All the Way

by M Mabie

[stacey_is_sassy]

Cord's hot but his personality was hotter.

I’ll apologise straight up…I’ve got a cold. Making my brain work in-sync with my hands is not working that well for me at the moment. Please bear with me while I attempt to somehow get my feelings and thoughts about this book, down in a review. It’s taken me a lot longer than normal to read and it's frustrating when you're desperate to read and your body isn't cooperating. I really enjoyed All the Way and I hated having to stop to blow my nose, take medicine and lay my head down to stop the world spinning.

I started All the Way very excited. I’d heard good things about M Mabie but the stars hadn’t aligned and it was another book author that I was going to get to soon...ish. Now, I know, that Ms Mabie has a knack for writing characters that seem real. They’re a wee bit goofy, have jobs, struggles and stresses like normal people. They also have insecurities, doubts and frustrations that were definitely something I recognised.

The things going through the minds of the characters, while not exactly the same as mine, felt somewhat familiar. I remember the days (a long, long time ago) when I could be feeling good about myself, have a good looking guy show interest in me, and then BAM my insecurities would show up. Why is he interested? Is he just looking for a hook-up? Maybe it’s a prank? Like the main character in this story, I had no reason for these doubts but it’s amazing what you talk yourself into thinking.

Dana is a sweet and sassy redhead who has met and dated some real jerks. But, they’ve been jerks with pretty faces. Unfortunately, she sees a hot guy and she wants him. This makes Dana seem shallow and she knows it. After one too many HJ’s (Hot Jerk’s…get your mind out of the gutter), she decides it’s time to find a nice guy. Looks will have to take a backseat if she wants to find a man to make her happy. Good looks and a decent personality just don’t seem to be possible together. Before she goes nice completely, she decides one more HJ is needed to get them out of her system. One more ends up being her last HJ forever...he's nice too.

Cord is looking for his ONE. He has been looking for a while now and has taste-tested quite a few. Cord is convinced he’ll know her when he sees her and it will just be a matter of time before he has her. Well, imagine his surprise when he finds HER and there are roadblocks in the way. His best friend (turns out to be mutual) tells him to keep his hands to himself, and she’s not jumping for joy either. Doesn’t she know? How could she not? If HE feels this much, why the hell doesn’t she?

I loved the journey for Cord and Dana. It was smoking hot, funny and sweet. Both Cord and Dana made things harder than they needed to be. While Dana was protecting her heart from the possible damage Cord might inflict, Cord was just trying to keep the peace. They let others guide their decisions and it could have ended up with both of them broken-hearted. It cracked me up that the youngest character in the group (a very wise 18-year-old) was the one who gave the best advice.

All the Way was my first story by M Mabie and will definitely not be my last. I loved the characters she created, their relationships with both friends and family, and the connections that formed between them all. All the Way was sexy, funny and extremely entertaining. I just kind of wished I’d read it when my head didn’t feel like it was ready to roll off. Again, I apologise if this review was a little…messy.

Stacey is Sassy, received an advanced copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.