True Love and Other Disasters (Mass Market Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Bestseller Gibson's thoughtful stand-alone romance immerses the reader in the world of professional hockey and the hearts of two compelling characters. Ty Savage, newly signed player with the Seattle Chinooks, is devastated by the death of the team's elderly owner, Virgil Duffy. Duffy's young widow, Faith, an ex-stripper trophy wife who knows nothing about hockey, will now be the team's owner, much to everyone's dismay. Though Ty and Faith's initial mutual dislike quickly evolves into an all-consuming passion, they soon discover that their attraction goes much further than sexual heat. Magnificently breaking with stereotype, Ty is a tenderhearted man who wants a lifelong relationship, while Faith is emotionally strong, intelligent and caring. With humor and eloquent prose, Gibson (Not Another Bad Date) brings substance and depth to this loving, modern romance. (May)
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From Booklist

Gorgeous Faith Duffy has been a lot of things in her 30 years. She started as an exotic dancer at 18, then became a Playboy model, a devoted wife to her 81-year-old husband Virgil, and now, a widow and business owner. Virgil Duffy owned the Seattle Chinooks hockey team and left it to Faith in his will, even though she knows nothing about the sport. Determined to prove she’s more than just one of Hef’s bunnies, she dives in, learning all she can about hockey and her new team. The only obstacle is the team captain, Ty Savage. Brooding and intimidating, Ty has led his team to the NHL playoffs, and he’s not about to let some gold digger of a widow ruin his chances. The press build up the initial rivalry between Faith and Ty, but the pair may not be as acrimonious as everyone thinks. A steamy story with plenty of fast-paced action on and off the ice. --Hilary Hatton

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Avon (April 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061579068
• ISBN-13: 978-0061579066
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #85,108 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why does this feel familiar? I still love Rachel., April 29, 2009

By	Ruffian (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

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.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Return of the Chinooks, April 30, 2009

By	Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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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

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Buy it, but don't expect Gibson's best, May 1, 2009

By	jhl (VA) - See all my reviews

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.