All He Ever Dreamed by Shannon Stacy

All He Ever Dreamed

Shannon Stacey 

Josh Kowalski is tired of holding down the fort—better known as the Northern Star Lodge—while his siblings are off living their dreams. Now that his oldest brother has returned to Whitford, Maine for good, Josh is free to chase some dreams of his own.

As the daughter of the lodge’s longtime housekeeper, Katie Davis grew up alongside the Kowalski kids. Though she’s always been “one of the guys”, her feelings for Josh are anything but sisterly. And after a hot late-night encounter in the kitchen, it’s clear Josh finally sees her as the woman she is.

Katie’s been waiting years for Josh to notice her, but now that he has, she’s afraid it’s too late. Giving her heart to a man who can’t wait to leave town is one sure way to have it broken. But Josh keeps coming up with excuses not to leave—could it be that everything he’s ever wanted is closer than he could have imagined?

Yes, it is another Kowalski book. I requested this one from Netgalley an eon ago. See how long I let posts just sit half-finished here. I need a badge that says Worlds Worst Blogger.

When I got the book. I was so happy. I love those boys, and I enjoy Shannon's writing so much.

Now I'm going to tell you that if you don't want to be spoiled, you need to stop reading right now. I have a few choice words I want to say to the character Josh, and they might spoil some of the story for you

SO if you are leaving the post now I will give you the short version of my review

• If you like the Kowalski boys and their universe, you wanna read this
• If you like a good tear-jerker that makes you giggle in places, you wanna read this
• If you like some hot sexing, you wanna read this
• If you like a story where you get so angry at a character that you wish he was real, so you could storm over to his house and bitch him out for being an ass, READ IT

We shall take a short pause here while those who do not want to be spoiled leave, and I prepare for my bitch-out session with a pretend person ....

Take your time

For those sticking around, look at this.

Okay, are they gone? Good. Sit back, my dears. It's gonna get bumpy

Josh, what the hell is your problem? If you were real, I would be offering you a Midol, you old curmudgeon.

Yes, I called you a curmudgeon.

What the hell kind of man, and I use that term loosely, acts like this?

You have your lovely friend Katie, who not only likes sports but also likes you and puts up with your shit AND supports herself AND is hot and sweet. Granted, she cant cook as well as her mother, but you know that shit takes practice

I get the whole "I didn't see her as a female" thing, which is fine and all. I was great up until
Christmas Eve. Yes, the party you and Katie put together, because Rosie was not well enough to help out, which of course was all a plot by the brilliant Rosie to get you two knuckleheads to work together.

Anyway, there she was under the mistletoe that your bro put up, because he's a sneaky SOB, and
you're all hemming and hawing and making poor Katie feel like chopped liver, because you can't get over get over being fifteen-years-old !!!

I was so angry for Katie. There she stood in her pretty dress, all crushing on you, and you're being an asshole. If I was her I would have walked away and left you to kiss yourself. You did not deserve to kiss her

Poor Katie is so smitten with Josh, and he has his head up his ass for most of the book.
I know I know, he had to leave home and learn about how much she meant to him, but I swear I was so angry, I wanted to see him hurt more than Katie was hurting, which made Rosie hurt, and that made me cry

I just wish I was one of the aunties, because I would have hit him upside the head!

You know what I've said before. When I have a visceral response to characters, either good or bad, it means the character was crafted well.

I do not like Josh

I don't care if he was redeemed (it is a romance, so no shocker there).   I do not like him. He made me so angry

I liked Katie, even though I wanted to be one of her friends to tell her Josh wasn't worthy of her tears or devotion, and that if he came back, she should make him work for it

I knew Katie loved him, but HOLY COW there's only so much a girl should take. He;d better be the most amazingest hubby ever, because he's so so so lucky he isn't real.

Now, is it worth the read? Yes, I think it's worth the frustration, because I got to know Katie, and to me, she makes the journey worth it. I like her a lot.

Josh. not so much. He needs his brains rattled a few times

BUT he is very much a guy

I give this one 5 Stars just because it caused such a reaction within me.

All He Ever Dreamed by Shannon Stacy

All he ever Desired by Shannon Stacy

Shannon Stacy

After college, Ryan Kowalski decided to leave Whitford, Maine, rather than watch Lauren Carpenter marry another man. Now his siblings need his help to refurbish the family-owned Northern Star Lodge and he’s forced to face the past sooner rather than later when he collars a vandal—and learns the boy is Lauren’s son…
The last person Lauren needs back in her life is Ryan Kowalski. With a bitter ex-husband and a moody teenage son, she has enough man trouble already. But her son needs to learn a few lessons about right and wrong, even if Lauren has to escort him to Ryan’s door every day to work off his crime.
With all this close contact, Ryan and Lauren can’t deny the chemistry between them is as powerful as ever. But can a few searing kisses erase their past and pave the way for a second chance at true love?

