"The Trouble with Valentine's Day" By: Rachel Gibson Review

"The Trouble with Valentine's Day"

By: Rachel Gibson

Synopsis from GoodReads:

Dumped by her boyfriend, stressed out by her job, Kate Hamilton needs to regroup and get back some self-esteem. She moves from the bright lights of Las Vegas to the wilderness of Gospel, Idaho for some small-town fun. But when her first attempted seduction of a hunky stranger is completely rejected, she wonders what else could possibly go wrong?

Well, for starters she quickly realizes that the Mountain Mama Crafters Original Poetry reading is about as good as it gets on a Friday night. Then she comes face to face with Rob Sutter, former ice hockey madman, owner of Sutter's Sports—and the hunky stranger who told her to get lost!

Rob's been more than burned by love—but then he and Kate find themselves in an ultra-compromising position in the M & S Market after-hours, giving the phrase "clean-up in aisle five" a whole new meaning, and cause a whole lot of gossip in Gospel..

My Thoughts:

      Rachel Gibson is hands down one of my favorite contemporary romance authors. She writes witty dialogue with great characters and wonderful plot, all the while making you smile as the romance develops. “The Trouble with Valentine's Day” is the third title in her Chinooks series about hockey players and keeps up a wonderful series.

     Kate Hamilton begins the novel in a bar on Valentine's Day, never a place anyone that's single wants to be. She decides to take life in her hands and actually propositions a cute man sitting next to her. When he turns her down she's embarrassed, but is mortified to learn when she arrives in Gospel, Idaho, the very same man owns the store next to her Grandfather's grocery store.

     Rob Sutter is a retired hockey player living in Gospel as he recovers from a bad injury. He opened up a sports goods store when he realizes that he will never return to the game he loved so much. He was surprised by Kate when she propositioned him, but finds himself intrigued by her as he begins to spend time around her.

     Kate and Rob are both lost and yet find themselves when they are together. They both are at a crossroads regarding their careers, neither has a love life, and they don't know what the future will bring. It was fun to watch these two characters, who in their former lives had been so sure of themselves, find their way again.

 “I want to try with someone who loves me enough to try with me. I want to grow old looking at the same face every morning. I want to grow old looking at the same face every night at the dinner table. I want to be one of those old couples you see still holding hands and laughing after fifty years of marriage. That's what I want. I want to be some one's forever.” (Gibson, 343).

     Isn't that language just gorgeous? Kate and Rob are a wonderful couple and their romance is pretty wonderful too. Not my favorite in the series, but it would be pretty hard to compare to Jane and Luc in See Jane Score. A great addition to the series and a perfect addition to the romance world in general.

Book Details

Publisher: Avon

Date of Publication: January 25, 2005

# of Pages: 384

ISBN: 978-0060009267