All He Ever Desired (Kowalski Family #5)

\’All He Ever Desired\’ is Ryan Kowalski\’s second chance at love with Lauren Carpenter, a woman he was in love with but who married his best friend instead. Now Lauren\’s been divorced for years, has a teenage son and has been thinking what could\’ve happened if she had said yes to Ryan all those years ago. What I loved: -The return of my favorite Kowalskis from book 1 to 3. Seeing glimpses of what they\’ve done with their lives and what they\’ll keep doing. What I liked: -The progress of Ryan and Lauren\’s relationship. They both knew they were not the people they were years ago and instead of clinging to that image, they got to know each other and fall in love with who they were now. -The issue of Lauren rejecting Ryan years ago was talked early so both hero and heroine moved on from it and could focus on the now. What I didn\’t like: -Ryan and Lauren talked the issue I mentioned above early but when the \”conflict\” came, the progress they\’ve made throughout the whole book, vanished. And they (especially Lauren) overreacted. -The \”conflict\” is resolved nicely and too fast. Ryan, Lauren and Nick (Lauren\’s son) are about to make a huge change but everyone agrees about making the change as if it was no big deal; especially Nick. The kid\’s been in trouble, he is a teenager and he just agrees on a blink of an eye. -And talking about Nick. Lauren was worried that if Ryan left, Nick would be heartbroken but they barely spent time together to actually form a strong bond. Ryan also said he loved the kid but again, the moments they spent together were few. I believed he cared about him but didn\’t believe the loving part. OVERALL I enjoyed reading \’All he Ever desired\’, it was an entertaining reading but my issue with it (and with the previous book) is that the stories get build up and once the end comes, it doesn\’t deliver. Everything gets wrapped up in a pretty paper, but the paper\’s got wrinkles and it\’s missing a bow.

Hotness Rating 3 out of 5 I love Shannon Stacey. It\’s been far too long since I\’ve read her and the Kowalski Family series. When I opened All He Ever Desired (book #5 of the Kowalski Family) it was like coming home. With that being said, as much as I liked the first 4 books of the series it\’s nothing compared to how much I liked this book. Ryan Kowalski took a leap of faith as a young man and asked the pregnant wife of his best friend to run away with him. He cared for her, but more importantly he knew his friend wasn\’t a good husband and probably never would be to Lauren, so he asked and was shot down. He left his small town after that and returned as little as possible. He owned his own business and was pretty successful, so that kept him busy and away, but if he\’s being honest he couldn\’t face her on regular basis. All has changed. It\’s been well over a decade and he\’s needed back at the lodge owned by he and his siblings. Northern Star Lodge has some renovations that need done and that\’s Ryan\’s niche. He just has to get things done as quickly as possible and get out of there. Lauren Carpenter\’s life hasn\’t turned out quite as she hoped. Her marriage failed and her son is in his moody teenage phase. He\’s a good kid for the most part, but lately he\’s been acting out more and more. When he does the unthinkable and vandalizes the Northern Star Lodge she\’s appalled and devastated. Not only is it going to be a huge hit to her budget, a budget that\’s already way too stretched, but of all things he had to get caught by none other than Ryan Kowalski. The same Ryan Kowalski that she hasn\’t been able to get out of her mind after all these years. I love Ryan and what a stand-up guy he is. He felt bad for what he did to his friend, but he was trying to do the right thing for Lauren and her son. But, when confronted by Lauren\’s ex-husband he owned up to what he did. And I loved how he treated Lauren\’s son. He made him responsible for the things he did without belittling him. Lauren is all kinds of great! She\’s a good mom and a hard worker doing what she could to get through life and raise her son well. I can\’t imagine a better fit for either of these characters other than each other. You can find this review and others at www.riverinaromantics.com

Great Series, can\’t wait for the next one! Janaury isnt that far now and definitely reccomend the other books in the series

Brilliant read

Really enjoy reading about the Kowalskis.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member