Not Another Bad Date

Written by Rachel Gibson

Narrated by Nicole Poole

Rachel Gibson knows how to craft steamy contemporary romances. Not Another Bad Date finds Gibson’s gift for witty dialogue and unforgettable characters on full display.

Curvaceous Adele Harris is prepared to give up men forever after yet another dating dud saunters into and out of her life. But then she receives a frantic phone call from her pregnant sister. Sherilyn needs Adele’s support—her husband is leaving her and their teenage daughter. So Adele returns to the small Texas town she thought she left forever.
And when she bumps into an ex-flame, hunky former football star Zach Zemaitis, an old spark is ignited. Can these two rekindle a love he once threw aside like a worn-out pair of cleats?

“Gibson keeps the action light but dead-on delicious in Adele’s and Zach’s sizzling second chance at love.”—Publishers Weekly

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 27, 2009
• ISBN: 9781440709333

Rachel Gibson

Rachel Gibson began her fiction career at age sixteen, when she ran her car into the side of a hill, retrieved the bumper, and drove to a parking lot, where she strategically scattered the car’s broken glass all about. She told her parents she’d been the victim of a hit-and-run and they believed her. She’s been making up stories ever since, although she gets paid better for them nowadays.

Reviews for Not Another Bad Date

[Bill Hair · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5 Stars for me!

My rating range of this story... 2 - 4 Stars
If significant, why?

Main Character Ratings...
H = 2/10
h = 6/10

Narrator Rating(s)
M = n/a
F = 7/10
If below 5/10,why?

Was cheating involved? Not by the MCs in this relationship.
Any major triggers to be aware of? No

Angst Level? Heavy at times
Light, Moderate, Heavy or Please Stop

Scenes with heat... Yes

Heat Rating... 7/10
Clean or Fade to Black - 1 or 2
Normal to Descriptive 3-5
Detailed Descriptive Sex - 6-7
Um, Wow, Beyond Descriptive Sex - 8 or above

Was there so much sex or unrealistic sex that you rolled your eyes and/or skipped forward? No

The back story... The h returns to her hometown to help her sister through a difficult pregnancy after her husband dumped her for a 21 year old. The H, after a 10 year career, takes a job coaching high school football in the same town. He and the h dated in college where he ended up breaking it off after his previous girlfriend found out that she was pregnant.

The Romance... This one does build well but it felt like a facade as the H would act like a 4 year spoiled child when something rubbed him the wrong way.

The drama explosion... The h is given life changing news
Did it feel Real, OK or contrived? Awful
Was it OTT? 1 million percent
Separation involved? Short
Was it resolved properly or rushed? Ok

Final Notes... The H had two horrible tantrums that would have had me running the other way. The h just let it go and gave in both times without holding the H accountable. Yes there was a ghost involved but the H is responsible for his own actions.

HEA or HFN? HFN but I see a divorce and restraining order in their future.

[lauren2013_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Not Another Bad Date
5 Stars

Adele Harris has been plagued by a string of terrible dates and has given up on the opposite sex. But her vow to stay away from men is put to the test when she returns to her hometown and comes face to face with Zack Zemaitis, the one who not only got away but broke her heart in the process. Can Adele and Zack put aside their differences and regain the passion they once shared?

A wonderful conclusion to an excellent series that has got me back into reading contemporary romances after a long break.

Adele and Zach's second chances romance is fantastic. Their chemistry oozes off the pages and there is no angst at all as they are open and honest with each other about their issues.

My one small nitpick is the excessive football descriptions. However, as the sports genre is not a favorite of mine that would make sense and readers who do enjoy this theme will probably love it.

All in all, an excellent series and this is the best one in it.

[jamidavenport · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

OMG, I'm a tough customer. Rarely anymore do I read a "can't put down book." This was one of those books. I even wanted to call in sick today just to finish it (I didn't). Thanks, Rachel, for a great read.

[damarisgcr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book. It was very easy to follow and easy to fall in love with the characters. Adele comes back to her old childhood neighborhood because of her sister who sort of has a family emergency. She dreads returning because she is afraid to bump into her first love Zac. Zac and Adele met in college and it was a connection immediately. They kicked it off and Adele found herself in love in less than a month. Zac was her first everything. Unfortunately things did not work out between them and Adele moved on and started her life in another state. Of course when she gets back to her hometown fate has other plans for her. Zac is some how thrown back into her life and Zac is willing and ready to finish what they started years ago. This was a very funny and exciting story. I loved the relationship between Zac and Adele. Zac was just Mr. Steamy to me and I wish was Adele a couple of times while reading this book LOL. Hot and Sexy football player, who wouldn't want to be her? LOL This is the third book by Rachel Gibson I have read and I have to say I really like her writing. This was a very good read and I recommend it.

