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 … 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…
more
4.5 STARS!
From the beginning All of Me will have you wanting more! It’s angsty, torturous, and a bit heartbreaking!
Ian wears this facade; he’s cold, indifferent, arrogant, ruthless, callous. He shows no emotion towards others. His goal is to rise to the top and become the best damn lawyer Charleston has to offer. But one encounter with Grace; this broken beauty has his walls slowly cracking. He does not want to care about her, yet he feels like he needs to protect her.
Instant, consuming, and undeniable attraction! Ian is drawn to Grace like a moth to a flame. He tries to fight it, but he can’t help but chase after her. Grace feels the same way and it terrifies her. These two broken souls try to fight it but it is in vain! Grace is the healing balm to calm the rage within Ian. Ultimately, she balances him out. Their relationship gradually develops with time. A lot is at stake and Ian is willing to break the rules in order to be with his Angel.
Let’s just stand up and applaud AL Jackson because she has written such a beautiful, lyrical, torturous, and at moments dark love romance! I took a chance on this series and it was worth it! Bring on Mack’s book!
Wow, a book like this deserves more than 5 stars…
This is so much more than a romance story. Your emotions will be sucker punched and gripped in all the ways you want them to be and more. Lust and Love, Triumph and Joy, Tears, Heartbreak, and being left with that feeling that these two characters will stay with you forever.
Ian’s life has never been easy, infact it was nothing but downright traumatic, now even as an adult, it colours his life choices and keeps his heart closed.
Grace, thought she had found love, but instead is now facing a future that no mother could contemplate, but she is a fighter and a woman you heart joins, and gladly stands beside for the upcoming battle for not only herself but for her children.
OH my how this couple will own you, their connection is addicting, their strength leaves you in admiration, but more than that is how this couple face life and learn not only that they are worthy, That they can depend on family, that they can have it all!! It was a heartache and a joy watching them grow and learn that they deserve and are capable of showing, receiving and having that LOVE of your Live that will reside forever in your soul!! I know for sure they will always have a place in mine !!!
‘All of Me’ (Confessions of the Heart Series #2) by A.L. Jackson was such a beautiful, passionate, and consuming romance!
Jackson did an amazing job of making me fall in love with Ian and Grace’s characters in the story – they were both so complex! Ian was a mash-up of a bitter and ruthless man combined with his loyalty and incredible love for the very few he let into his life, and basically Grace was the perfect heroine to break into his cold heart and change his views on everything he never thought he wanted. Her situation pulled at every one of my heartstrings, and I couldn’t help but put myself in her shoes while she tried to break free from her ex-husband and protect her children at all costs.
The timing for Grace and Ian to have a romantic relationship really wasn’t the best, but they found each other at a time when they needed each other the most. Their connection was magnetic, and my goodness, their growing passion as they tried to resist each other burned up the pages!
Although I always enjoy a good attorney/client forbidden romance, Ian and Grace’s story offered so much more. Each coming from a place where they weren’t open to finding new love, their journey was one of healing and sacrifices that you make in protecting those you love. I truly felt their conflict in being together and dealing with pain from their pasts, fears of opening up to each other, as well as Grace’s fear for her children, Thomas, Mallory, and Sophie. They were completely adorable by the way, and Jackson did a wonderful job of conveying their own child-like fears in this story as well.
Jackson’s descriptive writing was beautiful, and one of the many things that I love about her stories is that often times she pulls in the importance of family, as well as the lasting positive and negative effects that can stem from them. It brings such heart to her stories and makes them even more touching. Ian and Grace’s romance was so sweet and consuming, filled with angst and some suspenseful twists as well!
This is also the second book in Jackson’s Confessions of the Heart Series, but it read perfectly well as a standalone, and I’m definitely looking forward to more of this series!
Oh my heart!
Ms. Jackson has an incredibly unique style that pulls you into the story from the first page and won’t let you loose until the very end. All of Me is an amazing example of this; she had me twisted up in Ian and Grace’s story and I was on the edge of my seat until the very last page.
