b> terrible. But it was a close call.

"<i>These people already adore you. I know, because I asked.</i>"
"<b>I've barely even talked to them.</b>"
"<i>Yeah, but they can smell your small town roots.</i>"
"<b>Yuck.</b>"

Wow, so, I completely did not expect to be so unmoved by this story. It's got a great premise and it surprised me by the direction it went. Which, I mean, sometimes surprises are good. And this one was. However it was everything else that bugged me. The constant city vs country stuff which, okay, fine, a few times but.. ease up a bit on it. And then, basically, Luke always.

"<i>Want to talk about it?</i>"
"<b>Yeah, absolutely. But first, do you think you could put on some Celine Dion? Someone that can best express what I'm feeling in a nice ballad?</b>"

Between the constant little jokes about writing in his diary, listening to sad music, and trying to identify with his feelings, I was over it. Yeah you're a big strong fireman. You're hot. You have this mystery around your three ex women. Move along. Actually maybe that was just my problem with the whole story. Repetition over convincing Luke to do the show. Repetition over Jordan reconnecting with the small town life she left behind. Repetition over Luke being broody and misunderstood. Repetition over Luke being an asshole to Jordan, sometimes outright mean (and one stunning moment of him throwing something in her face and then saying 'they aren't done', I mean, really? fuck off) and accusing her of all sorts of underhanded or shady things.

"<i>Here's what I'm wondering : how you got three different women to be <b>interested</b> in you, much less agree to marry you.</i>" <--- me too, sweetie.

What I did like was the small town and the closeknit characters. I totally felt the love, the heartbreak, the need to keep certain things secret from outsiders, to protect, even poke fun, even the mystery surrounding the identify of one of the almost brides, the reason why another relationship had failed (basically all of the ones except the most recent which was being built up to have the most baggage and biggest reveal which, I mean, fine, but I liked the first two reasons better). Jordan's gay bestie Simon was also a delight.

"<i>I watered that weird plant in the corner.</i>"
"<b>It's fake, Simon.</b>"
"<i>Shit. Well, okay, I'll try to swing by later, make sure there's not a leaky mess.</i>"

But everything else.. I mean, even though Luke was the bigger more frustrating letdown, I never really liked Jordan much, either. I'll probably read on in the series because they will only be loosely connected by the reality show (I assume..) but if you're looking for the classic kind of Layne chemistry ala WALK OF SHAME or any of the sexy hijinks or hilarity of her <i>Sex, Love & Stiletto</i> series and spinoffs, you might not find it here. I sure didn't.

2.5 "I wish hetero sex didn't gross me out, I'd love to be a fly on the wall when he pushes you up against it" stars

Another perfect read from Lauren Layne. Can't wait to read the next title in the series.

I'm so glad that I was introduced to Lauren Layne by Loveswept! Ready to Run is now the sixth book I've read by her, mostly because I read the Oxford Series and  Walk of Shame. I'm learning that Layne is quickly becoming a go to author. She constantly provides sweet, feel good stories that always keeps me intrigued.

Ready to Run was really fun because of the way Jordan and Luke start out. He wants absolutely nothing to do with the reality show that she keeps trying to recruit him for. He comes off as a brooding hot fire fighter when in fact he's probably one of the most loyal and lovable men out of them all. The banter between these two had me laughing. Jordan didn't want to give up on recruiting Luke. She's persistent and tenacious but she's just as stubborn as he is. They had this delicious enemies to lovers progression with explosive sexual tension that sucked me in from start to finish.

I also really enjoyed the small town feel of Luke's friends and family from where he lives. They are all involved in everyone else's business but they all love and support each other. The way they accepted Jordan into their lives was sweet. I enjoyed the way they latched on to her and kept giving  her small intel into Luke. Subtle pushing on their end.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. If you are looking for some good old small town charm with a sexy firefighter, feisty city girl, lots of sexual tension and some fun laughs, then this is the book for you. And if you haven't read Lauren Layne before, you need to. She has become one of my escape artists that I go to when I want to cleanse my palate from my love of dark books and just read a happy and good feeling book.

Lauren Layne writes such fun stories with witty dialogue and some scorching hot sexy times!

Jordan Carpenter is a TV network producer working to create a show, Jilted, which would be somewhat like The Bachelor, with a twist. Lucky Luke Elliott is considered the top candidate for the show but unfortunately, he wants nothing to do with it and initially with Jordan. As he continues to turn down her offers, Jordan is enjoying the small town and its inhabitants and making friends everywhere she goes. Luke calls her City Girl and assumes she will run back to Manhattan as quickly as possible.

As Jordan questions Luke’s friends and some exes, she learns a few details but some major ones aren’t being shared. It’s difficult to imagine that this gorgeous Montana firefighter has been stood up at the alter three times! There’s a little angst with the third bride but for the most part, the story is mostly a fun read.

Things aren’t what they seem and as the story unfolds, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the town and the characters. Everyone wanted Luke to move on and find love and worked to put him and Jordan together.

Jordan’s friend and co-worker, Simon travels with her for any legal questions and contracts. He’s obviously gay and proud of it and just so hilarious I couldn’t stop laughing.

The end of the story was so beautiful and I couldn’t believe what Luke offered to do for Jordan – pure sweetness and love! Another entertaining hit from Ms. Layne and look forward to the next book in this series.

Thanks to Ms Layne, the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

This was truly an enjoyable book. It was hard to put it down after I started reading it. The plot and the characters were well thought out and highly believable. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone.

This author continues to write great stories with developed but nuanced characters, which I really enjoy as a reader .

