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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The final installment in the Romancing Manhattan series is here and I definitely wasn’t prepared! I wasn’t prepared to swoon so hard with Carter’s sweet words and gestures. I wasn’t prepared for the awesome girl’s night between London, Sienna & Nora. I wasn’t prepared to be gutted by Darcy’s letters and I certainly wasn’t prepared for that epilogue, but I loved every single moment of it nonetheless.
After All is a fabulous conclusion of the Romancing Manhattan series. This is Carter’s book. He is a single dad just trying to do the best he can after the death of his wife. Nora is strong and has had Carter’s back for years. This office romance is hot with a little complication along the way. You feel for Gabby and all her preteen angst she goes through. I love Nora and Carter together so much. They just complete each other. You may giggle a little and you may need a tissue but it is so worth it all. I love this one so much. It’s my favorite book in this series.
4.5 stars
It seems Kristen Proby saved the best for last. As I said before about this series, I’ve enjoyed it but found something missing. I felt there was more depth in this book than the others that just gave it an edge over them. Since Carter is a widower with a young daughter, of course there would be a lot of emotions going on here. There was no longer anything missing.
Gabby, Carter’s daughter, has been involved in this series from the start. Often times the kids are almost throwaway characters, but not Gabby. She was a catalyst in the first book, and is up to her shenanigans again in this one. While Gabby has always adored Carter’s assistant, Nora, the emotions that her dad dating bring up in the child are perfectly understandable. The author does a great job with that part of the story. Gabby’s reactions, her hot and cold attitude toward Nora, all of the acting out. On top of losing her mom at a young age, here she is years later as a pre-teen feeling misunderstood on so many levels. Nora is absolutely amazing with Gabby. I’m sure it helps that she’s known the girl for so long and truly cares about her. But often times I felt she had the patience and understanding of a saint.
As for Nora and Carter, they had heat before they even realized they had heat. They just never looked at each other that way because it would have been unprofessional. And they’re both extremely professional people. But sometimes life can throw even the most strait-laced and by-the-book people for a loop. Once the spark was ignited, they couldn’t put it out.
There’s, of course, a huge misstep by one of the characters. They act in a way that is so totally not to their character and it causes huge problems. At first, I was annoyed. Well, I’m still annoyed. But in hindsight I also feel that most of us will behave badly at the height of an intensely emotional situation. I’m just glad the author didn’t make this drag on and the reactions and fallout were dealt with head-on quite quickly.
Now that this series is over, I have to dig out some of her other stories I have on the back burner.
Carter and Nora are one of those couples that deserve love. This story is beautiful and healing.
Here is more of my review here on YouTube ~https://youtu.be/p4iOeY7sQDs
Carter Shaw a prominent attorney has been a widower for 5 years with an 12 year old daughter Gabby.
Nora Hayes has been Carter’s exec assistant for 10 years has taken care of his daughter after his
wife’s death and been there for him in anyway he needed. She is has been divorced for 1 year and
is looking to get back out in the dating scene but not sure how. Carter is attracted to her and pretends
to help her learn how to date. Together they become what one another need. The story takes some
twists and turns. The Carter is narrated by the sexy voice of Joe Arden, and Nora is narrated by
Abby Craden. A great story Kristen Proby is one of the best.
Got this beauty in the mail as a surprise and it was a perfect read to distract me with the midnight baby feedings.
I love Kristen’s reads. She writes romance like no other and this series has it all from the great characters to the fantastic plot. I swear it is a hallmark movie with some lifetime twists and late night comedy all throw into one.
I fell for this couple quickly and loved watching them fall. Single dad and ALSO a work romance? ABSOLUTELY.
This can be read as a standalone and you will love it. Banter and sizzling scenes couples with some great emotional baggage and this book packs a perfectly blended punch.
