All He Ever Desired (The Kowalskis)

by Shannon Stacey

[nitzan_schwarz]

3.5 stars

Originally posted on my blog.

Let me start this review by saying thank you and I'm sorry to Netgalley and Carina Press for giving me an e-arc copy of the book... almost two years ago. I don't really have much of an excuse, aside for saying I got it right after reading - and loving - the first in the series.

And then, I read the second and loved it. It was the third where things got bad... because I stopped half way through. I didn't connect to the characters or situation, and I hate reading books out of order, so somehow this book just kept getting pushed back... until now.

Which is how ALL HE EVER DESIRED became the first book I knowingly and willingly read out of order. And while I did feel a bit left out regarding the characters from the book I missed, I don't feel it hampered my enjoyment of the book. Speaking of the book, it did a wonderful job of making me interested in the next stories - such as Liz's, or Josh and Katie's. Can't wait to get my hands on them! 

If you're looking for a sweet, second-chance type of romance, you should definitely pick up ALL HE EVER DESIRED. It's a fast, one-sitting kind of read, with likable two main characters who has a sizzling chemistry and a wonderful cast of supporting characters (though, I admit they might get a tiny bit confusing if you haven't read the first 4 in the series).

However, there were a few things that did in fact bother me, and made this book only a 3.5 kind of read.

First of all, I wasn't a real fan of how fast things went down. True, this couple has some past history together, but that doesn't mean you need to fall in love and move in together and freakin' get engaged  in a month. It was just a tiny bit too quickly for my liking.

Then there was the "climax". I know these types of stories usually need some form of obstacle that will threaten the couple and bring them to the brink of breaking up, but did this story really need this? or more accurately, really need such a stupid incarnation of that? Talk about an overreaction... First of all, I found it completely unnecessary, and second, it got solved in like... 5 pages! I admit I like it better solved this quickly, otherwise I might've been tempted to throttle Lauren, but really - what's the point?...

In general, this book really kind of lacked drama, mostly cause everything was solved really quickly. I'm not a fan of too much drama, so this didn't bother me much, except that I wanted to understand why things were solved so quickly. Like in Dean, Lauren's ex-husband's, case. One minute he's a major asshole, the next he has woken up and becomes really an okay guy. What made the change happen?

Another thing that was personally disappointing to me was the no kids deal. I loved Ryan and I felt really bad about this whole thing. I understand Lauren, but c'mon! little pretty babies! Please! Seriously, though, that's just me and my freaky head. Pay it no attention.