After All
A Romancing Manhattan Novel
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4.5 • 17 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The last sizzling novel in Kristen Proby's Romancing
Manhattan series finds a widower falling deeply in love again with a woman who
has scars of her own.
When Carter Shaw’s wife died five years ago, he was left to
pick up the pieces not only of his own broken heart but also that of his devastated
eight-year-old daughter, Gabby—leaving him with no time for anything else, let
alone dating. But recently, Carter has noticed women again and soon even begins
dating. No one has stuck around for long, mostly thanks to one very angry
Gabby.
Nora Hayes has worked as Carter’s assistant for years.
Recently divorced herself, Nora spends many hours at the office and helping
Carter with his daughter whom she adores. Despite loving her job and being
wrapped up in the Shaw family, Nora’s never given her handsome, kind workaholic
boss a second thought, especially in the romance department.
But then the snowstorm of the century hits, and Nora finds
herself stranded at work with Carter overnight. And suddenly, she sees Carter
in a whole new, sexy light. The sadness that’s lived in his eyes for so long
has now been replaced with pure, unadulterated lust—and Nora isn’t quite sure
what to do about it. For after the pain of her divorce, she never thought she
would give love a second chance.
Carter and Nora have always believed in never
combining business with pleasure. But how can they possibly deny the all-consuming
chemistry between them...?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Proby concludes her Romancing Manhattan series (after All it Takes) with a jam-packed emotional story about family, belonging, and love. In the five years since Carter Shaw's wife, Darcy, died, Carter has struggled to support his troubled preteen daughter, Gabby, while building his business as a Manhattan lawyer, relying on legal assistant Nora Hayes for everything from childcare to household management without ever noticing how stunning she is until now. The recently divorced Nora worries their professional relationship won't survive the blistering chemistry developing between them, but a series of classic romance tropes deployed in quick succession a night snowed in at the office together, a "practice" date that turns all too real push them ever closer, and they decide to pursue a secret workplace romance. The sheer number of tropes in play leaves many plot threads, including a trauma in Gabby's life and a late-book medical scare, feeling poorly incorporated. Readers' frustration with the ever-changing conflicts will be mitigated somewhat by the honest connection between Nora and Carter and the growing bond between Nora and Gabby. This earnest but overdone series ender will satisfy committed Proby fans.
Customer Reviews
4.5 stars-sassy and provocative
4.5 stars--AFTER ALL is the third and final instalment in Kristen Proby’s contemporary, adult ROMANCING MANHATTAN erotic, romance series focusing on business partners and attorneys: Finn and Quinn Cavanaugh, and Carter Shaw. This is forty year old, attorney, widower and single father Carter Shaw, and thirty-four year old, divorcee and executive assistant Nora Hayes. AFTER ALL can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Nora and Carter), and a final chapter by Maggie, AFTER ALL follows the forbidden, workplace romance between forty year old, attorney, widower and single father Carter Shaw, and thirty-four year old, divorcee and executive assistant Nora Hayes. Nora Hayes has worked as Carter’s executive assistant for close to ten years, and in the five years since the death of his wife Darcy, Nora has become babysitter, caretaker and friend to his daughter Gabby. Married to the job, Nora’s divorce one year earlier finds our heroine working fourteen hour days to keep her boss and the office running smoothly but the sexual tension between Carter and Nora is growing exponentially, and it is only a matter of time before Nora and Carter cross the line into full blown romance when an unexpected snow storm strands our couple at the office, over night. Carter Shaw knows there is a work place rule about fraternizing with fellow employees, but as the boss and owner, Carter begins to push the boundaries with the woman with whom he will fall in love. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Nora and Carter, as our couple traverse the employee/boss / single father minefield, and a personal crises of which Carter will fail.
Both Carter and Nora struggle with their parental relationships destroyed by issues of control. Nora is about to get a crash course in restraint when Carter’s twelve year old daughter Gabby begins to push the child-parent boundaries, and Carter battles between head and heart as it pertains to his relationship with our story line heroine.
The relationship between Carter and Nora is a forbidden boss/employee affair but Carter finds himself intrigued by the woman that is currently running his professional life. Having remained single for close to five years, Carter’s partners Finn and Quinn push our hero to take the next step toward his future, and a relationship with Nora Hayes. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
The colorful and strong secondary and supporting characters include Finn and London (All the Way #1), Quinn and Sienna (All It Takes #2), Carter’s daughter Gabby, and Finn and Quinn’s mother Maggie; Nora’s bestie Christopher, as well as the head of HR Mary, who may or may not have it out for our story line heroine.
AFTER ALL is a story of second chances for our leading couple. Both have love and lost, and are about to discover that love is better the second time around. The premise is heart warming, emotional and energetic ; the romance is sassy and provocative; the characters are playful, spirited and dynamic. AFTER ALL is my favorite instalment in the Romancing Manhattan series with a little bit of everything for the romantic in all of us.