Customer Reviews

Shut Up and Kiss Me

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Shut Up and Kiss Me centers on the small town of Precious Texas - but for many of the characters in this largely Native American/Hispanic town - it was anything but "precious". This book started out hilarious and within the first 6 pages had me grinning from ear to ear like a mad fool at some of the antics the characters had to endure especially poor Jose, who was one of many memorable secondary characters. He seemed to be on the receiving end of the funny (or not) torture dished out by the author upon her poor unsuspecting characters. Rushing home to Precious after his father Redfoot sustains a nasty head injury, poor Jose had a car crash, fire ants making a picnic out of his family jewels and then being sprayed by a skunk and that wasn't even half of what he had to endure on his first night back in his not so precious home town (his character must have seriously pissed Craig off while she was writing this book LOL!). Hopefully Jose merits his own story in a future installment about the citizens of Precious because I can't wait to see what additional torture Craig cooks up for him.

Shala Winters just wanted to do the job she was hired to do by the Mayor of Precious; take pictures that showcase the town and prepare a marketing campaign to turn this little town into a Texas tourist attraction. She hasn't been in town a day when her very expensive Nikon camera gets confiscated at the local Indian Pow-Wow by a headdress-wearing, loincloth sporting, hard-bodied, oiled-up bare-chested Adonis who makes her girl parts tingle. So Shala may have broken the strict "NO Picture" policy by not handing over her camera (heeelllo? it's worth $8,000) before attending the ceremony, but she didn't take the flash picture she's been accused of taking. And she certainly can't do her job if the pig-headed, hotter-than-a-firecracker thief won't give her back her camera for a week.

Sky Gomez *sigh*. Yes you may be surprised to learn that Sky is the name of the MALE lead character in Shut up and Kiss Me. Even though it's an unusual name for a man, it actually fits him and don't let his name fool you or deter you from picking up this book to read because he's all man. Sky doesn't believe all the mumbo-jumbo soul-mate crap his foster father Redfoot saw in a dream and has been spewing lately (mmmm wonder who that soul-mate might be?), but when he spies the blond in the crowd at the Pow-Wow, her camera in hand and then an incriminating flash, he senses that trouble is just beginning with the newest addition in Precious. And taking her camera hostage (even if he does believe she may not have been the culprit snapping a photo), he can't help getting a rise out of Shala because teasing her is just too damn much fun.

Who knew one little camera and it's potentially incriminating contents could cause so much havoc in this Precious town. A chain reaction of events puts Shala's life in danger and working together, Sky and Shala attempt to uncover why someone is so hot-to-trot to get their hands on Shala's camera bad enough that they are willing to kill for it.

Sky and Shala had such a fun, sexy relationship and sizzle-worthy hot romance. These two are by far the stars of the show, but the supporting characters are really well developed and contribute greatly to the overall story. You can't help but be captivated by Redfoot, Jose and Maria as well as the secretive best friend Lucas (who I hope gets his own story too!).

Shut up and Kiss Me is the perfect blend of a highly entertaining, funny yet suspenseful romance and if this book isn't on your TBR pile than you are missing out. Shut Up...and go buy this book!

Shala Winters was hired by the mayor of the small town of Precious, Texas to create and launch a PR campaign to draw some tourism to his struggling town, but there's no way she would've guessed that there was so little precious about Precious. Within the first twenty-four hours of being within the town's limits, Shala has had her lunch stolen and her leg amorously assaulted by a stray dog, her expensive camera stolen right out of her hands, been followed by a strange vehicle, had a whole town stonewall her, been accused of breaking the rules of a Native American ceremony, forced to dance disco in a disreputable establishment with a lecherous bar owner, pushed into a contentious disagreement with the sheriff of the town...who was the one who stole her camera and refused to give it back to her, almost assaulted by a man carrying a gun, cut her hand badly enough to need stitches, and was forced to go to a hospital, a place that had given her panic attacks since having watched her parents die in one when she was eight years old.

Shala is not having a good day.