Jordan Carpenter has spent her entire adult life running from her small town roots only to end up smack in the middle of another small town. She wants nothing more than to get back to her life in New York, but first she has to talk firefighter Luke Hollow into starring in her new reality TV show.

It should be easy, but Luke isn't who Jordan imagined him to be. He's not easily swayed by reality or fame. He's actually a decent guy who has no interest in reliving his three failed attempts at getting married on TV. There's more to his story than Jordan expected, and getting to know Luke has Jordan reconsidering her city girl ways.

Once again, Lauren Layne has proved to me why she's one of my favorite contemporary romance writers. Ready to Run was a delight to read. This romantic comedy was a fresh take on the whole bride/wedding genre. It really was a combination of The Bachelor meets The Runaway Bride, but it didn't feel like a copy of those two. Ready to Run was a story of its own. I loved very minute of it!

Jordan and Luke were such fun characters. They had an amazing love-hate relationship going on. Jordan was sassy and head strung. She knew what she wanted and had no problems going for it -- until she got to know Luke. Luke was a total surprise to Jordan. He had the looks she was expecting, but his story wasn't what it seemed. He resented Jordan invading his life, but he couldn't stay away from her. They had some serious sparks and it made this romance exciting.

Ready to Run wouldn't have been quite as entertaining as it was if it wasn't for Luke's amazing small town friends and Jordan's big city sidekick. All of the people in Luke's town had big personalities. They weren't over the top, but perfect to showcase the tight-knit community Luke lived in. Jordan's co-worker and bestie Simon added to the fun with pushing and prodding of her. Everyone was just so much fun!

Obviously, I had a fantastic time reading Ready to Run. It was exactly what I love in a contemporary romance, and it started out the I Do, I Don't series in the best way possible. Bravo, Lauren Layne! I can't wait to read the next book!

I honestly read playboy firefighter in the synopsis and couldn't click that 'request' button fast enough. I had really high expectations for this book, and it definitely didn't disappoint. It's got the hate-to-love trope which I absolutely love. And then the small-town romance which I'll never get over. Falling in love with this book was a no-brainer.
I honestly wasn't a big fan of Jordan's at first. I understand her going to Lucky Hollow to find Luke. I admired her resolve and persistence initially. But her badgering after Luke's pretty obvious rejection to participate in the show was sort of cringe-worthy.
But besides that, I fell in love with Lucky Hollow and its people myself. I love how Jordan just instantly clicked with the ex-brides. I LOVED THAT. Everyone was so incredibly nice and sweet and it reminded me so much of the town I live in.
I loved the country fair part!! When Luke and Jordan volunteered to work at the kissing booth and both were hell-bent on making the other one jealous. It was so much fun to read!!
Simon's probably my favorite character, though. I was always looking forward to his scenes. I'd constantly find myself laughing so damn hard whenever he's around Jordan or just literally talking to her over the phone:
"Yes, I watered that weird plant in the corner."
"It's fake, Simon."
"Shit. Well, okay, I'll try to swing by later, make sure there's not a leaky mess. Your neighbor's cute."
"Straight."
"Damn; figures..."

I LOVE HIM!!!
Then, of course, there's Luke, who I honestly can't ignore any longer. How could I?? He's amazing. UGHH he's so friggin charming and sweet and, well, okay. HE'S A FIREFIGHTER. We can't ignore the elephant in the room, now, can we?
"Nobody was inside?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Nope."
"Not even a pet."
He have a little smile. "You were hoping to see me saving a cat?"
"Have you?" She smiled back. "Saved a cat?"
He winced and looked away and she gasped. "Oh my God, you have, haven't you? You've saved a freaking cat..."

I loved at the end when Luke was dead-serious about him transferring to the NYFD. THAT MADE MY HEART SKIP A BEAT AND LITERALLY GO NUTS.
*Too busy melting into a puddle of goo to actually swoon*
Overall, I loved the plot. Totally refreshing and original! Loved the writing style and the characters. My only problem was the ending, which was amazing but, well, I expected more than a wedding, to be honest! And as I previously said, I had a small problem understanding Jordan at first.

I really enjoy all of Lauren Layne’s books. She has spunky, cool heroines who have witty relationships with hunky guys who turn out to be great boyfriend material. That’s what I enjoy in reading romances.

I wasn’t all that enthralled with the premise of a “Bachelor-” type show based on a guy who has jilted women before but is now going to pick a new girlfriend. Ugh! I don’t like “The Bachelor” and who wants to watch a guy who has already jilted women set up in fake situations to pick another unlucky woman. Jordan has flown out to Montana to try and convince Luke, who has left three brides, to do the show.

Luke turns out to be a hot fireman and there is more to him than the sentence that he left three brides. And there is more to his story. He is absolutely adamant that he doesn’t want to do the show, but Jordan stays around to try to convince him.

Once the book moves away from the reality-show premise and gets more into Jordan learning how much she likes this little town and the friends she’s making there while falling for the hot guy, the more I liked the book. Luke doesn’t want to be attracted to Jordan, but they can’t help what they start to feel for each other.

The whole novel ended up being much better than the premise and thumbnail plot summary of how New York City Jordan and small-town Luke meet and fall in love and find their HEA.

I was given a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

"The Batchelor meets the Runaway Bride" so true! I didn't think i would like this book because I'm not a massive reality show watcher but I loved this book! The story was based around a reality TV show where the men have jilted their brides at the alter.

It was fun, refreshing and I am looking forward to reading many more of Lauren Layne's books. This was the first book of Lauren's that i have read but I'm now wondering why i hadn't read the rest before!

If you want to read something that has similarities to a RomCom movie then i suggest you read this now!

Thank you Lauren for bringing your writing to the masses!