Rescue Me (Lovett, TX #3) by Rachel Gibson
Contemporary Romance
May 29, 2012
HarperCollins

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “Hooyah.“

Sadie Hollowell grew up in the small town of Lovett, TX with an inattentive father and a town full of busy bodies. Raised in the shadow of her beauty queen mother, Sadie had enough and hightailed it out of town as soon as it was legally possible. Now living in Arizona, Sadie comes back home for her younger cousin’s wedding. She runs into our hero, Vince Haven, when she sees him broke down on the side of the road. She offers him a ride but it’s not love at first sight and she lets him know real quick that she isn’t helpless.

“I have a stun gun.” It was a lie, but she’d always wanted one.

He looked back down at her. “Excuse me?”

“I have a stun gun and I’ve been trained to use it.” He took a step back from the car and smiled. “I’m deadly.”

“A stun gun isn’t a deadly weapon.”

“What if I set it really high?”

“Can’t set it high enough to kill unless there is a preexisting condition. I don’t have a preexisting condition.”

“How do you know that?”

“I used to work security.”

Oh. “Well, it will hurt like hell if I have to zap you in the ass.”

“I don’t want my ass zapped, lady. I just want a tow to town.”

Vince Haven, a former Navy Seal, who we met in Crazy For You and Any Man Of Mine, has come to Lovett, TX to visit with his aunt and get away from Seattle. He’s not happy with his sister remarrying her ex-husband and is dealing with a serious case of PTSD.

Even though neither Sadie nor Vince are looking for anything long term, the chemistry between them is too hot to ignore so they decide to embark on a sexual relationship; a friends with benefit relationship. Explosive sex and fun times in and out of bed should be the perfect situation for both of them but soon real life intrudes and when the relationship boundaries shift; neither of them are prepared for the feelings involved.

I adore Rachel Gibson’s romantic contemporaries. She has always been an auto buy for me and maintains a permanent place on my bookshelf. A potent mixture of romance, humor, endearing characters, and hints of angst will have you laughing your way to the end. Her characters are delightfully flawed and their journey to love is often filled with pitfalls and moments of self discovery. The storyline is relatively simple, with a fast paced enjoyable conversational writing style that offers us both the heroine’s and the hero’s POV.

I enjoyed meeting our hero and heroine. Sophie and Vince have serious abandonment issues that colors their perceptions of themselves and others. They are very independent and keep their hearts buried to avoid giving and receiving pain. They have such a wonderful chemistry that is readily apparent from their first meeting. Witty banter and hot sex keeps you entertained and laughing as we watch them do what ever it takes to deny the deepening feelings they have for one another. I did giggle over the fact that Vince still hates Sam and continuously refers to him as the s.o.b, throughout the book.

The secondary characters in here are wonderfully strange in a manner only small town living can produce. We have Vince’s 76 year old aunt who lives on whiskey, cigarettes and gets more action then her nephew. Sophie’s deaf aunts, who are convinced she is a lesbian and believe that the path to true love starts with a good dental plan, will keep you in stitches. Everyone has advice for Vince and Sophie-bless their hearts-and have no problems voicing it.

The ending comes rather quickly but plays out realistically after a heartbreaking moment when both their shields shatter and neither can handle the fallout. Ms. Gibson wraps it up nicely and we are left a hint towards the next Lovett, TX adventure.

Overall Rating: B

Recent Reviews:
Dear Author – B
Book Binge – 4.5/5
Unwrapping Romance
All About Romance – B- 
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