Neither is the sheriff of the town, Sky Gomez. Everyone in town knows that his foster father had a spirit dream that pegged Shala as his soul mate even before she reached town, so Sky did what any dedicated bachelor who doesn't believe in love (let alone soul mates) would do (no matter how sexy Shala is). He avoided her like the plague. Sure, he followed her around town...no, not stalking...to keep an eye on her...that's really not stalking...because half the town was quite vocal about not wanting her there...so that definitely means it's not stalking! Then she gets eyeball to groin with him during a powwow and seems pretty enthusiastic about it with that camera of hers. That's against all sorts of his rules. So he confiscated it. Then the entire town starts calling his house to let him know that Blue Eyes is looking for both him and her camera before the spitfire herself shows up on his porch in all her gorgeous...if blathering...glory. Then his foster father is attacked during a break in at the lodge and his own house is almost broken into while he's at the hospital with him. And for some reason, Blue Eyes' camera seems to be the motivation behind all of it. Whatever Shala took a picture of has targeted her for danger and the assaults and danger keep coming. Sky's determined to keep the sexy woman safe and Shala just wants to leave. That's unacceptable to Sky and not just because he's the one who wanted her there to save the town.

With a fast and funny plot that provides a seemingly endless sequence of increasingly threatening events that include some not so funny situations, like a good friend being shot and almost killed and a man murdered, Shut Up and Kiss Me rockets out of the gate and doesn't slow down until the last page turns. The searing heat of a Texas summer pales in comparison to the fiery chemistry that sparks between the prickly and strong willed Shala and the protective and steady Sky. This particular unstoppable force and immovable object relationship provides a surprisingly wide variety of meaty exchanges that are at times sweet and other times sexy as hell as they start to fall for one another.

Around them, relationships of all sorts are also put to the test as the miles between an estranged father and son need to be breached and hearts have to be won for more than one couple. I have to admit, there's a lot that goes on in Shut Up and Kiss Me, and I really enjoyed all of it. I loved Sky and Shala and their relationship as it developed, but I wasn't as happy with the plot threads of his foster father's romance problems or those of Sky's foster sister. I didn't mind them for what they were, exactly, and they certainly added depth to the story as it was happening...not to mention I don't think I've ever read a character be as helplessly beat up as Jose was throughout this book, poor guy...but the resolution of all of those other issues felt, to me, to be a distraction to the conclusion of the suspenseful part of this story and a detriment to the romantic conclusion between Sky and Shala.

Still, the narrative is a fast, flowing, and surprisingly complex piece of work and the plot was built and developed with a lot of meat on its bones, not to mention a lot of really funny moments that made me laugh out loud (sorry, Jose, but mostly at your expense), and the relationship between Sky and Shala was sweet, at times endearingly bumbling, and sexy. I was surprised, actually, that the conclusion to the suspense was as dark as it was, given the tone of the rest of the book, and while I don't think it blended so well, it didn't detract from this charming and fun read.

Shut Up and Kiss Me was my first experience with Christie Craig's books but I can guarantee it won't be my last. This was a solid (if lighter than some) romantic suspense read that had many more comedic moments than I was anticipating. Very nice.

It was entertaining but definitely not in the same category as Evanovich. It had its humorous parts but mostly I felt that some of the characters were one dimensional. I didn't get a lot of the "whys" characters felt the way they did. Okay, she told us but it wasn't discussed amongst the hero and heroine and you never really felt it. I would read another but probably from the library.

This is an exciting, fast-moving story with intriguing characters and a little mystery and murder thrown in for good measure. The story is about love, regrets, secrets, stalking and Native American culture. The culture of an almost forgotten society - the belief of Council Elder Redfoot Darkwater and his spirits. Shala Winters is a photojournalist, living in Houston, Texas who has been hired by Major Johnson of Precious, Texas to put it on the map - bring tourism to the town. There are some that are not too thrilled that she is coming to their town and are very vocal in their protest.

Shala arrives in Precious just at the time the Native Americans are holding their annual powwow. The sign clearly states no cameras allowed. She is reluctant to leave her expensive Nikon camera at the gate and takes it with her, as it always happens when we disobey the rules, something goes wrong. A woman in the crowd takes a picture. Sky Gomez, one of the dancers, believes Shala has taken the picture and snags her camera and refuses to return it. After talking to the Tribal Council, she is told Sky has the camera and will return it in a week if she pays the asking fine - whatever it may be. She becomes angry and is determine to track him down and get her camera back. After running all over town, even going into the Funky Chicken Bar, doing a disco dance with one of the men, she is told where he lives. Arriving at his home, she demands the return of her camera. When Sky refuses, she calls 911 to have him arrested, this is where things become interesting. Sky Gomez is the Police Chief of Precious, Texas.