[lynnm_71 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An okay read. Not much really happens. I kept waiting for the story to "start", but apart from a tiny bit of conflict near the final third of the book, there really was no "story" to the story. Adele Harris had her heart broken by Zach Zemaitis when they were in college and he dumped her to marry her rival, Devon. When Adele returns to her home town to lend a hand to her sister, who is laid up with a problematic pregnancy, she tries to resist the feelings she has for Zach that never managed to go away entirely. For his part, Zach remembers Adele as a sexy, nice fling he had in college, a woman he wouldn't mind getting to know again in the most physical sense but not for anything long term or serious. For a while Adele manages to resist her attraction, but predictably they end up together. But Adele doesn't put much effort into resisting Zach, and it isn't until the very end - as in last couple of pages - that Zach's feelings seem to take a turn. There was almost no conflict in this book, nothing but a last-minute bit of jerkiness on Zach's part to keep them from being together.Too, I didn't care much for the paranormal twist that Gibson inserted, in which Zach's deceased wife, Devon, is tasked with making good on all the problems she caused while alive or suffer eternity as a Walmart employee. Devon was never likable - her efforts to "fix" her mistakes were actually just as mean and nasty as her real life actions towards Zach and Adele. This aspect was wholly unnecessary an added nothing to the story.I liked Gibson's "Simply Irresistible" much better - it was much funnier with more likable characters. Although, after reading two of Gibson's titles, I'm beginning to think her heroes are not necessarily the nicest guys.

[drea3132 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cute fast read. Same old. Nothing special. Girly read.

[thebooknerd · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I greatly enjoy Rachel Gibson's books, but this is not one of her better works. It was an entertaining, funny, sexy story, and I had a lot of fun reading it. However ... the leading male, Zach Zemaitis, never came together for me. I just didn't get why Adele fell in love with him. Sure, I get that he had great looks and a superstar quality about him. But the chemistry between him and Adele wasn't believable or self-sustaining. It took the author telling us there were feelings between these two for the notion to even come across. What's more, Zach's behavior towards Adele was unlikable. For much of the book, he's an overbearing a-hole who dismisses the heartbreak he's caused in the past and offense he creates in the present. So, at the very least, there should have been some groveling or major courting before Adele so much as looked at him twice after some of the things he said. Having said all that, I did like the book, and I'm glad I read it. I just wish for some editorial fine-tuning that would make Zach more likable.

[pennytinapple · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A waste of time

[melindalibrary · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This book is a disappointing read. Gibson is repeating the same plot from four of her other books (Truly Madly Deeply, Simply Irresistible, Daisy's Back in Town and I'm in No Mood for Love) which is wearing quite thin. Threadbare, in fact. The plot, as it were, is woman comes back to town of her childhood, where man who broke her heart and done her wrong years ago still lives. They are attracted to one another, feel they shouldn't have sex because of what everyone might think. There is always a young female - 12 or 13 who is either a niece or a daughter who is impressionable and one of the many reasons why these two adults canNOT have the sex - this is a big plot detail - sex with no-strings attached. Guess what? They have the sex! It's fantastic! A little bit of angst is thrown in when the woman, who insisted on the no-strings attached sex, develops feelings for man. Eventually, young impressionable girl finds out, woman leaves town, but not before finding out she is pregnant. Man finds out she is pregnant, follows her to wherever she is, proposes, and all is well.The first time Gibson wrote this plot (Truly Madly Deeply) it was great. Now here in her 12th book, this recycled plot is simply annoying. For some reason (I guess to make it slightly different from her other books that follow this plot), Gibson inserts a paranormal subplot into this story. It adds nothing and is annoying and preachy. It feels as though it was added because the story didn't meet the page number requirements and she had to add something, so instead of making the main male character decent and a worthwhile human being, Gibson added this subplot.Much of the story is told instead of shown and though we have no evidence to support what we are told (these two people fall in love, for example), Gibson just keeps telling us, as if repetition will make it true.An egregious point is made when the Adele, the main female character, is talking to her niece, Kendra, about healthy food and Kendra replies with "That's gay." (page 87). Adele considers telling her niece that stating that something you don't like or don't agree with is gay "is not p.c.", but then Adele is afraid her niece will think *she* is gay. I find this disturbing. If Gibson's point was to raise awareness about homophobia and how hurtful the statement is, she failed miserably. If we are being shown insight into a character's nature and we are expected to identify with this character and believe she is good and a worthwhile human being, then Gibson again failed miserably. Certainly, raise awareness that language coded to mean derogatory, unwanted, and something to be ridiculed is hurtful and not an acceptable way to express your own fears. Certainly expose people's irrational fears about being considered Other and therefore less than. But to raise the issue and then to let it slide, or worse let it stand as okay? Not acceptable.I wish I could give this book negative stars.

[blingtastic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

one of my favorites; part of the "writers' series".....characters are humorous and clever; very light and quick read

[luckylmn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love a laugh with my romance and this author delivers. Not Another Bad Date is an easy to read, effervescent romance. The heroine is especially loveable with her calamity of dates and bad luck with men (cursed, she thinks). The hero is handsome and self-assured. He seems to be escaping her curse...

