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A review by mfred
Nothing But Trouble by Rachel Gibson
3.0
I felt like Gibson wrote herself into a corner with this book.
The book's tone keeps reaching for light-hearted contemporary, but the hero Mark Bressler is a destroyed man. How do you write a comedic romance novel about a man whose hopes and dreams were shattered, along with his body, in a terrible car accident?
There is a lot a lot of telling in this book. Stuff like "Mark knew he wasn't an addict, he was just in pain" or "Chelsea had to re-evaluate her dreams and decide her future." I've read one or two of the other Chinook books, but don't remember such blatant exposition. These are pretty big deals in a person's life -- addiction, self worth-- you could spend years in therapy talking this shizz out. A better novel explores these issues through plot and characterization, not just states them baldly on the page.
Three stars for pretty decent sexual tension and a few very genuine laugh out loud moments that were a true delight. Gibson is so good at these moments! But I think if Gibson was willing to truly explore her characters more, allow herself to loosen up on the "sassy" and embrace their difficulties, this would have been a much better book.
The book's tone keeps reaching for light-hearted contemporary, but the hero Mark Bressler is a destroyed man. How do you write a comedic romance novel about a man whose hopes and dreams were shattered, along with his body, in a terrible car accident?
There is a lot a lot of telling in this book. Stuff like "Mark knew he wasn't an addict, he was just in pain" or "Chelsea had to re-evaluate her dreams and decide her future." I've read one or two of the other Chinook books, but don't remember such blatant exposition. These are pretty big deals in a person's life -- addiction, self worth-- you could spend years in therapy talking this shizz out. A better novel explores these issues through plot and characterization, not just states them baldly on the page.
Three stars for pretty decent sexual tension and a few very genuine laugh out loud moments that were a true delight. Gibson is so good at these moments! But I think if Gibson was willing to truly explore her characters more, allow herself to loosen up on the "sassy" and embrace their difficulties, this would have been a much better book.