An office romance with sass! After All will make you laugh, cry, swoon and maybe even tar/feather someone. You definitely don’t want to miss this wonderful conclusion to the Romancing Manhattan series. Such a beautifully written story about finding love after loss, even when you’re scared of being hurt again. This was a must read for me and I couldn’t put it down until I finished. I’m definitely going back and reading the first two in the series!
Finn found love while working. London, who was an actress.
Quinn found love while working. Sienna, another lawyer.
Nothing could be more fair than Carter, their brother-in-law, also finding love at work.
Carter was married to Darcy and they had a beautiful daughter, Gabby. But Darcy had breast cancer, and did not want to tell the family. Conclusion: when they heard about her illness, she was already in a terminal phase.
This devastated their father, who died shortly afterwards.
All of this happened five years ago. Carter received support from his mother-in-law and brothers-in-law in raising his daughter, and of course, from his executive assistant, Nora.
Nora always looked after Gabby when Carter was busy at work at Court. She picked up the girl at school or even spent the weekend together.
So when, after she picked Gabby up at the Principal’s office, for misbehavior, and Carter was very aggressive in his words to her, Nora didn’t think twice about telling some truths to the boss.
Somehow, it boiled their blood, and when they realized, the kiss was almost there.
I said “almost”.
But it was enough for each to wake up from the other’s presence.
Of course, Carter was a very handsome widower; just like Nora, in her killer heels.
Could they have a romance without it getting in the way of work? If it depended on the brothers-in-law (and their wives) it would be a huge YES.
On the other hand, although Gabby likes Nora, the secretary’s relationship with her father makes the girl show her jealous side, while at work, the no-frat policy made the couple the target of envious people.
Both came from a previous marriage (Nora was divorced and did not have the support of her parents, who are very religious, against divorce). Carter came from a wealthy family in Georgia, who did not forgive him for having married a poor girl and moved to NY.
With so much baggage, they had a lot of experience in being resilient. And they wanted to carry on with the opportunity that life gave them.
Until a trip to Nora’s doctor makes Carter freak out.
What surprises did fate give them?
5 stars
Office romance at its best. Nora is Carter’s assistant but it took one situation for the two of them to look at each other and realize there was way more to the relationship than assistant and boss. Funny how everyone around them seemed to know it though, especially Carter’s 12 year old daughter, Gabby. As excited as Gabby was for her dad to date Nora, as with most 12 year old girls, she starts having doubts and fears. Carter and Nora have to overcome the obstacles of real life but their love shines through and in the end fate shows them they are truly meant to be. A perfect love story!
‘After all the stops and starts
We keep comin’ back to these two hearts
Two angels who’ve been rescued from the fall
After all that we’ve been through
It all comes down to me and you
I guess it’s meant to be, forever you and me, after all’
As soon as I saw the title and the blurb for the third book in Kristen Proby’s Romancing Manhattan series, Peter Cetra’s hit song ‘After All,’ immediately popped into my head and it stayed with me during my entire time reading Carter and Nora’s story because they are two people who have lost in love, and even though, the things that happened to them were not the same – his wife passed away while her and her husband got divorced, in some ways, they are kindred spirits, trying to figure things out again as someone who’s single…someone who’s afraid to give love a second chance, and although they’ve worked together for many years, what allows them to see each other in a different light – one that could make them believe in love again seems to be fate interceding, but with everything on the line – their business relationship and the fact that she’s already a significant and important part of his and his daughter’s lives, there’s a lot at stack…maybe too much considering all the other factors that have to be sorted through as well.
The transition to more between Carter and Nora seems to happen suddenly, which means there are bound to be miscommunications and second-guessing happening, and while some of their missteps are frustrating to witness, they also make sense given the nature of their relationship as well as a certain 12-year-old girl who doesn’t know how to handle this new phase in her father’s life. The way that Proby handled Gabby’s feelings when it came to her mother’s death, being a teenager, and her father’s dating life fit the situation well, and while Gabby does act out and makes things more difficult than they should be, it makes sense given all that she’s going through as well as the new role that Nora seems to be taking in Gabby and her father’s lives, which has to be incredibly confusing for her.
