Fans of Christina Lauren, Colleen Hoover, and Jill Santopolo will love this breathtaking story about first love, second chances, and starting over from New York Times bestselling author Corinne Michaels. Teagan Berkeley is trying her best. A single mom raising a precocious teen, she may have given up on her dreams, but she’s accepted her life in her small beachside hometown. Now the one … she’s accepted her life in her small beachside hometown. Now the one person who abandoned her when she needed him the most has returned, bringing back memories of what might have been.
Derek Hartz arrives in town with a teenage daughter-and he’s full of guilt over his failed marriage and the way he ended his friendship with Teagan. He’s determined to set things right with her, but first he needs to gain her trust, something he’s not convinced he deserves.
As Teagan and Derek open up to each other-and confess their deepest secrets-it’s impossible for them to deny what’s always been between them. But just when their happily ever after is within reach, their complicated history surfaces again and threatens to keep them apart. Forever.
You know those stories that just make you sigh and think I want more? That is what Derek and Teagan’s story was for me. These two who reconnect after years apart, made me cheer so hard for them both. Parents of teens who don’t like each other and they want more than anything to be with each other. Watching these two navigate their situations was heartbreaking and yet soothed my soul. Love conquers all and love will always find a way. This story is one of my favorites. Absolutely stole my heart.
Derek and Teagan are the epitome of best friends who are in love with each other but don’t say anything. Instead they end up being driven apart by life until many years later when they reconnect.
I can’t say enough how much I loved this book! It has all the emotions and sucks you in from the first chapter. I couldn’t put it down! One of my new favorites of the year!
One of my favorite authors nails it again! What a beautiful heartfelt story of young love at its best! My heartstrings almost didn’t make it… but again… hang on tight and wait for the magic to happen! Love this story! Love these characters! Love this author!
I love this book. Corinne did a great job telling the history of these two from both their point of views. They have to over come the hurt, the kids not getting along and of course drama. It was worth it!
I loved this book so much. It was an amazing story and I’m so sad that it’s over. It’s a story about first love and second changes. Friends to lovers. The book pulled at my heartstrings and made me believe in second chances. I fell in love with the characters, as I do with all of Corinne’s characters. A 5 star must read!
The single parent trope has become one of my new favorites to read, and we get not one, but two single parents in this book.
Teagan and Derek were the very best of friends in high and college. They promised to always be there for each other, and even though they were “just friends” they had a bond that everyone could see was beyond special. But circumstances and situations pulls them apart, and it’s been thirteen years since they’ve spoken.
Now, Derek is back in their little hometown, and it’s his chance to make things right with Teagan. Whether she allows him back into her life after what he did all those years ago is another story. Add in the fact that they each have a teenage daughter they have to think about, and the path to forgiveness and redemption is a long and bumpy one.
As usual, Corinne is the queen of ripping the heart right out of your chest. Teagan has been through SO much in her life. She hasn’t had it easy at all, and she’s basically just doing the best she can to raise her daughter right and make a life for the two of them. It doesn’t help that Derek is back, making her realize all the feelings she tried to bury all those years ago are still very much alive.
There were so many missed opportunities when these two were younger, things that would have been so very different had they just expressed how they felt about each other. But they were young and scared to admit to the other how they felt, for fear it would ruin their friendship. It is the classic case of “had I known then what I know now” everything could have been dramatically different.
I admit it took a minute for me to warm up to Derek. I didn’t agree with the choices he made all those years ago, and to read all that Teagan went through on her own just broke my heart. Then for him to come back to town and see that his daughter has immediately started to bully Teagan’s daughter had me fuming. But he grew on me as the book progressed, and I loved seeing all the effort he went to in order to win Teagan back. He was patient with her and supported her 100% which is something she has never had.
This story was so full of feels! I’m pretty sure Corinne laughs a maniacal laugh while she’s writing, knowing how she’s shredding reader’s hearts left and right. She makes us work for that happy ending, which ultimately we get. But boy, it’s a rough road getting there! That’s what makes her books so much fun to read though, it’s like running an obstacle course of emotions!
If you’re a long time reader of Corinne’s books, you’ll squeal with delight at the mention of a beloved character, at least I did!!
Another amazing read!
Wow, this was…. jeez so emotional and at times heartbreaking!
Teagan and Derek’s story starts as teenagers and how their friendship blossoms throughout the years with either one realizing how much love they have for each other until giant steps in their lives take place and their both stuck.
Going through the years growing apart then growing together, this story is emotional, heartbreaking and lovely.
4.5 stars!
