I honestly didn't know what to expect going into this book. It was a little outside of what I normally read but I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The book follows Derek and Mara who had an unconventional relationship when they were younger and its something Mara has tried to move on from even if her memory doesn't let her forget. A property deal brings the two of them back together and the chemistry is insane. This is one of the hottest books ive read this year even though it was not what im used to. If you are a fan of Dangerfield or this type of relationship then you will love this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a 3/5 for me.

This was my first Eve Dangerfield book. I went in blind as to what the book was going to be.
I didn’t love the book.
The romance was missing for me, the humor too.
It had the steam it had the spice NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
But at least for me I must be invested in the relationship or the conflict to merit the spice.
I felt like we were beaten over the head with the fact that Mara was rich.
She’s wearing (insert designer here) and that continued.
Derek wasn’t charismatic enough for me to fully root for him. But at least he was honest about what he wanted in a way.
I wish they would have just communicated better.

Overall, the writing is great, and Eve Dangerfield can write the steamy scenes like no other.
But the romance fell flat for me and without that I can’t be invested.
I will say that if this was marketed a little different ( not a Romance/Humor ) then It would have changed my prospective I would have categorize it as Erotica and then I would have given the lack of romance a pass.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Rating: 3.5/5

This is pretty hard to review, because books like this are so subjective—every book depends on personal taste, but Eve Dangerfield’s books seem to more than others. That being said, here are my very subjective thoughts.

The Plot:

I’ll admit that, going in, the plot wasn’t too big of a concern. I expected a second chance romance, and I definitely received it. There was a perfect blend of plot and spice, and Eve Dangerfield once again delivers on the kink. This, here, is where subjectivity is such a big issue: a lot of my enjoyment of these scenes was because of my personal taste in kinks, and even then some scenes took it a bit too far for me. All I can say is definitely make sure you know what you’re getting into; for instance, if you’re not into D/s or daddy kink, definitely not the book for you!

Although the pacing was fine, I just wasn’t able to enjoy this as much as I wanted to. There was almost too much plot to Return All, in my opinion—there was so much conflict from every side when I really just expected a fun and sexy romance, but that’s a matter of expectations as much as it is taste. With so many conflicts, it seemed like some of the more major issues between Derek and Mara were resolved too quickly. The leftover feelings from their past just magically made every problem go away, and what conversations were had didn’t feel totally sufficient to me.

The Characters:

This is where my rating really drops. In the beginning, Derek comes across as too intense and too controlling, to the point where it passes sexy and goes into ‘making me want to fist fight’ territory. He’s possessive to the point where I sometimes actively rooted against the couple, particularly when it came to Derek’s reaction to Mara having previous sexual partners while he’d had an endless string of women for the past decade. Mara started out as a very strong character, and generally speaking she was very well written and well rounded, but in my opinion she forgave Derek too easily again and again.

On the flip side, one of the things I liked the most was how willing characters were to call Derek on his shit, starting with side characters and ending with Mara herself. While, ultimately, she forgives him quickly, I loved watching Mara tell him what needed to change if they were going to work again.

The Writing:

Overall, I’m a big fan of the author’s writing style, and having read other books by Dangerfield I’m happy to say this is equally well written. There seemed to be some scenes missing in a few places—something that may be fixed before publication—so some transitions felt abrupt and disjointed. There were missing details or moments that left me confused. But in the grand scheme, there weren’t too many, and they weren’t too major.

Eve Dangerfield has written some books I have really loved and some that I have really not. The thing she has never done is written a book that has bored me. This one came close. There were the bullet points of a strong story here, second chance romance between a famous football player and his once shy and awkward high school girlfriend who has since blossomed, but nothing really gelled for me. It was all a means to an end to get them back in the bedroom for the kind of kink Dangerfield is known for, Even the reveal about how the changes in Mara's fortunes came to pass seemed so trivial after all of the mystery, I need a bit more than that in my reads and a half baked story with little to offer outside of the sex scenes did not work for me.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review,

Hundreds of women have tried to win Derek over, but the only girl he’s loved is nowhere to be found…
Derek Hardiman has been crowned a football prodigy—but success came at the cost of his dorky high school sweetheart, Mara Temple. A decade after she left town, he still can’t imagine marrying someone who isn’t her...When Mara and Derek are thrown back into each other’s lives the obsession that began when they were teenagers returns in full force. Derek can hardly believe the goddess his once-awkward lover has become, and he’s determined to win her back. But Mara is determined not to give in to the hype surrounding her bachelor superstar ex. Unfortunately, Derek has always lived up to the hype. After all, a girl only has one daddy…

My first time reading a book by Eve Dangerfield. The two main characters went through a lot throughout the years separately. There is a lot of sexual tension in this book and not those who wants their romance clean and sweet. The hero is kind of sweet in his alpha way. He does grovel in the end like all good romances.... The heroine is interesting and I like how she has grown...

Thanks to the publisher for providing an arc.

Big thanks to Eve Dangerfield and Xpresso Tours for the e-ARC of this book via NetGalley. This review is being given honestly and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.75 ☆ rounded up to 5 based on how much I enjoyed this book.

CW: DD/lg, double standards (MMC to FMC), angst, mentions of childhood trauma

This book was both super cute, angsty, and spicy.

I had so much fun reading about Mara and Derek's journey back to eachother. I'm not a huge fan of angst but Eve Dangerfield must have Crack laced angst in her books because this was a 'hurts so good' angst. There were no big surprises or any unnecessary toxicity. There were definitely themes/ideas that made me want to bash Derek over the head for but I love the way Eve handled everything. I loved Mara & literally could not find fault in her. ALSO for my nesties who love a good grovel; between us? This man gets on his KNEES in public, on the street, to beg for her time. There were some parts where I was um, I guess that's okay. And I did feel that the writing was a bit off to me and I really don't know how to explain this and this is most definitely just a personal opinion/preference but both played a part in why this was a 4.75 for me & not a 5.

I already bought book 1 to this series AND pre-ordered this book bedorr getting the ARC. And now that ive read the ARC, literallyrun to buy & preorder this series & Eve's Bennett Sisters & Act Your Age, you literallywont regret it.

*not necessary to buy book 1 beforr rrading this but there are some references to book 1 events & both MCs from book 1 show up

PURE MASTERY!
all in caps :)

I couldn't put this down! I literally haven't slept just to finish this book.
Nobody does beginnings like Eve does, the romantic tension in the first chapters was sizzling! You just knew their meeting was gonna be amazing, page by page you felt the moment was approaching and then boom! The plot was set in motion!

So this is the story of two highschool sweethearts who had a very passionate romance but who lost touch. Their lives took them in different directions but as soulmates, they just found themselves. But there is a lot that must be clarified before they can truly be together, some blame and adjusting to the new reality, they get their very own complex hero and heroine's journey.

Now this may sounds a bit bland but each chapter is infused with so much sensual tension (going into bdsm type of sensual tension) and so many mixed feelings. The beginning made me want to devour this book, and while at times parts of it weren't that exiting there was never a dull moment, yet not on a rollercoaster mood. It was all very well written and nicely paced.

This book is heavy on the ddlg, and not like in short romances, it is full of that lifestyle vibe, not for the faint of the heart. But not too aggressive, there is always a point that is never crossed and things remain on the caring, loving side, despite the role playing.

This book has so much to offer, from the fantastic written story, to the fabulous heated sce and to the very little details, I searched all the damn references, from every piece of cloting mention to the kitchen (and I cannot picture Mara using any other type of F Malle lotion than Carnal Flower). It is by far the best book I've read this year!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.