The book mainly centers around Sky and Shala and their love affair. However, the secondary characters Redfoot, Veronica. Jose, Maria, Matt and Lucas makes the story special. The story will keep you turning pages. You will laugh, cry and be completely confused as to what could possible happen next! Read the book to see how the story unfolds? What happens when Shala returns to Houston? Do they catch the bad guys? Who committed the murder?

Highly recommended. You will thoroughly enjoy Christie Craig's brand of humor. Look for other books she has written - you will enjoys those as well.

This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.

It's photojournalist Shala Winters's job to make the small town of Precious, Texas look appealing to tourists. Too bad her camera has been confiscated by the stubborn, infuriating, all-too-tempting chief of police, Sky Gomez. The sexy lawman refuses to hand over the Nikon, especially when it becomes clear someone's after whatever pictures Shala has stored on her camera.

A series of break-ins turn into attacks that lead to murder and Sky isn't about to let Shala out of his sight until the killer is caught. Danger's almost as powerful an aphrodisiac as love, but is there a future for a small-town cop and a motor-mouthed photojournalist? Maybe there is.... if Sky can get Shala to shut up and kiss him.

Nobody can mix romance, action, and humor quite like Christie Craig. Shut Up and Kiss Me is the latest gem from this wonderfully talented author and, like all of Ms. Craig's books, it shines. Both Shala and Sky are hard-working, generous souls with a lot of love to give. It was so much fun to watch them butt heads in the beginning, but it was even more of a pleasure to see them fall in love.

A cast of endearing secondary characters add another layer of charm to Shut Up and Kiss Me. I confess, I adored Sky's family and friends every bit as much as I did him and I sincerely hope Ms. Craig has a book planned for Sky's sexy, Scrabble-loving friend Lucas. All in all, I adored Shut Up and Kiss Me. There's a comfort in curling up with a book that you know will make you laugh, smile, and sigh and I plan on enjoying that bit of comfort with Shut Up and Kiss Me many times over.

Shayna
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Shala Winters is a photojournalist hired by the town of Precious. The town is made up predominately of Native Americans from the Chitiwa tribe. Her job is to capture the highlights of the town to increase tourism. Trouble is some of the town doesn't want her there.

When Shala's camera is confiscated, the real trouble begins. Someone is after her camera and it didn't matter if they killed in order to get it. Now that Shala's life is in danger, it's up to the Sheriff Sky Gomez to protect her. Little does he know how much this simple task will cost him.

SHUT UP AND KISS ME is my first experience with author Christie Craig and it won't be my last. There is so much going on in this book, but not so much that the story became lost or bogged down. Not only is there a love interest between Shala and Sky, but between Maria, Sky's foster sister, and Matt as well as Redfoot, Sky's foster father and Veronica. Normally I like the story to just focus on one couple, but this was done so well and I dearly loved all the characters.

It's my hope there will be another book with Lucas as the main character. He didn't find love in SHUT UP AND KISS ME and I was so hoping he would too.

This is my 5th book by this author and I love her books. This one does not disappoint. There is so much going on in this book that there is never a lull or a need to skip pages. The secondary stories are as interesting as the main. I highly recommend it.

I bought this book because I had read the two Divorced series books from Christie Craig and loved her style. The books build strong characters and have a nice plot line that is intriguing and easy to believe. I enjoyed the first two books so much I grabbed this one and was not let down. This is a great story!

From the first few pages I was hooked. I couldn't put this book down and stayed up late into the night to finish it. Very quick read with a lot of humour and great romantic suspense. After finishing this book and I went on and purchased more from Christie Craig. Would definately recommend this book

Really 3.5 stars. Not as good as some of the writer's other books, but a decent read nonetheless. The story arc for the H/h was acceptably hot and I cared about all the (many) secondary characters. But, in the end, there were too many characters and too many side storytelling diversions to make this an outstanding read. The jumping back and forth between characters' thoughts required too much work for this type of novel, and often the jumps seemed to happen just as the previous scene was about to get interesting. Sometimes the cut away worked, sometimes it felt abrupt, unexpected, and even annoying. Still, worth the Kindle price and the hours invested in reading because I did get interested in the leads and wanted to see their story play out to the HEA.