Review: All of You

Avery has just met her hot upstairs neighbor. He's irresistible. Tattooed. And a virgin.

Nursing student Avery Michaels wants nothing to do with dating—she's perfectly happy single. Privy to too many of her mother's bad decisions and even worse taste in boyfriends, all Avery can handle is a string of uncomplicated hookups whenever the mood strikes.

When she meets smoking hot tattoo artist Bennett, she wants him—for just one night. But he won't accept a no-strings-attached arrangement. He lives by a straight-laced code of values based on his own troubled upbringing.

Bennett sees something special in Avery and he wants more from her. Way more. As Avery wrestles with her emotions for Bennett, danger and tragedy force them to open up to each other. And Avery must face the terrifying realization that she wants more from him, too.

So she needs to make a choice—let Bennett go or finally let him in.

Title: All of You
Author: Christina Lee | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website
Publication Date: September 17 2013
Publisher: Intermix (Penguin Group (USA)
Add it to your TBR Pile: Goodreads

Source: ARC Provided by Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Cover Love: Adorable, matches the story nicely.
Point of View: 1st person, following Avery

My Rating: 4 Stars

I became slightly obsessed with the idea of reading All of You as soon as I saw the words irresistible, tattooed and virgin.  What's that you say?  A hero who is not a womanizing manwhore?  Where do I sign up?

It was fun going into All of You, knowing that there would be a role reversal of sorts.  I am so used to the shy, inexperienced women, who fall for the bad boy who has been around the park on more than one occasion.  Now we have Avery, who would very much be classified as the school slut.  This isn't slut shaming, she wears here title proud.  She hooks up on regular occasions, and only has one guy who she uses as a multiple booty call.  Other than that, love 'em and leave 'em.

“Guys were easy to figure out-at least in the hormonal sense.  You needed only appear helpless or horny, and their pants instantly dropped to their ankles.”

Avery.  I don't know if we are supposed to like Avery in the beginning.  It sure as heck took me a little while to warm to her.  Her entire attitude was standoffish, and just on the wrong side of arrogant.  But it started to become clear that this was part of her façade.  You could see the walls that she had built up to keep any and all real emotion out.  By the end, I came to love her and was rooting for her as she started kicking those walls down.

“I want something real," he whispered.  "And I'm willing to wait for it.”

Bennett.  There was no having to warm up to him, he is perfection.  From the very first time he is spotted by Avery, you are in love with him.  I was curious to find out the reasons that he had for abstaining from sex, and when it's explained I was happy with his answers.  They made sense to me.  Now of course, even Bennett says this to Avery, he may be a virgin - but he is no saint.

“I don’t know what this is or what the hell we’re doing,“ he said.  “But if I don’t kiss you right now, I might explode.”

What does Bennett mean by being no saint?  It means he may have never done the deed but he has done plenty of other things... and this means that Avery and Bennett do plenty of those other things also.  Honestly, the sexual tension dripping off of these two is intense.  Every slight kiss, every touch, every moment they are alone together feels electric.  And I have to say... I loved it.  I loved the constant foreplay.  It was hot.  Too many times the main characters are so eager to jump into sex.  Avery and Bennett manage to become intimate, but at the same time saving themselves for that special moment together.  It made their relationship that more intense and real.

“I was jumping off a cliff, sinking, drowning, and couldn't care less about being saved as long as he kept kissing me.”

Now, my only major gripe.  Avery's friends.  It's not that I didn't like them per se, it's just that I didn't like how they spoke to each other.  They were forever calling each other names.  Maybe these were meant as terms of endearments between friends, and a way to get us to see how close they were.  But it annoyed me to no end.  They were constantly calling each other things such as bitch, dickhead, dickwad, asshead, dillweed... and so on.  I physically cringed every time it happened, unfortunately it happened a lot.  I just didn't understand it, as it didn't seem like normal behavior to me.

And in no way is that gripe enough for me not to suggest that you read All of You.  I really found it hard to put it down once I started.  I was up until 4:00am, then started again as soon as I woke up the next day.  I was also very happy with the ending, an epilogue would have been nice... but that is just me wanting more.  I wasn't ready to say goodbye to Bennett.  My feelings in five words or less: Sweet, sexy, love, HOT.

“I'm not sure I can ever get enough of you," he murmured as he captured the skin at the hallow of my throat.  "I know the feeling," I whispered.”