We met Ian in Jace and Faith’s book, but didn’t know him super well. It was an emotional experience to get to know him and how little he thought of himself here. Ian’s evolution and the revelations he faces are heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time.
I didn’t feel like I got to know Grace as well here as I have know some of Ms. Jackson’s other heroines, but her basic goodness made her a character that I wanted to root for even without knowing her as well as I might have liked.
I really felt like All of Me is Ian’s story with Grace serving as a significant supporting character, almost an equal partner, but not exactly. Intrigue and mystery play are strong role in All of Me and there were twists and turn I never expected. The supporting cast here is small, but impactful and includes a couple of scene stealers!
The Confessions of the Heart series focuses on the damage that can be done to a person during their childhood and breaking that cycle with the healing power of love. All of Me is a powerful example of this and has me looking forward to Mack’s story.
One of the best books of the year for me. Ian had me wanting to know his story from the previous book and boy did I get to see into his soul. He felt that he didn’t deserve to be happy, that he didn’t deserve any love of any kind especially from a woman like Grace. He felt instant attraction and something more from the moment that he saw her. He’s done things that he’s not proud of and feels that he has demons still inside. My heart hurt for Ian throughout the book.
Grace couldn’t believe the instant attraction she had for Ian but knew that it could never become anything until she got rid of the problem that she had. After talking with Ian she knew she couldn’t see him again because what she was feeling but then fate steps in. Grace is a mother who will do anything for her children, they’re her world. She won’t stop until she finds someone to take a chance on her.
I loved these two together, my heart, oh my poor heart! I could FEEL everything, the joy, the love, the pain, every emotion. I think the author outdid herself with this book!
Ian is fiercely determined to be the best. He’s so focused on this quest that he’s ruthless. He’s also without love in his life aside from his brother and his brother’s new family. Then he meets Grace. They have an immediate attraction and suddenly Ian’s focus just might be shifting. But it’ll only be what he deems it to be because he still has his quest to be the best, to never be where he was before. Can Grace make him feel again? Can she and her beautiful children open up his heart?
Ian has an unspeakably brutal backstory, has done things he’s not proud of, things he may have to pay for someday soon. But as he falls deeper with Grace, he’s never been more sure that he wants to be a good man, be the hero she and her children deserve. The question is, what will he have to sacrifice to save them? Will he ever get the chance to be that hero they already think he is?
“Ian has had probably the hardest life of anyone I’ve known, Grace.”
I know I’ve said it before, but it’s true – A.L. Jackson’s writing is poetic and lyrical, and that’s never been more true than in All of Me. Ian and Grace’s story flows across the pages, never relenting in its intensity, in Ian’s intensity. And the way these two come together and fall in love is just, well, beautiful. Ian’s intensity and focus is the perfect complement to Grace’s angelic vulnerability and big heart. The way she brought out the best in him, the way she opened up his heart was nothing short of magical. I remember being intrigued by Ian in More of You, and he more than lived up to the mystery, the intriguing glimpses back in Jace’s story. This world A.L. has created is one I want to live in. I cannot wait for Mack’s story next!
All of Me is book two in the Confessions of the Heart Series and each can be read as a standalone, but your heart will fall in love with each book and characters if you read them all. This is a forbidden attorney and client story.
Ian is a powerful attorney in Charleston and Grace is looking for someone to take on her case to save her second chance at life and living is best how to state this without giving a spoiler. No one wants to be her attorney based upon some powerful players involved in what she is trying to win. She meets Ian in what I will call a Cinderella moment and they can feel the sparks going on between them, yet they are strangers. They get one night, but who would have known that he would be her attorney. He knows he needs to walk away from her and as her attorney, but the heart wants what the hearts wants whether you are ready for this or not. Can Grace get her case resolved? Can Ian help her? Can he be ready for what Grace reveals and how does that affect the future? These are some of the questions you will be asking and wanting answers to while reading the book.
Grace is beyond loving and will stop at nothing to redeem a new future. There are little things that will break your heart and hope that it turns out with a loving heart in the end. Going from point A to point B won’t be easy but fighting to win her case is what is needed to get All of her. There is some heart stopping moments, some heartfelt emotions going throughout this story and your heart becomes full or fuller in the end with some shocking twists revealed.
