Rescue Me

 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

She’s 33, unmarried, and stuffed into a Bubble Yum pink bridesmaid dress. And the whole town wants to fix her up with anyone with a dental plan… Who’s going to rescue Sadie Hollowell now? Everyone in Lovett, Texas knows Sadie has always been a ‘notional’ kind of gal. She got a notion to leave town asap , and never visit her daddy (bless his heart). Now, she’s back and got the notion to invite a good-looking, hard-muscled, total stranger to her cousin’s wedding. Better a stranger than some of the losers she’s dated. Vince Haven got his muscles the hard way—as a Navy SEAL in Afghanistan. He’s staying in Lovett to visit his crazy aunt—the proprietor of the local Gas N Go. Before he can get the heck back out of the small town, his aunt makes him an offer he can’t refuse. Maybe he’ll stick around Lovett for a while. Maybe he’ll make a ‘go’ of the Gas N Go. Maybe he’ll rescue Sadie out of that pink dress.

For the entire book, Sadie and Vince are strictly friends with benefits, yes he is there for her when she needs it but he is also missing for a significant moment. Only in the last pages do they each realize they are in love with one another. I just didn’t buy it. There was no romance; the buildup wasn’t cutting it for me. I never fell for their love story because I didn’t really think it was there.

I thought Sadie was a really good character. I liked her immediately and the more I got to know her, the better I liked her. Vince on the other hand, well Vince is a badass SEAL and although he’s smokin’ hot and he’s struggling with some of his own issues, he doesn’t cut it for me. The feelings he had for his future brother-in-law carried over from another book, Any Man of Mine and instead of an over-protective brother, he comes across as irritating and irksome.

The heart of Sadie’s struggle is her relationship with her Dad, never feeling connected to him or to her hometown of Lovett, Texas. Sadie and her Dad have never really talked or connected with each other. There is a moment when I hoped things were going to turn around, but it flat lined and never recovered to what I’d hoped. Sadie’s resolution comes internally, not vocally where it should have.

Gibson is able to hop right in and douse the reader in southern charm and a drawl that will have you snickering throughout. She creates these off the wall characters that never fail to crack you up, Rescue Me has a few of these characters. Of course there are some cheesy lines as well. Here’s a personal favorite -“he was an insertion specialist” (pg. 188). I’m still laughing from the ridiculousness.

My final verdict is, I’ve read better Gibson books and this is a miss for me. Rescue Me fell flat and I was left disappointed. If you want to try Rachel Gibson, check out her Chinooks hockey series. There are some really good reads including See Jane Score, Any Man of Mine and True Love and Other Disasters.