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Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Kari meets Neil Mars. “Neil as in Armstrong and Mars…as in Bruno.” A boy who beats every vampire, werewolf, highlander fantasy Kari has ever had. But she knows she can’t get close to him. Not ever. Because that would mean telling him everything. Coming clean. And Kari can’t bear the idea of changing the way Neil looks at her. Like she’s the only girl in the world. His reverence is something too precious to lose. Perhaps even at the cost of losing him.
But Kari doesn’t know why Neil calls her his ‘Angel’ and when she finds out, she realizes what love is all about. Boundless joy, unending longing and a fuckload of heartache.
My Review:
All My Life is the debut from author Rucy Ban and the first in the First Things Series. As I sit here and begin this review I have to say….this was one hell of a kick ass debut!
Kari hasn’t exactly had what you’d call the best of luck when it comes to boyfriends. She’d fallen for the wrong guy in high school and has been paying for it since. Now, in college, she’s happy for the anonymity college life brings. Even if she can’t shake the regret her high school ex-loser boyfriend brings, no one else had to know about it on this campus. It was without a doubt a story she never wanted to share with anyone. Now, with school going well, she’s longing for more and that comes in the form of a chance part-time job offer at the tattoo parlor opening up right down the street. Seems interesting enough, and she had always done well in art class, so why not! Maybe this is just what Kari needs to breathe some life into her miserable, regretful life. What she doesn’t need is the distraction of the positively lickable hottie that has just walked into the shop. Not making things better is his relationship to the shop owner and the fact that he’s around a whole lot more than Kari would like. His panty dropping looks and kind and polite personality is a combo she is finding hard to resist and starts breaking down the walls she’s built around her heart.
Neil Mars is a young guy with a whole lot on his plate. Heartbreaking issues that a young guy shouldn’t have to be dealing with. But as he walks into the tattoo parlor, he meets Kari. Kari, the one who ends up representing all that is good in love and life and turns out to be the lifeline he needs. His angel.
Where to begin?! This story rocked. Seriously rocked. Keri is full of snark and had me laughing out loud too many times to count. Her life kinda sucks when we meet her and she totally knows it. The cynical outlook she has on things is justified and she weaves that cynicism with sarcasm and a dash of innocence that turns it into a combo that is awesome to read! She’s written in a way that I could see her in my mind’s eye and imagine how she would be behaving at that moment and is someone I would totally love hanging out with. Neil is such a swoon worthy hero. The bad boy looks with the big heart, soft-spoken demeanor and unwavering strength in the face of adversity is a package that’s hard to beat. These two have a whole lot to deal with during this book, and reading some other reviews, some may think too much but I really enjoyed how the whole story played out. I felt that it kept the story going and never left the reader with a dull moment. The cast along with Keri and Neil are also some amazing characters. Spunky and heartwarming people who complimented the story at every turn and added to the moments whether they were the laugh out loud or grab me a tissue kind.
All in all, I really REALLY loved this book and am so happy I got a chance to read it. I absolutely recommend it if you’re looking for a witty, snarky, sexy, heartwarming read with a few “whoa” moments peppered throughout. Thank you, Rucy, for a fantastic story!
Four Loves
About the author:
Rucy Ban was born in 1978 and still continues to thrive. Ever since she first met Francine (the protagonist of her favorite novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn), Rucy fell in love with the written word. Rucy has a B-school degree in Marketing which she now puts to good use teaching lovable rowdy rogues and negotiating with her equally belligerent adolescent. In her previous avatar, she handled corporate communications for companies. At present, Rucy lives in Sao Paulo, travels often, speaks decent, if not quite fluent, Portuguese and really hates talking about herself in third person.
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