I highly recommend this story to anyone who not only loves this author, but to someone going through a trying time to save yourself in a tough battle. It shows you that with bad things come good things. Hope is out there when the time is right.
Oh my aching heart! You slay me AL Jackson, absolutely slay me! Just when I think I’ve got her number, she gave me a story I could have never predicted. Ian and Grace’s story was everything I wanted and so much more! I love second chance story lines but this was more a story on a second chance at living your dreams and fulfilling your life’s needs and desires. Gah… it’s All. The. Feels… ALL of them!
I can’t go into the plot… I’m sorry but I have this deep desire to gab and that’s dangerous! AL Jackson has stepped up her suspense game. I felt it so vividly in All of Me. The first half does read a bit slower but it really sets up the ending half of this story to be killer. It’s a rush that you can’t read quickly enough. It helps that Mrs. Jackson’s words read like pure lyrics. There’s this push and pull in her words, this give and take with the story, plot and characters. Everything about this story was perfect… the scene, the romance, that forbidden desire, the need that breathes, the passion and heat that scorched the pages, even a bit of humor and fun with some banter and lightness added in. But in the end, it was the suspense that made this impossible to put down for me. I sure do love some romance mixed in with pulse-racing suspense!
I don’t know what happened between AL Jackson and these characters but I’d like more of this please! This might be my all time favorite AL Jackson book so far! Getting to meet back up with Faith and Jace was an amazing bonus!! I’m looking forward to seeing how Mack’s story plays out!
I received an ARC of this book with the hope that I would leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… my opinions.
As much as I want to say I was ready for Ian’s story, I can honestly say that no way was my heart ready for it. Ian and Grace’s story was nothing like I thought it was going to be. Was it forbidden? Yes. But it was so much more. It was a story of two lost souls trying to make the most out of the cards they’ve been dealt. A story of second chances and dreams that you never thought would come true. A story of love that will capture your heart and will definitely get under your skin.
Ian has had a tough life. He’s done and seen things that no one should have to. He’s cocky and arrogant. He doesn’t let many get close and doesn’t do relationships. The only thing he’s looking for is power and a good time. The one thing he never saw coming was Grace. Their attraction was instant. From the moment he saw her, he just knew she would be a game changer. He perused her unlike any other woman. One night of passion will never be enough. But, when Grace wants to hire Ian as an attorney, everything changes. Ian & Grace find themselves in a battle of a lifetime. There’s so much to lose, but neither one can stay away…..
All of Me grabbed me from the very first page and had me hanging on to every single word. In true A.L. Jackson style, the writing is captivating and will just slay you. The story weaving its way deep under your skin and leaving you absolutely breathless. The characters are absolute perfection. Both lost and damaged, yet completely perfect for one another. Her wanting the dream that any woman would want. A good man. Someone to fight for her. Someone to love her. Someone to take a chance on HER. And him…he never believed he was good enough. He sees himself as the devil for the choices that he’s had to make. Feeling as though he doesn’t deserve any kind of love and happiness. His demons so hard to battle, but Grace waking up things in Ian that he was so utterly unprepared for. These two made me want to believe in love. They made me want to believe in second chances. I wanted them to take a chance on what they wanted. I wanted them to find peace. I wanted them to find happiness. And boy oh boy was I rooting for them to find their happily ever after.
All of Me is a beautiful and heartbreaking love story that will just take your breath away. It’s sexy. It’s sinful. It’s forbidden. It’s a story filled with pain and passion, hurt and longing, hope and fear. This story took me on a journey that I never saw coming and yet I loved every single moment of it. A.L. Jackson has once again taken my heart for an incredible ride and I loved getting lost in Ian & Grace’s story.
Get your heart ready because this book is going to rip it out! Forbidden, beautiful and sexy makes for a perfect emotional ride.
From the first page, A.L. Jackson’s words had me hooked, intrigued and captivated by this story. Her ability to turn words into such vibrant pictures and weave a beautiful tale is incredible. We met Ian in More of You and I couldn’t wait to dig into his story!
