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A review by seshathawk
All I Want by Jill Shalvis
3.0
I gave this one a shot because I've heard so many good things about Jill Shalvis and I've been looking for more contemporary romance to read. This one wasn't 100% my jam, but I enjoyed it overall, and the things that I didn't like were purely a matter of my taste and preferences.
To start off, I liked both characters, especially the heroine, and approved of their romance. Nothing stupid or terrible happened between them, and although there was a little withholding of useful information, it wasn't portrayed as "huge misunderstanding that could have been cleared up with a 30 second conversation." It was a nice romance in general. It started off with a small dollop of insta-lust (a trope I dislike only when paired with "this turned into the best sex of my life for no reason," which this was not), which turned from there into love within a pretty short amount of time. That should have been something I disliked, but it worked in this book. The sexy scenes were sexy, and the romance scenes were straightforward and honest, nothing too sappy.
I also liked the balance of plot vs. sex/romance - too heavy on one or the other and the story can feel unrealistic. While the plot strayed just a little into suspenseful territory, it was pretty brief. Little pieces of characterization came out through the plot, which I really appreciated.
Things that weren't my jam: Parker (the hero) was a little alpha-y for my taste (although that was tempered, a lot, with kittens and a well-portrayed sweetness). A couple of other things that are pretty common in romance novels worked okay in this one but aren't really my thing, like a vague reason for them to not be together tearing them apart for the whole book, or the small amount of time in which they have amazing sex that turns into love.
But I enjoyed it, and read it in a couple of days. I'd like to read more by this author, and I would definitely recommend it to others!
To start off, I liked both characters, especially the heroine, and approved of their romance. Nothing stupid or terrible happened between them, and although there was a little withholding of useful information, it wasn't portrayed as "huge misunderstanding that could have been cleared up with a 30 second conversation." It was a nice romance in general. It started off with a small dollop of insta-lust (a trope I dislike only when paired with "this turned into the best sex of my life for no reason," which this was not), which turned from there into love within a pretty short amount of time. That should have been something I disliked, but it worked in this book. The sexy scenes were sexy, and the romance scenes were straightforward and honest, nothing too sappy.
I also liked the balance of plot vs. sex/romance - too heavy on one or the other and the story can feel unrealistic. While the plot strayed just a little into suspenseful territory, it was pretty brief. Little pieces of characterization came out through the plot, which I really appreciated.
Things that weren't my jam: Parker (the hero) was a little alpha-y for my taste (although that was tempered, a lot, with kittens and a well-portrayed sweetness). A couple of other things that are pretty common in romance novels worked okay in this one but aren't really my thing, like a vague reason for them to not be together tearing them apart for the whole book, or the small amount of time in which they have amazing sex that turns into love.
But I enjoyed it, and read it in a couple of days. I'd like to read more by this author, and I would definitely recommend it to others!