Review - - The Art of Running in Heels

The Art of Running in Heels

By Rachel Gibson

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: December 26, 2017
Reviewed by Janga

 

This book opens with characters beloved by fans of Rachel Gibson’s Chinooks Hockey Team series—John and Georgie Kowalsky (Simply Irresistible, 1998). The couple is watching Gettin’ Hitched, a reality TV show that is an exaggerated version of The Bachelor. They don’t expect to see their oldest daughter Lexie as one of the contestants. They are even more surprised to see where her appearance leads.

It seemed like a good idea to Lexie at the time. Her plan was to appear on the reality show to get some free publicity for her doggie couture business, Yum Yum’s Closet (Really!), and the plan worked. Business is growing. So is Lexie’s panic at the idea of marrying a man she doesn’t love on national television. When her best friend offers to help her escape fifteen minutes before the wedding is scheduled to begin, Lexie agrees. She becomes a runaway bride, one that people throughout the country are looking for everywhere--except in Sandspit, British Columbia, Canada, the scheduled stop for the chartered floatplane that Lexie boards, thanks to another old friend who owns the plane.

Sean Knox has chartered a floatplane to Sandspit because it is the quickest way to get in and out of the small town where his mother lives. It is strictly a duty visit. After growing up the victim of his mother’s hypochondria until his uncle rescued him, he is inured to her announcements that her death is imminent. He certainly never expects the “emergency” passenger who keeps his plane waiting to be his coach’s daughter in a poufy wedding-dress and five-inch stilettos. It is surprising that she doesn’t recognize him as the newest trade on her father’s hockey team, but he is not about to tell her who he is.

Since Sean is the only person Lexie knows (sort of) in Sandspit, she nags him into having lunch with her and letting her visit his mother. Sean and Lexie don’t like each other much, but they do have undeniable chemistry. It is hardly a surprise that they agree on a one-night stand. Despite their belief that one night will be the end, no reader will be surprised that the tabloids are tipped off that the Getting Hitched no-show bride is arriving in Seattle. The world, or at least that significant part of it that follows Gettin’ Hitched, sees Lexie as a heartbreaker; her business is tanking from all the negative response. Just when it seems that she may salvage her reputation and her company, a tabloid photo of her with an unidentifiable Sean surfaces, and the hunt is on to discover the mystery man. Lexie’s not happy when she realizes Sean’s deception, but she hopes a fake “Lexie and Sean, the perfect couple” presentation will solve her image problems. But the complications are just beginning.

I love Simply Irresistible, and the younger Lexie Kowalsky is one of the reasons I do. I was super excited when I learned that The Art of Running in High Heels was her story. I’m sad to report that I liked her better as a kid than I did as an adult. The grown-up Lexie is still too much the wild child, too opportunistic, and too careless of others’ feelings to be a heroine for whom I could root without reservations. I particularly disliked her lies to her parents.

I didn’t like Sean much for the first part of the book, but he improves once the fake relationship begins. He is essentially a good guy with some baggage that has left him with unresolved issues. Considering that he is forced to lie to the man who is not only the father of his fake fiancée but also his coach—and one who is just beginning to view him more favorably—Sean earns points for his behavior. He and Lexie are opposites in some basic ways, and I remained skeptical that all those differences could be resolved happily. Sean’s epiphany came too quickly and with too little evidence that his reserve had been breached to make a believer of me.

Maybe I was expecting too much from this book. Maybe I have aged out of the audience for romance with a wild and crazy element. Regardless, although this is not a bad book, it just didn’t leave me with a desire to reread it and to read more Gibson the way that the first-generation Chinooks books did. My favorite parts of the novel were the scenes with John and Georgie.

If you read and enjoyed the earlier Chinook books, particularly Simply Irresistible, I recommend that you read this book. You may find it a worthier successor than I did. If you haven’t read Gibson but like hockey-star heroes or impetuous heroines with obvious flaws, this one may lead you to a massive glom. I’m not sorry I read The Art of Running in Heels, but I won’t be adding it to my Rachel Gibson keepers.

Review - - Just Kiss Me

Just Kiss Me

By Rachel Gibson

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: July 26, 2016

 

Vivien Leigh Rochet grew up in Charleston surrounded by the city’s elite, old wealth rooted deeply in South Carolina soil, but she was the perennial outsider. Not only could she not trace her family back to colonial Charleston, but she was the daughter of a bipolar mother who worked as a housekeeper for a prominent family, the Whitley-Schulers. She left to chase California dreams at eighteen and has rarely returned. In fact, it has been three years since her last visit. Although Vivien has achieved phenomenal success as the sexy star of the Raffle dystopia films, she is not returning in triumph but in grief. She has come to Charleston to bury her mother, whose unexpected death at fifty has left Vivien devastated and all too aware that she is now alone.

