All I Ask

Corinne did it again really. The was so good and so different from all her other books. At first I felt like it was slow the first to second chapter but when it got going I was hook. I couldn’t put it down. I loved it that much.Teagan and Derek were best friends growing up and secretly in love with the other, never having the nerve to tell the other. But when they thought about confessing how they felt <b>Timing is everything</b><I>As the head cheerleader at her small-town high school Teagan never expected to become best friends with Derek, the cute, shy son of the town veterinarian. Over the years, even though Tegan was dating the star of the football team, she couldn't hide her growing feelings for Derek. But just as Teagan is finally ready to confess her feelings for Derek, she finds out she is pregnant, and Derek has moved on.It was only after he married his college sweetheart that Derek realized that he was in love with his best friend Teagan. Determined to do what was best for his family, he cut Teagan out of his life. Thirteen years later, still harboring guilt for his failed marriage and his wife's death in a tragic accident, Derek finds himself back in his hometown with his daughter.</I><b><I> “Me?” I gasp. “What did I do to deserve your anger? I woke up one day and realized that you didn’t want to ever hear my voice again. You never wanted to see me, know anything about me, and I was to act as though you were dead! Dead, Derek! You told me to go on with my life as though you had died because that was what I was to you—dead! And I didn’t do anything wrong!” “I know that!” “Then please, tell me, what was my crime?” Derek’s breathing is labored and he throws his hands in the air. “You made me fall in love with you!”</i></b>So not only did I love Teagan and Derek’s story, I loved how Derek was with Teagan’s daughter Chastity. It truly was sweet and at times a bit funny…<b><I> “Is that a lump?” Well, we could call it that, but it’s a bit more complicated. “I wouldn’t call it a lump. More of a bump…where something or more than one something is growing.” She looks at me with horror. “Oh my God! Is he going to die?” “No, no.” I laugh. “He isn’t a he. He is a she and she is expecting.” “He’s pregnant?” “Technically, she’s pregnant, but yes.” “Oh, no! Mr. Stinkers is actually Mrs. Stinkers.” Her face is priceless. “My mother is going to kill me!”“I’m happy to talk to your mother if you want, to help mitigate the situation.” She shakes her head. “It’s fine. I’ve been handling my mother for a long time now. She’ll go off the deep end, calm down, see the cute little kittens—after the gore that will stain her carpets—and then throw me and the cats out on the street. It’ll work out.”<b><I>So they question is, now that they seem to have been given a second chance, can they let go of their fears and take that leap admitting what they should of years ago. And even with some new bumps in their roads, will they get to have that happily ever after they’ve both always dreamed of?<b><I> “Marry that girl, Derek. Marry the girl who you’d cry over if you forgot her. Marry the girl who even when your brain can’t remember, your heart does.”</I></b>

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!

I LOVE THIS BOOK!Ever since Love and Other Words I have been looking for something to make my soul ache the same way and this book did that and so much more! I'm a sucker for books filled with angst and sad backstories and this book delivered!Teagan and Derek have been best friends since high school, but suddenly everything changes and their friendship is ripped apart after one phone call. Now 13 years later, Teagan is doing her best to raise her daughter and run her parents antique store when Derek, the best friend she was (and maybe still is) secretly in love with, shows up in town with a daughter of his own. Determined not to let the past define their future, these two find themselves opening up to one another and giving in to the connection that has been between them from the beginning. But, just as they come upon their happily ever after history threatens to repeat itself. Will they fall into old patterns or carve out a new pathway for themselves?This book was heart-wrenchingly beautiful. Outside of the romance this book touches on grief and mother-daughter relationships as well. I haven't read much single parent romance so I wasn't sure how much I could relate to the characters since I'm not a parent, but Corinne Michaels wrote these characters so well that I still found a kinship with Teagan despite our differences.I think this story was tied up really nicely and it didn't feel rushed to me. I was really happy with each characters growth by the end. I highly recommend this book even if you don't like single parent or small town romance! It's easily one of my favourite reads of this year!

Teagan and Chasity have not exactly had an easy time of it. They’ve had times of hardship and ups and downs. Teagan’s mother is someone I want to strangle because she can’t seem to let the past go. She has to rub it in her face. No one needs or deserves that on a constant basis.Derek. I have to admit Derek annoyed me. He let Meghan dictate the future of his friendship with Teagan. That is not for me the way it should be but I do understand that he was putting his wife first. I just wish he hadn’t completely cut her off. That isn’t a nice thing for anyone to experience.Everly and Chasity, well, well well. I wasn’t expecting that between them but at least they kind of accept that Teagan and Derek have the right to choose what is best for themselves. They’re adults.This was a nice read from Corrinne, it was emotional and heartwarming at times too. I recommend this to all.

In illumination, we see Teagan Berkeley as a strong single mum who is currently bringing up a smart but a precocious teenage daughter. They live in a one bedroom flat above an antique shop owned by Teagan's parents and where she works on a minimum wage. She has fought hard to be independent because due to some secret, underhanded tactics she was pressured to let her child's father relinquish any rights or responsible for the up bringing of his daughter. She know that his popularity as a footballer and the small town mentality of people that they would side with him . She felt that she had no choice or alternative.Thirteen years previously her best friend Derek Hartz who was training to be vet, got married and left the town. Unfortunately, Derek and Teagan realised too late that they loved each other. Their timing was wrong. Teagan got pregnant with someone else's baby and Derek's wife was also pregnant. When she discovered that her husband loved Teagan she demanded that Derek break off contact with Teagan. But did he?Then on the death of his wife in a road accident Derek come back to his hometown with his teenage daughter. But will he and Teagan reconcile? Will they get a second chance of love? And more to the point. Will their two daughters make friends?I recommend that you read this book. It is one Corinne Michaels best.

They were best friends as kids. She was his best woman when he married. She stayed in touch when they moved away until his wife gave the ultimatum, stop contacting Reagan or you lose me. He made one final phone call to Get an which left her confused and angry. The story begins. Good book showing true love but also problems teenagers to through at school.

I so loved this story!Excellent writing from Corinne Michaels as she brought Teagan and Derek to life in this brilliant book.It's a second chance tale. Teagan has remained at home to bring up her daughter and never loved another man. It was always Derek. Her best friend. Her rock. Until he married someone else.Now he's back. With a daughter in tow. And no wife.But Derek realised he'd made a mistake and wants to put it right.But how much trouble can two daughters cause??? The answer, LOTS!!!Great writing. Fab characters and a brilliant story.Well worth reading!

Another great book from Corinne. You’ll have read the intriguing blurb so I won’t retell the story here. Just trust that it’s a fab read, strong main characters and a few bumps in the road to ramp up the angst. What are you waiting for? Buy it now!