Grace is running scared and Ian is entranced by her, but they both have secrets. Two broken, but incredibly strong people who have so many reasons to stay away from each other, however, their attraction is so intense that it can’t be denied. Their attraction was so incredibly hot and steamy, you may need to keep some ice nearby! We’re given angst in spades, so vivid, it broke my heart. I laughed, I cried, felt everything in between and loved each minute of it! Now I’ll be impatiently waiting for Mack’s book.
5 Emotional Stars
I finished this one several days ago, and I’m STILL in a book hangover! I was anxious to have Ian’s story, but man was I not prepared for it. I loved every single thing about the alphahole that is Ian. His determinedness to not only succeed, but to be the best, his fierce protectiveness and even his deep dark secrets. And Grace, well Grace is the breath of fresh air that will bring this man to his knees. Not without secrets of her own, I loved her tenacity and strength.
Emotionally charged, beautifully written, wonderful plot, and amazing characters that will wrap you up and suck you into their story and make you feel as if you’re living it right there with them. I can’t give All of Me enough stars!
Angela – Alphas Do It Better Book Blog
All of Me by Al Jackson was an intense and emotional story. It will evoke a range of emotions from you. This page-turner will have you at the edge of your seat from beginning to end.
The characters were complex and well developed. The storyline was angsty and passionate. I could not get enough. Ian and Grace had such intense chemistry. Their steamy scenes were off the charts hot. This author stepped up her game with this novel and I could not get enough. I loved every minute of it. With some twists you would not expect, All of Me is a definite must read and I would highly recommend it.
Sometimes the best stories are the hardest to review.
All of Me is one of those…
There’s so much pain and angst in this story. Ian is so much more damaged than I ever imagined he would be and his story is so much more than a forbidden love.
Grace is desperate for help and when she finds Ian all she can feel is want. A pull so intense that neither can fight against it. Ian knows that being with Grace might destroy him and everything he ever believed in.
This romantic suspense and the poetic writing that A.L. Jackson delivers are the perfect match for a wonderful read.
Grace and her children need a hero. Having left her corrupt husband, she’s now in a nasty custody battle over their three children. While she loves them with all of her heart, he ex sees them as a way to further his political career and control Grace. When Grace collides with Ian at a charity event she isn’t supposed to be at, she has no idea who the handsome and extremely intense man is. She just knows that she is attracted to him on a visceral level and that getting to know him is a very bad idea.
Ian is willing to do anything to get himself to the top and stay there. One of the top attorneys in Charleston, he lets nothing stand in his way. But, when chance encounter with a beautifully broken Cinderella has him questioning everything and for the first time in his life, wanting more. But, Ian knows he isn’t a good man. He also knows that Grace should be off limits. He just can’t seem to let her go.
With a passion that burns hotter than the sun and a forbidden lawyer between an attorney and a client both Grace and Ian will do everything they can to keep her children safe, even if it means giving up their chance at a happy ever after. Not all heroes wear capes, and some don’t even consider themselves to be worthy of being called a good man. But sometimes, people can be more than they ever thought possible when it’s needed most.
After meeting Ian in More of You, I couldn’t wait for his story and A.L. Jackson gave readers one heck of an unexpected gift with All of Me! This is not the story I saw for Ian, and most certainly not the happy ever after I could have imagined, but it was simply stunning and divine and better than I could have imagined!
Ian is not at all as he seems. There are so many layers to him that it’s hard to know the real man inside because he is buried so deep. He has done shady things he isn’t proud of, but getting to the top and staying there means he’ll never be the scared, hungry and broken child again. Deviating from his goal isn’t part of the plan. Neither is falling in love or having a family of his own. But fate has other plans for him.
Grace is one tough mamma! She would do anything for her children. Falling in love wasn’t part of the plan as she looked for their champion, but it’s fate from the moment she and Ian make eye contact. She can see past his layers into the man he really is and gives him more trust than anyone other than his brother and best friend ever have. So much so that he is willing to risk everything to give Grace and her children a good life, even if he isn’t a part of it.
