"Rescue Me" By: Rachel Gibson Review

"Rescue Me"

By: Rachel Gibson

Synopsis from Goodreads:

She’s 33, unmarried, and stuffed into a Bubble Yum pink bridesmaid dress. And the whole town wants to fix her up with anyone with a dental plan… Who’s going to rescue Sadie Hollowell now? Everyone in Lovett, Texas knows Sadie has always been a ‘notional’ kind of gal. She got a notion to leave town asap , and never visit her daddy (bless his heart). Now, she’s back and got the notion to invite a good-looking, hard-muscled, total stranger to her cousin’s wedding. Better a stranger than some of the losers she’s dated. Vince Haven got his muscles the hard way—as a Navy SEAL in Afghanistan. He’s staying in Lovett to visit his crazy aunt—the proprietor of the local Gas N Go. Before he can get the heck back out of the small town, his aunt makes him an offer he can’t refuse. Maybe he’ll stick around Lovett for a while. Maybe he’ll make a ‘go’ of the Gas N Go. Maybe he’ll rescue Sadie out of that pink dress!

My Thoughts:
Rachel Gibson is one of my favorite authors. When I found her a few years ago, I immediately ran out and purchased every book she has ever published. It bit into my bank account a bit, but each and every book she has written I have truly enjoyed and I think each in its own right is pretty amazing. “Rescue Me” is Gibson's newest title, is part of a new series, and while a decent romance, just doesn't live up to its full potential.
Vince (brother to Autumn from “Any Man of Mine”) is in Lovett, Texas to help out his ancient, ornery great aunt Luraleen. She runs the town's gas station and has decided to sell. Vince, looking for a money making opportunity and no real roots, decides to purchase the gas station and run it himself. On his first night in town, his truck breaks down and while he's pacing on the side of the road, Sadie Jo Hallowell stops and gives him a ride.
Sadie Jo, also known as Mercedes Johanna, is back in town for her younger cousin's wedding. She's 33 and hasn't lived in Lovett for years. She has a hard time connecting with her father, her mother has long since passed, and she has no siblings. When she meets Vince, she is attracted to his utter lack of wanting a relationship. He doesn't want a relationship and neither does she and of course this equals a match made in heaven!
Sadie and Vince seemed to fit together very well. They both are used to being independent, strong-willed and understand life outside of Lovett. Sadie goes through some pretty emotional upheavals during the novel and yet, she can be vulnerable with Vince. Vince has some pretty big mental problems dealing with past wartime experiences and Sadie is the only person who has ever seen him go through these episodes, thus allowing him to be vulnerable with her as well. The romance grows slowly yet you can see it at every step, which I quite enjoyed.
I wanted to love this book, and while I did like it, it wasn't a grand love for me. The beginning of the book really seemed to drag and I actually put it down twice before continuing, which never happens with normal Gibson books. I had loved Vince in “Any Man of Mine” but during “Rescue Me” he seemed flat and very one note. Sadie came across as depressed and kind of self-pitying which got old really fast. She makes mention of everyone talking about her being single, yet she herself mentions it continually. I guess its a romance, but jeesh, you don’t need a man to live!
I think the charm in “Rescue Me” is the language in which the world within the novel is depicted. 

Shortly after graduating from Lovett High, she'd [Sadie] packed up her Chevy and headed out for some fancy university in California, leaving her father and soiled cotillion gloves far behind. No one saw much of Sadie after that. Not even her poor daddy, and as far as anyone knew, she'd never married. Which was just plain sad and incomprehensible because really, how hard was it to get a man? Even Sarah Louise Baynard-Conseco, who had the misfortune to be born built like her daddy, Big Buddy Baynard, had managed to find a husband. Of course, Sarah Louise had met the man through prisoner.com. Mr. Conseco currently resided fourteen hundred miles away in San Quentin, but Sarah Louise was convinced he was totally innocent of the offenses for which he'd been unjustly incarcerated, and planned to start her family with him after his hoped-for parole in ten years. Bless her heart (Gibson, 6).

The moment in which Sadie realizes she is in love with Vince was quite magical. 

It felt like she was falling through the cracks in her heart. Right there in the hall of his unfurnished apartment. On the worst possible day of her life. She tried hard. Tried hard not to fall in love with Vince Haven, the most unavailable man on the planet, but she did (Gibson, 166).

Fans of Gibson's work will enjoy seeing what has become of Vince and the trip back to Lovett. If you have never read her before, please don't start with this one! “See Jane Score” and “Simply Irresistible” would be wonderful ways to begin, trust me.

Book Details

Publisher: HarperCollins

Date of Publication: May 29, 2012

# of Pages: 384

ISBN: 978-0062069122