I'm In No Mood for Love by Rachel Gibson

Hero: Sebastian Vaughan
Heroine: Clare Wingate
Category: Contemp
Page Count: 359/paperback
Grade:A
Buy It: Here, or here.

What is Clare Wingate doing? One minute she's suffering in a pretty-in-pink gown she'll never wear again, and the next thing she knows it's morning . . . and she has the nastiest hangover of her life.
To make matters worse, she's wearing nothing but a spritz of Escada and lying next to Sebastian Vaughan . . . her girlhood crush turned sexy, globe-hopping journalist. Somewhere between the toast and the toss of the bouquet she'd gotten herself into a whole lot of trouble.

Clare had the right to go wild-after all, she'd been knocked off her dyed-to-match shoes after finding her own fiancé in a compromising position with the washing machine repairman. Clearly her society wedding is off.

But Sebastian pushed all the wrong buttons-and some of the right ones, too. Clare is in no mood for love-not even for lust-and wants to forget about Sebastian and his six-pack abs ASAP. But he isn't in the mood to go away, and his kiss is impossible to forget.

Ever since buying and reading Sex, Lies, and Online Dating, just about a year ago, I've been dying for Rachel Gibson's next book, I'm In No Mood For Love. It's the second in a series she's writing about 4 girl friends who are all fiction authors. And I wasn't disappointed.

Clare is a historical romance author and she loves her job, even if her mother tells all her friends that she writes woman's fiction and refuses to call it what it really is. Clare's completely happy with her life until the day of one of her best friends wedding when she runs back home and finds the Sears repair man riding her fiance on the floor of her walk in closet.

The next morning she wakes up with a huge hang over and not really remembering to much. But when she looks at the bed she's in and finds her self naked except for her pink thong in a hotel room it's obvious she didn't spend it alone. But before she can escape he's there, the worst person she could even think up. The boy who teased her, hit her and tricked her every chance he got grew up to be a very handsome man. Sebastian is a girls wet dream, with his green eyes, wicked smile, and body to drool over.

After a very embarrassing conversation with Sebastian, mostly cause she didn't remember anything and Sebastian is still teasing her, Clare escaped with what dignity she could. Then went home to face her reality. She cleaned house-so to speak, and decided to stay clear of men for awhile. But before Sebastian is off they share a hot kiss. And a few months later it's a make-out session in her mother pantry, and about a month or so later they stop lying to themselves and give in to the passion burning between them.

After mistakenly thinking they could rid themselves of each other after a night full of hot kinky sex they decide to just be friends that have sex, no strings attached. Great for Sebastian that cannot handle the R word or C word (that's relationship or commitment if you weren't sure), and great for Clare who doesn't mind a few multiple orgasms with Mr. Right Now while she waits for Mr. Right.

But when Clare finds herself in love with another man that doesn't love her back, she takes a stand. And that's when it gets really good. But I'm not gonna tell you the rest. You'll have to go read this to find out how Sebastian reacts, what he does, what she does.....and a lot more.

This book is full of men reading romance, men getting drug around shopping by a shopaholic, a father and son finding a relationship that had gotten forgotten, kick ass girl friends, some sexy banter with our H&H, a lot of laughter (even some tears for me) and that's not even mentioning a flipping fine hero and an awesome heroine.
So go get the book and read it!

Quote from Sebastian (after Clare asks if he heard what she said to him):

"Yeah. You assume I don't see myself married because I want to 'conquer' lots of different women and eat their Lucky Charms and Tasty O's."

....then after he corners her in her mothers pantry

"I want to talk about eating you like a Tasty O. I want to talk about all the things I want to do to you. Then we can talk about all the things I want you to do to me."

Oh wait.....the parts I didn't like? Hmmmm, even a favorite like RG had something that bothered me. There was something on page 182 that really irked me, read the book and see if you can figure it out. lol. And the ending? A little perfect but hey it's a romance novel right? What do you expect? All around though, it was a great book. I can always count on RG for a great read. Now I cannot wait till next year for Maddie's book!!!

Dylan's Take:

Grade: A

Alright, Nicole already gave you the low down on this book and I've got to 100% agree with her. This book was sooooo good. I read Sex, Lies and Online Dating a while ago and loved the book, thought it was so good and thought Quinn was an absolute hunk of a detective.

I think I liked this one more.

