Hot Damn, Thank You Ma'am! A Review of Shine, Not Burn by Elle Casey

In between reading heavy heart-wrenching books, watching Sons of Anarchy, working my desk job, being a mommy and just my every day awesomeness, I took the time to read this sweet little number Shine, Not Burn by Elle Casey.

In an effort not to give away any spoilers, I am going to include the book synopsis:

IT HAPPENED IN VEGAS.

I can't be held responsible. Things that happen there are supposed to stay there, right? Right? Yeeeah. Not so much.

Andie's just days away from tying the knot, but there's just ooooone little glitch. Apparently, she's already married. Or someone with her name is married to a guy out in Oregon of all places, and the courthouse won't issue her a marriage license until it's all cleared up. Tripping her way through cow pies and country songs to meet up with a man who gets around places on horseback is her very last idea of how to have a good time, but if she's going to get married, make partner at the firm, and have two point five kids before she's thirty-five, she needs to get to the bottom of this snafu and fix it quick ... before her fiance finds out and everything she's been working toward goes up in flames.

Sounds good, right? Right! I loved Andie. A little part of me wants to be Andie when I grow up. See, she's a well-educated, career-driven, goal-oriented woman. But somewhere along the way, she lost her spunk. Her zest for life. Her joie de vivre (and yes, that is how it is spelled). And she lost it by doing all the things she thought she wanted to with her life. But what I loved about her is that she finds it all again! I won't say how (lots of hot sex) and I won't say where (West of the Mississippi). I will say that a certain Dixie Chicks song came to mind and I will post it HERE:

All in all, I found Shine, Not Burn to be a sweet read. It was a good love story with strong character development. I feel that it was well written and it really kept my interest.There was a lot of humor infused into the story line and I found myself laughing as much as I was gasping. And the hot stuff? Whoa Nelly - it was hot!

One of my favorite lines from the book is this:

"I can't let you go because you're mine. And because I can't stand to see you sad. I'm going to fix that. You sure you don't need me in there right now? I could cheer you up real quick, I promise." - Mack

 I truly enjoyed getting to know Andie and her friends and I hope to see more from some of the other characters and their journeys to their HEAs. And now, I must go find some cowboys on the Pinterest...for research purposes, of course!