Genre: Contemporary Romance
Setting: Georgebury, Vermont
POV: 1st Person (heroine narrates story)
Sensuality: Subtle
Violence: Some, but most of it occurs off page
Format: Digital
Source: A digital ARC courtesy of Harlequin via NetGalley
Why I Read It: I’ve enjoyed other books by Kristan Higgins
My Grade: B+
Although Kristan Higgins’ last book, The Next Best Thing, didn’t do it for me, All I Ever Wanted sees her back on top form. It’s probably my favourite of her books so far.
Callie Grey is an advertising executive. On her thirtieth birthday, her boss, Mark, and the love of her life, announces he’s seeing another woman. To add insult to injury, the other woman is Muriel deVeers, the daughter of their biggest client. As part of the deal with Bags to Riches, Mark has agreed to hire Muriel to work in their team despite her lack of experience in advertising. Then Callie learns that the venue for her thirtieth birthday party has fallen through and it will now be held in the family funeral home.
Desperate to escape the office, Callie uses the excuse of needing to get her driver’s license renewed. While waiting in line at the DMV, she sobs down the phone to her sister, earning the contempt of the moody man behind her. He accuses her of having emotional diarrhea in public. Callie is offended but reasons that she’s not likely to see the horrible man ever again. Unfortunately for Callie, the moody man from the DMV turns out to be Georgebury’s new vet!
Ian McFarland moved to Georgebury following his divorce. He’s an excellent vet and wonderful with animals. Unfortunately, his people skills are lacking. When he realises he’s losing business because he can’t compete with his gregarious predecessor, Ian hires Callie to come up with an effective PR and advertising campaign. As Callie and Ian get to know one another better, they realise they might be just what each other needs to recover from their respective broken hearts.
All I Ever Wanted is a fun read and made me laugh out loud on several occasions. As usual with Kristan Higgins’ work, Callie’s family play an integral role in the story. I especially liked her grandfather, Noah, with whom she lives. The difference between Callie’s family and Ian’s is poignant.
Callie is warm, funny and deeply insecure. She worries about her weight and about never finding Mr Right. She’s the middle child. In many ways, she’s the glue which keeps her family together. Despite her parent’s divorce, Callie insists on organising monthly get togethers for her family. She’s also the driving force behind Mark’s advertising company, yet she rarely gets the credit unless it suits him. Now that Muriel is working there, Callie has been effectively demoted. I really wanted Callie to stand up for herself. It takes a little while, but she eventually does just that.
Ian is moody and withdrawn, a sharp contrast to Mark’s charisma. Callie brings out the best in him. Despite his lack of social skills, Ian genuinely cares about Callie and grows fond of her family. Callie comes to appreciate Ian’s frankness and knows his compliments are worth a million of those bestowed upon her by the smarmy Mark.
I enjoyed All I Ever Wanted. It’s an amusing story well told.
{ 1 comment }
I had some great laughs with this one but Callie just annoyed me too much. She was borderline air-headed and Ian just too stiff.
I would have died if I ever had my birthday party at a funeral home!