Henry Whitley-Schuler (or perhaps it is Harrison Whitley-Schuler—the blurb says Harrison; the ARC says Henry) is the elder of Eleanor “Nonnie” Whitley-Schuler’s two sons. He has been the perfect son, meeting his mother’s expectations and following her dictates for most of his life. Things began changing when Henry, a Wall Street marvel, had a stress-induced heart attack at thirty-three. He exchanged New York for Charleston, suits for jeans and tees, and set up shop as a builder of custom furniture and restoration craftsman. But the changes in lifestyle did not include a refusal to continue as his mother’s secret keeper and protector of the family name.

The Whitley-Schulers rally around Vivien for her mother’s funeral, but when Spencer, Henry’s younger brother, gets too chummy with her at the post-funeral reception, Nonnie instructs Henry to distract Vivien. Henry remembers Vivien as a chubby snoop who uncovered some of his most closely guarded secrets, but he definitely is attracted to the grown-up Vivien, who seems to reciprocate with enthusiasm. Distracting her is not an onerous task. However, when great sex turns into making love, Henry realizes he is into this relationship heart over head. Unfortunately, all those secrets are enough to jeopardize any HEA.

Just Kiss Me is the first book from Rachel Gibson in almost two years, and I was elated when I received an ARC. I’m a long-time fan of Gibson’s trademark blend of humor and pathos and her skill at balancing sexy scenes with emotional appeal. It saddens me to report that this book failed to live up to my expectations.

First, there is the confusion about the hero’s name. I’m not a reader who usually complains about errors in ARCs. The publishers make clear that advance readers are reading a copy that has not gone through final edits, and I assume that errors will be addressed before publication. But I found it terribly distracting to wonder each time the hero was named if he were Henry or Harrison. For me, the two names evoke very different images.

I really liked Vivien. I found her to be a fully dimensional, sympathetic character. I thought Henry/Harrison was less likeable, but his being locked into his role as family secret keeper was credible, particularly since it began at such an early age. I adored Spence and hope he gets his own book, and Nonnie was close enough to some former Southern belles I know that I found her believable even in her inconsistencies. But I never bought into Vivien and Henry as forever lovers—a major problem in a romance. There is certainly ample sizzle between them, and they have a shared history. But I found the emotional development of their relationship thin and unsatisfying, consisting of more telling than showing. The ending seemed abrupt with no real resolution to the problem.

So, final verdict: Just Kiss Me is a book with some clear strengths, but it is disappointing in the development of the central relationship. I’ll keep an eye out for Spence’s book, but this one will not be added to my collection of Gibson keepers.

 ~Janga

Review - - What I Love About You

What I Love About You

By Rachel Gibson

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: August 26, 2014

Blake Junger, former Navy SEAL and identical twin brother of Beau Junger (Run to You), has bought a 4,000-square-foot house in Truly, Idaho, that promises a tax write-off and the solitude he needs to battle Johnnie Walker, the toughest fight he’s faced even with his twenty-year history as a member of the Navy’s elite special operations force. Alcohol used to be just a way to relax between war zone assignments, but as a civilian—and one in denial about his PTSD episodes—Blake had become dependent on the booze to help him cope. Brother Beau escorted him to rehab, and Blake is thankful to be sixty-two days into sobriety. But the only thing he bought in the program that the rehab doctors and counselors were selling is that alcohol is an enemy that will kill him. Blake is not convinced that he needs to avoid alcohol, to join a twelve-step program, or to attend daily meetings. Winning is in his DNA, and he believes he can win this battle too, win it alone and on his terms. He is on the verge of heeding Johnnie Walker’s seductive call when his solitude is invaded by a five-year-old, ponytailed blonde who insists that she is a “weally fast hoss” named Bow Tie. She is not at all intimidated by Blake, and she does not hesitate to call him on his foul mouth. Before he knows what is happening, Blake finds himself going timeshares with a puppy and entertaining lustful thoughts about the mother of the horse named Bow Tie, aka Charlotte Elizabeth Cooper.

