REVIEW: I’m in No Mood for Love by Rachel Gibson
Dear Ms Gibson,
I’d have to say that most of your books have worked for me on some level and a few are favorites. But unfortunately while I enjoyed parts of this book, it doesn’t equal your past efforts.
On the day of her best friend’s wedding, Clare Wingate is shocked to find her metrosexual fiance playing cowboy with the Sears repairman. After drinking all day to drown her sorrows, she wakes up the next morning almost naked, in a hotel bed and discovers she spent the night with an old childhood acquaintance. Sebastian Vaughn just happened to be in town that night and was amused to find Clare slamming back drinks in a hotel bar. After she poured out her problems, he poured her into her hotel bed then realized he was too tipsy to drive home. Some demon makes him tease Clare about what they might have done and they part in anger. But since Sebastian’s father works for Clare’s mother, they don’t stay apart for long.
Neither is looking for a romantic relationship though each is attracted to the other. But while Clare’s romance book writing career keeps her in Boise, Sebastian’s investigative reporter job takes him all over the world. They part for weeks and months at a time before finally giving into temptation and lust and starting a strictly “sex with no strings attached” relationship. Though it works for a while, Clare suddenly realizes that she wants more and deserves more from a man. But will Sebastian be the one to give her a HEA?
Perhaps I’ve just read too many books featuring this type of heroine lately but I’m tired of the ultra controlled woman who needs a good screw to loosen her up. For the first third of the book, Clare is wound tighter than an eight day clock. And while I usually love your heroes, Sebastian does a few things I thought were cruel and a little heartless. And while I enjoy the fact that you spent time focusing on each character’s career and didn’t cram the book into a few short weeks, Clare and Sebastian spend much of the second third of the book apart. It’s not until the last third that the relationship and the book really take off. I wish there had been more of the following example of dialogue throughout the entire book, rather than just at the end.
“No tricks. I love you, Clare. I love you and I want to spend my life with you. I even watched Pretty in Pink.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and I hated every minute of it.” He took her hand. “But I love you, and if it makes you happy, I’ll watch teen flicks with you.”
“You don’t have to watch teen flicks with me.”
“Thank God.” He lifted his free hand and brushed her hair behind her ear. “I got you something, but it’s out in the car. I didn’t think Joyce would let it in the house.”
“What?”
“You said you wanted a husband and children and a dog. So, I’m here with one very carsick Yorkshire terrier puppy and a willingness to work on the kids part”
Once again he’d looked into her lonely heart and given her what she’d wanted. Plus a dog. “I don’t have anything to give you.”
“I just want you. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
That’s what I expect from a Gibson book and it’s not what I found in this one. I’m not sure if you’re trying something new but have gotten bored with your usual style but I can’t go higher than a C+ for this one.
~Jayne
Thank you for this review, Jayne. I just read my first Gibson — See Jane Score — and liked it enough to search out more of her books. But I haven’t known which ones to try, and I’m sorting through a fair number of her books. I share your disgust with the heroine who needs to be “loosened up” with a little god sex (one of the things I liked about SJS was that Jane wasn’t uptight that way — although I could have done without Luc’s concern that she was a nympho), so I’ll probably leapfrog this book and head straight to her backlist. I think next I might try the one about online dating, as that seemed to get postive buzz, and then another of her hockey books, as I enjoy a little hockey myself.
I couldn’t finish the first in this series—Sex, Lies & Online Dating, I think it was called—because of what (to me) was a ridiculous motivation hole, but I bought this one (despite my obsessiveness about series) because I enjoy her books so much. I just finished it about ten minutes ago, and I wasn’t disappointed. It certainly wasn’t as good as See Jane Score, but it was a fun read.
I was pretty impressed with Sebastian’s grovel, too. :)
I enjoyed the preview with Sebastian grovelling. It makes me look forward to reading this even more. Besides ~ I have a thing for heroes named Sebastian.
Sadly, Gibson’s fallen off my auto-buy list. My favs by her were Truly, Madly Yours, Simply Irresistible, and See Jane Score. And 2 out of 3 were written more than several years ago. I’m not crying, “Shark!” yet, but if I read this, it’ll be through the library.
I read this over the weekend and didn’t review it for my blog because I was so disappointed in it. My sister had enjoyed it and I had every expectation of an enjoyable Gibson read. I read about half the book and then the ending. Just no hook for me.
Thanks for the review. I’ve read all of Rachel’s books except the last few. I don’t have this one yet, but it’s on my list of books to get. So far I haven’t been disappointed with any of them. Hope that’s not about to change. lol
Robin, I’d start with the older hockey books.
Shannon, I liked “Sex, Lies” but it’s not one of my favorites. This one won’t be either.
As I said, I wish more of the book were like this grovel snippet. I feel like I’ve given you one of the best scenes in the book, kind of like seeing the best scenes in a movie during a preview!
Rachel, a friend loaned me her copy to read b/c I didn’t plan to buy it either. If I had, I think I’d be even more disappointed.
Kim, hope you like it better than I did.
Rosie, I just kept reading and waiting for it to get better. It was a long wait.