There are a lot of variables that Carter and Nora have to work through in order to give something happening between them a fair shot, but when it comes right down to it, both of them deserve to be happy, deserve to be loved, deserve to feel desired, which means after all they’ve dealt with, both together and individually, they’re exactly where they’re meant to be.
4 Poison Apples
Thank you Valentine and Kristen Proby for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
After All
Romancing Manhattan #3
By: Kristen Proby
REVIEW
After All is third in a trilogy but fine as a standalone. Nora and Carter are long time co-workers with a professional and proper relationship. Carter has a twelve year old daughter and a wife who passed away five years ago. Nora is a recent divorcee. Neither of the two have had it easy. Then, something transpires that changes the dynamic between Nora and Carter. What if they were more than co-workers? How would twelve year old Gabby fit into the mix? There are numerous reasons to step back from this change, but the heart wants what it wants. The journey of discovery is fraught with mistakes, hope, doubt, humor and heartache, but it makes for a fun charming read with a few tearful moments. There are no big revelations, but the story is well written and solid with likeable characters who seem more like friends. Fans of romcoms, chicklit and women’s fiction will adore After All!
Favorite Quotes:
I have hard copies of everything, in case the power goes out or there’s a zombie apocalypse. Prepared is an understatement for what I am.
“I beg your pardon,” Mary demands just as Sienna snickers beside me. “You can beg for it, but I’m not going to give it,” I reply,
That man is hotter than July in Hades.
I don’t think anything in the world compares to the venom a twelve-year-old can spew in your face. Maybe I should call my own mother and apologize for once being twelve myself.
I’ve never loved anyone else the way I do you, Nora. You will never know a day when you’re unloved by me, because your soul is so tangled in mine, there will never be a time that I’d let you go.
My Review:
Oh, swoon, I adore Kristen Proby, her characters are always an entertaining mix of smart and sassy as well as being a bit frayed and endearingly flawed. I was besotted with this couple, they were swoon and smirk-worthy with a sweet and steamy yet well functioning boss/employee relationship. The painfully handsome single-dad boss was lost without his plucky assistant – during and after hours. Written in my favorite dual POV, the engaging storylines were fresh, amusing, and relatable as well as hitting all the feels between the sizzle, clever banter, and the heavier and more volatile family issues. I had not read the previous installments in this enticing series and didn’t need to, although I am definitely feeling the pull to delve into them as well.
This book has all the feels. There was a few times this one had me tearing up. I was drawn to this book because Carter is a single dad. Gabby and his back story is a sad one that pulls at the heartstrings. I loved Carter and Nora together. A little office romance going on. They both have some inner turmoil to heal from if they wan a HEA. I was with Nora at one point is wanting to bop Carter. He has some groveling in order. Boy does he know how to do it too.This book also has a lot of emotion. It rolls off all the characters. It’s a book I easily got lost in and had a hard time putting down.
This is the third and final book in this Romancing Manhattan series and it was a great end. Kirsten brought the previous characters you have fallen in love with back into this one as this features Finn and Quinn’s BIL Carter.
Carter is a widower and single father to the sassy pre-teen Gabby. He is a Lawyer and Nora is his assistant and has been for years but now his feelings towards her are changing. He is finally ready to move on. The connection between them was palpable from the beginning, even when they weren’t admitting their feelings. I loved how Nora embraced his daughter, she has helped him with her for the last few years but she effortlessly fitted into their family so well, even had his in-laws embracing her.
I was thoroughly entertained with Nora’s relationship and connections with the girls London and Sienna, she fit in with them perfectly.
In typical fashion nothing will ever run smoothly especially when you have a clueless male that doesn’t handle a situation well and think before speaking but he does realise his mistake quickly an goes about winning her over and fixing things
Sad to say goodbye to these couples. This has been a great romance series filled with heart, humour and steam. Well done Kristen
I have been waiting for Carter and Nora’s story and it did not disappoint.
