Review: I Fell In Love With This Story & These Characters!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 24, 2013
REVIEWED FOR: Sinfully Sexy Book ReviewsChristina Lee...may you write books for many, many years to come!!  In my opinion--and, as always, take that for whatever it's worth to you--All of You was a phenomenal debut!I'll be perfectly honest, as I am without fail, and say that when I first read the summary for this book, I was hooked.  I mean, I had to read it.  Had to!  `Cause, c'mon.  Who writes a virgin, tattoo-artist hottie as a hero, right?!  That's a story begging to be read!  However, and here's where the honesty comes in, even while I was adding All of You to my to-be-read stack, I was contemplating the sexiness, or lack thereof, of a virgin hero.  I know.  Shallow, right?  But...I like my bad boys best, and I just couldn't imagine how the author was going to pull this off.  Plus, Christina Lee was new to me.  I won't keep anyone in suspense.  Christina Lee wrote the rockingest, sexiest, most soulful tattoo-artist, virgin hero EVER!  Um, of course, he could very well also be the only tattoo-artist, virgin hero ever.  I dunno.So, let's talk Avery for a bit.  Avery was a tough nut to crack, but I understood where she was coming from, based on her past.  I'm not always the biggest fan of female characters housed in tough, b*tchy outer shells.  The reason for that, I'm pretty sure, is because that's usually the only side of them I tend to see.  Avery was different.  I could feel Avery's complexity.  She had a three-dimensional personality, and only one of those dimensions featured what, at first glance, appeared to be a tough girl with no time for relationships.  The more I came to know about Avery, the more I understood what made her tick.  Her past, her relationship (or non-relationship) with her mother, the feeling of responsibility for her younger brother, all of these made Avery into an independent, no-nonsense young woman who was emotionally closed off to just about every other than her brother and Mrs. Jackson, one of her patients in the nursing facility.  She was blindsided, meeting Bennett.OMG, Bennett!!!  I fell so hard for this guy.  I did have a couple of rough moments early on where I wasn't sure if I was going to connect with him like I needed to.  There were a quick couple of scenes where he just seemed entirely too innocent for his age.  BUT!  Those passed, and I kept reading, and I am so, so glad that I did!!  Bennett had legitimate reasons for making the decision to stay a virgin until he found someone he loved, someone he believed would go the distance with him.  As with most people, family and circumstances helped to shape Bennett and formed the basis for his choices.  Also, as with Avery, Bennett was a fully-formed individual.  Neither Avery nor Bennett were one-dimensional characters.  Throughout the first part of the story, I believed him to be a sweet, gentle, loving, deep soul,  who was almost in a role reversal with Avery.  However, the scenes with Bennett's mother and sisters very much added another layer to his personality.  He became almost a different person with them.  He was confident and take-charge, and I loved seeing that side of him!Together, Avery and Bennett were a fascinating couple.  Truly, I was completely absorbed by their story and the feelings which grew between them.  Also, let's just say, for a virgin hero, that dude was scorching HOT!!  Those two had real chemistry together...chemistry and intimacy.  The relationship evolved over time.  There was no instant love, though I do believe Avery knew she'd met someone whom she wouldn't be able to maintain her usual distance with.  As fascinating as I found the two of them together, I feel like Bennett had that same fascination with Avery.  He was deeply attracted to her, but I also think he knew a kindred spirit when he met one, even as different as they may have seemed on the outside.I also have to discuss how impressed I am with Christina Lee as a writer and storyteller.  There were a number of unquestionably beautiful lines in this book.  There were moments of such lovely and well-crafted wisdom interspersed throughout the story, and I have more highlighted passages in my copy than I could ever share here.  All of You had a wonderful flow, and I was just...enamored...with Christina Lee's style, her `voice'.Finally, just for me, I have to give a shout-out to Mrs. Jackson, Avery's favorite patient in the nursing facility where she worked.  When you read this book, I think you'll understand.  At least, I hope you will.  But, I fell in love with Mrs. Jackson.  Honestly?  I would have read an entire book all about her <35 Stars!