Tag: Chinooks Hockey Team

Sunday Spotlight: The Art of Running in Heels by Rachel Gibson

Posted December 31, 2017 by Rowena in Features, Giveaways | 1 Comment

Sunday Spotlight is a feature we began in 2016. This year we’re spotlighting our favorite books, old and new. We’ll be raving about the books we love and being total fangirls. You’ve been warned. 🙂

Sunday Spotlight

Rachel Gibson has been one of our go-to authors for great sports romances since we were babies and new to reading romances. The Chinooks Hockey team was the very first hockey team that I read and fell in love with so this week’s Sunday Spotlight takes us back to that world and we’re super thrilled about it.

The Art of Running in Heels by Rachel Gibson
Series: Chinooks Hockey Team #7
Also in this Series: Simply Irresistible, Simply Irresistible, See Jane Score, See Jane Score, True Love and Other Disasters, Nothing but Trouble, Nothing but Trouble, Any Man of Mine
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Release Date: December 26, 2017
Publisher: Harper Collins, Avon

Running in five-inch stilettos is an art form. Leaving your fiancé at the altar on live television is a disaster.

Lexie Kowalsky thought she was ready to get married in front of millions of people, but at the last minute she fled the set of television’s hottest reality show, Gettin’ Hitched. Wearing a poofy white dress and a pair of five-inch sparkly shoes, Lexie hopped a float plane for Sandspit, Canada. She figured no one would find her there. But she was wrong.

Sharing her flight was the Seattle Chinooks biggest star, Sean Knox. Lexie wasn’t just a reality-show runaway, she was his pain in the butt coach’s daughter. She was chaos and temptation and definitely off limits, but getting her luscious body out of that wedding gown, he couldn’t resist getting her in his bed for one amazing night

Then a photo of Sean and Lexi breaks the internet—and suddenly they’re both swept up in a crazy plan to spin the whole story. But you can’t run from love.

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Excerpt

He didn’t know which hurt worse, the pain in his brain or in his eyeballs. God, somehow last night’s little ha-ha joke had turned into a full-blown secret. “You can’t call anyone. Not Hoda or Wendy or Wanda.” His brain. His brain definitely hurt worse. “We can’t have that kind of attention on us right now.”

“Humph.” His mother crossed her arms, clearly disappointed that she couldn’t lord her news over Wanda’s head. “What does your coach think about all this? One of his very own hockey players stealing his daughter on national TV?”

How in the hell had this happened? “He doesn’t know yet.” He wasn’t a liar. “Lexie doesn’t know yet.”

“Lexie doesn’t know you stole her from Pete?” She looked at him like he was the crazy one in the room. “I’m confused.”

She wasn’t the only one. “Of course she knows that.” He didn’t like secrets as much as he didn’t like lies. Mostly because he sucked at keeping them all straight, but here he was, smack in the middle of both. “Kowalsky doesn’t know Lexie is with me, and Lexie doesn’t know I play hockey for the Chinooks.” It was always best to go with the truth, and those two things were the truth. “And you can’t talk about it.”

“Are you okay, son?” She put her hand on his knee. “Did you get hit in the head without your helmet?”

It felt like it. Like a butt hit to the forehead.

“You need some Xanax.”

Great. His mother was prescribing medication.

“Or maybe I need the Xanax. I’m confused.” She reached for a prescription bottle on the TV tray next to her. “How could she not know you play hockey for the Chinooks?”

“She’s been out of town, filming that stupid show since I was traded.” He shrugged. “Maybe because I played for Pittsburgh and she doesn’t pay attention to players from other teams. Maybe I look different without my helmet. I don’t know for sure, but she doesn’t even seem to recognize my name.” But even the truth had this whole thing spiraling into chaos. “Kowalsky doesn’t like me very much. His mother still looked doubtful, and he added, “Lexie isn’t real bright. She has a lot of good qualities, but her attic’s a little dusty.”

“God compensated special people.” His mother smiled like a sudden flush of romance made her all warm inside. “You must really love her.”

Sean avoided chaos. He hated shit storms. He was responsible for both. He didn’t know quite how it had happened or how to stop it.

“You kidnapped her from Pete and right from under her dad’s nose, too.”

Kidnap? Love her? From under her dad’s nose? Geraldine sighed. “She must be your soul mate.”