The whole friends from their youth storylines are my favorite. I loved the whole, I knew you when you were younger and you used to pull my braids and make fun of my glasses and yet you still love me now. It's such a good storyline. I frickin' love it to pieces and this book certainly didn't disappoint me at all.

Sebastian Vaughan, what a frickin' stud. I loved this guy, he's a man's man who hates shopping and women that cry, he also hates cliches and hates that the fact that he hates shopping and women that cry makes him a cliche too. LOL. There were times in the book where I thought that he was being an ass, but men are asses sometimes and I got over it.

I really liked Clare too. She was awesome, she's like me...she looks and sees the best in things and can be a total pushover when it comes to guys. She's blind to her loved ones faults and she's just an all around good heroine. I loved that she wrote romance novels, I loved the way she fell in love with Sebastian and I just loved this story.

I loved the characters, the girls are great and I loved watching Sebastian and his father, Leo try to rebuild their relationship as father and son. I just loved watching that relationship grow into something solid and strong at the end, it was really good...just all around good. And reading about Sebastian in the sack??? Yeah, it was awesome. Loved him and loved it!

The story as a whole was very light, entertaining and just well written in my opinion. This is most definitely one of my favorite Rachel Gibsons and I am totally pimping it to all who want to read a really funny and sweet book.

Holly, Grace, Izzy and Daphne...get on this book, it was cute!

Truly, Madly, Yours by Rachel Gibson

WHERE THERE'S A WILL. . .
When pretty hairdresser Delaney Shaw returned home to Truly, Idaho, for the reading of her stepfather's will, she planned on paying her respects and getting out of town. But it seems the will has some unexpected stipulations-like the one that says if Delaney wants her inheritance she needs to stay put and have nothing to do with sexy Nick Allegrezza. . .for an entire year!

THERE'S NO WAY. . .
Ten years ago, Nick had swept Delaney off her feet and onto his Harley, and that's when she really let her down her Hair! Back then, he was a love-'em-and-leave-'em man, and Delaney learned the hard way that she was just a fling. But Nick is as irresistible as ever. And when the ladies at Tuesday night Bingo see Nick and Delaney making after-hours whoopee through the window of a local beauty parlor, Delaney knows it's time to decide if Nick I truly, madly the man of her heart. -- Excerpt from Rachel Gibson's website

Ten years ago, Delaney made a hasty exit from Truly, Idaho to escape her mother and step father's controlling ways. But not before Nick Allegrezza, the infamous bad boy of the town managed to get her flat on her back on the hood of his car - a fact neither of them can forget. Now that Delaney's back in town (for a brief time, or so she thinks) Delaney realises that whatever was between them years ago, is still there. And to make it worse, her step father just had to try and control her life, even after death.

According to Henry Shaw's will, Delaney could expect to receive a big fat inheritence IF she stayed in town for an entire year, but if she left..everything would go to Nick. Unexpectedly, Henry also left a provision for Nick. IF Nick can keep his goods in his pants and out of Delaney's for an entire year, then he'll be entitled to receive highly coveted properties..otherwise said properties would go to Delaney. Delaney is clearly outraged, as we'd expect, after finding out about Henry's will. But Nick on the other hand, he's purposely obnoxious -- "Does one fuck constitute a sexual relationship?" he asks after finding out about the conditions, even with Delaney's mother present. LOL, cracked me right up.

So with the grounds laid out, Delaney decides to stick it out and stay in town. But it isn't easy. She starts to receive messages telling her to leave town, she finds herself coming up against an old rival who stole her boyfriend in highschool, her mother continues to drive her insane and on top of it all, Delaney can't seem to keep her mind or hands off Nick Allegrezza. And Nick seems to be all for the idea, even though it put his inheritence at risk each time. Ultimately, it was only a matter of time before one of them lost and broke the conditions laid out in the will.

When I first picked this book up, I read the first chapter and then immediately put it down. I couldn't seem to get over the fact that Henry Shaw, who is Nick's biological father, adopted Delaney when she was a little girl making them step brother/step sister. I know, it shouldn't have been THAT big of a deal since they're not related by blood nor did they grow up in the same household, but still. I had to put the book down for an afternoon to forget the fact. But once I got over it, or pretended to get over it..I really enjoyed the book.

