ARC Review: All For You by Susan Mallery, Lori Foster, Gena Showalter and Bella Andre

“ALL FOR YOU is the perfect read for all you sweet, small town loving, contemporary romance readers.”
~ Under the Covers

ALL FOR YOU is the perfect read for all you sweet, small town loving, contemporary romance readers. Every story had just the right amount of sexy to keep you warm this winter. And I have to say that we couldn’t get a better collaboration than these ladies. Every story is perfect sweet contemporary romance, with the type of characters you can’t help but fall in love with right away. Not all too original at times, but very enjoyable nonetheless.

HALFWAY THERE by Susan Mallery – 3 Stars

This story is part of the Fool’s Gold series by Ms. Mallery. I can’t say I follow the series, but I have read a few of the books in it. I always enjoy her stories and her small town feel, but I find that for me there’s something missing to make them memorable. With this novella it was a little bit of the same. Fayrene is a bit of a workaholic and she has a plan for her life. In the time frame she’s given herself to be successful with her business there is no time for love or dating. When she meets Ryan, who is just in town on a temporary job, he seems like the perfect candidate to have a fling with. Their story develops from friendship to a relationship pretty quickly. It’s cute, I will give it that, but I always find those quick I love yous to be hard to believe. All in all though, it was very enjoyable and a great opener for this anthology.

BUCKHORN EVER AFTER by Lori Foster – 3.5 Stars

Yet another series that I’ve read some of but not the full series. I can’t help but love a story about childhood friends where the heroine has always been in love with the hero but he had to sow his wild oats first, and now he realizes the woman he wants was there all along. The banter and the easy feeling in the interactions between Nadine and Shohn were the best part of the story. They are already friends so this was just taking that next step. And there’s animals! Big sucker for those here! Nadine runs a veterinary clinic in town and Shohn is a park ranger. He even gets a dog so he can come around more often to see her. Loved this story.

THE ONE YOU WANT by Gena Showalter – 4.5 Stars

This was the main reason why I wanted to read this book. This is the prequel that kicks off Gena Showalter’s new contemporary romance series. To say I was excited to see what she can do outside of paranormal romance is an understatement. And the verdict is…. I think this will be my favorite of Ms. Showalter’s work in a while. THE ONE YOU WANT is fresh and fun. By far my favorite story in this anthology and the perfect opening to a series I’m dying to read more of. So we have Kenna Starr, the heroine. She’s a single mother and the daughter of a home wrecker. And in a small town, the bad girl label is doing her no favors. She struggles to pay her bills and she devotes her life to her daughter. She’s had very little room there for herself, her wants or a man. Now her mom is marrying the man whose marriage she wrecked and Kenna’s future step-brother comes back to town for the wedding. Now very successful and extremely irresistible, Dane Michaelson has his sights set on Kenna.

I don’t know why but the step-brother theme here worked really well for me. I mean they are adults so it’s not like they have to live together, but it gives them an instant connection. Plus they have a past together from their childhood. Some good and some bad. Kenna is a strong heroine but she’s also vulnerable. Dane thinks he’s carefree but deep down he has his own wounds to heal. Their chemistry is off the charts. There’s plenty of sexual tension from the very first time they see each other and throughout the story. And these two are so witty there won’t be a dull moment while reading this.

I wish the story wouldn’t have been wrapped up so quickly, and that is my only complaint, but I think this was a great novella and I can’t wait to read more in this new series.

ONE PERFECT NIGHT by Bella Andre – 3 Stars

The Sullivans is the only series from this bunch I haven’t read before. In fact, if memory serves me well, this might be my first Bella Andre story as well. And it’s such a wintery story, what with the ski resort vacation and all, that it made me want to read more of these type of stories. That being said, this isn’t directly a Sullivan story, but family friends Colbie Michaels and Noah Bryant. Colbie goes on a girls trip to a ski resort but she’s not very good at skiing. She ends up running into Noah, a complete stranger and a hottie, who decides to teach her to ski. At the end of their wonderful day together they don’t exchange numbers and weeks later they both enlist the help of Rafe Sullivan to find their mystery date. There is a bit of insta-love in this story, which might be the only reason I wasn’t as into it as the rest of the stories in this anthology. But it ended this book in a very sweet note. Perfect read for a cold winter afternoon with some cocoa.

[about-author author=”Gena Showalter”]

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