This story is breathtaking and unexpected. It’s steamy as can be at times and heartbreaking at others. A.L. Jackson has created a story woven with complex characters and a plot that leaves readers wondering how Grace and Ia can ever possibly find their way to a happy ever after, as while fate may have brought them together, it also does it’s damndest to keep pulling them apart. One of my favorite reads this year for the pure unexpectedness, emotion and intensity. 5 stars for All of Me!
We first met Ian Jacobs in More of Me by A.L. Jackson and even then, he was a dark and mysterious. In All of Me we get his story and more of this background. Ian was cocky, ruthless and a hardened man. Though I knew some of his background and devastating past, we get so much more from his side. It was easy to understand where he is coming from. But now he was a successful and determined, but you can only run from your past so much before it catches up to you.
Grace is a woman with her own secrets. She was strong and determined, but we could also see vulnerabilities in her. When Ian and her meet, there is a connection there, but when she is in need of an attorney, she becomes forbidden. Can they deny the chemistry that burns between them or will it all fall apart?
I absolutely loved All of Me by A.L. Jackson. It was an emotional and suspenseful read that was full of angst and sexy. Though this is part of the Confessions of the Heart series it can be read as a standalone, however, I do highly recommend More of You as well. I am so excited to read the next book!
4.5 stars! Read and reviewed for Sultry Sirens Book Blog.
Happy reading!
All Of Me is the second book in the Confessions of the Heart series by A.L. Jackson. This novel can be read as a complete standalone. Having read a fairly good amount of novels written by A.L. Jackson, and loving them all, I can say this with honesty and truth, All Of Me is my new favorite!
Looking for a…
• Sexy as Sin Attorney with a dirty tongue
• Fierce single mother who will do anything to protect her babies
• Forbidden romance that has the power to set your kindle on fire
• A Love Story that will have even the strongest of hearts weeping
• or maybe you’re looking for a little bit of suspense that will have you on the edge of your seat…
If you answered yes to any of the above, I highly recommend you pick up All Of Me by A.L. Jackson today! This has by far been one of my favorite reads of 2018. I can’t get Ian and Grace’s story out of my head! All Of Me is simply an unforgettable read!
I knew from the moment I read the blurb that Ian would steal my heart. It’s no mystery that I tend to fall for the underdog bad boy type heroes. The main reason why I fall so hard for these book boyfriends is the fragility they show at the end. I love watching a man who has been hardened up by life circumstances, slowly reveal his true self to the woman he’s chasing. There is something bittersweet when it comes to witnessing that one precious moment. Ian Jacobs gave my heart a double jab followed by a brutal uppercut….I was an instant goner. Not only does he break his walls down little by little for Grace, but also for Grace’s kids. His connection with her only son Thomas had me on the verge of tears.
Typically when reading a novel told in dual point of view I tend to favor one persons back story more than the other and that’s what I was expecting when I first dived into this novel. I was quickly mistaken when I found myself wanting to learn more about both Ian and Grace close to the 30% mark. I was intrigued by Grace and her role as a mother lioness. This woman would move heaven and hell to protect her babies. She’s fierce and strong but just beneath the surface is a woman on the verge of breaking. But who could blame her when she has a crazy, off the wall, ex-husband trying to sabotage her happiness by taking her babies away.
On the outside this may look like only a romance novel, but beneath the surface this novel holds more than just sexy page turning scenes and cutesy moments. All Of Me is also full of suspense, devastation, and angst. These are three things I’ve come to love when it comes to a novel written by A.L. Jackson. You honestly, never know what is going to happen. There were so many page turning moments that had me, legit, clutching my chest and wanting to stab the evil villainous ex husband in the eye with a spoon.
Where there was angst, there was also just as much sweetness in the form of Grace’s three kids. I loved witnessing their interactions with big bad Ian and watching Ian slowly crumbling under their delicate stares. Children can make even the strongest of men crumble and that’s exactly what Mallory, Sophie Marie, and Thomas did. They made the shield around Ian’s heart crumble to dust.
Overall, Be prepared for a wild long ride. Ian and Grace’s back and forth forbidden romance is one I will never forget! Definite reread potential!
