Alice's Review: Any Man of Mine

Summary:  What happens in Vegas . . . doesn't always stay there.

Autumn Haven's Las Vegas "to-do" list said to catch a show and play the slots—not wake up married to a sexy jerk like Sam LeClaire. The first moment she saw him eyeing her like a luscious piece of the dessert buffet, her usually responsible self told her to run. And she did—right into the wildest fantasy weekend of her life. But Monday morning jolted her back to reality, and before she could say "pass the coffee," Sam was gone.

Now a successful wedding planner, Autumn hasn't clapped eyes on the heartbreaking hockey superstar for over two years . . . until she organizes his teammate's "Special Day," where Sam makes a big play to pick up where he left off! But she has vowed any man of hers plays for keeps. Is Sam the man for her or does she banish him to the sin bin forever?

Review: My sister loves romance novels and chick lit. She has stacks and stacks of paperbacks pretty much everywhere. Over the weekend I was in the Poconos and she had Any Man of Mine by Rachel Gibson on her bedside table. I was totally attracted to this novel by the cover, it was simple and romantic. I loved the flower in the woman's hair and the pearl earring. When I read the summary, I was stoked that Ms. Gibson was taking me back to Seattle for another chapter in the love lives of the men of the Seattle's fictional hometown hockey team, the Chinooks. So, yeah I was sold.

I love hockey (Go Isles & Jenn's Sabers!) and a novel about the fictional love lives of hockey players is pretty much right up my alley. Once I got the bones of the story, I couldn’t put the novel down. It’s your basic boy meets girl, boy is a jackass and loses girl, boy tries to win girl back story. This one had the added elements of an impulsive Vegas wedding following by an unplanned pregnancy.

Overall I thought this was a great summer read, perfect for the beach, pool, or lake. I really liked Autumn and Sam as a couple. I had my pompoms out and was cheering for them to reconcile. Although the story was obviously shrouded in fantasy, I liked that Ms. Gibson gave Autumn character, she was very real to me. In many ways she reminded me of our very own Julie, for reasons I can’t really explain other than she showed maturity beyond her years and took something that would have knocked any other woman on her ass and turned it into something positive. I think Sam had the perfect mix of jerk and charmer, and it was nice to see him mature into the kind of man worthy of Autumn.

Is this the kind of novel that will change your life?  Probably not.  But if you are a hockey and romance fan, you'll enjoy it.

Now if I can only figure out a way to get Ms. Gibson’s The Seattle Chinooks into a TV series very much like the short lived Canadian MVP and the UK’s Dream Team….

Final Take: 4/5