Review: Simply Irresistible by Rachel Gibson (spoilers)

[TJsmama]

Georgeanne Howard leaves her fiancé at the altar when she realizes she can't marry a man old enough to be her grandfather, no matter how rich he is. Hockey superstar John Kowalsky unknowingly helps her escape, and only when it's too late does he realize that he's absconded with his boss's bride. This bad boy isn't looking to be anybody's savior but his own. Still, a long night stretches ahead of them—a night too sultry to resist temptation.

Seven years later, Georgeanne and John meet again. She is on her way to becoming Seattle's domestic darling and he is past his hellraising days. Shocked to learn that he has a daughter, John's determined to be part of her life. Georgeanne has loved John since the moment she jumped into his car, but will he risk the wrath of his boss, and one final chance at glory, to prove that this time his love will be everlasting?

The book started out pretty good, in fact the entire first three quarters were. Things went downhill when the "hero" became a bigger ass than he already was and by the time the Epilogue came around, I hated him and despised the heroine for being such a two-timing, "I hate him but I can't stop kissing him and having sex with him every time he makes a play for me", pushover. I do believe in second chances and love reading about a badboy forced to grovel after he realized he effed up, but the hero in this story never redeemed himself. Hell, I don't think he ever apologized for being such an ass and even when he realized he was wrong, his inner dialogue never demonstrated why he was wrong- it was just glossed over and the reader never saw the earth shattering change. Speaking of earth shattering changes, the hero went from thinking about getting the heroine naked every time he saw her then saying nasty, hurtful things to her to suddenly deciding he loved her. The revelation made absolutely zero ounce of sense especially since it was a mere five pages ago when he realized she was actually like able. This would've been easily avoided if the author spent a couple of pages building the H/h's relationship again but she didn't and we're left wondering why the hell everyone suddenly had a change of heart.