Review: What I Love About You (Truly, Idaho #3) by Rachel Gibson

               

Series: Truly, Idaho #3

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Avon

Publication Date: 8/26/14

Format: eARC

Pages: 384

Source: Publisher

Rating: 4.5 stars

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New York Times bestselling author Rachel Gibson returns to Truly, Idaho, and to the fate of sexy SEAL Blake Junger

GIMMEE A B-R-E-A-K!

Ex-high school cheerleader Natalie Cooper could once shake her pom-poms with the best of them. But she's paid for all that popularity—her husband's run off with what's left of their money and a twenty-year-old bimbo named Tiffany. Leaving Natalie to manage a photo store and having to see some pictures she, well, really shouldn't.

GIMMEE A S-H-O-T!

Then she comes toe-to-manly chest with Blake Junger. Exiled to a remote cabin in Truly, Idaho, Blake wants nothing to do with anyone. Instead, he's determined to struggle with his demons and win—all on his own. But the last thing he needs is Natalie distracting him with her luscious curves and breaking down the barriers of his heart.

GIMMEE YOUR H-E-A-R-T!

My Review

{REVIEW} BLUE BY YOU by RACHEL GIBSON

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Publication Date: 9/3/13
Format: eARC
Pages: 100
Source: Received from publisher for review
Rating: 4 stars

Rachel Gibson, the New York Times bestselling author of Crazy On You and Rescue Me, once again shows that there's nothing quite like a man in uniform!

They say you never forget your first time, but there's nothing Blue Butler and Kasper Pennington would rather forget than their brief but fiery teenage love affair. Yeah, it was hot while it lasted, but then he went off to join the Marines, leaving Blue in New Orleans. She's tried to block him from her mind for good, but nothing can really erase the feeling she had when she was with him.

And now he's got the nerve to return—leaner, meaner, and strong enough to pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless. Blue's a successful businesswoman now, with no time to figure out what went wrong all those years ago. But Kasper knows she's the one woman for him … and now he's got to prove it to her all over again.

 

I recently read Run to You by Rachel Gibson, and enjoyed it. In Run to You, we briefly meet Kasper Pennington. When I realized Blue by You was a novella featuring Kasper and his second chance at love, I happily dove into this story.

Blue by You was so, so good! I love novellas, though this was such a good story and I would've been thrilled with a full-length novel. This was such a sweet story of an amazing connection between a young man and woman from rival families, and the second chance the receive twenty- two years later. Despite its length, Blue by You had a well-developed story and characters in Kasper and Blue.

Though I adored both Kasper and Blue, and their second chance, what truly pushed Blue by You fully into my heart was the setting. Blue by You is set in southern Louisiana, and the author did an amazing job of incorporating everything that makes Louisiana so special into the story. There were crawfish boils, street music, and mentions of the landscape and architecture that makes that state a piece of heaven. It was so great, and I became so homesick for my former home that my heart hurt a tiny bit.

Blue by You is my favorite of the two Rachel Gibson stories I've read. She has a way of quickly pulling you into a story. Combine that with comfortable and fun stories, and that is why Contemporary Romance is my favorite.


Favorite Quote:


  "Believe it or not, we have better things to do at Dahlia Hall than gossip about your family."
  "Like marry your cousins and make big-headed babies?"
  Weren't the Pennington men supposed to be sugar-mouthed? "That hasn't happened in a hundred years!" Or so.   ~eARC, 23%



  "I love you, Blue." He buried his face in the top of her hair. "I'm sorry I was a coward all those years ago. If you give me the chance, I'll show you that I'm not the man at forty-three that I was at twenty-one. Hell, I am not even the man I was a week ago." He pulled back and cupped her face. "I look at you, and I see something I haven't seen in a very long time. I see a woman I love. I look at you, and I see a future. When I look at you, I see something I've never seen before. I see forever."  ~eARC, 70%

 

 

 

 

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REVIEW: RUN TO YOU by RACHEL GIBSON

Series: Military Men #2
Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: 9/24/13
Format: eARC
Pages: 384
Source: Received from publisher for review
Rating: 3.5 stars

Rachel Gibson, New York Times bestselling author of Rescue Me, returns to Texas for the second of her Military Men series, with the tale of what happens when a tough guy meets his match--and falls harder than a ton of red-hot bricks. . .

From Rachel Gibson, New York Times bestselling author of Rescue Me, comes her latest sexy contemporary novel, featuring a hot Navy SEAL and a woman on the run.

 

I first learned about Rachel Gibson from my friend Nereyda, who lists Gibson as her very favorite author. Now, Nereyda is a great and enthusiastic blogger, and when she insists a book/author is awesome, you listen. That girl is scary intense. So when I received the offer to take Run to You for review, I was all over that.

I found Run to You to be a fairly straightforward Contemporary Romance, and by that I mean, I was pretty much able to predict exactly where the story was headed the entire way through. That might seem like a negative to a lot of readers, but I tend to find comfort in the stories that I can relax into and just enjoy the ride.

And no, I was not even a little bored while reading Run to You, and that is because this story was laugh out loud funny. Seriously, I have many, many passages highlighted and almost every single one was because they made me chuckle, giggle, or burst out laughing.

Stella was a flat-out riot. I loved that she was such a layered character. She was funny and uninhibited, but she was a good girl at heart. She was intent on saving a piece of herself for the love of her life, but she wasn't all innocence. She was real.

"She didn't need help. Not from anyone. Especially from a man so cold he probably crapped ice cubes."

Beau was less of an open book, and it took me a little longer to warm to him. It's clear that he's a good guy, given the lengths he goes to in order to help a friend and a woman he's just met. It's also obvious that he has his own set of internal issues going on, ones that do affect his personality. Once Beau got most of the stick out of his butt, I enjoyed him almost as much as Stella. And....what's super interesting about Beau is, he's making a sincere effort to reclaim his sexual integrity. (I hope I'm explaining this well)

Beau and Stella make a really great pairing, and combined with Stella's journey to her sister, and the healthy amount of laughs, Run to You was a completely satisfying read. I will definitely be reading more of her books in the near future.



Favorite Quotes:


  He needed to get off the phone and make a few more calls before he called it a night. But not before he fired his brother up. "Oh. One more thing."
  "Yeah?"
  "Batman's a p*ssy."
  "Bullshit! Batman is a genius and a skilled veteran of ninjutsu. All Batman has to do is shove kryptonite up Superman's ass and he's fucking useless."  ~eARC, 34%


  "I love a pair of warm thighs and the taste of a woman in my mouth. Especially if the woman is as into it as I am." He stood and threw a hundred-dollar bill on the table. "Now if you'll excuse me, I got a date with a cold shower or the porn channel. I haven't decided which. Maybe both."   ~eARC, 52%


  "I annoy people sometimes," she said on a big exhale. "I annoyed you."
  "That's just because I wanted to touch your butt and couldn't."
  "Seriously?" She licked her red lips and took a drink. "Are you just saying that to be nice?"
 ~eARC, 64%

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