Review: Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson.

Posted May 29, 2008 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins


Hero: Zach Zemaitis
Heroine: Adele Harris
Grade: 4.5 out of 5

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?

Now before I start, I have to bring up the spoilers in this review, there will be some so if you don’t want to read any, you might want to come back after you’ve read this book. This is the last book in the Writers series by Rachel Gibson. We’ve seen Lucy, Claire and Maddie find their happy ending and finally, after a bazillion bad dates, we get Adele’s.

So Adele’s sister needs her. Her husband has left her for a woman named Stormy Winter who’s hecka younger than him and she’s pregnant with his second child. Heartbroken and down in the dumps, she moves herself and her teenage daughter back to her hometown of Cedar Creek, Texas. Adele comes in and helps her sister get on her feet in Cedar Creek. The place where Junior League reigned supreme and where she didn’t want to be.

Adele is the last of her friends that is single. She’s cursed with a string (a really long string) of bad dates and she thinks she’ll never find happiness for herself and then to make matters worse, when she goes to pick up her niece from a friends house, she runs into Zach Zemaitis, her first love and the one that got away.

Seeing Zach brought back a lot of memories. Memories that are better left in the past but she can’t help that she starts wanting him in the worst way, especially because she can’t seem to stay away from him with Kendra (her niece) and his daughter, Tiffany being on the same dance team and being good friends.

Watching Adele try to keep her feelings under guard while dealing with Zach was wicked entertaining. I thought Adele was a great heroine. She was real. She was funny and she had real problems. I enjoyed that. I enjoyed watching her deal with Kendra and take care of her sister. Trying to be the strong one in the family took it’s toll on her but she kept a level head through it all and proved that she was a keeper.

I also enjoyed the way she was with Zach. She wasn’t one of those heroines who denies, denies, denies her feelings for the hero and makes you want to karate chop her in her in the knee caps because she’s so dumb about her feelings. When she stopped running from her desire, she dived right into things with Zach and let herself fall into a good time. She did what she needed to do and I really enjoyed getting to know her.

I’ve got to give major kudos to Rachel Gibson. She really knows how to write the hell out of a sexy hero. Her heroes are sexy as all get out and Zach was no exception. There was an inate sexiness and masculinity about him that I just effing loved. I love athletes, big, strapping athletes who are just…big and yummalicious.

Zach was big and yummalicious.

He wasn’t this perfect hero who said and did the perfect things, he was such a guy that I got to give Rachel Gibson props for staying true to GUYS everywhere. Me, being such a girl took exception to some of the things about Zach in this book, things that bothered me enough that I was having trouble getting over it that I brought my issues up to my two brothers Pete and Henry and even my friend, Kurt. All of them didn’t think it was a big deal. Not that they’d do it or anything but they don’t knock those who do, do it. Basically what they said is that guys are a lot less judgemental of things than women are. Pete and Kurt kept saying, “If Devon was okay with it, who’s business is it of ours to judge him and their marriage?”

WTF?

And even though they didn’t think it was a big deal…for me, because Zach was the hero in this book, I didn’t like that the issue I had with the book wasn’t a big deal to Zach but I’m glad that it was a big deal to Adele and I’m glad that she addressed those concerns when they decided to take their relationship to the next level at the end of the book.

I didn’t hold Zach’s past against him after I finished the book but it did bother me because that’s not the image that I want to have of my heroes but alls well that ends well. Although speaking of the end, it wrapped up pretty quickly. It ended abruptly and it was kind of disappointing but I got over it and loved the book anyway.

I enjoyed this book. It was a fast read, one that I read in one sitting. I’ve been doing that a lot lately, I’ve been reading a bunch of good books. This book was entertaining, funny and just an all around good read. I recommend this book to any Rachel Gibson fan out there. You’ll enjoy it. I’m not sure if this is my favorite book of the bunch in this series but I wasn’t disappointed in this read, just in some aspects of it, like the whole Zach deal. It was cute, fun and sexy.

You should read it, for sure.

This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


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