Review: Run to You by Rachel Gibson

Publish Date: September 24, 2013
Kindle {p. 384}
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Lovett, Texas #4
Source: Publisher
Estella Immaculata Leon-Hollowell, Beau Junger

Rachel Gibson, New York Times bestselling author of Rescue Me, returns to Texas for the second of her Military Men series, with the tale of what happens when a tough guy meets his match--and falls harder than a ton of red-hot bricks. . .

From Rachel Gibson, New York Times bestselling author of Rescue Me, comes her latest sexy contemporary novel, featuring a hot Navy SEAL and a woman on the run

The story was too fast-paced to form any real connection with the characters. Both Stella and Beau felt like very flat, one-dimensional characters that didn't have any depth.

Stella and Beau had a very short timeframe of knowing each other, but ended up falling in love with each other. No, that's not unheard of, but them falling in love in the amount of time it takes one to drive from Florida to Texas is a bit of a stretch. And by the end, they're talking marriage when they haven't even been on a single date.

I truly wanted to like this book, but other than a few entertaining moments between Beau and his brother Blake, and Beau and his flashbang, I just wasn't feeling it. Which is disappointing because I loved her Writer Friends series.

Review: Any Man of Mine by Rachel Gibson

Any Man of Mine
Rachel Gibson
Series: Chinooks Hockey Team #6
Publisher: HarperCollins Avon
Publication Date: April 26, 2011
Kindle {p.373}
Source: Publisher/Net Galley
Genre: Contemporary
Characters: Autumn Haven, Sam LeClaire
Challenge: 100+, Summer Romance

What happens in Vegas . . . doesn't always stay there.

Autumn Haven's Las Vegas "to-do" list said to catch a show and play the slots—not wake up married to a sexy jerk like Sam LeClaire. The first moment she saw him eyeing her like a luscious piece of the dessert buffet, her usually responsible self told her to run. And she did—right into the wildest fantasy weekend of her life. But Monday morning jolted her back to reality, and before she could say "pass the coffee," Sam was gone.

Now a successful wedding planner, Autumn hasn't clapped eyes on the heartbreaking hockey superstar for over two years . . . until she organizes his teammate's "Special Day," where Sam makes a big play to pick up where he left off! But she has vowed any man of hers plays for keeps. Is Sam the man for her or does she banish him to the sin bin forever?

This is the first book I’ve read in Rachel Gibson’s Chinook series although I’ve read most of her Writer Friends series.

Any Man of Mine was an enjoyable read, although it started out a little slow to me. Autumn and Sam didn’t really have much of a relationship outside of their son and the bedroom. The two of them falling back in love again didn’t seem to have any basis. I understood her hesitation to truly trust Sam again after the way their marriage ended. They rarely spoke to each other outside of scheduling time for Sam to spend with their son, Conner.

I did enjoy the flashback scenes of Autumn and Sam’s first meeting. The sex between them seemed to be really good but that’s about it. Sam and Autumn were both great people on their own, but lacked something together. It didn’t quite come across as all that believable that Autumn was able to forgive Sam for not only the way he treated her, but also his lack of involvement in their son’s life.

Review: Tangled Up In You by Rachel Gibson

Tangled Up In You
Rachel Gibson {Blog | Facebook | Myspace}
Series: Writer Friends #3
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: July 31, 2007
Audio Book {9 hrs}
Source: Public Library
Genre: Contemporary
Characters: Madeline Jones, Mick Hennessey
Challenge: 100+, Whisper Stories
My Rating:

Maddie is determined to uncover the untold story about the town's sordid past—her past. As a child, Maddie lost everything, and now she's back at the scene of the scandal—a local establishment that's always belonged to the Hennessys—determined to uncover the truth, and nothing is going to stand in her way. Especially not a black-haired, blue-eyed Hennessy.

Everyone in Truly knows that the Hennessy men are irresistible, and the current owner, Mick, is no exception. His late father was a skirt-chasing heartbreaker who ended up causing disaster for two families. So far, Mick's managed to keep the ladies in line, but when he claps eyes on Maddie, with her luscious curves and tempting lips, he can't resist getting tangled up with her.

But Maddie is keeping secrets, not the least of which is her true reason for being in town. And when Mick discovers what‘s really going on, there is going to be a whole lot of trouble in Truly.

Madeline goes to Truly, Idaho in an effort to get answers about her mother’s death for her true crime novel. There she meets the children of the man her mother was having an affair with, whose wife killed them both and then herself.

Maddie doesn’t expect to like Mick because she assumes he’s just like his cheating father. But after spending time with him, she not only likes him, but starts to love him.

Mick and his sister Meg seem to have two totally different ways of dealing with what their mother did all those years ago. Meg is constantly reliving it, trying to justify her mother’s actions, while Mick wants to forget it ever happened. It isn’t until he finds out the true identity of Maddie, that she is the daughter of the “waitress” that his mother killed for sleeping with his father that Mick starts to really deal with what happened to his parents.

I really liked Maddie. She was very likeable and Ms. Gibson did a great job in getting the reader to know Maddie. I enjoyed her quirky, funny analogies and sense of humor. She was very independent and let Mick know from the start that she wasn’t looking for the white picket fence of happily ever after.

Rachel Gibson’s style of writing keeps you fully engrossed in the story, but laughing along the way.

Read by Nicole Poole

Duration: 9 hours

Recorded Books

The narrator had a somewhat dry tone, but it went with some of the dry humor of the story. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the narrator, but she’s not one of those chipper upbeat narrators. Her tone reminds me a little of the late Kate Fleming.

Review: Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson

Title: Not Another Bad Date 
Series: Writer Friends #4
Published: May 2008
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Public Library
Format: Audio Book
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Characters: Adele Harris, Zach Zemaitis
My Rating:

Heat Level: 2/5
Synopsis:

What does a gal have to do to get a good date in this town?

Adele Harris can't even begin to answer that question. She's had so many lousy dates that she's sure she's cursed. Why else would every man she goes out with suddenly act like he's lost his mind—and his manners? Adele thought life couldn't get any more confusing . . . until she learns the marriage of her seemingly Miss Perfect sister is on the rocks. So she goes back to their hometown to give her a shoulder to cry on, only to run smack into Zach Zemaitis . . . the one who got away.

Texans love God, family, and football, though not always in that order

Zach, a former pro star, knows all about football. As for the other two, well, he's doing his best. But when Adele comes charging back into his life—still all lush curves and beautiful, big blue eyes—he wonders if his best is good enough. After all, he did her wrong. Can a woman with her track record ever really believe that he's serious this time . . . or is he destined to be another bad date?

This was my first Rachel Gibson book, and I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. I went into this audiobook thinking it would be a quick lite listen to pass the time.

Adele, who has been cursed with bad dates, moves back to Texas to care for her pregnant sister and runs into her first love from college, Zach. Adele is indeed cursed with bad dates caused by her high school nemesis, who also happens to be Zach's deceased wife Devon. Zach seems to be the only man the curse does not work on. So all of Devon's plotting against Adele backfires in the end of course. She does go on a couple of bad dates while in Texas, with one the most memorable dates suggesting that she call up some of her girlfriends so they can make a "skin sandwich" in which he would provide the meat.

The story kept great pace and kept me laughing along the way. some of which could be attributed to the narrator and the Texas accent she tried to provide. Not a bad first Rachel Gibson read for me, so I'll be reading more from her soon.

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