Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. This was a pure Corinne Michaels tear filled read! I hated the pain I was put through with the beginning of the book, so not fair. So, thank you very much for a wonderful and satisfying tear jerker!

An emotional story about best friends whose friendship fell apart and what happens when they see each other again for the first time years later.

Teagan and Derek were best friends who were in love with each other. The problem is neither of them told the other. This led to them both dating other people and, in Derek's case, getting married.

I liked the flashbacks to different points in their friendship. It really established how close they were, how deep their feelings went, and how brokenhearted Teagan was when Derek stopped talking to her. When they reunite years later their love is still strong, but there are lots of obstacles still in their way.

Corinne Michaels has crafted a really great story and I felt for Teagan and all she had experienced. Derek was a bit frustrating at times with his lack of communication, but I could understand some of his motivations.

A nice read about family, love, and friendship. I am definitely going to read more of Corinne's books soon!

(3.75-4 ⭐️) This was the first book I’d read by Ms. Michaels. I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style and am looking forward to reading more of her work. Teagan and Derek were best friends. But when life forces one of them to make a choice, it changes both of them forever. I liked the premise, I loved the characters and even though I didn’t agree with Teagan’s choice at the end, I enjoyed the book overall.

This was my second book by Corrine Michaels and I enjoyed it so much! A solid 4 stars! Not going to lie when I say that the cover captured all of my attention. That water color look is stunning. Everything about the cover is stunning and I want to frame it on my wall. I definitely am going to be buying a paperback just to own this beauty.

Now, shifting to the contents of this beauty, this book is my new favorite by Corrine Michaels, I previously enjoyed an earlier book of hers as I loved the balance between angst, tension, and romance, but All I Ask made me ache.

I’m typically not a huge fan of these second chances sort of stories where the characters reunite after SO MANY years, but Corrine was able to weave together heartbreak and angst with this story that I felt myself compelled to keep reading to find out how it all ends. Definitely recommend if you want an angsty story!

All I ask was an emotional romance that pulled at my heartstrings in the most vulnerable ways. I have always been a fan of friends to lovers romance and seeing that they were also single parents who reconnected later in life, this one sealed the deal for me.

Everyone knows that raising a kid is not an easy job and It’s ten times more when they’re teenagers( help us all). It’s been thirteen years since Teagan last saw her best friend and it has left a hole in her world that was always filled with love, kindness and laughter from him. Raising a teenage daughter on her own and working for her parents is all in a day's work sometimes and even though it’s a struggle sometimes, there is no way that Teagan would ever give up providing a good life for her daughter.

Now content with her small town life, Reagan is now looking forward to creating a better future for her and her daughter and nothing is going to get in the way of that. But things are about to get shaken up in this small town when the newly single veterinarian moves back and she comes face to face with her former best friend.

I really enjoyed this this story and I found myself reading at a slower pace just so that I can savor it A LOT more especially the first half of the book. Everything shined in those chapters and I really liked the flashbacks moments because not only they showed the start of their friendship , but we were also shown glimpses of how they interacted with each other and you saw the love. The second half felt a bit dragged for me and I was not a fan of the conflict towards the end but other than that, this was a solid read.

If you’re looking for a romantic friends to lovers romance, this one is for you.

This book gripped me! Author Corinne Michaels best book I have read from her.
Tegan and Derek's story broke my heart, put it back. together and had me swooning hard.
Just get this book and fall hard in love with this story.

This story is beautiful, emotional, and full of heart. It is breathtaking and swoonworthy. I loved every minute of reading this. I had to catch my breath after doing so. I loved these characters so much. They were perfect together and I enjoyed their journey. I absorb Corinne's writing everytime and this has become one of my favorites. I can't wait for more from her.

This was a cute yet emotional read. Between the story, the setting, and the characters it kind of reminded me of "Gilmore Girls". It definitely is a very different story but both the show and this novel share their own similarities.

In the beginning of this novel, I really liked the relationship between Teagan and Derek, especially with the involvement of their past. However, I have to say that the steam fizzled out as the story progressed. It's a personal preference. I'm all for a cheesy romance and I typically LOVE them but this one was a little TOO cheesy for me (and I never thought I'd say that about anything). It got to the point that instead of intentionally steamy scenes being hot, I was grimacing because I was uncomfortable with the characters.

