Customer Reviews

The Trouble with Valentine's Day (Little Black Dress)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have to put my two cents in. I almost didn't read this book because of the bad reviews, I'm glad I changed my mind! While this book is not Ms. Gibson's best, it is a worthwhile read.

As to all the complaints about the fu mancho, get over it!! Is every male character suppose to be generic in looks? As to Rob's cheating, get over that as well. He's a flawed character who changed his ways. Is every hero suppose to be perfect? Sometimes characters disappoint us.

Again, while this is not up to par with some Ms. Gibson's other works, it still is worth reading. I found it very enjoyable.

After reading The Trouble With Valentine's Day I came here to write my review. I have to say I was shocked by the terrible reviews it received here. I thought it was an amusing, easy read. The comments here about Rob's facial hair made me laugh since this book was about fantasies. Rob (and his facial hair) fit the bad boy image Kate had in her head. It wouldn't have 'fit' if some clean cut, fashion model with perfect looks sat down next to her at that bar.

I enjoyed Ms Gibson's witty writing style. I found myself laughing out loud at parts (which is rare, usually only Janet Evanovich can get me to do this). I look forward to reading her other books.

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, light read.

Kate is at a crossroads in her life, both professionally and personally. She decides to move to Gospel, Idaho to help her recently widowed grandfather run his grocery store. On the way to Gospel, Kate hopes to live out a fantasy and have hot sex with a stranger at a hotel. Unfortunately, the tattooed stranger turns her down flat. Things get more interesting when the stranger turns out to be Rob, a former pro hockey player who runs a sporting goods store near her grandfather's grocery store.

Although The Trouble with Valentine's Day is entertaining, it falls short. I have read quite a few Gibson books and consider See Jane Score her best by far. The dialogue and storytelling keep the pages flying.

The Trouble with Valentine's Day had promise but she needs to freshen things up a bit. Do we really need another hero with a tattoo? This time it's an enormous snake that wraps itself around Rob's body. Secondly, her fascination with light reflection---blue from the dashboard, gold from the window, etc.---gets old really fast. She does this in nearly EVERY book. It has become a distraction for me.

Luckily, Gibson has continued with her humorous dialogue and interesting secondary characters. However, following her grandfather's sweet romance only points out the weakness in this story. While Kate and Rob generate hot, sweaty scenes, they are missing heart.

Note: the author needs a better editor. Rob is a former hockey player from the NHL not the NFL. Geesh!

I've waited a year for this book and I was not disappointed. From the first page to the last, The Trouble With Valentines Day is a fast paced roller coaster ride. I can always count on a Rachel Gibson book to give me real characters with real problems who talk with real people. This book is a laugh out loud funny. One of my favorite line in the book is when Kate asks Rob to warn her if he's going to write his name in the snow. And the scene in the grocery store-very hot.

I live in Montana and was at the Rachel Gibson signing. She was very gracious and charming. It's embarrassing to see the other review from a person in Montana and read the cheap personal shots at Ms. Gibson. Not everyone who lives here is so petty.

I can always count on a Rachel Gibson book to put a smile on my face. I loved the hero, Rob. He was hot hot hot. I loved the Fumanchu mustache, and the scenes between him and his daughter were heartbreaking. Kate was the perfect heroine, smart and funny. I loved visiting Gospel
again. Thank you Rachel Gibson!!

Private investigator Kate Hamilton is retiring. She feels she can no longer judge people's character as well as she used to. She's dated a loser; he looked like a charmer, but appearances can be deceiving, as Kate soon found out. How can she justify hunting down people she doesn't really know? Is she any better than they are? Are their secrets worth exposing? Is it any of her business? She has one place she can go - back to Gospel, a small rural town where her recently widowed grandfather lives. She packs up and moves from Las Vegas to Gospel.

Rob Sutter had it all and lost it all. He was a pro hockey player who made some poor choices in his life. He got married, had a baby, cheated on his wife, and got shot by a woman; there went his family and his career. He's moved to Gospel where his mother, a nurse, can help him with his physical therapy. He needs a break from people who aren't what they seem. In Gospel, he can run his sport store, mind his business, and recouperate.

