Lawson’s review of Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson
Contemporary romance released by Avon 27 May 08
I hadn’t really planned on reviewing this book. I’d just picked it up between reading some heavy historicals to have something kind of light and contemporary to read. I hadn’t expected the charm and the wry humor that I got with this book. I’ve only read one other book by Gibson and wasn’t wowed by her, but I’d heard good things about this one, so I thought I’d try it out. Plus, I’m a sucker for a sports book and this one covers something that I love, which is football, and know really well, which is Texas high school football.
There have already been two reviews of this books, so I won’t go too much into summary. Adele going back home to Cedar Creek, a moderate sized town in west Texas, to help her sister through her divorce and planning for her new baby really worked. They haven’t talked much, Adele always felt lesser than her “perfect” sister and takes the opportunity to be there when she needs her and doesn’t rub her sister’s misfortune in her face.
Taking care of her niece Kendra she runs into her college boyfriend Zach Zemaitis, who is Cedar Creek High’s head football coach and father to Kendra’s new friend Tiffany. Both Kendra and Tiffany were well written teenage girls going through some traumatic times, Tiffany loosing her mom, Kendra dealing with her parent’s divorce. The sparks still fly with Zach, who left her to go back with Tiffany’s mom, but she’s wary of having her heart broken again.
Their story is full of passion, sex, old hurts and some misconceptions. Zach is tired of being seen as the pro football player he was and wants to be seen as the man and father he is now. Adele didn’t really want to be back in Cedar Creek, as Devon (Zach’s dead wife) made her life hell from sixth grade to graduation and beyond when they both went to the University of Texas. Zach and Adele have more than just chemistry, they’ve got a bond they share and they do go well together. Though Zach does do some stupid things, he is a male and he is a celebrity and he has been used before and how he overcomes them in the end to be with Adele. Plus some of his actions can be blamed on the “curses” on Adele given by Devon rather than any major flaws in Zach’s character.
Most of the issues I have with this book involve the football. Now, I fully understand that unless you grew up in a smaller town in Texas, work for a school district and/or really like those high school sports, you wouldn’t notice a few things. Just because someone was a pro football star doesn’t make them high school head coach material. You actually do have to have a degree (Zach has that) and a teacher’s certificate to coach in the state of Texas. Because even head coaches are expected to still be a teacher in a high school setting.
Would they make some allowances? Sure, but when he takes off during the day, especially during playoff season, to go spend time with Adele, makes no sense. You just can’t do that, even if you are a much loved high school coach. The school board would have his job in a second when they saw him leaving during the day and not doing his job. Head football coaches, especially in west Texas, do make good money. How good? Between $80,000 and $90,000 a year. Zach is said to make $25,000.
Overall, though, with those things that stuck out, the frenzy of football worked pretty well. Even in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio sportscasters every night during football season spend time on the high school teams in the area. It’s that big. There are huge pep rallies. If a player gets injured, the whole town can feel it. If you’re a large school (called 5A, which is greater than 2,000 students) in west Texas you’ll play the Midland High Bulldogs and the Odessa Permian Panthers – two very storied programs. You’ll play playoff games with Amarillo in Lubbock, because that’s a neutral location. The state championship game would be in Austin, Dallas or San Antonio though (neutral territory), not in your home town.
The football didn’t end up overwhelming the love story of Adele and Zach. Devon’s small part, though necessary to the plot, was just too much though. The idea that a woman like that would be allowed into heaven is laughable. The fact that even though what she does to Adele works out for the best in the end, the fact that someone so selfish, mean-spirited, petty and jealous, not matter what her love for her daughter is, gets what she wants in the end goes against my belief that how you act in life overall is what is reflected in the afterlife.
It was a light read, a good story that was humorous when it was supposed to be and had great chemistry between the leads. I only pointed out things that as a Texan I know, but the fact the author gave a great feeling to the book overall with the football and made the characters the center of the story, rather than the other way around raised it from a C to a B for me.
Grade: B-
Read limecello’s review
Read LauraJ’s review
What does a gal have to do to get a good date in this town?
Adele Harris can’t even begin to answer that question. She’s had so many lousy dates that she’s sure she’s cursed. Why else would every man she goes out with suddenly act like he’s lost his mind—and his manners? Adele thought life couldn’t get any more confusing . . . until she learns the marriage of her seemingly Miss Perfect sister is on the rocks. So she goes back to their hometown to give her a shoulder to cry on, only to run smack into Zach Zemaitis . . . the one who got away.
Texans love God, family, and football, though not always in that order
Zach, a former pro star, knows all about football. As for the other two, well, he’s doing his best. But when Adele comes charging back into his life—still all lush curves and beautiful, big blue eyes—he wonders if his best is good enough. After all, he did her wrong. Can a woman with her track record ever really believe that he’s serious this time . . . or is he destined to be another bad date?