As expected, I loved Nick Allegrezza. I don't know if it's because he's the bad boy of the town who is sexy and tempting as sin or because his name just happens to be Nick. He's the type of guy mama's warn their daughters about and he's one of those alpha males who pretend that they're invincible and incapable of being hurt by others - but we all know different. Under all that arrogance and I don't give a shit attitude, he cares. Especially for Delaney. And it was so cute to read Nick doing random things for her showing that he cared, but denying it when she called him out on it. So cute. Even seeing Nick interact with his niece was verra cute.

The only things that didn't sit well with me on this one besides the step brother/step sister thing, was the fact that Nick had long hair and the on again off again attitude Delaney and Nick had towards each other. Yeah, it was fun to watch them try to fight the attraction at first, but after a while I got tired of it. I wanted them to realise and acknowledge their feelings before the final chapters of the book. I also thought the ending (when one of them finally had their epiphany and realised they couldn't live without the other) felt kinda rushed.

Bottom line: It was an enjoyable read, mostly because of Nick Allegrezza. Damn, he was hot. Minus the long hair, of course. ;o) So if you're looking for a light read and don't mind small town stories with everyone knowing everyone's business, try this one out.

3.75 / 5

Sex, Lies and Online Dating by Rachel Gibson

Lucy Rothschild has come up with a daring way of doing research for her newest mystery novel. Since her female serial killer meets her victims online, Lucy does the same. The men who respond to her e-mails and meet her in the Boise Starbucks provide excellent fodder, as well as verisimilitude. Finally Lucy only needs one more victim. Unbeknownst to her, Quinn McIntyre is actually an undercover detective trying to stop a serial killer. One thing the victims all have in common is that they are part of the online dating scene. As Quinn chats with Lucy, it becomes apparent that she is lying and that she knows way too much about police procedure. Lucy begins to fall for him, and Quinn falls for her, believing all the while that she's the killer. How Lucy's novel reads and how the serial killer's MO are so alike is just one of the fascinating aspects of Gibson's latest delightful page-turner. The others are her truly appealing and convincing characters.


Every so often I read a book and I recongnize the heroine. As myself. In RG's latest book, that's exactly what happened.

Lucy Rothschild is funny, quirky, tough and sarcastic. Basically, me in a nutshell.

She joins an Online Dating service to do research for her latest book. As a mystery writer, she's trying to find the next few victims to kill off in her book.

At the same time, Quinn is undercover looking for a killer. Who just happens to be murdering her victims in the exact same manner as Lucy is killing hers in her book.

The story was great. RG definitely delivered again.

4.5 out of 5

The Trouble With Valentine's Day by Rachel Gibson

Kate Hamilton should know. Dumped by her boyfriend, stressed out by her job, she's returned to Gospel, Idaho, for some rest and small-town fun. But when her first attempted seduction of a hunky stranger is completely rejected, she wonders what else could go wrong?
Well, for starters, she quickly realizes that the Mountain Momma Crafters' original poetry readings is about as good as it gets on a Friday night. Then she comes face-to-face with Rob Sutter, former ice hockey madman, owner of Sutter Sports — and the hunky stranger who told her to get lost.
Rob's been more than burned by love — but then he and Kate find themselves in an ultra-compromising position in the M & S Market after hours, giving the phrase "clean-up in aisle five" a whole new meaning, and causing a whole lot of gossip in Gospel ...

We return to the city of Gospel. This isn't a sequel to True Confessions. You do see the quirky characters from the first book, but hardly hear of Dylon and Hope.

Ex hockey player Rob has moved back to Gospel. Kate has moved back to Gospel. Instantly attracted to each. Of course, this isn't the first time they've met. No, they met in a bar where Kate had propositioned Rob for a night stand. She wanted one night to be a bad girl. Rob turns her down and they meet 2 weeks later in Gospel.

Didn't care for this one at all. I really didn't care for Rob. Just rubbed me the wrong way. C-

True Confessions by Rachel Gibson

Welcome to Gospel, Idaho where everyone knows that there are two universal truths. First, God did His best work when He created the Sawtooth Wilderness Area. Second, every sin known to heaven and earth — from the hole in the ozone to alien abductions — is all California's fault. This is the story of what happened when a Californian came to visit...L.A. based tabloid reporter Hope Spencer has come to Gospel hoping for inspiration. Well, she gets inspiration...Hope has never met anyone quite like the resident of Gospel. From the Dean sisters with their color-coordinated hair to the toilet-tossing sportsmen...to the murder victim whose body had been found in her house years before. She discovers that really is stranger than fiction — even tabloid fiction!And then there is local sheriff Dylan Taber. He is no made-up character from one of her stories. Dylan is all too real...and soon Hope is forced to face the awful truth — she's been too long without a man. But once she gets wind of a Hollywood actress somehow mixed up Dylan's life, Hope realizes that if they are to have a future together, he has some true confessing to do.