If you are looking for a small town romance that is meant to warm the heart, this one might be the one for you but it was not everything that I had hoped for.

***Thank you to the publisher for supplying me with an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

I am a sucker for second-chance stories and this one was no different. Derek and Teagan were best friends who loved each other but were too afraid to tell one another in fear the other did not feel the same way. Derek comes back to town after 13 years and Teagan's world is turned upside down. I loved watching them find each other again as well as navigating parenthood. Their teens dislike each other and it was heartwarming to see them come full circle. This book made me feel everything: hope, love, heartbreak, passion, and happiness. This was a great read and 100% would recommend this to others. Great work, Corinne!

Can I just say, dang you Ms Michaels for making me have all the feels for this one?? My heart.... it sang.. it broke... it was put back together. It was so beautifully written that I was just blown away. Michaels has magic for words and All I Ask delivered everything I needed in a story! Highly recommend!

Finally have time to get caught up on my backlog of requests, and I'm glad I started with this one! This was a really good read. Second-chance romance in a small town? Yes please! I'm now a big fan of Corinne Michaels. She's a stellar writer and I can't wait to read more!

Honestly, there’s not a lot I can recommend about this book. The writing is good, but the two person POV with flashbacks is confusing and sometimes annoying. I wasn’t all that impressed with any of the characters, except maybe Teagan’s daughter Chastity. I was actually glad when she showed herself to be a sneaky 13 year old instead of a too-old-for-her-years barely teenager.
Derek is so dang wish washy. He marries a woman while in love with another, his pregnant BFF. Is sorry he married two months in, let’s his wife guilt him into dumping that friend because she finds his secret journal and spends more than half his marriage as “just friends” What. The. Hell.
But yet, the wife...who is no angel in all this, as she defines before the wedding about Teagan and Derek’s feelings, even if they didn’t. Then forces him to choose bets the two women, hold him prisoner in the marriage then name calls Teagan to her and Derek’s child!?
Then there’s Teagan. Stays with her jerk of a boyfriend, who gets her pregnant and he leaves them high and dry. Gets stuck in a small, gossipy town, looks to be a good mom but is a total doormat. She sometimes shows a bit of backbone, but it’s too little, in my opinion.
So yeah, this was not the book for me. I finished it, because I have to not finish a book I receive and ARC for. But I’m disappointed that my first book by a new to me author was not enjoyable.

My review of this book was published at All About Romance on March 30, 2020 - https://allaboutromance.com/book-review/all-i-ask-by-corinne-michaels/

I also cross-posted my review on my Goodreads page - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3254281239?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

I have read (or tried to read) a few books by this author now and unfortunately, I just don’t think her stories are for me. I always have a hard time connecting to the characters and find all of her works (this one included) far too melodramatic and not enjoyable.

I read this book with a mixture of enthrallment and some anger. Derek and Teagan were best friends in high school and by the time they were in college, they already loved each other but didn’t have the guts to share that information. Teagan was dating Keith, their town football hero, and Derek was dating Meghan. Teagan got pregnant with Keith’s baby and Derek got Meghan pregnant. Derek married Meghan, and Teagan got stabbed in the back by Keith. And all this time they were loving each other and denying their feelings. How dumb can that be?

It gets worse because early in their marriage, Meghan finds out about Derek’s feelings for Teagan and makes him choose. Being a dutiful man, he chose his wife and unborn baby and commits the biggest betrayal there is, he cut off all contact with his best friend and in so doing not only broke Teagan’s heart but doomed her to a lifetime of regrets.

Teagan used to be one of the cool, mean girls in school. Highly popular and cruel to the less cool kids, there was an inner core of kindness that rebelled against the peer pressure of being cool. When she got paired with Derek in a school project, it turned her life around, she found out she could be best friends with a dork and liberate her inner kindness, say goodbye to her mean besties, and be her own person. I still don’t understand why she insisted on going out with Keith, who was a self-centered narcissist football player. He was her Mr. Right Now and she was waiting for the right time to get with Derek but then he got engaged to Meghan. Huh?!? I really didn’t understand her reasoning.

Thirteen years later, Derek is back in town with his daughter. Neither of the two wanted to meet up because the years and the pain had been so much. There didn’t seem to exist a way back for them, with a betrayal to forgive.

