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My first book to review is Nothing But Trouble by Rachel Gibson. I selected this because it looked like the kind of book I’d pick up in a shop, if I felt like trying a new author.
The premise of the book is that Chelsea, the main female character, is a wannabe actress, struggling to find more than the most mediocre of parts. She comes to Seattle to work as an assistant to a recouperating NHL star, in order to raise funds for a breast augmentation. She needs to keep her job to gain a bonus and fund her operation, whereas he makes it clear that he doesn’t need help and attempts to get rid of her.
I believe that this is one of a series of books and, maybe, I would have enjoyed it more if I’d read the other books and had a sense of background to those involved. The book almost lost me at the first chapter, as it was quite heavily ice-hockey based. I understand that this has a big following overseas, so can understand people being drawn to it, but there was just too much ‘sports talk’ for my liking. Thankfully, the story was also about relationships and being drawn to people you shouldn’t be. Without spilling too many beans, I found the change in circumstances believable, but not in the space of time given in the book. It felt very rushed. Unfortunately, the characters felt a little flat and I didn’t have a sense of their individual history, so it was hard to feel involved in their relationship – it felt I hadn’t been given the chance to ‘know’ them by the author.
My one pet hate, and I’ve noticed this in a lot of US novels, is the littering of pages with brand names – Gatorade, Vicodin, etc, etc. This happened throughout this book and it felt like advertising!
In essence, it was quite a raunchy book (not quite erotic fiction, but almost) and it was the perfect read for a holiday: fairly engaging, a bit naughty, not too much thinking required and a satisfying conclusion. I’d give this book 6.5/10.