Customer Reviews

True Love and Other Disasters

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Okay, first to let you know where I stand. I love Rachel Gibson's work and I have learned that I love romances that feature athletes. I devoured her earlier books involving the Seattle Chinooks (See Jane Score is fantastic) and similarly I've enjoyed Deirdre Martin's NY Blades series and Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Chicago Stars series. Carly Phillips' Hot Zone trilogy also touches athletes' lives. SO if any of you have read these books get ready for "Deja Vu".
Maybe I have read too many romance novels (gasp! Did I actually type this?!) but I began to feel pretty early on that I had been here before. The plot (I won't elaborate on it--I'll let the experts do that)takes themes especially from SEP-sexpot female surprisingly inherits sports team from elderly man-here husband not father. She is built, sexy hot, considered to be dumb, is despised by the man who thought he would get the team and is resented by members of the organization especially the captain of said sports team. The captain reluctantly is attracted to her and in the end, "the girl gets the team and the guy".
Forgive me, Rachel, but I kept thinking "I am reading 'It Had to Be You'-the Hockey Edition." Now that said, I think Rachel does an awesome job describing the game of hockey (better than DM) and the sexual chemistry and banter is fabulous. I also can respect the difficulty in finding new unique plot lines--I am amazed at Rachel's creativity and I am always excited to see something from her coming out. The book is good and I lucked out finding a copy before the release date here so it feels strange writing one of the first reviews. I just don't know if it will go into my Keep pile. Perhaps I'll hang on to it and read it again before her 2010 release since that story picks up a key character from this book. I'll be curious to see what fellow reviewers have to say.

Faith Duffy is a former stripper and Playmate who married an elderly multimillionaire for security. Upon his death, she inherits his hockey team, much to the chagrin of pretty much everyone considering she knows absolutely nothing about the sport. Team captain Ty Savage (that's Sah-vahge, not savage as in beast) is none too thrilled about having Faith as the new owner partially because of her lack of knowledge and experience, but mostly because he's very much physically attracted to her and he can't afford any distractions on the road to winning the Stanley Cup. Neither one of these characters is at all relatable. First of all, Faith is a second generation stripper who was literally discovered when Hugh Hefner just strolls into the lounge she was dancing at and caught her act. That earned her Playmate status which is how she met her husband who happens to be 51 years older than her and loaded. We all have a friend like this, right? I can get over the whole stripping and Playboy thing, but what really bothered me about Faith is how quickly after her husband's death she's off having an affair with Ty. The book open's with Virgil's funeral. Sure, she and her husband never had sex and she does experience some guilt, but it's almost as if she doesn't mourn Virgil's death at all (even though she claims he was her best friend and that she loved him). Most people would be at least a tiny bit sad or depressed their best friend had died right before their eyes, but not Faith. She goes shopping for new designer clothes and makes out with players on her team.

Besides Faith, there were a few other plot line points I took issue with. Ty was a little inconsistent. One moment he's hellbent on resisting Faith and then the next, he's groping her in a public restaurant. Huh? Did I miss something? He also went from surly and belligerent to sweet and adorable almost instantaneously, which seemed unrealistic, but his sweet and adorable side was very enjoyable to read about. There are a few other inconsistencies with him I'll get to later since they are a little spoilerish. But aside from Ty, a lot of the plot seems a little too familiar. As other reviewers have noted, the basic plot is a lot like It Had To Be You by SEP. Just change the sport from hockey to football and change the hero's position from captain to head coach and it's extremely similar, down to the greedy relatives who want to take the team away from the heroines because they thought it rightfully belonged to them instead. But aside from the basic structure having been done before, even little plot points seemed recycled. There's another tattoo on a hockey player and when Ty asks Faith what she wants she replied that she wants to lick his tattoo. That's ripped almost verbatim from See Jane Score.

As for Ty's other inconsistencies, (SPOILER) he goes from lust to love rather suddenly. When he got her the muffin (after she'd been stressing out about it on the plane), my heart melted until I thought back to the Ty in the first half of the book. He'd NEVER get Faith that muffin. And when he got upset because Faith didn't want to go out on a date with him, I was pretty surprised considering he only fantasized about her body without feeling anything for her right up until they first hooked up. Clearly Rachel was trying to hint that Ty was already falling in love, but I just didn't buy it. I also thought it was weird they'd have sex while she was still wearing her late husband's ring. Granted, Ty eventually took exception with this and asked her to take it off but Faith claimed it made her feel less guilty somehow. And she only takes it off once she realizes she is in love with Ty, because then she feels it's time to let go of the past and be free of her late husband. Mind you, this only occurs two months after his death. As you can probably tell I hated this book's characters very much. Pretty much the only thing it had going for it is that the hero and heroine didn't have some stupid fight or misunderstanding breaking them up for no logical reason towards the end.

