Nothing But Trouble

I loved the sound of this book, and the gorgeous purple cover, so it was a very easy pick to make it one of my books for the Transworld Book Group challenge. A book that had a sports slant to it really appealed to me, I’m a huge sports fan but don’t tend to read many books that feature them. When the book arrived I realised that this was the fifth book in the Chinooks series, I started to read hoping that it wouldn’t matter that I hadn’t read the previous books.

It didn’t, the book definitely works as a stand alone, nothing happened in the story that made me feel like I’d missed some important fact. The plot does feel pretty familiar, neither Chelsea or Mark likes each other, but it’s clear there is something between them and they end up in a will they won’t they struggle. I think if the book hadn’t had the ice hockey back drop I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much as I did, this was the part that kept my interest rather than the love story.

Mark begins the book as a pretty obnoxious character, though it is understandable considering his recent accident and the abrupt end of his glittering sports career. Chelsea’s determination and focus proves a good foil to his attempts to get rid of her, and I thought her motivation for doing so is quite interesting. I liked some of the other hockey players we get to see fairly briefly, I can see me being tempted to read the other books in this series to get to see some more of them.

I definitely enjoyed this book, though I think this was mainly to do with the setting and the way it’s written. I would have liked the plot to be a bit more adventurous, but for a fluffy read this did do the job. ( )

I loved the sound of this book, and the gorgeous purple cover, so it was a very easy pick to make it one of my books for the Transworld Book Group challenge. A book that had a sports slant to it really appealed to me, I’m a huge sports fan but don’t tend to read many books that feature them. When the book arrived I realised that this was the fifth book in the Chinooks series, I started to read hoping that it wouldn’t matter that I hadn’t read the previous books.

It didn’t, the book definitely works as a stand alone, nothing happened in the story that made me feel like I’d missed some important fact. The plot does feel pretty familiar, neither Chelsea or Mark likes each other, but it’s clear there is something between them and they end up in a will they won’t they struggle. I think if the book hadn’t had the ice hockey back drop I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much as I did, this was the part that kept my interest rather than the love story.

Mark begins the book as a pretty obnoxious character, though it is understandable considering his recent accident and the abrupt end of his glittering sports career. Chelsea’s determination and focus proves a good foil to his attempts to get rid of her, and I thought her motivation for doing so is quite interesting. I liked some of the other hockey players we get to see fairly briefly, I can see me being tempted to read the other books in this series to get to see some more of them.

I definitely enjoyed this book, though I think this was mainly to do with the setting and the way it’s written. I would have liked the plot to be a bit more adventurous, but for a fluffy read this did do the job. ( )

NOTHING BUT TROUBLE was exactly what I expected it to be. Funny, light, well written. It flowed well, was easy to read, the stage always set, characters crisp, emotions clear. It would be easier to comment if the book had dipped below my expectations - if there had been something wrong with it - or risen above them. But it didn't.

Mark and Chelsea are exactly who they seem to be. Neither is shallow, but neither offers any hidden depths to plumb, either. What you see is what you get. The problem that we start with on page one drives the whole novel; Mark needs to figure out what to do with himself after his accident and stop living like an angry shut-in; Chelsea needs to decide if she wants to follow her passion for acting even though a big break isn't very likely. No real twists and turns.

The hero, Mark Bressler, is really in a horrible, no-good situation. He'll never play hockey professionally again; he can move on, but he doesn't get any sort of miracle cure. Chelsea Ross likes acting, she's worked steadily, but she's not landing any big roles in this book. Gibson gets credit for starting out with this fantasy - professional hockey player! actress! - and then crafting real trauma for her H/h. Fantasy or no, both Mark and Chelsea have to deal with some very harsh realities. I liked the maturity and growth they displayed, but the story didn't push them any further than that. ( )

I really liked the previous book, True Love and Other Disasters - a return to the Seattle Chinooks Hockey team and what I like best about Rachel Gibson's writing, so I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, while it was okay, it wasn't my favourite - it was one of those books where the font was large and the margins wide and there weren't actually that many words on the page - it was easy to read pretty quickly. I liked Mark Bressler and I would have liked to have spent more time with him but the book kind of glossed over everything. Plus, I wanted to know what happened after - was Chelsea going to pursue acting in Seattle or just be Mrs. Mark? - was she going to get her surgery? These questions were left unanswered and I felt like the whole thing was a bit rushed and superficial. If it was food, I would say it had little nutritional value - sweet, but leaves you wanting something meatier. C ( )

I came across Rachel's book at Wal-mart looking for something new to read and at first was not sure if I should buy it or not, so I waited until I got home and looked at reviews on the book. Sure enough I was convinced and went to Borders and bought it. I am happy that I did because this book was really good. This was my first book by Rachel Gibson and I loved it. I love discovering new authors and adding them to my list.I loved the relationship Mark and Chelsea had. They both could not stand each other and would go out of their way to annoy one another. Mark being bitter and mean because of his accident and feeling disabled and Chelsea killing him with kindness lol...and her clothes that he hated so much haha. Their relationship went from I CANT STAND YOU to I CANT BE WITHOUT YOU and those are the best type of books to read. What I liked the most about Rachel's book was that she took her time developing the relationship between Mark and Chelsea. The book did not feel like it was dragging out like some books I've read or rushed. Rachel took her time showing you what Mark liked most about Chelsea and what Chelsea liked most about him and how they were PERFECT for each other. It made their love feel more real to me. I laughed and even got teary eyed at the end. I recommend this book... Now I think I will go look into the other books because from what I hear this book is a part of a series of a bunch of hot Hockey men! lol ( )