Book Review: What I Love About You by Rachel Gibson

Summary (GoodReads):

GIMMEE A B-R-E-A-K!

Ex-high school cheerleader Natalie Cooper could once shake her pom-poms with the best of them. But she's paid for all that popularity—her husband's run off with what's left of their money and a twenty-year-old bimbo named Tiffany. Leaving Natalie to manage a photo store and having to see some pictures she, well, really shouldn't.

GIMMEE A S-H-O-T!

Then she comes toe-to-manly chest with Blake Junger. Exiled to a remote cabin in Truly, Idaho, Blake wants nothing to do with anyone. Instead, he's determined to struggle with his demons and win—all on his own. But the last thing he needs is Natalie distracting him with her luscious curves and breaking down the barriers of his heart.

GIMMEE YOUR H-E-A-R-T!

My Thoughts:

What I Love About You was a very sweet read, very quick and easy to read. I liked both Blake and Natalie, and Natalie's daughter Charlotte.

In fact, I think the relationship between Charlotte and Blake was probably what I liked best about about this story, they are each other's best friends and it's adorable.

Blake on his own? well he had issues, mainly his drinking which I don't think was handled all that well all the time - he has near daily stare downs with a bottle he keeps in his house, just to prove to himself that he can, which seems counterintuitive to me - and he could be a little mean sometimes, but over all he was a nice guy.

Natalie was more uptight but I appreciated she wanted to do the best for her kid in all circumstances, and really tried to make that happen. I also liked her job as a photographer and photo developer, it was fun when she was in the shop.

All in all, a solid novel, I enjoyed going back to Truly, Idaho and getting tangential updates on characters for past books.
1/2

Retro Friday (32) - Daisy is Back in Town by Rachel Gibson

At First Sight: Daisy Monroe left Lovett, Texas when she was 18 years old and never wanted to look back. She moved to Seattle with her husband and best friend Steven, and they raised their son Nathan there, quite content with their lives.

But on the heels of Steven's death after a long illness, Daisy knows it's time to make things right, to go back and tell the boy she once loved the truth of what happened 15 years ago, the reason why she married their best friend and left town. But Jack Parrish isn't a boy any more.

All those years ago, Jack lost his girl and his best friend and he has never forgiven or forgotten, and Daisy's being in town just serves him to put him on a bad mood, not only because of what happened before, but because even after everything he still wants Daisy as much as he ever did.

But everything changes once Daisy's secret is out: she was three months pregnant when she left, and Jack was the father. Hating Daisy more than ever, Jack endeavors to spend some time with his newly discovered son, namely that he stays for the summer and helps him out on the restoration garage he owns, and while Nathan isn't sure how he feels about his biological father, he does love cars, so the plan should work.. only that it also means Daisy and Jack will have to see a great deal of each other. 

Second Glance: I know a lot of people don't like Daisy is Back in Town - or at least they don't like it that much - but I have always thought it was a rather fun book. Granted, it was one of the first contemporaries I ever read and I tend to look back on those with a particular fondness.

That being said, I think its a good book on it's own, perhaps not Rachel Gibson's best but I've always been a sucker for the secret baby plot so this book totally played to my tastes, and I kind of liked the fact that Nathan was a bit older than usual with this plot device.

The relationship between Jack and Daisy has always been very physical and I really liked seeing how they had to let go of that a bit to learn to like each other as people again, to remember they were once best friends and in love apart from being in lust. Jack's anger is understandable and well played, I thought; and while what Daisy did was rather cowardly and she didn't handle things well, she was quite likable.

In my most recent re-read, I kind of grew annoyed a bit more with Daisy's sister Lily - who's own woes are a major secondary plot - but over all the secondary characters were well done, I particularly liked Jack's brother Billy.

Bottom Line: For me Daisy is Back in Town is a a comfort read. It might not be the most spectacular book out there but it will keep you entertained for a good while, and Gibson's style is easy to get into and the pages just fly by.
1/3

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! 

Retro Friday (3) - Simply Irresistible by Rachel Gibson

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time!

Not crazy about the cover, though

This week I chose Simply Irresistible by Rachel Gibson, and since I hadn't review it before, here it goes:

At First Sight: Running out on her wedding and leaving her groom at the altar was the last bad choice in a string or really bad life choices made by Georgeanne Howard, but it might also have been the wisest choice she had made yet. On her way out, she got a ride from bad boy hockey player John Kowalsky, who was leaving the reception at the same time as she. 

Without a fixed plan - and used to depending on other people for everything - Georgeanne is ready to tease and flirt her way into his letting her stay with him for a few days. But John isn't very receptive to the idea, mostly because her now jilted fiance is the owner of the team John plays for and a vindictive SOB. 

