Two things before I tell you how I enjoyed this book. First, I have to say how lucky I was to start out this fun being-published adventure in a novella with Codi Gary and Jaclyn Hatcher (Kiss Me. Buy it. Read it. Today!). We were all beginners and having company on the journey was great. So, Codi’s a friend. She’s also smart and generous So I’m happy we’re friends.
Second, I’m hooked on tattoo shows. It all started with Miami Ink and Ami James. He (and the rest of the guys in that shop) looked like he might be the kind of guy Mom warned about. But he’s so smart. And tough. And artistic. And the stories of why people get tattoos…I was hooked. So this led to other shows: New York Ink (Ami and the boys in New York **see my tattoo shop tangent at the bottom of the post), Ink Master (Well, hello, Chris Nunez), and Tattoo Nightmares (Oh, hi, Tommy). I think watching Tattoo Nightmares should be required before anyone actually walks into a tattoo shop (along with a Breathalyzer). I was ready to say “Well, hello, Chase.”
So…Things Good Girls Don
‘t Do. When I read the first two items on the list (purple streaks in her hair, tattoo), I was pretty sure Codi had invaded my brain. Then Katie’s list and mine diverged, but as I read I could totally understand how the lessons she’d learned about how nice girls act could keep her from doing things she wanted to do, even things she needed to do like telling a cheating ex just exactly what she thought. Katie’s dealing with the difference in how the world sees her (sweet, perfectly behaved) and what she really wants. Enter tattoo artist Chase who has his own issues with the way people perceive him. And that history makes for a little rocky beginning between the good girl who’s not quite perfect and the bad boy who really isn’t so much.
If you like humor (and honestly, you should), Thing’s Good Girls Don’t Do has it. There’s also plenty of emotion. To avoid spoilers, I’ll say that both Katie and Chase face some hard conversations and coming through them helps both of them see more clearly who the people they love really are.
Here are two of my favorite quotes:
He couldn’t look away from her. “What am I?”
“You’re smart, and creative, and–”
He cut her off. “All of those things should be obvious. I run my own successful business and I can draw. I own one of the nicest houses in the area and I keep my nose clean. The only people who don’t know me are the people who don’t want to.”
And this made me laugh out loud. Oh, Chase, I feel your pain. City slickers unite!
“Stay close, city boy, and just listen for the sound of a rattle. Like a chickchick bzzz sound,” she said. “Oh, and watch for poison ivy.”
Looking around at the jungle of vegetation, he said, “What the hell does that look like?”
She pointed to a plant about a foot from his leg and he pictured his death by poisonous snakes and oozing sores.
To find out more about Codi and what she’s up to, visit her site: codigarysbooks.com. And here’s the book blurb:
Good girls don’t steal. Good girls don’t visit sex shops. Good girls don’t have one-night stands.
For Katie Conners, being a good girl just isn’t worth it anymore. It used to mean getting the life she always wanted. But that was before she got dumped and her ex got engaged to his rebound. So, after a bad day and one too many mojitos, Katie starts making a list of things a girl like her would never do, not in a million years . . .
As a tattoo artist with a monster motorcycle, Chase Trepasso isn’t the kind of guy you bring home to mom and dad.
And when he finds Katie’s list in a bar, he’s more than happy to help her check off a few items. Especially the ones on the naughtier side . . .
Katie’s more than tempted by Chase’s offer, as long as they keep things uncomplicated. But as they spend more time together, she may just wind up breaking the most important rule of all: Good girls don’t fall in love with bad boys.
Photographic souvenir/evidence
**Tangent goes here–> Because of my devotion to Ami and the boys, when RWA went to New York, I decided I had to visit Wooster Street Social Club. I mean, it’s in the same city. They tape the show there. Right? Sure. Except I’m all country mouse come to the big city, had never ridden the subway, much less by myself, and I was pretty sure there would be news reports of a woman found curled into the fetal position because she never found the right stop. But…I wanted to. I got on the subway, even after the train Google told me to get on was delayed because of an “incident” and I went to SoHo. I walked. I shopped. And then I turned a corner and lurked outside Wooster Street Social Club. I took a picture. I think if I’d known Codi then, we might have made it in the door.
Cheryl Harper Books 