This novel starts out with a bang. It's Valentine's Day and Kate is going home to Gospel; she's stopped in Sun Valley at the ski lodge. The decorations bug her. The couples annoy her. She's boozing it up a little, not drunk, but heady with drink when she sees the man as hot as sin itself. She decides to go for one of her fantasies. She wants to find a man she doesn't know, use him, then be the one to leave (as opposed to being left as she was in her last relationship). And the man drinking the ale beside her looks like just the ticket. She puts the make on him and he shoots her down - hard. Hurt and a bit humbled, Kate attempts to put it behind her until she meets Mr. Sexy again in Gospel.

The sparks fly between Rob and Kate from the very beginning and the chemistry only increases as the story progresses. Rob's emotions are so true to nature that one cannot help but laugh aloud many times throughout this novel. His reasoning process alone is worth the recommendation I give this novel. There is also a secondary romance between Kate's widowed grandfather and Rob's widowed mother. Their story is touching and sweet, reminding us that moving on after the death of a spouse is natural and in no way diminishes the love that was shared. This was a touching, sweet, and fun story.

As an avid fan of Ms. Gibson's books I waited with trepidation for her newest offering. Although I liked `Daisy's Back In Town' it was on par with her earlier books, good but not up to the standards I came to expect after reading `True Confessions' and `See Jane Score' both keepers for me. Now that I have read `The Trouble with Valentine's Day', I am happy to say I have another book to add. Great story, with snappy dialogue, even laugh out loud moments. Ms. Gibson writes the male perspective as no other, very realistic even if sometimes uncomfortable. Great love story with a super ending!

I hate Valentine's Day. So of course when I saw this title, I just purchased without even reading the back flap (which is not something I EVER do).

I, too, was a little put off by the Fu Manchu and the soul patch at first. And I gotta admit, that everytime I started pretending it wasn't there, Ms. Gibson brought it up again and ruined my mental picture!

However, I did enjoy the book for what it was: a fluff piece. I knew early on, that this was not a novel of epic proportions. It's an entertainment read. And while I felt there were certain aspects of the book that could have been better (back story could have been more detailed, Rob didn't have to be an adulterer, etc.), I still didn't feel like this book was a waste of time.

One thing I would suggest when reading this book is to forget about everything surrounding the characters. This may not be an easy thing to do, but when you do, you will find that Kate and Rob are actually quite sweet together. There are also some comical aspects of the novel that come to life this way as well.

Not the best book I've ever read, but certainly not the worst either. I would certainly give it a chance and I'm anxious to read some of Ms. Gibson's other novels to see what more she can do!

Kate is a PI on the road to recovery after suffering a devastating loss. She decides to escape to the wilds of Idaho to spend time with her grandpa. Along the way, she stops for the night - Valentines Day - at a ski resort due to bad weather. Maybe it was the hot buttered rum, or the fact that she was dumped by her longtime boyfriend the previous Valentines Day (only to have him marry the rebound girl), but Kate hates Valentines Day and decides to do something out of character - proposition a stranger, only to be shot down cold despite the flirting and sparks that is evident between the two.

Fast forward a few weeks, where she is dutifully helping grandpa with his grocery store and meets the man who owns the sporting good store across the street - and it just happens to be the same man who turned her down.

Rob, a former hockey player, was a dominating force on the ice, only to have his career destroyed after a one-night stand with an obsessive fan while separated from the woman who trapped him into marriage because she was pregnant with his child.

After a lot of hilarious meetings and bantering between the Kate and Rob, they finally start to realize that there is an attraction between them. And they finally start to act on the feelings, despite not really have faith or trust in one another. During which her grandpa and his mother fall in love and teach them a thing or two about trust and love. Although the book lacks emotional depth, it is a nice distraction and a quick read. I thought the ending was cute too!

Rob's tattoo alone had me wondering what it looked like in the flesh so to speak. I'd want to see this made into a movie for that alone! As for the goofy mustache and soul patch - hey, he finally shaved, didn't he? Get over it ladies! As for the typos - blame the editors, that is what they get paid for!

I read Gibson's first book and I've been hooked every since. Once a year, I anxiously await her books and buy them the moment they hit the shelf. I've never been disappointed. The Trouble with Valentine's Day was worth the wait. I bought it and read it the same night. I didn't get to bed until after one o'clock in the morning, knowing I had to get up early the next morning and get kids off the school. The book was worth the lack of sleep headache. Her sense of humor is so real that I can visualize the characters talking to each other. The sexual tension is hot, the results steamy and already, I'm anticpating next year's book. This one is definitely a keeper.