I love how Corinne Michaels always manages to pull all the emotions out of me with her books. All I Ask is a beautifully written, single parents, friends to lovers, second chance romance. It’s a story of longing, forgiveness and reconnection. Corinne Michaels does a great job combining emotionally charged moments with a lot of heart and sass. I really enjoyed this one.
Teagan and Derek had a really strong friendship that started in high school. However, secrets and unspoken desires forced them to end their bond. Thirteen years later, they’re reunited and all the guilt, hurt, and feelings are unleashed. I liked how this story flowed so easily between the past and the present.
In the present, Teagan is down on her luck. She’s had to do everything on her own and the end of her friendship with Derek more than a decade prior is still an open wound. But she stayed strong for her daughter. I loved the relationship she had with Chastity. Their bond is incredibly strong and there is so much trust and honesty between them.
Derek carries a ton of guilt for ending his relationship with Teagan. However, he had a marriage and a daughter to think of. When he moves back to help his father, he must figure out how to single parent his daughter who is struggling with all the recent changes.
I really love Teagan and Derek together, in the past and the present. Their connection was amazing even after so much time apart. It was almost to a point of frustration because I just wanted them to be together so freaking bad. There were many times in this story where I wanted to shake them both. A lot could have been resolved if they just talked to each other. The emotions and longing made for one hell of a story.
I’m such a sap when it comes to Corinne Michaels books. All I Ask may not be as angsty as some of her other books however that didn’t stop me from shedding quite a few tears.
A second chance, friends to lovers, single parents romance by one of my favorite authors, I mean, come on, how could this be anything but a must read. I highly recommend it
It’s a sweet read, she said, it’s a light read she said ! Perfect a sweet and light read to fall into and get whisked away !
Yes a lovely sweet read about best friends and how a simple choice can change your fate, how love doesn’t always conquer all but can come back around when your least expecting it ! Until the tears came !!!
Corinne has a way with words whether she is making you laugh, or smile to somehow through it to the mix the most heartfelt moments that just resonate, they get you and Corinne gets my tears of heartfelt sympathy, loss, beauty and joy ! She just simple has a way to captivate you
A beautiful story, what I love most is the way the secondary characters are always given as much thought and attention as the main x
“Tell me something real”
5 Stars
Diz
4TLOR
4.5 Stars!!! All I Ask is a beautifully written story about a second chance romance between Derek Hartz and Teagan. Teagan Derek were best friends throughout high school and college, but Derek and Teagan each held deeply secret feelings for the other, which neither admitted nor acted upon. And then Derek married Meghan, and things changed, and the change occurred at time when Teagan truly needed Derek. Now, due to unexpected circumstances Teagan and Derek have been thrust back into each other’s lives, and this is when the story truly begins to unfold, and takes us on a beautiful journey of pain shedding, love, broken and mended hearts, true communication, and romance. Derek and Teagan are each other’s perfect match. Although I will say that in the beginning, Teagan, despite me understanding her hurt and pain at the lack of communication between her and Derek when she needed him the most…when she gave birth to her daughter, she drove me a little crazy because I felt like she was asking Derek to chose her over his wife, and that was not something that he could do. And I will admit that it bothered me the way it was revealed that Derek harbored feelings for Teagan, and it made me side-eye him for a bit. However, these two were truly meant to be together, and they truly loved each other beyond time, space and distance. If we all could have a love like theirs.
All I Ask is one of Corinne Michaels most beautifully told stories. It is a story of strength, redemption, forgiveness, comeuppance, love, and parenthood. It is simply perfect.
This story is just superb. The depth of love and emotion these two characters have for each other is something we should all strive for. They have a soul deep connection and you will be routing for them from the very start. The daughters add an interesting dynamic and I warmed to one more than the other although as the story progresses I felt Everly had a lot of good in her.
It’s a very emotional story and I loved every page.
I loved this book so much. I may be a little bias with my love for this book because I have yet to find a storyline that Corinne Michaels doesn’t please me.
It’s a story about first love and second chances. Friends lo lovers. The book pulled at my heartstrings and made me believe in second chances. A definitely a must-read book with 5 stars.
Teagan is a single mom but amazingly woman living in a small town that treats her like a plague. A mother who isn’t the best. When her Derek, her childhood best friends, and his teenage daughter move back into the small town that knew them as inseparable, old wounds are opened, new scars created.
I loved getting both their POV’s. I did feel like that the flashbacks were a bit redundant. The overall flow was so natural which made this journey more enjoyable.
Highly recommend this book!
