Any Man of Mine [Anglais] [Poche]

As Any Man of Mine opens, the Chinooks hockey team's former Captain, Ty Savage, and the owner, Faith Duffy, are getting married (they were the Hero/Heroine in book 4, True Love and Other Disasters). Their event coordinator is Autumn Haven, ex-wife of Chinooks player Sam LeClaire. Sam hasn't seen Autumn in years, except with regards to their son, Connor. As the story progresses, we learn that Sam and Autumn hooked up in Las Vegas when they were both young and under mental and emotional stress. They got to know each other and impulsively got married after only five days. Sam panicked and left the next morning. He had his attorney contact her for the divorce, and later, after she had Connor and informed his attorney, he demanded a paternity test. Once it was acknowledged that Connor was his, Sam took care of the financial aspects of raising him, but for the most part is not an active participant in raising him.

Sam decides he wants to be a better dad, not turn into the kind of father his own father was, so he starts spending more time with Connor, and subsequently, more time around Autumn. Autumn has seen this behavior before and doesn't think it's going to last, but Sam is determined to make a change. Autumn is bitter, and as you read their history, you see that it's completely understandable. But as Autumn and Sam confront their pasts, perhaps things can change as they grow to understand their own actions as well as each others'.

My thoughts: One of the great things about Rachel Gibson's writing is her ability to pull the reader into her character's heads. As I read Autumn's side of the story I was mad at Sam for being such an ass. As I read Sam's side of the story I felt bad and was frustrated Autumn didn't give him a a second chance to redeem himself.

I love the reunited lovers storyline, and Any Man of Mine does it well. Sam is definitely a tarnished hero; he was really a jerk to Autumn after he left her in Vegas and kind of remained that way over the years. Autumn was rigidly self-reliant after the Vegas debacle, bitter and determined not to need anyone. The way these two clash was totally believable, and as they worked towards a more friendly demeanor I was mentally cheering them on.

Rachel Gibson is excellent at adding humor throughout the story; the scene where Sam caught Autumn wearing a Sidney Crosby Penguins jersey for Halloween was one of my favorites. She also deftly turns up the heat as Autumn and Sam's relationship progresses; the sexual tension between them was nice and hot.

As an aside, I liked that Connor was a realistic character and not written as some exceptionally talented child...he was a regular kindergartner (and wasn't even good at hockey!). I actually liked him and thought he was a cute kid.

Although Any Man of Mine is part of her Chinooks hockey series, the focus was more on the emotional development of both Autumn and Sam; it was just the right blend of personal growth, sexy romance, and hockey action.

I've read all Rachel Gibson's books, and I really enjoy her writing style. But this one seemed to be missing a good plot. I just felt like there were a lot of loose ends that were never really tied up by the end of the book.

Sam and Autumn met in Vegas, and during their brief hot affair, they got married, she got knocked up, and Sam divorced her soon after. The rest of the book was about them dealing with the fallout five years after the fact. I loved the premise and was looking forward to seeing the sparks fly as these two worked it out. But for me, there really weren't all that many sparks. My main problem was that we were given really great reasons that they DIDN'T get along, but really flimsy excuses as to why they eventually decided to be together. I never felt like Sam proved Autumn could trust him not to run off again, and Sam's history with his sister really didn't translate into love for Autumn in my opinion.

Still, overall the writing was smooth, I just wasn't a fan of the plot arc.

Brief Intro - Sam and Autumn hook up in Vegas, get married after 5 days, Sam freaks and leaves, Autumn is pregnant, facing divorce, and has no idea what went wrong. Flash forward 6 years later, the owner of Sam's hockey team is getting married, Autumn is the wedding planner. This is the first time they have seen each other in almost 2 years. The babysitter watching their son during this wedding gets sick, Sam volunteers to take their son for the night. When Sam is late returning Conner, Autumn sees it as another example of Sam's carelessness in regard to his son. Autumn lets Sam have it, telling him Connor cries himself to sleep when she has to tell him his dad isn't going to be picking him up for planned visits. Sam has an epiphany, and vows to spend more time with Connor.
As Sam spends more time with Connor, he ends up spending more time with Autumn, as well.

Impressions - the conflict between Sam and Autumn felt real to me, if a little understated. I'm not sure 5 years is long enough to forgive being dumped the day after being married, and being pregnant, to boot. I thought Autumn was pretty willing to work with Sam to ensure that he was able to spend time with Connor. She got past her anger and hurt, and did what was best for the child. Sam was the character that needed to grow, and he did so admirably. Once he committed to prioritizing Connor, he did just that. Both he and Autumn had abandonment issues, and Sam carried a lot of guilt from an incident involving his sister.

The Love Story - Sam and Autumn did not get together early on in their "reconciliation". We spend a lot of time in Autumn's viewpoint of Vegas, 6 years ago. Their passion was hot then, and even more scorching in the present. Sam finds himself more and more attracted to Autumn. He accuses her of running hot and cold because she is afraid to trust him again.

Impressions II - I think it's realistic that she is afraid to trust him. He dumped her without a word in a strange city! He gives her very little to work with, and very few reassurances that this time will be any different until the end.

What worked for me - The writing was smart, funny and realistic overall. I liked the rhythm of the story. I liked the level of background detail. I liked the appearance of old friends from past books. I liked the humor I can always count on from Ms. Gibson. I thought Autumn was terrific, and I thought Sam was really turning over a new leaf. Connor - terrific depiction of a 5 year old. Very realistic, cute kid!

What did not work for me - *****SPOILERS***** We hear later than Sam was drunk during the entire Vegas episode, and although drinking is alluded to, as well as Sam's tolerance, he does not read as drunk during the flashbacks. We get that he is a selfish, immature jerk at the time, so maybe that is reason enough for most for his behavior. When they finally talk about it, I feel like Autumn let him off too easy. Granted, you can't change the past, but most of us have a deep need to be validated. Maybe I am not mature enough to just forgive and let go, but I think I would feel the need to really be honest about how hurt I was, how alone I felt, how scared I was... And Autumn did tell him, just not in any detail and without any heat. Sam does finally apologize, and I believe he was sincere, but I don't think he really ever got it.

Also, Vince, Autumn's brother, goes off, then boom! he's back for the wedding, no explanation.

There was a lot left unsaid. I see that the page count is 384, is that correct? I have a nonKindle reader, so I have no clue what the actual page count was, but I am wondering if this was heavily edited due to length? It didn't feel that long to me, I read it in one sitting. If the conflict between Autumn and Sam had been explored in greater depth, this would have been a 5 star read for me. I love Rachel Gibson's work usually, and I liked Any Man of Mine. I just wish it was a little more fleshed out.