Natalie Cooper, former cheerleader and former homecoming queen, was once half of Truly’s most celebrated couple, a royal pair who were expected to have a life crowned with success and happiness. Instead her husband embezzled money from people who trusted him and planned on abandoning Natalie, finally pregnant after ten years of marriage, and fleeing the country with another woman. Before he could execute his plan, he was arrested and sent to prison. Now divorced, Natalie is a single mother who owns a photography studio and is focused on ensuring that the irrepressible Charlotte is safe and happy. She has no time for her arrogant, expletive-spewing neighbor, no matter how sexy she finds the rough-edged warrior.

The more Blake and Natalie determine to avoid one another, the more fate conspires to throw them together. With each meeting, the sexual tension ratchets higher. Of course, resistance is futile, but Blake is terrified when he finds himself falling in love with Natalie and her daughter. No matter how great the sex is between him and Natalie, he is not a guy who makes commitments. Heartbreak seems more likely than an HEA.

What I Love About You is a typical Rachel Gibson book with wounded characters, lots of amusing dialogue, and a high sizzle factor. Blake’s battle with alcohol is real, and it is complicated even further by his personal history and a lifetime of believing he cannot allow himself to be vulnerable. Natalie, who believed in her husband until the facts slapped her into reality, is understandably wary of men. Her life is further complicated by her ex’s release from prison. He is apparently a reformed man, intent on reclaiming his family.

I really enjoyed Run to You and looked forward to Blake’s story. There is much to like about this novel. Blake is sometimes an alpha jerk, but even in his worst moments, he evokes a certain sympathy. Natalie’s combination of strength and vulnerability allows her easily to win readers’ hearts. Charlotte and the puppy are delightful, as is Natalie’s best friend Lilah. Long-time Gibson fans will be pleased that not only do Blake’s twin Beau and his Stella show up in Truly but Sadie Hollowell and Vince Haven (Rescue Me) and the Allegrezas (Truly Madly Yours) and the Hennesseys (Tangled Up in You) also make brief appearances.

Some of these references are a bit like catching inside jokes. For example, the Allegrezas are the former owners of the house Blake buys, something that will pass unnoticed by readers unfamiliar with the earlier Truly books. I should also point out to those who depend on series list to read books in order that even though What I Love About You directly follows Rescue Me, Blake’s story is listed in the Truly, Idaho series while Beau’s story is in the Lovett, Texas series.

If you have enjoyed Gibson’s other books or if you like your romance fiction with a high sensuality quotient and commitment-phobic heroes, I think you will like this book. Other readers may find themselves wishing for less sizzle and more scenes with the characters working out their problems.

~Janga

Jane Scores Very Highly Indeed!

by Anna Campbell

Are you a fan of sports romances? When I started writing romance, I targeted Harlequin and the wisdom back then (the 1980s and 1990s) was that sports romances don't sell.

Hmm, not sure if that's the case anymore. I've noticed that it's a growing genre!

It's weird that I'm so fond of these stories. I'm not a huge sports fan, but I love a good romance set in the world of elite athletes and the women who tame them. Football definitely isn't my thing, for example, but I'd crawl on hands and knees over broken glass to get the latest Susan Elizabeth Phillips Chicago Stars book.

I'm particularly looking forward to my Bandita Buddy Anna Sugden's debut with Harlequin SuperRomance, A PERFECT DISTRACTION set around Anna's beloved hockey players. I'm writing this review a bit ahead of time so I still have a couple of months to wait for Anna's first book! 

So while I'm waiting, I picked up Rachel Gibson's SEE JANE SCORE, book 2 of her Seattle Chinooks series (book 1 is SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE which has now joined my TBR pile after I had such fun with Jane).

This was a really fun read and it had a few nice surprises along the way. Jane Alcott (brings to mind pictures of LITTLE WOMEN and JANE EYRE!) is an outwardly staid 30-year-old journalist who moonlights as Honey Pie, an erotic diarist for a men's magazine. When the book opens, life in Seattle really isn't taking her anywhere. Romance is disappointing. Her career is pottering along without hitting the heights. Until she gets the opportunity to travel with the Chinooks as a sports reporter. Jane, who is a pretty gutsy girl, jumps at the chance.

Unfortunately, the team doesn't want her along. They go out of their way to isolate her, stymie her reporting efforts, and make her feel uncomfortable - there are a couple of very funny scenes when Jane forces her way into the locker room after a game. Jane's particular bugbear is highly paid French Canadian goalie Luc Martineau. As far as Jane's concerned, Luc's good looks are only skin deep. Which is a pity when she develops a Mount Rainier size crush on him, despite her poor opinion of his behavior and his principles.

