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This is my first Rachel Gibson book and I was charmed! Simply Irresistible by Rachel Gibson had all the pop culture references which was full of nostalgia and OMG! I love it!
It is pretty obvious that Simply Irresistible was published in 1998. But as much as it felt dated, it still stands the test of time in my opinion. It’s just that I am a little bit used to romances with a higher steam factor.
The Characters are AMAZING
This is probably one of the first books that I can safely say that character development was done to perfection! There are just too many likable and interesting characters that it was super easy to get into.
Let’s talk about Georgeanne first. She has dyslexia and because she grew up in a time when these things weren’t discussed, it was thought that she was, well, dumb. Her mother abandoned her and she didn’t know who her father was so her grandmother raised her. As with that time, the only option was for her to go to Charm school and hopefully marry a rich guy.
Georgeanne was quite unlikeable in the first three chapters. She really came off as a stereotypical flake and I don’t know how John could stand her. She did win my heart in the end and I absolutely love her!
Rachel Gibson did a fantastic job with Georgeanne’s character development, though because she really was one heck of a woman! Also, overcoming her dyslexia and running a successful business? WOWZA!
Next up is John. Wow! The baggage on this was pretty big and he was a little messed up during the first part of the book. Of course, he was a douche when he just left Georgeanne at the airport, but John needed to grow up and come to terms with his other issues.
I enjoyed John more when he was interacting with Lexie and this made me like him more. I also liked that he was such an awesome guy despite his fame. He was such a Papa Bear.
Then there’s Lexie, John and Georgeanne’s daughter! Oh, boy! She was such a HOOT! I loved the Barbie, Ken, Skipper and Todd references here because these were my bei’s when I was growing up! Lexie is a hypochondriac and she loves animals and I love how she wrapped John around her little finger! She is such an interesting character!
Justice for Mae and Hugh!
But what about the secondary characters? There is Hugh and Mae and I am absolutely curious about their romance! They only appear in a few short scenes together and I WANT TO KNOW HOW THEY FELL IN LOVE! Mae is Georgeanne’s best friend and Hugh is John’s best friend. I NEED THIS ROMANCE ASAP!
Kathleen Early narrated Simply Irresistible and she is hilarious! I love the accents that she used, and I think her reading made me enjoy the story even more. She used over-the-top accents which did not annoy me at all! I usually get annoyed by overly dramatic accents.
Overall, Simply Irresistible by Rachel Gibson is a winner! I thoroughly enjoyed it despite it not being super steamy! I was also super excited when I found out that the heroine of Rachel Gibson’s newest Chinooks book, The Art of Running in Heels is Lexie! Yes, THE Lexie! I have finished reading it already so watch out for my review next week!
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Do you love to read books with awesome character development?
Do you have any sports romance recs? Let me know in the comments below!
I loooooooooove this series so much but my favorite is Any Man of Mine. The newest book features their daughter Lexie which was really cool. Hope you get to read more Gibson. I love her books although I prefer the older ones. Definitely try Truly Madly Yours and It Must Be Love too.
Yes! I already read The Art of Running in Heels and it was ADORABLE! ? I need to read her backlist! Thanks for the recs Nereyda!