The Trouble With Valentine's Day
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4.4 • 203 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
It's the one day each year when being single is a sin . . .
The Trouble With Valentine's Day?
It just plain stinks!
Kate Hamilton should know. Dumped by her boyfriend, burnt out by her job, she's returned to Gospel, Idaho, where a Mountain Momma Crafters' original poetry reading is about as good as it gets on a Friday night. Then her first attempted seduction of a hunky stranger is completely rejected. So much for her self-esteem!
It turns out that Rob Sutter, former ice hockey madman, owner of Sutter's Sports—and the hunky stranger who told her to get lost—has been more than burned by love and isn't looking for a relationship. But then he and Kate find themselves in an ultra-compromising position in the M&S Market after-hours, giving the phrase "clean up in aisle five" a whole new meaning, and causing a whole lot of gossip in Gospel . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"There nothing like one whole day devoted to lovers to make a single girl feel like a loser," muses Kate Hamilton, the heroine of Gibson's frothy new romance set in Gospel, Idaho. When Kate's advances are rebuffed by the sexy man sitting next to her in a bar on Valentine's Day, she feels the sting of rejection which is soon compounded by humiliation when she learns that the stranger is Rob Sutter, owner of the sporting goods store located next to her grandfather's grocery. Both Rob and Kate have skidded to a halt in Gospel Kate after her work as a PI unwittingly armed a man with information to track down and kill his family, and Rob after his pro hockey career was derailed by a gun-toting psychopath. Instead of exploring this weighty material, Gibson focuses on such lighthearted frolics as whipped-cream fights in the aisles of Kate's grocery store. Because Rob remains literally and figuratively behind the wheel of his Hummer and Kate never fully faces her own demons, their romance lacks emotional heft. Gibson also portrays Gospel's elderly citizenry as cartoonish, rendering what could have been a poignant romance between Kate's grandfather and Rob's mother as condescendingly sweet. The novel begins and ends on Valentine's Day, and the rest of the story never transcends the holiday's reputation for false promises.
Customer Reviews
the story is clever, sweet and fun.
AudioBook Review:
Stars: Overall 4 Narration 3 Story 4
The first I’ve encountered in this series, I wasn’t 100% certain if the hockey would be prevalent (I love hockey) and it wasn’t over-mentioned. Sure, Rob is a retired player who now owns a sporting goods store, and is doing everything he can to outlast and revamp his image as a hard driving player, on and off the ice. See, he’s still regrouping from a puck bunny encounter gone Fatal Attraction that ended his marriage and almost derailed his career. He’s a ‘hands off’ guy now when it comes to getting involved, relationships and even easy encounters in bars.
Kate is having a rough day, week, life. She’s just frustrated and running to regroup – and moving to Idaho just may help her do that after the go-go-go of Vegas. Smart, funny and now OH So Bored –she’s intrigued by the handsome man, and a few drinks in give her the liquid courage to make her move. Which he turns down. Flat.
Oh this was fun – Kate is smart, funny, determined and not willing to take any guff from anyone. Rob is cute and adorable, even with his history: it really was clear that he wanted to move on and not be the center of gossip and speculation, and until Kate, he managed this quite well. Adding to their connection is a full frontal series of conflicts that plays on the fact that both are a bit uncertain about relationships and trust, and make their interactions sing. With a sweet romance building between Kate’s grandfather and Rob’s mother, and some wonderful town gossipy moments – the story is clever, sweet and fun.
Narration was provided by Kathleen Early and she does a solid job narrating this lighter story: Kate is instantly available to listeners, and Rob, while not solidly ‘masculine’ in tone does have a variation in delivery and a slightly deeper register, allowing his voice to be recognized. Other characters are brought to the story neatly, if a bit generically, and present with a touch of audio interest to hold attention. Fun and light, this is a nice mix of romance and woman’s fiction, with a touch of fun fantasy thrown in.
I received an audio copy of the title from the publisher via AudioBook Jukebox for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Loved it!!!
I have never laughed so much in my life!! This story is the best! The widows of Gospel are a hoot. Lol! You have got to read this story.
Great read !
Loved this book! Rachel Gibson writes another page turning story.