Luc is a man on a mission. He's on the comeback trail after injury and a pain medication addiction. He knows that as he's now in his thirties, his place with the Chinooks is his last chance to make it big in hockey. Not only that, he's struggling to make a home for a much younger sister who treats him as a hostile stranger. With all this going on, the last thing he wants or needs is a smart-mouthed, prickly, repressed (he has no idea she writes erotica!) woman who rubs him up the wrong way but who he can't get out of his head.

Yep, you got it. This is an attraction of opposites romance. I always enjoy those. I love it when people who outwardly have nothing in common end up making huge beneficial changes in the other person's life. I love watching the hero and heroine fall in love, usually gradually and always against their will with the last person they ever thought they'd want. I love the way this particular trope lends itself to clever, snarky dialogue. SEE JANE SCORE definitely 'scores' in the dialogue department. You'll find yourself laughing out loud as Jane and Luc battle desperately to put the other person in their place - which as far as each of them is concerned is on the next continent. 

I mentioned a few surprises along the way. I won't spoil the story by listing them, but one of the many things I really liked is that, unlike the pattern of many sports stories, Luc is pretty together, it's Jane who needs to undergo the biggest life lessons. Often in these books, the males are the wild cards, but in this case, Luc's already undergone his baptism of fire with all he went through before joining the Chinooks. He's refreshingly sensible for a romance hero!

As you can probably gather, Jane scored a hit for me. I suspect she would for you too!

So are you a fan of sports stories? Any favorites? Any theories as to why they're flavor of the month now, whereas ten or so years ago, they were a hard sell?

Review -- Rescue Me

Rescue Me

By Rachel Gibson

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: May 29, 2012

Sadie Jo Hollowell grew up in Lovett, Texas, but left shortly after graduating because she felt there wasn’t much there for her. Her beauty queen mother passed away when she was five and Sadie had never been close to her rancher father. For years, she tried her best to make him happy, but quickly learned he was impossible to please. So Sadie left without a backward glance. She saw her father every few years and that was enough to satisfy them both. Sadie returns to Lovett for the first time in five years to be in her cousin’s wedding. She doesn’t particularly want to go to the wedding (and wants to wear the bright pink dress even less) because she is still single and knows that everyone in the small town will comment on it, as usual. But family is family, so she honors the request. She’ll go and then head back home to Arizona. 

When she arrives at the entrance to her father’s ranch, she sees a handsome man stranded on the side of the road next to a truck with its hood up. At first she attempts to drive right on by (after all, she is alone on an isolated road), but her Texas-bred hospitality won’t let her. She gives him a lift into town, but not without first checking his license (and phoning his info to a friend) and letting him know she’s armed with a stun gun (which is a total lie). He thanks her when she drops him off and tells her that if there’s any way he can repay her to let him know. Sadie bites the bullet and asks him to take her to her cousin’s wedding...but he turns her down flat. 

Former Navy SEAL Vince Haven doesn’t turn Sadie down because he isn’t attracted to her—far from it. He tends to shy away from women who aren’t trouble-free and Sadie seems everything but. He comes to Lovett at the request of his aunt who owns the local Gas and Go. Aunt Luraleen said she had a proposition for him and Vince believes she wants help fixing the place up. Instead, she wants to retire and offers to sell the gas station to him. Because Vince is good at turning places over for profit, he agrees to buy it and stay in Lovett for awhile. When Sadie ends up staying in town longer than planned, Vince thinks that perhaps they can enjoy a simple no-strings-attached relationship. He quickly learns that very little is kept secret while living in a small town...which isn’t necessarily good for someone who has secrets he’d like to keep. 

Rescue Me is my introduction to Rachel Gibson’s books and I am so glad I “found” her! With one book I have fallen in love with her charismatic writing and distinctive characters. Sadie and Vince are completely realistic individuals who stole my heart. Vince is a hot, sexy alpha hero and Sadie has the moxie to match him. I felt for them both in regards to their fathers. Sadie and her father had a challenging relationship—an emotional tug of war that she always lost—while Vince’s father walked out on his family when Vince was ten leaving a very vulnerable little boy without a dad. Sadie and Vince are two wandering souls who find solace and an intrinsic connection with the other. Their exchanges are sensuous, mature, and extremely sexy. Oh, and I loved Sadie’s take on men: 

She didn’t need a man for his money. She needed him for other things she couldn’t do for herself like lift heavy object and knock boots. 

Simple, but it was always shocking how many guys weren’t great at knocking boots. Which was just baffling. Wasn’t sex their number one job? Even above actually having a job? 

