DO OR DIE -- a summary and opinion

Today at the gym, I watched Killers -- a Katherine Heigl/Ashton Kutcher movie that pretty much works with the military-romance genre I love so much. Their characters could be right out of any of the books I read. The sequence of events could be out of any of the books I read. Like when Spencer backs out of the garage and his concern is Jen putting on her seatbelt..? Hello, Colby.

Another scene, straight out of HOT, or TITAN, or KGI, or Titanium Security, or any of those books?Jen runs off in KMart, and Spencer's stuck talking with a neighbor they run into. The neighbor is going on and on about how the block party is that night and Spencer's garage door, well, honestly, it's a sight and ought to be fixed before the party. Meanwhile, Spencer is trying to keep an eye on Jen, because they've been shot at and they're in the midst of a bit of a fight. When the neighbor continues his bellyaching, Spencer yells at him to not look at the eyesore of a garage, before running off to find Jen, at which point he then yells at her saying that he can't protect her when she runs away.

Oh! And then when they're in the bathroom and she's trying to take the pregnancy test but she can't pee because there's a lot more pressure with peeing on this stick than just peeing in the bathroom in front of her husband, it reminded me of another book where the hero and leading lady go into the convenience store and he tries following her in (and it's been bothering me ALL. DAY. Because I can't recall what book it is! I've gone through my Kindle and Nook, and even put out an S.O.S. on my Twitter). But this scene also reminds me of DO OR DIE when the store clerk bangs on the door and hollers "No sex, no sex!!".
 

So. Away from Killers, and into DO OR DIE.
 

Publication Date: February 4, 2014

DO OR DIE follows Ian Dunn as he's released from prison, against his wishes, to help solve a kidnapping case. He's in prison for a crime he did not commit, but he plead guilty to it. He is an ex-Navy SEAL who, rumor has it, is a con artist. He wasn't convicted of the jewelry heist he's rumored to have done, but after researching him and his past, Phoebe decides that it must be true -- but he didn't do it in a harm sort of way. Allegedly, from what she has gathered, he stole the already stolen goods and returned them to their rightful owners (at least to a place where they would be given to the correct parties). She pegs him as a modern-day Robin Hood.

Ian is a bit of an ass. He even states such later in the book. His sense of humor can border adolescent, but he's altogether a good guy. All he wants, really, is for his brother to live a full and happy life -- and in order to do that, Ian has to make sacrifices that he's really ok making.

What I liked about this book is that it warms up to the idea of an attraction between Phoebe and Ian. Oh, the attraction is there, but it's not even considered or acted upon until the characters truly get to know eachother more.

I love how Phoebe and Ian get under one another's skin, and that they take it with stride. They don't get their feelings hurt (unless it's a serious situation and Phoebe Gets. Out. Of. The. Van. again and again).

'Can you do me a huge favor?'

She immediately stepped toward him, fully embracing their new mature relationship. 'Of course.'

Ian looked pointedly over his own shoulder, and said, 'Tell me the truth. Does this car make my glowing ass look fat?'

She'd naturally followed the direction of his gaze, but now she looked up, hard, into his eyes. And she smiled back at him despite herself. She even laughed. 'You're an idiot.'

'When things get too serious, I get a rash.'

She pointedly looked back down at his nether regions, despite the fact that doing so made her blush. Still, she spoke cooly, dryly, 'Not on your ass.'

Later, the rash-on-ass comment gets brought up again, when the turn of events gets to be too serious again.

I love when he pushes her into the pool too..... It's a good scene. You should read it.

But really, I love the slow, easy progression of a relationship between Phoebe and Ian. It's slow and natural, and really, truly does blindside them both.

'It's a grand, beautiful, selfless sacrifice, so win/win, right? Plus, you're safe when you're in [prison]--same way you're safe when you're on a mission--because you're not yourself. It's not real, even if you let people get close. Kinda like what you're doing right now with Phoebe.'

Ian looked up at that, and Aaron laughed.

'Yeah, you really think I didn't know?' Aaron asked. 'And the stupid thing is that you have no clue, no idea just how much you honestly care about this woman. Or maybe you do, and that terrifies you. So you're just going to run your same old pattern with her. Use her, then push her away. You fucking coward.'

Anyway...

I had a difficult time getting into the story, but once I was three chapters in, I was super engrossed. But then, halfway through the first part I needed to put down the book and pick up a fun super easy read (LONG WAY HOME).

This book is a bit longer than your traditional contemporary romance; each part is about an average book, I would say. I did have to put the book down three or four times, which typically means I'm having a hard time staying in the book, but because of the length of this book, I needed to seperate myself and go elsewhere for time periods. Ultimately, though, I loved, loved this book. And because this book ends with a 'we'll just play this out by ear and see where it goes', I really want to read 'happily ever after' when it comes to "Eee" and "Pheebs".

Buy now for your Kindle or Nook.