This kind of started out slow for me. It started to pick up in the middle. I was really interested in Hope trying to find out about what happened with the previous sheriff. Reports say he was into kinky sex, was doing other stuff and shot himself before he could be arrested. I really wanted Hope to find out if there was more to the story.

Then there was Dixie Howe. The author spends sometime describing how Dixie wants Dylan. How Dixie is determined to land him. I expected some kind of cat fight to happen or rivalry to go on between Hope and Dixie. There was nothing.

When I first met Hope, I thought she would be a shallow, spoiled brat. I was please to find out she wasn't. Dylan was an all right hero. I felt rushed at the end and again like there is more to the story.

This was all right read. I give a C

It Must Be Love by Rachel Gibson

Undercover cop Joe Shanahan's bad luck hit bottom the morning he stared up into the face of sexy suspect Gabrielle Breedlove. She'd blown his cover—-brought him down with a can of hairspray—-and now his new assignment was to pose as her boyfriend. But spending as much time as possible with the utterly irresistible New Age beauty caused unexpected complications. To make matters worse, his matchmaking sisters are picking out china patterns.
Joe's brooding good looks and T-shirt-straining muscles might be easy on the eyes, but how could Gabrielle be attracted to a straight-laced detective who's determined to find evidence to arrest her? Still, he invades her dreams and when they share a transcendent lovemaking experience, Gabrielle knows it must be love.

I've been on jury duty this past week. I've finished a book for every day I've been at court. What book will I finish tomorrow I wonder.

Anyway, this book was all right. He has to pose as her boyfriend to catch the bad guy, they fall in love. He says "Oh no, it was just because we spent so much time together!" He leaves, realizes he loves her and tells her he was wrong. Of course she does the standard, go away routine. He makes a grand gesture and happily ever after.

Joe was hot. I liked him. Loved how his sisters were telling stories about how they tortured him growing him. I loved Sam. Didn't care for Gabrielle. I don't know why. She just bugged me. Something about her. Her mom was also kind of weird.

Also, Kevin's bedroom. Wow. Kind of creepy and kinky.

Like I said, it was all right. C

Truly, Madly, Yours by Rachel Gibson

When pretty hairdresser Delaney Shaw returned home to Truly, Idaho, for the reading of her stepfather's will, she planned on paying her respects and getting out of town. But it seems the will has some unexpected stipulations-like the one that says if Delaney wants her inheritance she needs to stay put and have nothing to so with sexy Nick Allegrezza. . .for an entire year!

THERE'S NO WAY Ten years ago, Nick had swept Delaney off her feet and onto his Harley, and that's when she really let her down her Hair! Back then, he was a love-'em-and-leave-'em man, and Delaney learned the hard way that she was just a fling. But Nick is as irresistible as ever. And when the ladies at Tuesday night Bingo see Nick and Delaney making after-hours whoopee through the window of a local beauty parlor, Delaney knows it's time to decide if Nick is truly, madly the man of her heart.

This was good read. Although the relationship almost creeped me out. You see, Nick is Delaney's step father's son.

Henry Shaw never acknowledged the fact Nick was his son. When Henry realized Nick was his only chance at an heir, he decided to make nice with Nick. Nick said of course in your dreams. So Henry leaves Nick this huge chunk of land, however, if Nick and Delaney have a sexual relationship, no land for Nick. This was all part of Henry's plan to get these two together. You tell a child no, it's forbidden and the child wants it all the more. So to me this is like Mike Brady telling Greg to ask Marsha out. Ewwwww...

I did like the story. The end did kind of bother me. It was to quick. What happened to Delaney's shop? Did she run Helen (are arc nemesis) out of business? What about her mother? Did she finally tell her mother to lighten up? Did her mother ever get back with Max? Did they get the money and the land? What happened?

I liked this book. I only wish there was an epilogue cause I want to know more! So yeah, check this one out. B