Good Lord! Soul mate? He tried to speak but couldn’t find the words. He didn’t know her. He wasn’t even sure he liked her. “Yeah. That’s it,” he lied.

“Then I won’t call Wendy or say a word to Wanda.” She lifted a pretend key and locked her lips. “For now,” she said out of one corner of her mouth. “Even though I’m about to bust.”

He wasn’t sure she wouldn’t bust the moment he turned his back. Not when a chance at the Wendy show and national attention dangled in front of her like a tantalizing illness. “Lexie probably needs help,” he managed as he stood. He fought the urge to run. To get the hell out of his mother’s crazy house. “Yell if you need anything,” he said over his shoulder as he walked from the room. Only he couldn’t run from the crazy he’d brought to the house with him.

Lexie stood at the kitchen sink, and if she hadn’t looked up and smiled, he might have hopped the ferry to Prince Rupert. From there, he’d catch a flight to Seattle or Pittsburgh. The team was on the road and he’d much rather get a shot to the cup than be anywhere near Sandspit.

The bright sun bounced off the snow outside, cut a blinding trail through the window, and caught in Lexie’s hair. The fish hat lay on the counter, and she turned her attention to meat she placed in a hot pan on the stove. “I’m making Asian pork tenderloin I found in the refrigerator. It’ll taste so good, Geraldine won’t even know she’s eating healthy,” she said as she put a lid on the pan. “I’ll make simple hoisin and a yummy cucumber salad.”

Sean glanced over his shoulder at his mother and the sharp rise in her brow. Despite the invisible lock and key, she needed convincing. He took a cheese grater from Lexie’s hand and tossed it on the counter.

“Why did you do that?” She turned toward him and lifted her gaze to his, confusion pulling at her brows.

“This is crazy.”

“I know! I need that to shred the cucumber.” He slid his hand around her waist to the small of her back. “If you don’t want my mother to call The Wendy Williams Show for a chance at her dream vacation, make this look good.”

“What?”

“This.” He pulled her against his chest and slowly lowered his face to hers. “Kiss me like you mean it, Lexie,” he whispered against her mouth.

She sucked in a small breath. “Wendy, too?”

“Wendy, too.”

He brushed a soft kiss against her lips, teasing a reaction out of her. Her eyes rounded but she didn’t push away. Her soft breasts rested against his chest, teasing a reaction in his body. He kissed her to save her from Wendy and himself from the chaos his mother always created. That was the only reason, he told himself. Her lush mouth parted, and the ache in the pit of his stomach slid between his legs. He struggled to keep the kiss easy even as he craved more. Even as desire smacked his chest and hit the pit of his stomach like a hot ball of lead. He was in control. In control of the chaotic pull making him hard, belying the soft touch of his mouth to hers. Then her hands slipped up his chest, across his shoulder, to the back of his neck. She combed her fingers through his hair, and a shudder worked through him, running down his spine from the back of his skull to his butt. He was tempted. So damn tempted to slide his tongue into her mouth and his hands to her behind, pull her against his hard dick.

All aboard! Lexie’s breast vibrated against his chest. I, I, I, I . . .

Sean dropped his hands and took a deep, cleansing breath. Saved at the last second by Ozzy Osbourne.

Well, hello there, Mr. Knox…

Chinooks Hockey Team Series


Giveaway Alert

We’re giving one lucky winner their choice of one of our Sunday Spotlight books. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter for one of this month’s features.

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Are you as excited for this release as we are? Let us know how excited you are and what other books you’re looking forward to this year!

About the Author

Rachel Gibson

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

Rachel was born in Boise, Idaho, USA. Her father worked for a telephone company, and her mother was a housewife. Idaho has the largest population of Basques outside of the Basque lands of Spain. She grew up with kids with last names like Uberuaga, Berriochoa, and Egisquiza, but years later she discovered the rest of the country didn’t really know much about the Basque culture or history.

Rachel’s storytelling career began at the age of sixteen when she ran her Chevy Vega into the side of a hill, retrieved the bumper and broken glass from the ground, and drove to her High School parking lot. With the help of her friend, she strategically scattered the broken pieces and told her parents she’d been the victim of a hit and run. They believed her, and she’s been telling stories ever since.

