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kbranfield's review
4.0
4.5 stars. All He Ever Desired is another delightfully heartwarming yet super sexy installment in Shannon Stacey’s fabulous Kowalski Family series. To read my review in its entirety, please click HERE.
dtrumps's review
4.0
Posted at Gone Pecan
Characters:
Ryan Kowalski is back home in Whitford, Maine, but he’s not happy about it. His little brother Josh’s broken leg was the reason, but when he and his older brother,Mitch, see the state of their family’s lodge, they decide that a little work needs to be done. Ryan is a contractor. He owns his own business and business is good. There is nothing in Whitford that could keep him there, but there is definitely a reason for him to keep away. Years ago, Ryan asked Lauren Carpenter to leave her husband, his best friend, and take her young son, Nick, and run away with him. She said no, so he’s kept his distance from her and Whitford, only going back when absolutely necessary, but only staying at the lodge. He hasn’t seen Lauren since.
Lauren has since been divorced and is caring for her sixteen year old son who spends his weekend with his father and his father’s new family. Lauren is basically living in the town she grew up in, caring for her son, working, and going back home at the end of the day. But she loves her life, she’s independent (as much as a woman with children and no husband can be), so what if there’s no man around. She still sometimes fantasizes about what would have happened if she’d taken Ryan up on his offer, but she’s content. Until Ryan shows back up after all these years and she’s struck by the attraction she feels for him and she realizes how lonely she is.
Conflict:
Ryan’s a successful business man, but his business is in another state and there is really no option of giving it up or moving back to Whitford, much as his new relationship with Lauren could be going the distance. Lauren has ties to Whitford, her mother and father own the local hardware store, her son is in high school, her ex-husband has parental rights (plus he’s pissed at Ryan because when Ryan left town, he severed their friendship, though he didn’t know about Ryan’s offer to Lauren to run away with him). So while Ryan is in town, working on the lodge, they can see each other as much as possible, but his business seems to be falling apart without him around as much as he used to be.
Overall Thoughts:
This kind of romance is a nice change of pace. Ryan is still has feelings for Lauren when he returns to Whitford, despite his brief marriage that ended in divorce. That’s why he’s stayed away so long; everything in town reminds him of her. When Lauren turned Ryan down, she was truly in love with her husband, but his later cheating and their subsequent divorce has made her life pretty stagnant. She’s going through the motions, more or less. But when Ryan shows up, she gets to experience what she could have had with him. But the issues they have are not manufactured, they are real and they could actually prevent these people who are so perfect for each other from being together. Because even though they obviously love each other and have amazing chemistry together, they have to learn to compromise in a way that doesn’t leave either of them bitter.
I really loved Ryan and his love for Lauren was inspiring. He waited too long to tell the woman he loved how he felt about her, but he put himself on the line. I also really liked Lauren. She never compromised what she wanted. Her son was the most important thing (and her son’s part is the book was just spot on), but when it came time to make a decision, she realized how it would affect everyone involved, it didn’t just mean securing her own happiness. I loved how they finally gave into their attraction.
Another really important part of the book involves their friends and families. I loved reading the background stories about Rosie, the housekeeper at the lodge, and Lauren’s friends, and even Mitch and Paige’s wedding. I liked how Stacey incorporated other stories within this one and All He Ever Needed and I’m looking forward to seeing how they play out.
Pecans: 4/5
Characters:
Ryan Kowalski is back home in Whitford, Maine, but he’s not happy about it. His little brother Josh’s broken leg was the reason, but when he and his older brother,Mitch, see the state of their family’s lodge, they decide that a little work needs to be done. Ryan is a contractor. He owns his own business and business is good. There is nothing in Whitford that could keep him there, but there is definitely a reason for him to keep away. Years ago, Ryan asked Lauren Carpenter to leave her husband, his best friend, and take her young son, Nick, and run away with him. She said no, so he’s kept his distance from her and Whitford, only going back when absolutely necessary, but only staying at the lodge. He hasn’t seen Lauren since.
Lauren has since been divorced and is caring for her sixteen year old son who spends his weekend with his father and his father’s new family. Lauren is basically living in the town she grew up in, caring for her son, working, and going back home at the end of the day. But she loves her life, she’s independent (as much as a woman with children and no husband can be), so what if there’s no man around. She still sometimes fantasizes about what would have happened if she’d taken Ryan up on his offer, but she’s content. Until Ryan shows back up after all these years and she’s struck by the attraction she feels for him and she realizes how lonely she is.
Conflict:
Ryan’s a successful business man, but his business is in another state and there is really no option of giving it up or moving back to Whitford, much as his new relationship with Lauren could be going the distance. Lauren has ties to Whitford, her mother and father own the local hardware store, her son is in high school, her ex-husband has parental rights (plus he’s pissed at Ryan because when Ryan left town, he severed their friendship, though he didn’t know about Ryan’s offer to Lauren to run away with him). So while Ryan is in town, working on the lodge, they can see each other as much as possible, but his business seems to be falling apart without him around as much as he used to be.