But the night was long, and both of them had too many demons too close to the surface. And so, after a night of wild sex, Georgeanne ended up dumped at the Sea-Tac airport with a plane ticket back to Texas and a broken heart. 

That day, when Georgie hit rock bottom, was the day she began to build her life back up and, 7 years later, she's the co-owner of a successful catering company, has a great life and a daughter she cherishes more than anything. And running into John at a charity event is a very unwelcome shock.

John has cleaned up his act as a bad boy, knowing he's damn lucky to be alive and healthy after all the reckless behavior and drinking he indulged in. He's surprised to see Georgie and - when she accidentally drops her check book - decides to drop by her house and return it to her. He's curious to see why she's still in Seattle, and what happened to her after he left her at the airport (not his finest moment, but he thought it was for the best). The last thing he expects to find there is a little six year old girl wearing a fluffy boa, pink cowboy boots and looking at him through blue eyes that are surprisingly like his own.

Second Glance: I first read Simply Irresistible many, many years ago. And I loved it. It holds up well to the re-read and the past of time (it's set in 1989 and 1996). I loved the story of John and Georgie, and loved learning all the things that happened to make them who they are. I loved how John simply falls in love with his daughter and strives to be a good father, even if he's clueless about what little girls do and his daughter scares the crap out of him (as in, I SO don't want to screw this up), and that there is some build up to their relationship. Lexie was an amazing character, one of the best written children ever. And I really liked seeing Georgie's transformation from flirt and tease to a responsible woman.

Woven in, there is also the story of Georgie and John's best friends. Mae Heron - co-owner of Heron Catering - was still trying to recover from the loss of her twin brother when she first met Georgie and hired her as cook for her business, and then Georgie and Lexie became her family, filling up a bit of the void left behind by Ray. Mae hates the jerky-jock type and, upon first meeting Hugh Miner, she's convinced he's just that type. Hugh is John's best friend - the goalie of their hockey team - and he's fascinated by Mae from their first meeting, and pursues her come hell or high water, even though she seems so disinterested. Their relationship is certainly one of the funniest things about this book.

Bottom Line: Over all, Simply Irresistible is lovely contemporary story that you can read, and read and read. It does start a little slowish, but it's fun all the way through.

2/3

Book Review: Any Man of Mine by Rachel Gibson

At First Sight: At 25, and following the death of her mother, all Autumn Haven wanted was to relax in Vegas and do all the silly, touristy things you can do in there. She didn't plan on running into Sam LeClaire. Already a successful hockey player based in Seattle, Sam was just looking at a few days of mindless entertainment in Vegas, anything to keep his mind occupied on a day that is difficult to him. But, from the moment he saw Autumn at a club, he became a little bit obsessed with having her.

A few days later, things had spiraled out of control, and their hook up ended up on a quickie marriage and a bitter divorce. And they would have rather never seen each other again, but with a young son between them that was impossible. Not that they didn't try to stay away from each other, but after a few years without seeing each other, an small work emergency (Autumn is an event planner) forces Autumn to be around Sam more than she had in years.

Having matured a little in the years past, and with the realization that he hasn't been the best of father - that in fact, he's turning into his own father - Sam is determined to do better by his son, which forces him an Autumn together, something that in turn forces them to examine their relationship and what exactly they feel for each other, even after all the years that have passed.

Second Glance: I was both reluctant and excited to read Any Man Of Mine, I'm a long time fan of Rachel Gibson, but I haven't loved her latest books. I'm happy to say that I liked Any Man of Mine a bit more. It wasn't exactly what I expected - for some reason I thought it was more of a secret baby plot - but it was a nice story. Gibson knows how to write a funny story, and I really liked how she wrote Conner - Sam and Autumn's son - and made him sound like a 5 year old.

I liked Autumn, I just did, even though she could hold a hell of a grudge for a really long time, usually I wouldn't like that, but I liked it on her because it made sense due to the stuff Sam had done to her in the past. Sam was harder, he was a big jerk for a large part of the book and his transformation was very slow (which sort of made sense for who he was, but I thought he was a jerk for more than half of the book, which put off some of the enjoyment).

But by the end, I was happy of how things had progressed. 

Bottom Line: Over all, I think that the characters could have been developed a bit more and a bit better, but I still enjoyed the book (though I did roll my eyes a few times). Some things were left hanging - sort of fell by the side and were forgotten and never explained, through out the story. But I did have a good time reading it. It was fun. Just not the best book by Rachel Gibson, but not so bad either.  

Cover Comment: I really liked this cover, mostly because Autumn it's supposed to look like that! The guy isn't really like Sam - because Sam is blond - but it's still nice. I like it better than the covers for the last couple books by this author. 