*** I voluntarily read and review an Advance Reader Copy of this book provided by Social Butterfly and Corinne Michaels. ***
Teagan and Derek were unlikely best friends growing up, but one day he cut ties with her while she was pregnant (not his) and after he was married without explanation. She has spend the next 13 years raising her daughter and dealing with life as a single, non-college graduate mom, while he was raising his daughter and trying to keep his marriage together. They always had a connection and loved each other but never voiced their feelings. Derek is now back in their home town and they need to work on seeing if they can forgive the hurt and figure out if the love is still there – with the added bonus that their daughters hate each other. This was a very touching story of two people meant to be together but initially it wasn’t the right time and seeing if they can find their way back to each other. Another fantastic story by Corinne Michaels with all of the feels!
Corinne Michaels is definitely one of my favorite authors, and every book of hers is an immediate one click or pre-order for me. So when I first read the blurb, and then saw the beautiful cover, I was all in. Second chance romances are my jam, and with the amount of emotion this wonderfully talented author packs early on, I became glued to my kindle, desperately wanting to know just how Teagan and Derek would get their HEA.
When we first meet Teagan, she’s in the worst kind of hell: she is watching the man she loves more than anything else in this world marry another woman. She loves him enough to let him go, to accept that their friendship they share will be enough for her, all while realizing that nothing will ever be the same. She’s heartbroken, but determined to be happy for her best friend. So when he cuts her out of his life so cruelly, and doesn’t speak to her again for the next thirteen years, Teagan never expected him to move back to their hometown where she still lives in with her teenage daughter. She’s tried so hard to mend the pieces of her that he broke, but when secrets and truths are revealed, will they be able to salvage the love they had for each other all those years ago? Or will they be destined to always be almost lovers?
Good lord, I was a blubbering mess for the first half of this book. Corinne has such a talent for reaching deep into your heart and soul, and making you feel things you never imagined you would. This is a beautiful story of second changes, forgiveness, and the power of what love can overcome. I loved it all – Teagan for being such a role model, Derek for doing all he could to make her realize just how in love with her he is, and both of their teenage daughters. Every character was executed so beautifully, and I particularly loved the evolution of Teagan’s relationship with her own mother. This book is so incredibly beautiful, and I encourage you all to one click as soon as you are able to!
**I received an ARC of this book and these are my honest opinions!!**
** I also love the connection that Teagan has with Mark!!! That was so amazing!! And I hope that Nina will get her own book! 🙂
3.5 stars
All I Ask is Corinne/s 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
I loved this book. It captured my heart and shredded it mended it all at the same time. Derek and Teagan have an unbreakable bond, even though there is a lifetime of hurt and animosity.
Life happens, and when teenagers are involved, it can throw your life and choices in a tailspin. You are willing them and wanting them to make the most acceptable choices, and sitting on pins and needles for the outcome. I truly did love this book, and I can wait until it is released on audible. I voluntarily reviewed this book from the author.
ABSO FLIPPIN’ LUTLEY AMAZING!!!
The emotion and the angst was simply fantastic.
Gripped from the beginning to the end…
Teagan and Derek are absolutely amazing characters. I just wanted to learn so much about them…
And of course; the secondary characters that come with them. Brilliant!
A small town; second chance romance! But with so much more!
Corinne Michaels at her very best!
5 super stars!
All I Ask will leave you speechless and wanting more, I knew this was going to be good but it turned out to be everything!!
Teagan and Derek have been friends forever, these two have also loved each other since they could remember. This story broke my heart right from the start, I was crying after the first page and I just couldn’t put the book down. Teagan was the queen of the book for me, she is so strong and I just love how she never let anything or anyone bring her down. Derek was another story, while I did love him I also got so frustrated with him. These two lost a friendship and a life together, but when life throws them back together, it’s up to them to decide if they will give it a chance or not.
This book deserves way more than 5 stars, Corinne sure does know how to leave someone speechless with her books. Another amazing book by this amazing author!!!
I adored every page of this book. I loved the connection that Teagan and Derek shared. The relationship that Teagan has with Chasity is the type of relationship every girl should have with her mom. This story was absolutely everything. As always Corinne hits the mark and I think this is my favorite story yet by Corinne!
I have loved everything this author has ever written and this one is definitely my new favorite. If you love second chance romances, this is a great book for you! Teagan and Derek’s love story is amazing and this story gave me a Gilmore Girls feel, especially with the relationship between Teagan and her daughter. The scenes between them were some of my absolute favorites.
There’s also some angst, because, hello? It is, Corinne. But there’s also great humor and romance!