Review: Delicious twist!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 17, 2013
Read this review and others at MIDWEST GALLEY GIRL.[...]I love one line in particular from the movie THELMA AND LOUISE."You get what you settle for."Avery and Bennett aren't settling anymore.I love that Bennett is a good man but not a perfect one. He's a virgin for a reason. It's not a preachy or judgmental reason, either. It's really lovely, actually. (I'll let him tell you about it, though.)I love that Avery KNOWS she's sorta screwed up, but doesn't apologize for it. She's been through so much disappointment, mostly at the hands of people who claim to love her, but it hasn't defeated her. She knows there's something more, even though she can't quite figure out what IT is just yet. She's on the lookout.Incidentally, I've never read a book that made me want to get a tattoo more than ALL OF YOU. Bennett's approach to tattoos is almost poetic and his whole demeanor flies in the face of the usual tattoo artist stereotypes.The supporting characters aren't just window dressing. Avery's girlfriends offer plenty of insight and levity, along with Mrs. Jackson, Avery's oracle disguised as a nursing home patient. Both Bennett and Avery's mothers are looking for love in the wrong places, leaving one emotional mess after another for their children to clean up. Avery and Bennett also both have siblings they feel compelled to both support and rescue.Avery and Bennett's story is a relationship evolution, and a delicious one at that. I knew where the story was going and was happy to be along for the ride. Everything about this story is warm and it drew me in. The best stories often fit into a conventional space but distinguish themselves by approaching said convention from a new angle. Christina Lee takes this simple love story and wraps it up into something unique. I rooted for Avery and Bennett throughout ALL OF YOU. I wasn't disappointed in the least.