A review by dragonflyreads
All I Ask by Corinne Michaels

4.0

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3.5 stars

All I Ask is Corinne Michaels latest standalone novel and her first as a traditionally published author through Forever Romance. This story is an emotional best friends-to enemies-to lovers and second chance romance.

We're in Chincoteague Island, Virgina, a tiny coastal town with seasonal visitors and plenty of locals that get into everyones business. Teagan is a single mother to a thirteen-year-old girl and lives above her parents antique store that she also manages. Derek is a newly widowed father back in town to help his ailing father at his veterinary practice.

Teagan and Derek's relationship is volatile. They were high school best friends that always had feelings for each other but never let the other know about it. Teagan's relationship with her then boyfriend made Derek's decision to marry someone else the put the nail in their proverbial coffin.

"Tell me something real."

I enjoyed Derek's character very much. He's learning the ropes as a single father, and dealing with the death of his wife. While their relationship wasn't perfect, I felt that her character was villainized a bit too much. Teagan was very hit or miss for me. She was a woe-is-me type of character and that kind of grated on me. She plays the victim very well but they both made decisions that molded the thirteen years they were apart.

"I've waited a very long time for you, even when I didn't know what I was doing.

While this wasn't a supreme read for me, I did still enjoy it. Teagan and Derek's growth as characters separately, parents, and a couple was great to read. Corinne still remains a top auto-buy author for me but All I Ask didn't hit all the marks like her past stories.