All of Me: A Journey’s End Novel

I don’t know how I missed Ann Christopher for so many years, but I rediscovered her books about a year ago and so far have loved my way through seventeen of them. (Yeah, I actually had to count them…) but of all her stories, the ones set in her Journey’s End world are my favorites. She’s calling ALL OF ME the final book in the series, but I don’t believe it, so I’m anxiously awaiting whatever this wonderful author comes up with next, because this one was absolutely perfect.

Alyssa Banks is tired of being a doormat. Well educated–she was a Rhodes Scholar on top of her many other achievements—she left her work and came home to Journey’s End to care for her dying yet ever hateful mother. Unfortunately, Mommy Dearest never wasted a single kind word on her daughter, which has left Alyssa not really mourning her mother’s death, but trying to figure out how to move forward. Burdened with a lifetime of criticism and bullying, she’s currently working at the Harper Rose Bistro as a waitress until she figures out what to do next.

Her run-in with Isaiah Harper, one of the five Harper brothers, does not bode well for either of them. He’s a millionaire tech genius, eccentric, gruff, often rude, a man who doesn’t appear to care if he gets along with his brothers or not, much less anyone else. No wonder they all refer to him as “crazy Isaiah.”

Alyssa has been waiting on this unbelievably rude and obnoxious man for way too many nights. He’s the owner’s son, and since returning to Journey’s End, has most of his dinners at the restaurant. Alyssa adores Ada Harper, his mother and generally puts up with Isaiah for Ada’s sake, but on this one night, Isaiah goes too far with his complaints and bullying.

Alyssa snaps.

If there’s a contest for crazy, Alyssa wins this round when she dumps a pitcher filled with ice water in Isaiah’s lap. However, it doesn’t really have the effect she was expecting. Watching Ann Christopher skillfully weave the tapestry of Alyssa and Isaiah’s often rocky road to romance is the finest entertainment I can imagine. For those of you familiar with the series, there are couples who appear in this book who have already had their own tales told and others who really need their own books, but Isaiah and Alyssa are truly special, and I dare anyone to read this book and not want to go right back to the first page and read it all over again.

Two personal observations—I had a mother very much like Alyssa’s, and the author’s description of how Alyssa felt about herself mirrored my own experience much too closely for comfort, but I loved how Alyssa grew throughout this story. And one other point that makes me grin even as I’m writing this. By the time Alyssa makes the silent observation that Isaiah is a complete and total dick, I was in absolute agreement with her and had already given him that title.

Read this book. There are gems on every page, and yes, I’m rereading it already. Ann Christopher is so skilled at writing about families! I feel as if I know every member of the Harper family, and I’m looking forward to the spin-off series she’s mentioned. It’s always a treat to read something you can’t put down, a book that, even when it’s over, you can’t put it away. ALL OF ME is exactly that kind of book.