Filled with charming secondary characters and cute phrases such as, Bless your heart and You’re just as cute as a bug’s ear, Rachel Gibson’s Rescue Me is sure to please. It was so much fun that I could not put it down. I highly recommend it!

~Andrea

Guest Review - - Any Man of Mine

Any Man of Mine
By Rachel Gibson
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: April 26, 2011

What happens in Vegas can have consequences that last for years. What happened to Autumn Haven and Sam LeClaire was a quick marriage and a quicker divorce. The consequence is named Conner, and he’s six years old.

Once a paternity test proved Conner was his, Sam has provided financially for his son, but in all other ways his failure as a father has been as colossal as his failure as a husband. Since meetings between Sam and Autumn tend to be acrimonious, they have become experts at avoiding one another. But when recently retired hockey star Ty Savage marries Chinooks owner Faith Duffy (True Love and Other Disasters), Autumn, the wedding planner, and Sam, a Chinooks star, have to be in the same place at the same time. A glitch in Autumn’s childcare arrangements gives Sam the unexpected opportunity to prove that he can be the father to Conner that Sam’s father never was to him.

Autumn knows Conner needs his dad, but she has good reason to distrust Sam’s promises. Even when Sam shows that he’s determined to be permanently involved in Conner’s life, Autumn fights not to allow him reentry to her heart. But reason and resolution are poor defenses against the chemistry between these two characters, and the fire that reignites once they are seeing one another again burns even hotter than it did in Vegas.

I don’t like hockey, but I’m a big fan of Rachel Gibson’s hockey books. See Jane Score, Chinooks Book #2, remains my favorite of Gibson’s popular, but Any Man of Mine is a terrific addition to the tales of the Chinooks. Reunion and redemption are my favorite themes in romance novels, and Sam and Autumn’s story is a splendid example of both. It is not a story of misunderstandings that can be addressed with clearer communication. There’s no way around the fact that Sam has been a real jerk. His behavior is reminiscent of news stories about real life superstar athletes. For the story to work, the reader has to believe that Sam has changed and matured. Gibson makes it easy to believe because the changes are not instantaneous and they are revealed within the contexts of who Sam is and what his life has been.

Autumn’s change is less dramatic than Sam’s, but no less crucial. The Vegas experience transformed her from a naïve young woman to a disillusioned single mother who struggles with residual anger and bitterness. She must learn not only to trust Sam again but also to trust herself and her judgment. Conner adds to the power of the story because he seems to be a real little boy who loves his mother but needs his daddy in his life.

Fans of the earlier Chinook books will recognize Sam and will be pleased to catch glimpses of Ty and Faith’s wedding, but Any Man of Mine can easily be read as a stand-alone novel. The focus of the story remains on Sam and Autumn, their past, and their attempt to build a future. It is a story that tugs at the heart, offers flashes of humor, and sizzles with Gibson’s usual flair for love scenes. If you’ve never read Gibson, AMOM is a good place to begin. I’m betting you’ll then want to glom her backlist.

It is rumored that this is the last of the Chinooks series, but I hope there will be at least one more connected book. I really want to know what happens to Autumn’s protective brother.

~Janga

Review - - Nothing But Trouble

Nothing But Trouble
By Rachel Gibson
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: April 27, 2010




She’s back and better than ever! Another funny, sexy, steamy hockey book from 2009 RITA-Award-winning and NYT Bestselling author, Rachel Gibson hits the stands April 27th and it’s terrific!

Chelsea Ross’s acting career has been a total bust. The closest she ever came to stardom was her brilliant performance as “Pretty Dead Girl #1.” But leaving Hollywood to become the personal assistant to a famous hockey player could be her stupidest career move ever.

Injured superstar Mark Bressler’s glory days are over. The bad-boy ex-jock could at least be civil to the pint-sized, pink-haired bombshell who the Seattle Chinooks hired to be his P.A. If Chelsea didn’t need the money, she’d be running from the world’s biggest jerk as fast as her feet could carry her.

Mark Bressler has spent his entire life working toward one goal: winning the most prestigious award in professional hockey - the Stanley Cup. Captain of the Seattle Chinooks, Mark and his team are well on their way to achieving that goal when a patch of black ice that sends Mark’s car careening out of control leaves him lucky to be alive but ends his hockey career forever. Now, the bitter, brooding man, who more closely resembles an angry, injured bear, secludes himself at home, watching his teammates hoist the cup without him while sending every home health nurse the team assigns to him heading for the hills. Until the day she arrives.