These two together were sizzling hot and magnetic. I loved them together and they definitely had their moments that made me laugh out loud. But hey when it’s been years since they have dated – there tend to be some comical moments. But this book is also full of emotions that tugged at my heart. It’s tough starting a relationship when a child is involved – even when that person has been in their life forever.
I adore this series and the one thing you can get from a Kristen Proby book is characters that will grab you and you don’t ever want to let go of.
Absolutely the best in the series in my opinion and I’ve loved them all. This entire series has had such fascinating characters and this book is no exception with Carter, Nora & Gabby working hard for their HEA. Wonderfully written book that I think everyone will enjoy. I definitely recommend it.
The final book in the Romancing Manhattan and what a perfect story to finish and draw this series together, I loved everything about this book, it ticked all my boxes, I fell big time for Carter Shaw and Nora Hayes and what can I say about Gabby, Carter’s teenage daughter apart from she delivers lines only a troubled teenager would get away with. I laughed, I smiled, I swooned and I sighed as I joined them on their journey to happiness.
Gabby lost her mum at a young age and she is left understandably angry but Nora has been there through thick and thin as she doubles as Carter’s pa and Gabby’s friend and confidant but what happens when Carter and Nora realise they’re want more than a working relationship, will Gabby understand when another woman takes her fathers attention…..
This is a heartwarming story that will appeal to all romance lovers, it can certainly be read as a stand-alone but I’m sure once you meet this group of friends you will want to play catch up and read the previous 2 books in this series. Was I sad to see this story end, yes but as I have already said for me Ms Proby left the best for last. This is certainly a series I will read over and over because this group of friends have really cemented themselves in my heart. Great job Kristen Proby.
Carter and Nora are the kind of couple that warm your heart and give you goosebumps all at the same time. Having read the first two books in the series, these characters were not new to me, and their connection was apparent to the reader. They came together in this book in a way that was inevitable. That being said the story was not predictable or brief. You get to know them each and their baggage and see them navigate their changing relationship. One of my favorite parts of this book was the girl time Nora spent with London and Sienna. I have said it before, but Kristen Proby has a way of creating a girl tribe that you want to be a part of, all of her series has it and this one is no different. This was an emotional and gripping story and I highly recommend.
I received an ARC of this book and voluntarily give my review.
I’ve been completely romanced by Manhattan and this beautiful family of characters. After All was my favorite in series and one of my favorite KP books of all time. I started this book already feeling acquainted with Carter, Nora, Gabby and Maggie which made reading this book like visiting old friends. They are the most authentic modern family and through struggles and “growing pains” there’s still so much love between them.
Carter and Nora’s connection was so intense and blew me away! It was so unexpected after seeing them as boss/employee in previous books. I didn’t know how they would make the transition, but trust me they found their way and it was FIRE!
There’s something about these final books in Kristen’s series that make me feel weepy. I’m never ready to let go of the families and stories. And no epilogue out there can touch the epilogues Kristen writes to wrap up a series. Get your tissues out.
There hasn’t been a time that Nora wasn’t there for Carter and his daughter Gabby. Her ex-husband even blamed her for focusing all her time on her job. Being Carter’s assistant for years, Nora fell into the role of taking care of them after the death of his wife. All it takes is a lingering look & she’s now seeing her boss in a whole new light.
Carter doesn’t know what he would do without Nora. Working long hours, she’s helped numerous times with Gabby. He’s also seeing her not as his assistant but as a gorgeous woman who loves his daughter as much as he does. Can they overcome obstacles in their way once they cross the boss/assistant line?
This was a great read! Having known each other for years it was easy to fall into a relationship. They did have issues and bumps along the way but in the end they did not give up on each other. Looking forward to seeing what the author will be writing next!