~The Staircase Reader
I loved this book. Its amazing and I couldnt put it down. Kept me so interested and up late reading
All of Me took all of my heart. This is book 2 in the Confessions of the Heart series. All of Me is a stand-alone forbidden romance that is packed full of drama, angst , emotion, chemistry, passion, pain, suspense, and love. It’s about fighting for what you believe in, believing in yourself, and never giving up.
Ian is a survivor. He survived a childhood that no child should have to face. He has done things in his life to claw his way to the top and is a successful lawyer. He has done many things to get there that he is not proud of. When he meets Grace, it’s literally like the Cinderella story, but it’s not a fairytale for either one of them. Grace is in the middle of the fight of her life to keep her kids from her powerful and abusive ex-husband, who is so evil he made my blood boil! All of Me is a must read it. You won’t believe the twist, turns, and shocking moments in this book.
5 AMAZING stars! Gah! Ian is LIFE!!!!
All of Me is everything I love about an A.L. Jackson romance. Gorgeous writing, an amazing plot, and a hero that makes me swoon so hard, I nearly passed out. He’s everything I love in an alphahole BBF – sexy as shit, strong and protective, and emotionally unavailable (lolol). I love him so very much!
But what really made this a top notch read is the storyline. This is me all time favorite. Cute kids, an emotional charged situation, and a mother who will do whatever it takes to keep her family happy. Pure reader kryptonite for me!
I absolutely loved everything about it! Highly recommended!
If I could give this book 10 stars I would!! A.L. Jackson is one of my favorite authors, but this book….WOW! I don’t know if I can write the review that this book deserves. I was up wayyyy too late last night finishing it – under the covers, crying, holding my breath, praying for this story to end the way it should, and I am mourning that it is over today. It blew me away. Ian is now one of my all-time favorite book heroes, and it will be hard to top him. He is so beautifully broken – a dangerous man with a battered soul. He believes himself to be the devil, when in fact, he is truly a hero.
I first met Ian in his brother’s book, More of You, and I knew he would be trouble that I wanted every part of in his book. A.L. Jackson did a tremendous job of creating a character with such a tragic past that weaves into his present. His self-loathing – his cocky and condescending attitude – his drive to make it to the top and not care about anyone in his path to get there….Oh this man! I found myself rolling my eyes at him, and wanting him to sweep me away for the night at the same time. He is all sorts of sex in a suit and he knows it. I absolutely loved the fact that when he met Grace for the first time, his world completely turned on its axis at the sight of her, and when she actually says “no” to him, I found myself laughing at his reactions and cheering her on. This man needed a challenge, and was dumb-struck it was actually happening to him.
I fell for Grace immediately. You just know this young woman is in dire straits when she meets Ian. She has reached the point of desperation, but still holds her head high and remains strong against his advances and other powerful men trying to knock her down. She is beautiful, caring, passionate, and has sooo much love to give!! As her story unraveled, my heart broke for her, and I loved her more for every part of her past I learned, and for her determination in her current situation. This girl is fierce, is loyal and protective, and will go to battle for those she loves. She has been knocked down, but will not give up. With everything she has lost and is still battling, she remains the sunshine and light in all the people’s lives who count on her. She is truly a battered Cinderella as Ian calls her.
Ian & Grace’s story is a roller-coaster ride. There is angst, passion, heartbreak, suspense, tragedy – but there is just something so special about it all. The chemistry between them is OFF THE CHARTS, but their physical attraction is only a fraction of their relationship and story. It was the transformation in Ian, his doubt in his ability to love Grace, and working through his own demons that truly pulled me into their story. This broken, dangerous and rough man will have you weeping tears of joy and sadness. He will break your heart, and have you cheering for him so badly it hurts. You will swoon so hard as he allows his walls to crumble again and again. Grace’s devotion, love and goodness are a force that Ian never saw coming, and you will want this Cinderella to get her prince and the happily ever after she deserves. This story will stay with me for a long time, and I can’t wait to read it again and again. Well done AL Jackson! “Kisses are for who you love most”