Book review + excerpt: All of Me ~ A.L. Jackson

Title: All of Me
Author: A.L. Jackson
Series: Confessions of the Heart #2
Release date: December 3, 2018
(Sub)genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 478
Buy: Amazon US ~ Amazon UK
Rating:
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

People call me callous. Arrogant. Ruthless.

I call myself tenacious.
One of the most powerful attorneys in Charleston, I don’t let anyone or anything stand in my way.
Until a chance encounter changes everything.

One glance.
One touch.
One night.
It only leaves me wanting more.

But Grace is off limits. Most people would even say forbidden.
Everyone knows an attorney can’t sleep with his client.
Too bad I already did.

And even with the threat of losing everything, I don’t know if I can stop myself from having her again…

Falling for a guy when everything is a stake, when your life is spiraling out of control… Wise or not? Falling for a woman you absolutely can’t fall for, personal-wise and business-wise… Yes or no? All of Me tells the story Grace and Ian, who both are at a very different point in life. I’ve enjoyed reading this story very much.

“She was a mess. A gorgeous fucking mess. A disaster waiting to happen.”

Grace is at her wits end. She finally has taken control of her own life again, but she’s in desperate need of help. Help of a good attorney who can help her to get what’s hers, to protect what she loves. Having a one-night stand is not her thing, but when Grace embraces her inner vixen for once, she lets go. Enter Ian, a ruthless, detached attorney on the brink of reaching his goal. Ian and Grace hit it off right away, thinking they’ll never see each other again. But to their surprise, they meet again… As attorney and client… They can’t be a couple but staying away is impossible.

“Making his claim. Marking me. Every inch. Body and heart and soul. I was right. I was right. I was never going to be the same.”

I feel so sorry for Grace. She thought she had it all, until slowly her life started to change. Bit by bit her dreams went up in smoke and walking away is the only possible outcome. But it’s not just about her, is also very much about her kids, who she feels deserve a better life. There’s only so much money can buy, and love and happiness can’t be bought. Ian might seem cold and calculating, but for Grace he’s a knight in shining armor. He goes out of his way to help Grace, and the fight isn’t easy. I love Grace and Ian together, they both are what the other needs.

All of Me is a true A.L. Jackson book, full of feelings and emotions. Starting this book, I had the idea it would be your typical attorney/client romance, but the story is so much more than that. Ian and Grace are the main couple of course, but Grace does have her children to think about. I love how Ian quickly realizes Grace is a mom first, that her kids are very important to her. But that doesn’t mean Ian and Grace don’t get to know each other… I love the ending of story, it’s everything Grace and Ian deserve.

“I love you so much it hurts, Ian. So much that I can feel you etched on my skin. Written on my heart. Marked on me forever. You are my gift. The hero I never expected.”

 

Excerpt

“Dance with me.” It was a rough command.

A lure.

That energy moved.

A stir at my feet.

I tried not to get trapped by it, by the feeling of it crawling up my legs and spreading over my body. Chaining me to the spot.

I swallowed down the attraction. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

He came closer. Stealing the air and making me shiver.

His mouth was so close to my ear that I couldn’t tell if it was his breath or his lips that were sending tingles rushing as they brushed across my skin. “I think it’s a brilliant idea.”

“That’s because you don’t have anything to lose.”

“Don’t I?”

If I wasn’t watching him so closely, I might have missed the way he grimaced, the way something struck him deep.

It only lasted for a second before that smirk slipped into something seductive.

“Besides, what could one dance hurt?”

“Oh, I’m sure it could hurt plenty.”

I knew it in the way I’d started to move around him, attracted and repelled, as if this man was the gravity in the room. We were suddenly in a slow dance. Not even touching, and still, I could feel him everywhere.

As if those big hands were roaming over my body. Making me scream and shiver and quake.

And my body was already making the foolish decision for me, drawn toward him, compelled by the rhythm of the music as everything pitched into a mesmerized sway.

He leaned in, his mouth back at my ear. “You’re worried about being hurt, when the only thing I’m thinking about is how good I could make you feel. I’d make you lose your mind, beautiful.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

Not for a second.

“Everyone deserves a moment to forget,” he murmured, as if he already saw all the things bleeding inside me, and then I really was shivering because he looped an arm around my waist and pulled me close.

The two of us were instantly at one with the cadence of the slow, provocative beat. “Let me be the one to do it.”