     “Have you eaten lunch?” 
     He moved across the marble floor to the stainless-steel refrigerator. He opened it up and pulled out a bottle of water. “No.” Short and perky had never been his type. “Have I met you before?”
     “Do you watch The Bold and the Beautiful?”
     “The what?”
     She laughed. “If you’re hungry, I could make you a sandwich.”
     “No.”
     “Even though I don’t officially start until tomorrow, I could manage soup.”
     “I said no.” He tilted the water to his lips and looked at her over the end of the clear plastic. The bottom of her hair really was a weird shade. Not quite red and not quite pink, and he had to wonder if she’d dyed the carpet to match the curtains. A few years ago, a Chinooks’ fan had dyed her pubes blue and green to show her support. Mark hadn’t seen the woman up close and personal, but he had seen the photos.
     “Well, you just turned down a once-in-a-lifetime offer. I never cook for my employer. It sets a bad precedent, and to be totally honest, I suck in the kitchen,” she said through a big grin, which might have been cute if it wasn’t so annoying.
     God, he hated cheerful people. Time to piss her off and get her to leave. “You don’t sound Russian.”
     “I’m not.”
     He lowered the bottle as he lowered his gaze to her orange leather jacket. “So why are you dressed like you’re just off the boat?”
     She glanced down at her dress and pointed out, It’s my Pucci.”
     Mark was pretty sure she hadn’t said “pussy,” but it had sure sounded like it. “I’m going to go blind looking at you.”
     She glanced up and the corners of her blue eyes narrowed. He couldn’t tell if she was about to laugh or yell. “That’s not very nice.”
     “I’m not very nice.”
     “Not very politically correct either.”
     “Now there’s something that keeps me awake at night.” He took another drink. He was tired and hungry and wanted to sit down before he fell down. Maybe nod off during a court TV show. In fact, he was missing Judge Joe Brown. He pointed toward the front of the house. “The door’s that way. Don’t let it hit your ass on your way out.”
     She laughed again as if she was a few bricks short. “I like you. I think we’re going to get along great.”

From the moment Chelsea enters the story, the electricity between her and Mark leaps from the page.  First adversaries, then so much more, watching them face off against one another is the most fun I've had in ages.  With banter that is witty, snappy and non-stop, I found myself glued to the story from beginning to end.

In Chelsea Ross's life, it's all about the boobs and she's tired of it.  Tired of the sore shoulders and aching back.  Tired of being cast in roles based on her cup size rather than her acting ability and of being hit on by her employers.  After explaining to her latest boss that blow jobs are not part of her job description, she leaves LA for Seattle where her twin sister lands her the job as Mark Bressler's personal assistant, a position Mark neither requested nor wants.  But Chelsea is determined to convince him that he needs her services because, no matter how arrogant, condescending or downright obnoxious he is, Chelsea is there to stay for the agreed-upon three months.  At the end of that time, she'll collect her $10,000 bonus from the Chinooks, have the breast reduction surgery she's wanted for years and head back to Hollywood where, finally, she hopes to be taken seriously as an actress.  But plans change, feelings grow and now Chelsea must figure out a way to explain the bonus to Mark without him thinking that she's stayed with him solely for the money...just like his ex-wife.

Although I'm an admitted sports junkie who loves football and hockey, you don't have to be a fan of sports to be a fan of this book.  Anyone can relate to someone who is facing the loss of their life's dream. I adored the pairing of Mark and Chelsea.  To throw this short, spunky, slightly off-beat whirlwind into the life of a grouchy, down-in-the-dumps, injured jock and acknowledged womanizer is pure genius...and pure pleasure.  I also appreciated the fact that Gibson didn't tone down the language or the realities of a professional athlete's life in deference to gentler sensibilities.  She accurately reflects the locker room talk between athletes (anyone with sons or brothers will recognize the juvenile humor they never seem to outgrow) without overdoing it or making it gratuitous and the acceptance of the sexual favors that are theirs for the taking (only the singles accept).  While our news headlines are filled with stories of professional athletes who cheat on their wives, Gibson's heroes reflect the other side of the coin:  those athletes who have a respectful, protective, all-consuming love for the one special woman who holds their heart.  Fans of the Chinooks will enjoy catching up with characters from previous books as well as meeting new ones who I fervently hope will one day have their own stories told. 

Now is the perfect time to step onto the ice and take a spin with one of Rachel Gibson's hot, sexy hockey heroes.  I highly recommend Nothing But Trouble!

~PJ