Book Review: All I Ask by Corinne Michaels

All I Ask
By: Corinne Michaels
Release Date: March 17, 2020
Publisher: Forever Romance
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Source: eARC from the publisher in exchange for a honest review

Fans of Christina Lauren, Colleen Hoover, and Jill Santopolo will love this breathtaking story about first love, second chances, and starting over from New York Times bestselling author Corinne Michaels. 

Teagan Berkeley is trying her best. A single mom raising a precocious teen, she may have given up on her dreams, but she's accepted her life in her small beachside hometown. Now the one person who abandoned her when she needed him the most has returned, bringing back memories of what might have been. 

Derek Hartz arrives in town with a teenage daughter-and he's full of guilt over his failed marriage and the way he ended his friendship with Teagan. He's determined to set things right with her, but first he needs to gain her trust, something he's not convinced he deserves. 

As Teagan and Derek open up to each other-and confess their deepest secrets-it's impossible for them to deny what's always been between them. But just when their happily ever after is within reach, their complicated history surfaces again and threatens to keep them apart. Forever.

 

My Thoughts:

All I Ask by Corinne Michaels, is the kind of book that you want to get cozy and snuggle with.  It was such a romantic read, and packed an emotional punch that hit me straight in the heart.  I adored this story, and didn't want to put it down.  Written beautifully and seamlessly, this is a story I highly recommend; if you're a fan of the friends to lovers trope, and soul stirring prose.

We get the story of Teagan "Tea" Berkeley and Derek Hartz told from their dual perspectives in both the present, and flashbacks of the past.  These two were best friends in high school and college, although they weren't huge fans of one another at first. Tea was the stereotypical popular cheerleader who hung out with the mean girls on campus.  Derek kept to himself, had a huge passion for animals, and was a sensitive, selfless, and altruistic individual.  

Tea and Derek were each other's "person." They shared everything together, connected on the deepest of levels and fell madly in love with one another.  However, fear, insecurity, and unfortunate decision making lead to the demise of their friendship.  

Now several years later, both are single parents to teenage daughters and living a lonely life without love.  Derek, who is a veterinarian, has returned to town to help his father who is suffering from dementia, with his vet business.  Tea and Derek share a lot of painful emotions in regards to one another, but never stopped loving each other.  They are determined to avoid one another in town, but their daughters mutual altercations at school, will bring them back in to each others lives...

I can't sing this story enough praise!  I swooned, I sighed, and my heart hurt for all that Tea and Derek had been through; as well as losing their soulmate, when they lost each other.  All I Ask, also delivered hope, giddiness, and the excitement of that powerful and all consuming love that songs are and stories are created about! The passion and intimacy these two shared was a spark that turned in to an all consuming, blazing inferno; and as a reader, I was grateful and excited to be right smack dab in the middle of it all.  

This book played out like a movie in my head, and I pictured Derek as Patrick Dempsey and Tea as a young Kim Bassinger.  If you need an escape that will immediately reel you in, hook you, and never let go, please pick up, All I Ask.

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About the Author:

New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Corinne Michaels is the author of nine romance novels. She’s an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun loving mom of two beautiful children. Corinne is happily married to the man of her dreams and is a former Navy wife. 

After spending months away from her husband while he was deployed, reading and writing was her escape from the loneliness. She enjoys putting her characters through intense heartbreak and finding a way to heal them through their struggles. Her stories are chock full of emotion, humor, and unrelenting love.

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