Overall Thoughts:
This kind of romance is a nice change of pace. Ryan is still has feelings for Lauren when he returns to Whitford, despite his brief marriage that ended in divorce. That’s why he’s stayed away so long; everything in town reminds him of her. When Lauren turned Ryan down, she was truly in love with her husband, but his later cheating and their subsequent divorce has made her life pretty stagnant. She’s going through the motions, more or less. But when Ryan shows up, she gets to experience what she could have had with him. But the issues they have are not manufactured, they are real and they could actually prevent these people who are so perfect for each other from being together. Because even though they obviously love each other and have amazing chemistry together, they have to learn to compromise in a way that doesn’t leave either of them bitter.
I really loved Ryan and his love for Lauren was inspiring. He waited too long to tell the woman he loved how he felt about her, but he put himself on the line. I also really liked Lauren. She never compromised what she wanted. Her son was the most important thing (and her son’s part is the book was just spot on), but when it came time to make a decision, she realized how it would affect everyone involved, it didn’t just mean securing her own happiness. I loved how they finally gave into their attraction.
Another really important part of the book involves their friends and families. I loved reading the background stories about Rosie, the housekeeper at the lodge, and Lauren’s friends, and even Mitch and Paige’s wedding. I liked how Stacey incorporated other stories within this one and All He Ever Needed and I’m looking forward to seeing how they play out.
Pecans: 4/5
andreaphoenix26's review
5.0
Me hizo sentir burbujeantemente feliz de lo felices que terminaron Lauren y Ryan (y Nick también, por supuesto)
anabelsbrother's review
3.0
3.5 stars
I LOVE RYAN OMG. & I love how he handles Nick. And I love him and Lauren together. I can even ignore the silly fight for conflict's sake thing going on in the near end because I love the characters.
I LOVE RYAN OMG. & I love how he handles Nick. And I love him and Lauren together. I can even ignore the silly fight for conflict's sake thing going on in the near end because I love the characters.
setaian's review
4.0
Rules for Contemporary Romance
1. The hero should be 6' plus, have a six pack, a full head of hair, be well endowed, be the best lover the heroine has ever had (regardless of how many previous lovers she has had) and be independently wealthy.
2. The heroine should be a girl next door, have curves, struggle with money and possibly have a son from a previous marriage to a loser. It is OK for the heroine to be a virgin so long as she has a very good reason, such as looking after her sick mother or she was betrayed by her first boyfriend.
3. Sex should last all night, the hero should be there in the morning, he should wear a condom and have the largest penis the heroine has ever seen.
4. There should be a reason why the relationship can't work, but there must always be a Happily Ever After.
5. The heroine should have a friend who hasn't found her HEA yet. She can find it with a friend or brother of the hero. This will be the next book in the series.
All he Ever Desired
I know what I'm going to get when I buy a Contemporary Romance...they have to follow the rules and the rules tell me where things are going and how they'll end. It's exactly what I want from books in this genre. When authors start messing with the rules, I start to get grumpy.
All He Ever Desired follows the rules to the letter and it works on every level. I hesitate (but only briefly) to compare Shannon Stacey to authors like Jill Shalvis and Robyn Carr. Her writing is polished, her stories entertaining, her characters likeable.
The only weakness in this book is the title. I don't know what she was thinking there.
1. The hero should be 6' plus, have a six pack, a full head of hair, be well endowed, be the best lover the heroine has ever had (regardless of how many previous lovers she has had) and be independently wealthy.
2. The heroine should be a girl next door, have curves, struggle with money and possibly have a son from a previous marriage to a loser. It is OK for the heroine to be a virgin so long as she has a very good reason, such as looking after her sick mother or she was betrayed by her first boyfriend.
3. Sex should last all night, the hero should be there in the morning, he should wear a condom and have the largest penis the heroine has ever seen.
4. There should be a reason why the relationship can't work, but there must always be a Happily Ever After.
5. The heroine should have a friend who hasn't found her HEA yet. She can find it with a friend or brother of the hero. This will be the next book in the series.
All he Ever Desired
I know what I'm going to get when I buy a Contemporary Romance...they have to follow the rules and the rules tell me where things are going and how they'll end. It's exactly what I want from books in this genre. When authors start messing with the rules, I start to get grumpy.
All He Ever Desired follows the rules to the letter and it works on every level. I hesitate (but only briefly) to compare Shannon Stacey to authors like Jill Shalvis and Robyn Carr. Her writing is polished, her stories entertaining, her characters likeable.
The only weakness in this book is the title. I don't know what she was thinking there.
kobfroggie's review
3.0
Enjoyable but not that interesting. Shannon Stacey did right by avoiding some of those tropes. Lauren actually loved her ex-husband and had no romantic feeling toward Ryan before her divorce. Plus, the ex-husband wasn't a monster or complete jerk. That's refreshing. The dialogues were fun and snappy by her standard. The book fulfilled my basic expectations but not more.
3 stars.
3 stars.
faintingviolet's review
3.0
Another satisfying entry into the Kowalski family series.
https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/2015/04/08/all-he-ever-desired-cbr7-27/
https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/2015/04/08/all-he-ever-desired-cbr7-27/
abbythompson's review
4.0
STILL BINGEING!
Loved Stacey's handling of Lauren's divorce and her relationship with her ex-husband. Very honest. There's no villain, just two humans. I also thought the handling of Ryan's choice was really well played.
Such a great series to binge-read!
Loved Stacey's handling of Lauren's divorce and her relationship with her ex-husband. Very honest. There's no villain, just two humans. I also thought the handling of Ryan's choice was really well played.
Such a great series to binge-read!