Another in the Kowalski family series. Now as you may have heard I LOVE them especially the first book Exclusively yours because well lets just say Joe is special (for this go find my post on Joe I love him)

he would make a pretty Ryan

What I like about this book is it deals with an adult relationship not teenagers not people just starting out their lives This book is one for us grown ups with houses and jobs and kids and exes and lives

Lauren is divorced with a 16 yr old son working as a secretary to a 1 man insurance company.
Ryan lives out of state owns a construction company and shows up on weekends to work on repairing his families ski lodge
Small towns are small you grow up knowing everyone there. These two cannot avoid each other especially when his brother is getting married to one of her best friends.
Stacy writes some of the best male characters you will read they are down to earth and funny and cute and sexy. My only problem with this book is that to me the ending felt a bit abrupt it seemed kinda rushed but it was realistic open ending / beginning and I really liked that too (conflicted it is my name)


Lauren has her hands full being a mom to a teenager who in many places in this book should count himself lucky that
1) he is imaginary
2) he is not mine

He did not do anything too horrible which would have really turned me off to the story while ALL teens have a hard time I am personally sick of books portraying them as uncontrollable beasts who only drink and do drugs and skip school hate all adults and fuck everything that walks while there are some teens that are like this most are not

                                                                                 

This book is part of a series you do not have to read the others to follow along with the story line. You get enough of a backstory of the other characters from the other books to know how they fit together in this life with these new people but not enough to make it feel like you are being beat over the head with story from another book

I like Lauren she is a good mom doing the best she can with what life has dealt her
The more I think on it the more I like the feel of this ending I don't need the HEA spelled out for me
SO if you have been meaning to try some of the Kowalski man meat I think Ryan's Story in this book is a good one
4.5 stars 

All he ever Desired by Shannon Stacy

Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stacy

Exclusively Yours

Magazine writer Keri Daniels is asked to get an exclusive interview with the very private, famous author Joe Kowalski. Sounds like a dream come true, but for her it is a nightmare. Joe is her ex boyfriend from high school. No real pressure, right? Keri just has talk her ex into giving her an exclusive that he's refused everyone, when the career she left him for is on the line. Best of all, if he does not give it to her he gets to screw her over like she screwed him over.

I love a good book--make me giggle and I am yours! This start to a series about a quirky family is about as good as you going to get.

Joe had his heart broken by Keri when she left to chase her dreams of making it big in journalism. He'd dreamed of the two of them living in the town they grew up in, but he was disappointed..

closest body I could think of for Joe still not quite right

Now she's back and she wants him to save her career by giving her an interview.

He agrees on a few conditions:
1) She has to allow him to approve the questions;
2) No information that he does not approve goes into her article;
3) She has to go camping for two weeks with him and his entire family, and fully participate in ALL activities.

What follows is some of the sweetest, funniest, saddest, most awesome real-life drama, with a mature crowd of characters (all out of college and living real lives). I adore Joe. He is funny, smart, and not hell-bent on revenge (even though it seems that way at times).

Now I have to share a few comments:

Joe had a 78 Grenada

Mine was green

I had one, too. It was a great car--never complain about the Grenada that is one fine piece of machinery!
In my twisted fangirl mind, this is a sign that Joe and I were meant to be (sadly he is not real).

 I also have to comment on this piece of brilliance. It is a side story within this story, about Joe's sister, Terry, and her separation from her hubs, Evan:

Mom to Terry:
"It just makes me sad," she said quietly against Terry's cheek "that you wont fight for him. I know you love him."
And she did. But she didn't have the strength to drag Evan home and then spend the rest of her life wondering every single day if that would be the day he left her again.
"Sometimes love's not enough."

There are so many gems in this book just like that, things that will make you laugh, or cry, or just sigh with happiness.

just one of those camping family activities she has to do 

One more example, or I will just end up quoting the whole darn book !!

"He wanted to stop the world from spinning, to freeze time and hold on to this moment forever.
This was the life he wanted. It was the life that once upon a time he'd thought he'd have. Right now it was as if Keri had never left- as if she'd been a part of his family all along."

Taken out of context it looks cheesy but trust me, this one won't have you reaching for a Lactaid to handle it. It will have you saying AWWWWWWW.

You really root for these characters here, and I LOVE a story that makes me do that. I want to like them and honestly, you learn to love all of them. At least I did

Keri starts out as kinda stuffy, but time spent with a family she grew up with loosens her up.
The rest of the family is a well rounded group that are like real people.The descriptions and their interactions with the main characters flesh them out so well no one is caricature. They are just regular folks.

I hope you give this one a try and me know know what you think!

I really do not know how many stars to give this. I liked it a whole lot--so much so that I bought the next couple of books in the series and then requested another one on Net Galley. Since I liked it so much and I still think about it and rec it to people I think I'm going to have to go with 5 stars! It does not happen often, but I really enjoyed this one. 

Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stacy