Rachel Gibson is an excellent writer, who creates interesting plots and likeable characters, funny and intelligent dialogue, and believable emotional situations. True Love & Other Disasters is well worth reading and I only give it 4 stars because it's not as good as her best (Simply Irresistable, See Jane Score, The Trouble with Valentine's Day); compared to most humorous romances out there, this is a winner. Gibson's hockey-playing hero is incredibly appealing, and her gold-digging heroine is definitely someone the reader is rooting for.

Having said that, I have to add that I have problems with the book. Other reviewers have hit the tone exactly, when they compare it to SEP's It Had to Be You; the plot is disappointingly familiar (and plotting is usually one of Gibson's strong points). What's more important for me, however, is that there just isn't enough conversation between the 2 lead characters. Since Gibson excels at sexy, humorous interactions, I miss the characters sparking off each other as much as they do in her best books. If it had had another 25 pages of the leads teasing each other, and if the subsidiary characters had just been a little more fleshed out, the book would have been far more satisfying. As it is, if feels as if it ends a bit abruptly, and you're left wanting more (which the tantalizing excerpt from Gibson's next book - not coming out until next spring - only exacerbates). I have the impression that the next book may be more interesting to Gibson than this one was (it turns out that there are many hints in this book about it).

Still, I recommend that Gibson fans buy it, and if you haven't tried her before, you'll probably still enjoy it, even though you won't be seeing her at her best.

But I only liked it. The hero is great, the heroine is a lot more complex than I thought she would be at first--but I took exception to problems with the hockey aspects of the story. Frankly, it is just little details, but there were enough little details that added up to where I found myself distracted when I read, instead of enjoying the story. Teams play in the playoffs (plural) but a goal scored in the playoffs is a playoff (singular) goal, not a playoffs goal. Players can be traded mid-season, but they don't sign a contract with a new team in mid-season when they've already been playing with one team. The ins and outs of trades and free agency and contracts were handled all wrong, throughout. Also, I found it hilarious that supposedly, a single line of teammates had scored a rather high amount of points only about a week into the playoffs--so high that I'm not sure any line of players have ever scored that many points within a single playoff season in history. I don't remember the exact number, but I believe it was somewhere in the range of 80+. Still, even with the flaws involving the hockey facts, this was a good read. If you're not a diehard hockey fan, you probably won't notice any problems, and can therefore focus more of your effort on the story.

I've always enjoyed Gibson's books and this was no exception. Faith was a determined heroine...determined not to let her past or what she believed others to think of her prevent her from doing what she wanted to do. Ty was her perfect match once he set aside his preconceived notions about who Faith was. Not as funny as a lot of her books, True Love and Other Disasters was still a great read!

Faith Duffy is a former stripper turned Playboy bunny with new responsibilities. She finds and marries her sugar daddy -- a seventy-something-year-old millionaire and owner of the Seattle Chinooks, a hockey team on its way to the championship. The old man dies and, much to his son's anger, leaves his team to Faith. She has no clue how to handle a hockey team, knows nothing about ice hockey, and she has her work cut out for her. Things don't get easier when Ty Savage, the team's new captain, sets his eyes on her. Mutual attraction ensues, and they both try to fight what seems to be imminent. But when Ty discovers that Faith is more than just long legs and a shady past, and she in turn discovers Ty's feelings for her, difficult choices will have to be made. This could undo Ty's career, and Faith might lose whatever credibility and respect she has gained from the team's players. And who can forget her angry stepson?

True Love and Other Disasters (title doesn't seem to suit the book) is another droll effort from Gibson. I love her fun romantic comedies, especially the ones centered on the fictional ice hockey team, and this one is as good as it gets. For once, the heroine is not some innocent girl without flaws. Faith reminded me a great deal of Anna Nicole Smith, only smarter and not-so plastic. Ty is the typical Gibson hero -- arrogant, rude, sexy and infuriating. I don't think Gibson has ever tried to write a different hero, they all sound the same, but they are nevertheless yummy. They sound like real men. I wanted to read something light and fun this season, and Rachel Gibson's novels are the way to go. I recommend this one.