And this is where I start my rant. In my opinion, Derek is a wimp who didn’t have the guts to declare his feelings. He got married to a woman that he thought he loved and when given a choice, he forsook his best friend who he loved so much for the sake of his marriage. This is all well and good but he also punished himself to a life that was much less than perfect.

Teagan made bad choices and then had to pay for long years. She was constantly badgered by her mother about her choices, and made to feel like a failure. The town gossips kept commenting on her, and her daughter had to listen to criticism about her mother. I can understand ignoring the gossips, but I just couldn’t understand why she didn’t stand up to her mother, and instead took and took the abuse. She took her losses and dealt as best she could, and raised a wonderful girl. Chastity is smart, kind, mature with the right amount of sassy and snark. In spite of working a minimum wage job and living rent free above her mother’s, she gave her daughter a secure life, a lot of love and acceptance.

The second chance between Teagan and Derek was all you hoped it would be. Reluctance, distrust, regrets, and recriminations. It was riveting and enthralling and although I enjoyed the story I never stopped being mad at Derek for being a wimp. I thought Teagan made a mistake by not coming forward with her feelings but she paid a heavy price and then lived a meal to mouth existence for thirteen years. Meanwhile, Derek enjoyed a successful life, full of regrets and missing his best friend, but he didn’t have financial hardships like Teagan did.

I throughly enjoyed the story, I was riveted all during the story. This author is a master storyteller and her books are page turners. My only complaint was that I wasn’t too impressed with the characters. There was a lack of forthrightness and assertiveness in them, apart that Derek is a wimp and Teagan was a little lame in making Derek grovel as much as he needed.

All I Ask is the second chance romance you need to read right now. Corinne Michaels nailed it when she wrote this story. I was captivated from the start and it continued to charm me as I read more.

I loved reading second chance romance and when I started reading about Derek and Teagan it was so easy to fall in love with their story. Once upon a time, Teagan and Derek were best friends. After Derek got married, he ended their friendship for no apparent reason.

Teagan always had feelings for Derek but was scared that Derek didn't feel the same way. When she watched him marry another woman, that was one of the hardest moments of her life. Shortly after that day, they stopped talking.

The story picks up years later. Their kids are going to the same school and it brings them back together. They feel mad, sad, happy, love, and don't know what do to with all the built-up tension. They decide to lay it all on the line and talk about everything from their past.

As they realize that they both had feelings for each other they have to decide what happens next. It is not easy and their kids do not get along.

This gave me all the feels and I loved every single moment. I loved that no matter how much time passed they still had love for each other. Corinne Michales gave Derek and Teagan a great back story that made me enjoy their story even more.

I give All I Ask 5 stars. It is my favorite second chance romance of the year! It is sweet, emotional, and beautiful. You will absolutely fall in love with these characters.

Second change tropes make my heart hurt in the very best way. There is nothing more heartwarming and touching than when people find their way back to one another. I devoured this story by Michaels. I am fairly new to her work and it was delighted to say that I was hooked from page one. The angst, the emotions, and the pull I felt from both characters was unparalleled to anything I've read in 2020.

ALL I ASK by Corinne Michaels. Holy Moly! Ms. Michaels certainly knocked this one out of the park! There are soooo many feels in this book - ups and downs, highs and lows. And all the while, we have incredible characters that are true to life. Teagan and Derek's story is one filled with heartbreak and angst, yet there is so much love and heartwarming moments, that the rest can be overcome. I truly enjoyed this read and look forward to more from this talented author.

I adore second chance romances, there’s just something about seeing 2 characters fall back in love and all of the ups and downs that go along with it that makes my heart pitter patter. All I Ask had a few of the elements that I love in this trope, but unfortunately this book didn’t work out for me that well.

Things I did enjoy: I loved how both Teagan and Derek were single parents of teenagers and I really liked the flashback scenes to their friendship in high school.

Otherwise, it fell pretty flat for me. A lot of the conversations and descriptions of what happened in the past were repetitive throughout the book. I found myself skimming thinking “I’ve already read this exact part”. I also feel like not a lot happens.

Thanks to Read Forever & Netgalley for the gifted book to review.

I have adored everything I have read from Corinne Michaels and All I Ask is no exception. I found this book to be pretty emotional. While I typically avoid more emotional reads, I really enjoyed this one. Tegan and Derek have a lot of history between them and sometimes I feel like that makes a romance more real. That was definitely the case with this one. I definitely recommend it!