Kristie J’s review of Nothing But Trouble (Chinooks Hockey Team, Book 5) by Rachel Gibson
Contemporary Romance published by Avon 27 Apr 10
When I switched to reading everything as ebooks (something I never thought would happen), I lost many an author who was an auto-buy in print. And I blame the publishers completely, but when they charge the SAME or even MORE for an ebook than a print book, there’s not a chance I’m going to pay it. One of the authors I’ve lost for this reason is Rachel Gibson. I’ve loved her books in the past. So when I saw this one on sale on Amazon for $1.99, I couldn’t pick it up quick enough. I’m not sure if I’d read this one or not, one of the pluses to a rather rotten memory, because, if I did read it, I don’t remember it. So it was like discovering a new treasure. The reason is Rachel Gibson is the QUEEN of the hockey romance. Before there was Sawyer Bennett, there was Rachel. Before there was Brenda Rothert, there was Rachel. Before there was Lisa B. Kamps, there was Rachel, and before there were any other good authors of the hockey romance, there was Rachel.
This is Book 5 in the Seattle Chinooks hockey series and Mark Bressler is our hero. He was the captain of the team before a horrific car accident ended not only his season but his whole hockey career, and he is very understandably bitter about it. As captain he had led the team for years in an attempt at the Stanley Cup and the year they finally won, his accident was just before the playoffs and he missed them all. The Chinooks team has been sending care people to help him at home, but he’s been quite a jerk to all of them and sends them on the their way lickety split – that is until our heroine, Chelsea Ross, is assigned to the case. If she lasts until no longer needed, she gets a $10,000 bonus and she has special plans for the money. Mark is mean and nasty, moody and a jerk to her, but while on the inside she’s calling him all kinds of names because of his behavior, on the outside she’s not deterred at all and keeps coming back and coming back like the energizer bunny. Mark’s demeanor slowly changes and, much to his horror, he finds himself more and more attracted to her. And the attraction is mutual the more Chelsea interacts with Mark.
The reason I call Rachel Gibson the queen is because she is. This book is like a blueprint to a wonderful hockey story. I love a grumpy bear hero and Mark is all that. And best of all, it’s completely understandable why he is. His whole life has been turned upside down and he’s still trying to deal with his new reality.
And Chelsea is such a great heroine and I love her to pieces. No matter the provocation, she doesn’t let him get to her. In a simply charming and hilarious scene, when Mark tells her he doesn’t want to see her – to only contact him by phone, even though they are in the same house, she calls him with some of the stupidest reasons that had me smiling and laughing. The one that really got me is when she sees a squirrel in his driveway and calles to see what she should do about it. It’s so stupid (intentionally) it totally cracked me up. Chelsea’s persistence proves to be of great help in getting Mark on the his way to healing, both physically and emotionally, and even though she is the opposite of the kind of woman he usually hooks up with, she’s exactly what he needs.
Although written in 2010 and many of the real hockey players mentioned have since retired, it’s still a great and fun book. And it works very well as a stand-alone book. I checked and this book is still only $1.99, so anyone who loves a good hockey romance, a good sports romance, a good contemporary romance simply must get this one. It’s written by The Queen, fellow readers.
Grade: A
Summary:
Chelsea Ross’s acting career has been a total bust. The closest she ever came to stardom was her brilliant performance as “Pretty Dead Girl #1.” But leaving Hollywood to become the personal assistant to a famous hockey player could be her stupidest career move ever.
More trouble . . .
Injured superstar Mark Bressler’s glory days are over. The bad-boy ex-jock could at least be civil to the pint-sized, pink-haired bombshell who the Seattle Chinooks hired to be his P.A. If Chelsea didn’t need the money, she’d be running from the world’s biggest jerk as fast as her feet could carry her.
Big trouble!
Chelsea can deal with Mark’s rotten attitude and dark moods. The problem is those biceps and that red-hot bod! And when the bad boy starts to put the moves on her, Chelsea knows it’s time she banished him to the penalty box . . . if only she could resist the kind of trouble he has in mind!
No excerpt available.
Other books in this series:
