The last sizzling novel in Kristen Proby’s Romancing Manhattan series finds a widower falling deeply in love again with a woman who has scars of her own.When Carter Shaw’s wife died five years ago, he was left to pick up the pieces not only of his own broken heart but also that of his devastated eight-year-old daughter, Gabby—leaving him with no time for anything else, let alone dating. But … let alone dating. But recently, Carter has noticed women again and soon even begins dating. No one has stuck around for long, mostly thanks to one very angry Gabby.
Nora Hayes has worked as Carter’s assistant for years. Recently divorced herself, Nora spends many hours at the office and helping Carter with his daughter whom she adores. Despite loving her job and being wrapped up in the Shaw family, Nora’s never given her handsome, kind workaholic boss a second thought, especially in the romance department.
But then the snowstorm of the century hits, and Nora finds herself stranded at work with Carter overnight. And suddenly, she sees Carter in a whole new, sexy light. The sadness that’s lived in his eyes for so long has now been replaced with pure, unadulterated lust—and Nora isn’t quite sure what to do about it. For after the pain of her divorce, she never thought she would give love a second chance.
Carter and Nora have always believed in never combining business with pleasure. But how can they possibly deny the all-consuming chemistry between them…?
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I really enjoyed all the books in this series, but I think Kristen saves the best for last! This one was my favorite! It gave me all the feels! This one was an emotional ride for sure. I would most definitely recommend this book!
Received an arc for an honest opinion.
After All is the bittersweet finale to an immensely emotional series. Proby gives the heart something to smile about even as the world is falling apart. Nora and Carter speak to the heart in the most relatable of ways.
Kristen Proby has definitely saved the best for last. This story was filled with so much emotion. Nora has been Carter’s assistant for over 10 years. It was always professional until things started to change after one night being snowed in in the office. Feelings started to get in the way but Nora wasn’t sure if Carter felt the same. Once they both admitted that there was something there their relationship started to grow. But not everything is easy. First there was a HR manager that didn’t like Nora because she had her own fantasies about Carter, the no-frat policy and most important a twelve year old little girl. Nora was used to taking care of her for Carter but being in a relationship with him sort of changed things in her mind.
This story has a lot of ups and downs but so worth it. Carter now is moving on from his loss of Gabby’s mom. Something he never thought would happen, and Gabby must realize that her dad is also moving on. Not forgetting Darcy but opening his heart to love again.
SO IN LOVE! I binged the first two books (All the Way and All it Takes) before reading After All. The entire Romancing Manhattan series is amazing! Carter, Nora, and Gabby’s story was everything I wanted it to be! I laughed, loved, and cried. This story was so sweet, and super sexy too! The epilogue was the perfect way to end this story!
Even though this is the first in the series I have read, it was such an emotional read. I am working may way through the first two now.
Carter and Nora, their boss to lover romance was so much fun to read, and Carter being a single dad to Gabby, they were so cute together. He struggles from time to time, wondering if he is going to get through the ups and downs of an almost teenage girl, I loved that Nora could step in to help, but not be over bearing.
Sometimes you just want to ready a romance and not have a lot of drama, just a good old fashioned love story, that will make you feel good all over and leave you with a big smile when your done. There were a couple of tear jerk moments, for them, but all in all this was just a sweet and spicy romance. The epilogue was just a great way to wrap up the series, I love a happy ending.
I’m gonna miss this series!
4,5 stars
There is something about this author that always makes me come back for more. Whenever I need to relax, enjoy and get lost in a sweet, sexy story, I know I can have all that from her. Yet somehow this series had a sobriety that wasn’t so present in her other books and I loved that.
Carter and Nora have known each other and worked together for so long, but they never considered anything going on between them, specially considering they were both married.
But years after Carter’s wife passing and Nora’s divorce, they loyalty to each other, their camaraderie, they way worked so well and antecipated each other’s needs (specially Nora) started to become more.
It wasn’t easy to reconcile their new dynamics, mainly considering it wasn’t just the two of them, they had Gabby (Carter’s teenage daughter) to consider, but even she had to admit their feelings (including hers) couldn’t be denied. Besides that, Carter’s “wariness” could become another issue.
It was sexy, sweet, adorable, addicting, the characters were all amazing, even the secondary ones. Kristen Proby writes awesome families and friends.
And I must say this: Darcy was a character of her own, and what a wonderful person she was.
I don’t want this series to end! I fell in love with the characters, all of them, but I think these two gave me ALL the feels! Kristen managed to pull on all my emotional strings with Nora & Carter’s story. I’m sad this is the end of this series, I’m hoping these characters will pop in on future stories! 5 amazing stars for this one, grab it asap!
There could not have been a better ending for this series!!
After All, wraps up the Romancing Manhattan series in just the best way possible. I knew I was going to love finally getting Carter and Nora’s story but I didn’t realize it would be one of the best books I’ve read in 2020. I had to go back and read it again because I wasn’t quite ready to let it go haha.
After All, is the story of Carter Shaw who is a lawyer in a law firm with the Cavenaugh brothers and his loyal and irreplaceable executive assistant Nora. Nora has been a vital part of Carter’s life. She’s always there for him at work and helping him with his daughter Gabby. After they are stranded at the office one night thanks to a snowstorm. They begin to see each other in a whole new way.
And oh how I love that whole new way hahaha. The chemistry between Carter and Nora is phenomenal. I really enjoyed the way they made an office romance work. (The Dickinson File is just the best). Also, I love that Nora already had such a close relationship with Gabby outside of being in a relationship with her father. That made for such a stronger and more emotional storyline.
That epilogue is truly fantastic. It really is the cherry on top of a fantastic series.
5 star review After All (Romancing Manhattan #3) by Kristen Proby
After All is the last book in the Romancing Manhattan series by Kristen Proby. Having read quite a few books be Ms.Proby I was excited to read this book, particularly since I have been gravitating to single parent stories recently.
I really loved Carter Shaw, his gorgeous and troubled daughter Gabby and Nora Hayes, there was something about them all that I found easy to relate too. Loosing her mum at such a young age has understandingly made Gabby angry, so much so that she has scared off any women he has chosen to date recently.
Nora is Carter’s assistant and has been with him through some devastating times.
Neither Carter or Nora have contemplated a romantic relationship with one another until fate, in the form of a violent snowstorm throws them both a curve ball.
The story that Ms.Proby wove is heartwarming, it is a story of finding love in an unexpected place, of taking a risk and putting everything on the line in the hopes of finding a second chance at love.
There was romance, love, some angst; I was riveted to this story from the first to the last chapter and had a hard time putting it down. I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.
What a fascinating story! Nora has been Carter’s assistant for many years, she takes care of his daughter Gabby, and every other aspect of his life and his two brother in laws/partners. One day something happened that made him see her in another light. They will embark on this amazing journey to love that is riveting and enthralling. You will be enveloped in a cocoon of reality while facing the trials and tribulations of a single parent with an adolescent daughter who lost her mother. A fabulous story full of amazing characters and an HEA. I volunteered to review this arc.
After All was a fantastic read. If you’ve read the first two books in the series then you know Carter’s relationship to the Cavanagh family. He has been through a lot in the last couple of years and it was time for Carter to get a little happiness. And that happiness was in the form of Nora. Their romance was just heartwarming. I enjoyed seeing their relationship grow as I read. It was a right mix of sweet and alluring. Carter’s daughter Gabby added a special layer to the story. I also loved the interactions with the first two couples in the series: Finn and London and Quinn and Sienna as well as Maggie (the matriarch of the family). Overall this was a heartfelt and lovely about two broken people finding their one and becoming part of a charming family. I’ve enjoyed every Kristen Proby story and this was no different. A terrific read!
* A review copy was provided by the author/publisher via Edelweiss *
Sometimes I love a story that gets to the heart of the romance without all the angst and drama leading up to it.
That’s exactly what After All was. This was an enjoyable and swoony office romance.
I still believe that Kristen Proby is the queen of swoony romance stories!! I always have a huge smile on my face while reading her books and I know my heart won’t be torn apart just to be put back together.
After All is a great finish to this series. I have loved all the book in this series and this one is no different. I found this story fun, sexy and totally swoony. Yes there is some drama but it was all fairly mild and over pretty quickly.
This is the third book in this series, but can be read as a standalone novel. It is told in Dual POV and I thought the flow and pace of the book was great. I always get swept up in Kristen’s stories. Her characters are relatable and lovable, I always feel like I am a part of their world. I don’t feel this series has to be read in order, but if you are like me, you will want to read them in order to get the full reading experience.
We follow Nora and Carter in this story. It is an office romance but could also be a friends to lovers story. Nora has been Carter’s assistant for a decade but after being trapped at the office during a snow storm, they find they see each other in a different light. Both of these characters have been hurt in the past and Nora has some trust issues, where as Carter is learning to love again after a tragic loss. I loved watching these two grow into better and stronger characters.
I loved seeing the other couples in this book. It’s great when we can seeing how they have moved on since their stories
I would recommend this book to all romance readers who like a story with very little drama. If you know or have read other Kristen Proby books, then you know when you pick this book up, you’re in for a treat!! This is definitely one for your TBR list!!!
Carter Shaw has been a widower for five years and has been raising his now tween on his own with the help of family and his dedicated assistant. He is successful and charming, and is just starting to get interested in the idea of dating again but is out of practice.
Nora Hayes has worked for Carter for ten years. She does everything at the office and it also spills over into his life and child care. She is intelligent, organized, dependable, fun, and witty. She was married for years and is recently divorced.
They have always just seen each other as work associates and never thought of more, but recently a few heated looks and close calls have made them take notice of the other’s true attractiveness. And it is like a light bulb going off. It quickly tumbles into a not-so-secret office romance. In some ways, it seems like it happens fast, but considering they were close for ten years and there are some small time jumps between incidents, it really did not feel too insta-lovey. Their banter is fun, their chemistry is hot, and their lives are already intertwined.
For awhile I was worried that it might just end up being too easy and the characters were too perfect, but I was glad when real life does start throwing them some curveballs. I loved that they had some challenges to navigate and some of it was difficult, raw, and messy. I liked that we got to see them flounder sometimes and not always act perfect and say just the right things. It made it seem more realistic and brought in more vulnerability and emotional depth.
This is an engaging, sexy, heartfelt, single dad, falling-for-the-boss romance. It brings back his brothers-in-law, Quinn and Finn, their loves, his daughter, Gabby, and her grandmother, Maggie. I adored her friend, Christopher, and how London and Sienna pulled her in as well. I loved how this group takes care of each other and is not afraid to say what they really think. And I was so happy to see that it ties the series up with a wonderful epilogue.
So good.
This book is the third and last book in the Manhattan series. I’ve been looking forward to Carter’s books. After getting to know him a bit from the other 2 books I knew he hasn’t had it easy so I was dying to know him better. I’ve enjoyed this series so far so I was looking forward to get stuck in.
The characters are great in this book to 2 main character Carter and Nora. Nora has worked as Carter’s assistant for a long while. There isn’t much she doesn’t know about him. Nora even minds Carter’s daughter Gabby who is 12 and goin through her preteen stage which is very testing for them all at times. But Nora luvs her so much and would do anything for her. Nora has alway found Carter attractive but didn’t think there would be anything between them with working so close together it’s never a good thing to get to close. But after a while they both started see each other a bit different and wanted to see how things could go between them.