2/3

*This book comes out April 26th, 2011

Book Review: Nothing but Trouble by Rachel Gibson

At First Sight: Hockey legend Mark Bressler's career is over. He knows he's lucky to be alive after the the car crash that shattered half of the bones in his body and ended his career. And he is sort of glad to be alive, if it weren't because seeing his team win the Stanley Cup without him is a bit too hurtful. But he is getting along fine, and he would be better, if only his former bosses - who are still paying his medical bills - would stop sending home care workers to his door. 

The latest of such workers is Chelsea Ross, a failed actress who ran out of L.A. after one bad job too many and sought refuge with her sister Bo, who happens to work for the hockey team that used to employ Mark. Chelsea knows little of health care, but she has worked for her fair share of difficult characters and thinks she can stick it out for 3 months with Mark - in which case she gets a 10 thousand dollar bonus. 

None of them is happy with the situation, but they can't seem to resist the kind of trouble the other represents.

Second Glance:  Nothing But Trouble by Rachel Gibson is another story revolving around the Seattle Chinooks. Mark and Chelsea are both very likable characters. Mark is having a hard time looking at the bright side of things, he remains a strong character who wants to live the rest of his life with as much dignity as possible, even though playing hockey was the thing he loved the most before the accident. Chelsea has big plans, and I just generally liked her, she was vulnerable and resilient.

I did have a couple of hang ups with the book. One was that I never liked Chelsea's sister, even though Chelsea herself loved her. There was this part where Chelsea reveals why she wants the bonus and on what she's planning on using it, and Bo's reaction was just... let's just say that all I kept thinking was: "Really? You love your sister and this is all the compassion you have for her?". Which leads to my second hang up: everyone's reactions were way out of proportion. Mostly Bo's and Marks -once he finds out something - but really, it's like. Come on already! And I felt the ending came too quickly.

Bottom Line: Though, for me, Nothing But Trouble it's not up to par with Simply Irresistible or See Jane Score, it does have some of Gibson's trademark awesome writing. It feels very contemporary and it's just a nice book to read on any random afternoon.

1/2

True Love and Other Disasters by Rachel Gibson

At 30, Faith Duffy is both a widower and the owner of the Seattle Chinooks, her late husband's beloved hockey team; and she's not exactly sure what to do about either of those things. For the past five years she molded herself into being the perfect wife for her much older husband - whom she loved dearly as a friend, as he was the first man to offer her security - and without him she doesn't know who to be, she can't be a trophy wife anymore but she also can't and won't go back to being what she was before.

Faith has had it rough in her life, the daughter of a stripper she became one herself at the age of 18, to later become a playboy playmate and finally to marry a rich old guy; she knows most people think she's a gold digger but then those people didn't have her life and she doesn't regret what she has done survive.

Once Faith becomes more involved with the team she meets the Chinooks captain, Ty Savage. Ty is everything Faith's husband was not: young, vital and sexy; and at first Faith isn't sure she likes him though she does find him attractive as hell. And Ty, a driven man who has one goal in mind: to win the Stanley Cup. Well, he isn't indifferent to Faith either, much as he would like to be.

True Love and Other disasters is my least favorite out of Rachel Gibson's hockey books (Simply Irresistible and See Jane Score being the other two), but is by no means a bad book. I loved Faith right from the start, she doesn't have a deep, secret regret about her past life, she did what she had to do to survive and she cuts the crap pretty early on when she says:

Women who claimed they’d rather starve than strip had probably never had to make that choice

Faith, more than a former playmate or stripper, is just a woman trying to find herself and her own way and do the best she can and I really liked that about her.

Ty is a nice enough hero, but for me he lacked a little... I don't know, if page time or charm or what but he didn't quite measured up to John Kowalsky or Luc Martineu from Simply Irresistible and See Jane Score respectively.

Grade:
3/4

Lola Carlyle Reveals All by Rachel Gibson

Lola Carlyle once was a famous model and now is a successful lingerie designer, but when her ex boyfriend publishes some embarrassing photos of her on the internet, all Lola wants to do is escape. So she takes her dog, Baby Doll, and goes off to the Bahamas where she can relax. Max Zamora, on the other hand, wasn't there to relax, he was on a mission as a an undercover agent for the US Government.

They would never have met if not because Max steals the yacht were Lola was sleeping and is determined to get it to Florida.

From the start, Lola and Max have a rocky relationship but they come to respect and admire each other in one heck of a thrill ride as they try to reach safety. But once they are back on their normal lives, they still can't get out of each other's minds... but really, how much in common do a swimsuit model and an undercover agent have? Well, enough to make sparks fly.

I think this is one of my favorite books by Rachel Gibson, it has all the trademarks of her books: likable characters, good plot, good dialogue and sizzling chemistry. It also deals with the very serious subject of bulimia but in a way that it isn't preachy and yet it was quite real.

Grade: