I really enjoyed this book. I wondered about the characters when I wasn't reading it, which is the mark of particularly good characterization for me. However, I feel like the ending was a little rushed, and I'm hoping that we see Rob and Kate in future books, just so we know how they're doing.

On second read, I changed my rating from 4 stars to 3. I don’t particularly care for books in which the hero’s redemption arc is entirely due to the heroine cutting him some slack. And in this case, Rob’s redemption arc is nonexistent. He doesn’t step up as a father, and he doesn’t do anything to improve his relationship with his ex (who is a very straw-woman character). Not keeping this one.

oof. that was rough. Skipped a lot of the middle. ( )

The Trouble with Valentine's Day
3.5 Stars

Series Note: This is book #2 in Gospel, Idaho and book #3 in Chinooks Hockey Team. That said, the connection to both of these series is rather superficial in that the setting is Gospel and the hero is a former team member. Consequently, the book can easily be read as a standalone.

The small town setting is charming and the couple is likable enough with solid chemistry. Unfortunately, the book contains several less than enjoyable tropes.

To begin with, Rob's past as a serial womanizer who cheated on his one again/off again wife/girlfriend does not make him the most appealing of heroes. Moreover, he has a daughter with his ex, and even considers getting back together with her, which undermines the romance.

Kate has hang ups of her own particularly when it comes to trusting men and her past experiences as a private investigator are woefully underutilized in the story.

All in all, an entertaining enough read overall, but this is not the best example of Gibson's storytelling skills and it is not recommended to those who are new to her writing.

( )

I originally picked this up because it was billed to me as a chubby heroine book, but really, she is just tall. I appreciated some of the angst in the beginning (I like books where there hero initially rejects the heroine) but really, the hero was just kind of an ass to her. He's not a bad person, just a jerk, with a little bit of a lean towards misogyny. I like alpha heroes and angsty storylines, but with this one, I just wanted to say to the heroine, "Honey, please. Stop."

It's tales like this that make women believe that a jerk man will come around if they just put up with his crap long enough. ( )

Really liked the beginning and first half of the story. A couple things were getting on my nerves as the story progressed: Rob drives a HUMMER. Ok, I get the author is plugging HUMMER for some reason. After you read about the HUMMER 55 times and it is all in capital letters, it starts to bug a person. HUMMER, HUMMER, HUMMER! The story started to slow in the middle but I did enjoy the romance of Rob's mother and Kate's grandfather. It was very sweet. When the hero finally starts admitting his feelings to himself and the heroine, it is very reminiscent of the 80's movie When Harry Met Sally where Harry is admitting to Sally at the end why he loves her. It still was a good declaration, but it did seem similar to me. I still give it 3.5/5 ( )