[lrobe190 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Adele Harris believes she is cursed when it comes to dating. She travels back to her hometown to help her sister with a problem pregnancy and the breakup of her marriage. There, she runs into Zach Zemaitis, her first lover and love of her life...she thought...until he married someone else. Zach's wife recently died and he quit his job as a pro football player to come home and take care of his daughter. Zach and Adele are thrown together as she cares for her niece who is good friends with Zach's daughter. Their attraction is rekindled and they struggle not to let it deepen into something stronger. It turns out that Adele really is cursed when it comes to dating...an amusing twist to this story tells us why!Adele is one of four female writers readers have met in previous Gibson books...Clare, Lucy and Maddie. As always, Gibson has offered a story full of humor, romance and hot sex. Don't miss this new Rachel Gibson romance for a romantic, entertaining treat.

[kleehart1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Didn't want it to end.

[dkthain · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I’ve said before that while I love a good hero, it’s the heroine that can make or break a book for me. I really did not like Zach, but the book wasn’t broken because I did like Adele. First off, Zach. He came across to me as real jerk. I did not like him – at all. First off, he broke Adele’s heart years earlier when he just dropped her to go on and marry his previous girlfriend when she became pregnant. He acted like it was such a noble thing for him to do – then proceeded to cheat on her. Real swell guy he was. Mind you his first wife, Devon, wasn’t all that great. She got pregnant on purpose.Then, later in the book, when he finally says he feels bad about hurting Adele those many years ago, he does the “but” thing and says he would do the same thing again. What a prince. I also didn’t like him because he just struck me as being real stuck on himself – god’s gift to women – that kind of attitude. Adele was the only woman who didn’t drop dead at his feet and he really didn’t like that. He also pretty much ignored his daughter for years so he could do his own thing and screw other woman. Excuse me – he married her mother because he was the father – and then made a real rotten one for years.On the other hand, Adele really worked for me. She gave up her own life – reluctantly – to come back and help her sister and niece out when they needed her. She wasn’t the best aunt – she felt. She wasn’t all motherish and I liked that about her. She was anxious and looking forward to getting back to her own like, which I felt was pretty realistic. She floundered and she had moments of resenting the sacrifice she made. I found that to be believable too.Overall, it’s kind of hard to grade this one. The ‘hero’ was a jerk, but the heroine was great. And it was very readable. I finished it in a day and a half and even though I didn’t like Zach, it was no hardship to read. I’d give it a better grade but really, even though it’s the heroine that makes or breaks the book, still it helps a lot if you can like the hero, and I didn’t in this one. Hopefully I will like her next hero, because I will read her next book.

[marcyjill · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Not Another Bad Date", a pink, glossy covered treat does exactly what it says on the tin and is a perfect beach read. I didn't want to put it down and I burned right through it. It is a sweet and satisfying story of love finding its way despite all odds lined up against it. While some of the characters tend to be one-dimensional, the main characters are interesting and relatable. Any woman who's been single for any stretch of time cannot help but relate to our heroine's situation. She's been through it due to no fault of her own and you can't help rooting for her. My only complaint with this book is that it was over so fast, but I was happy to learn this is actually part of a series. So, if you're headed off to the beach or just looking for a nice escape, I definitely recommend this book. I know I will be looking for the other titles in this series for my next beach day.

[jjmachshev_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Reviewed for Avon Books (Harper Collins)Ok, a show of hands...How many of us can relate to the title of this book? WOW! That's a lot of hands. But I least I never felt like I was cursed...yet that's exactly what's happened to the lead character from Rachel Gibson's latest novel "Not Another Bad Date". I always enjoy reading Ms. Gibson's books since I know I can count on her to deliver a sexy romance with a heavy helping of humor (how's that for alliteration?) and interesting characters. She certainly came through for me this time.Adele really is cursed, well kinda. For some reason, for the past three years all her dates seem to go wacko at the end of the evening! They morph from perfectly nice guys to insult-slingers and sex maniacs. It's enough to drive a girl batty. When she receives an SOS from her sister, she decides to give dating a break and heads back to her hometown...only to run into "the one that got away".Zach has a very comfortable life. He's financially secure, has a job he loves, and is growing closer to his daughter after his estranged wife's death. He certainly doesn't want, or have time for, a serious relationship. Been there, done that, lesson learned. Then he meets his daughter's new best friend's aunt...These two certainly had their work cut out for them. Zach would have been very easy to dislike. He's a jock, he's handsome and knows it, he wasn't faithful to his wife...UGH! Right? Well, the more I learned about Zach, the more I understood his back story. I ended up liking him in spite of myself! And Adele, well Adele was someone I would like to have as my friend. She's loyal and reliable, yet would still be great to sit with while trashing men.There are some truly memorable moments in this book. Rachel Gibson's pacing and dialogue will have you zooming through the pages. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say...sex in a high school bathroom? the phrase "skin sandwich"? a naughty angel? If any of these things sound interesting, you'll just have to get "Not Another Bad Date" and read it yourself. Gibson's talent with romantic stories shines through in every chapter. This is one you don't want to miss.