Four of her novels were named among the Top Ten Favorite Books of The Year by Romance Writers of America. Two of her novels, True Confessions and Not Another Bad Date, were awarded the RITA, Romance Writers of America’s highest honor of excellence. Some of Rachel’s other awards and achievements include The Golden Heart Award, the National Reader’s Choice, Amazon Editor’s Top Pick, Publisher Weekly’s Quill nominee, Borders bestselling romantic comedy and Romantic Time’s Career Achievement award.

When not writing, Rachel can be found shopping for shoes or looking for strange and unusual flowers to plant in her garden.


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Weekly Reread: See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson.

Posted June 26, 2007 by Rowena in Reviews | 8 Comments

Weekly Reread: See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson.Reviewer: Rowena
See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson
Series: Chinooks Hockey Team #2
Also in this series: True Love and Other Disasters (Chinooks Hockey Team #4)
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: January 28th 2003
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
five-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

THIS IS JANE

A little subdued. A little stubborn. A little tired of going out on blind dates with men who drive vans with sofas in the back, Jane Alcott is living the Single Girl existence in the big city. She is also leading a double life. By day, she's a reporter covering the raucous Seattle Chinooks hockey team—especially their notorious goalie Luc Martineau. By night, she's a writer, secretly creating the scandalous adventures of "Honey Pie"...the magazine series that has all the men talking.

SEE JANE SPAR

Luc has made his feelings about parasite reporters—and Jane—perfectly clear. But if he thinks he's going to make her life a misery, he'd better think again.

SEE JANE ATTRACT

For as long as he can remember, Luc has been single minded about his career. The last thing he needs is a smart mouthed, pain in the backside, reporter digging into his past and getting in his way. But once the little reporter shed her black and gray clothes in favor of a sexy red dress, Luc sees that there is more to Jane than originally meets the eye.

Maybe it's time to take a risk. Maybe it's time to live out fantasies. Maybe it's time to....

SEE JANE SCORE!

It’s been a cool minute since I’ve read this book and I can tell you right now that this time around, I loved me some Luc Martineau just as much as I did the first time I picked it up. This is one of those feel good, underdog romances that you can’t help but love.

You see, we’ve got Jane, a columnist for the Seattle Times who is given the job of reporting on the progress of Luc Martineau’s hockey team. She’ll be staying pretty close to the team and Luc is not so happy about that. You see, he’s got this attraction to her that he can’t stop, he doesn’t even understand it because Jane is such a plain Jane, not anything near the kind of woman he’d usually go for but there you go, Luc’s got the hots for the reporter following the team around the states from game to game, reporting on every little thing.

She’s damnned irritating too but there’s something about her that gets him…where it counts, right below his belt.

LOL.

This book is about a hockey player and an aspiring reporter who fight their attraction until it threatens to burst them all into flames and man does Rachel Gibson do a really good job of making these characters real and so much fun to get to know. One of my favorite parts of this book is when Jane shows up to the team banquet in that killer red dress and Luc is thunderstruck. I loved it!

Luc Martineau is the $33 million dollar goalie who is the biggest superstitious guy in the world. He’s a hot jock and I loved him to pieces. He was smexy, smart and a complete stud! I hecka enjoyed getting to know him and his sister. The whole relationship between them was so much fun to rad. With all of the career pressure he was going through and all of the family stuff he needed to take care of, he didn’t have time for an attraction he didn’t want. But I love that he couldn’t resist Jane and I loved just about every damn thing about him, even when he was being stupid.

Jane Alcott on the other hand was a fantastic heroine. She was short, smart and sharp. She had me crackin’ up when she was given the job to write for the Chinooks. She had to buy a frickin’ Hockey for Dummies book and then she had the humongous task of winning over the whole frickin’ team who didn’t want her anywhere near them. All of the crap they put Jane had me cringing and feeling so bad for Jane but she took it like a champ and alls well that ends well. She did a fantastic job in this book and even though I was kinda miffed that she was using her relationship with Luc as a backdrop on her column that she did for that men’s magazine, you know the Honey Pie one and even though I thought Luc was too easy on her because of that, I thought, holy wow….the short, plain jane broke the hot shot jock’s heart?

I love it.

That’s mean but it’s how I felt, I thought this book was fantastic…the characters were real, funny and quirky. The storyline was smooth reading and I was just as absorbed in this story as I was the first time I read it and I seriously think that Rachel Gibson rocks my socks!

Get this book and read it if you haven’t, it’s great!

Grade: 5 out of 5

five-stars


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