Ex-Playboy centerfold and stripper, Faith Duffy is now a widow. She has just lost the only man that has ever seen past her beauty to the woman inside - her husband. Surprised and shocked to find out that her husband left her his beloved hockey team in his will, Faith immediately decides to sell it to her dead husband's son. When their encounter turns sour, Faith changes her mind and goes with her gut. She is going to learn how to run the Chinooks, no matter who tells her she can't. And so Faith's journey into self sufficiency begins. The only thing standing in her way is Ty Savage, the Chinooks' goalie.

Ty sees the woman he thinks she is - a scheming gold digger and his biggest complaint. However, he can't stop thinking about Faith. He imagines her in his arms, his shower, and his bed. That is what angers him the most. Ty has a job to do - help the Chinooks win the Stanley Cup - and he is not about to let an ex-dancer ruin his chances. It's a good thing Ty doesn't mind a change in plans because with just one kiss Faith becomes more important to him than he ever thought she would. Ty suddenly sees past the outer façade to the woman beneath and he loves her.

Faith's character is gutsy and while she lookes like a Barbie doll, she is anything but. Faith is intelligent and genuinely a good person. Her plan to run her deceased husband's hockey team is commendable. What is even more remarkable are the sparks that begin to fly immediately between Faith and Ty Savage, the Chinooks' team captain. Ty's a no-holds-barred hockey player with a plan. Seeing the Stanley Cup in his future, he neither has the time nor the inclination to babysit the Widow Duffy while she plays at being a team owner. He is totally and completely wrong about Faith, but one thing is certain - he wants her with every single beat of his heart.

True Love and Other Disasters is my first Rachel Gibson novel and I have to say that I am hooked and frantically reading her back list. In fact, I am wondering what took me so long to read her in the first place! Witty, moving, and chock full of powerful loves scenes, True Love and Other Disasters is brilliantly written. It grabs you by the heart and keeps you reading. I hated for True Love and Other Disasters to end but look forward to more releases from this highly talented author.



Talia
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

"Bunny" beautiful Faith Duffy married a much older wealthy man, Virgil who took care of his trophy wife in life and in death. However, people disrespect Faith for everyone assumes she married a guy five decades older than her for his money. Though more like a grandfather-granddaughter relationship instead of a married couple, the stripper and the banker loved one another; she grieves his death as she is back all alone.

Besides money, Faith inherited the Seattle Chinooks hockey team; Captain Ty Savage is outraged that a brain dead model is taking over the team as he assumes she is unaware of the surface they play on and probably believes a crossbar is something to dance on. She disdains him as much as he does her because she thinks his disrespectful attitude towards her sucks and should land him a season's worth of misconduct penalties. However, as they become better acquainted their attraction could melt the ice in the Chinooks' rink.

This lighthearted contemporary frolic is an amusing entertaining sports romance in which two seemingly polar opposite worlds body check one another. The story line is ice speed-skating fast but filled with plenty of hip check humor. Though the plot is ice thin, fans will enjoy Rachel Gibson's fun tale of love between a couple, who brings differing meanings to a hat trick.

Harriet Klausner

Befuddled as to what to do with the hockey team her much older husband bequeathed to her in his will, Faith decides to remain the owner and try to understand the sport. A former stripper, she's never been accepted by her husband's world, especially his family. But a mutual love-hate attraction with the team's captain Ty Savage (Sah-vahge) might just toss a wrench into her best laid plans as she tries to prove she's no bimbo and he chases the elusive Stanley Cup.

Gibson returns to her beloved fictional Seattle Chinooks hockey team (Jane from "See Jane Score" has a cameo) after a far too long hiatus. She adds lots of teasing, longing, and great dialogue to bring these two charismatic characters together. Gibson devotees will recognize deceased husband Virgil from "Simply Irresistable, where he chased down another trophy wife. The story reminded me a lot of the wonderful "It Had to be You" by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (just substitute hockey for football). But I really loved the chemistry between the leads and hated to see the story end. Rachel is always an auto-buy! And the best news is that there is another Chinook's story on the horizon.

© Tracy Vest, April 2009

As other reviewer mentioned, be ready for a sense of deja vu. This is very similar to her earlier books, as well as books by other authors. Faith is a former stripper and playmate who marries a much older man who owns a hockey team. When her husband dies she inherits the team, but her former husband's son wants it.

I wanted to like this book, and it definitely wasn't awful, but it could have been better. I liked Faith, and Ty was decent but not my favorite. I loved Jules and would like to see more of him. I think that he was one of my favorites. I was not fond of Ty's father or Allie's mother. I felt they were superfluous and one dimensional characters. Also, Allie's step-son was again very awful and one dimensional and predictable.

If you want a really light fluff romantic book that contains sports this one might be for you.