I really liked Carter and Nora together they have both had to deal with hard times and have found it hard to move on. They both work very hard and find it hard to have a social life. But once Carter finally makes his move and asks her for a date things start to move in the right direction. They both need happiness though things don’t alway go easy for them Carter or Nora can’t seem to be a part from each other. Things do move quite quick with them but Nora knows Carter and after working together for so long why wait.
I would highly recommend this book the story was so good and smoking hot in parts. These are so hot together once they let there guard down they can’t keep there hands off each other. I really did enjoy the story it was well written and the story flowed. I was dying to see what happened between them. The epilogue was perfect as well it was a perfect ending to the series.
Fantastic ending to a wonderful series! Elizabeth @ Carolina Chic’s Read
Carter Shaw finally gets his happy ending. We have gotten to know his daughter Gabby and follow her grief over loosing her mother. Carter has had the support of his entire family, with which we have met in the previous books. Carter has been blissfully content in his little world with his daughter and the woman that hold his world together in the background. His secretary, suddenly he is noticing her curves and the shoes she wears makes his want for her soar.
Nora Hayes is the woman behind the scenes, the rock to the man that she has an absolute crush on. She would never risk her career for a chance with him. Unless it was forever. Maybe it could be.
Charming and Heartwarming! 5 Stars!
Widower father to a pre-teen.
Recently divorced executive assistant.
Assistant has been there for the hero and his daughter since the mother’s passing in a work and friendship capacity. She’s already weaved into their life, and one day the way she’s blended in changes.
I thought that After All was good. It’s pretty easy street sugary sweet, but there are some angsty misunderstanding moments that keep it interesting f. Nora and Carter both have these budding feelings for each other, but they both try to keep them at bay because they are boss and assistant and they just work so well together already. Nora is there for Carter and his daughter, and she loves her job. She’s worked hard for her job, and her independence after divorce, so she doesn’t want to ruin all of that to give into lusty feelings. Carter is more on the side of let’s see how this goes, but at some point they both agree to take it to the next step and start dating. If you want to know more, then I suggest you pick this one up in July.
This is the third book in the series, but it can definitely be read and understood standalone. That being said I definitely plan to go back and read the other brothers stories, because I enjoyed them and their heroines personalities in this book.
If you’re looking for a well written contemporary romance, that’s more sweet than angsty, then you will enjoy After All!
After all the previous books in the Romancing Manhattan Series, this book is the icing on the cake. If you haven’t read the first two books, no problem, because it can be read as a standalone. Be warned you will probably go back and read the first two books about mega hunk attorneys in Manhattan.
Carter is a single father to Gabby, his wife dying five years ago. Carter is also a workaholic relying healing on Nora to run his office and personal life. Things have one smoothly for years. She keeps him organized and helps out with Gabby. It is perfect until it isn’t enough.
After All is the story of discovery of deep emotions. Were they in denial? Were they not ready before? Were they content? When they realize that life can be so much better they stumble their way to a happily Ever After. They trip over their own hearts. They trip over their own insecurities. But when they fall, they fall hard.
After All, the third and (I believe) last book in Kristen Proby’s Romancing Manhattan series, is definitely my favorite in this series! I am a sucker for single parent books, and Carter Shaw is the epitome of a sexy, swoony single father!
Nora has worked as Carter’s executive assistant for the last ten years. Her strong work ethic- and long working hours- is ultimately what destroyed her marriage. Carter suffered the unimaginable when his wife died, leaving him as the single parent to their daughter, Gabby. Neither Carter nor Nora ever thought of the other as anything other than employer/employee, until… and then it is sudden and unexpected and it’s hard to imagine how these two orbited each other for so long without coupling up.
I absolutely love this story! I love how strong Nora is, I love how vulnerable Carter was, but yet whole-heartedly protected Nora. And Gabby- and all of the real emotions and feelings that she portrayed- stole the show…
I can’t say enough wonderful things about After All- I highly recommend this, as well as the first two books in the Romancing Manhattan series!