All I Need Is You

After Loving You is Easy, I didn't hesitate to grab this next book, but what's funny is I didn't even realize they were part of the same series until I sat down to read it. As in the previous book, Neve and Rory “meet” through a pen-pal program while he's deployed, and their friendly letters quickly take a turn for steamy. But things don't go quite as planned when he's home on leave, and he's left with a lot of explaining to do.

The chemistry between these two is off the charts, so it kind of makes sense that they find themselves getting hot and heavy in a storeroom in the back of his family's pub. However, their tryst ends on an ugly note when a woman claiming to be Rory's fiance catches them together, and Neve is completely mortified by the whole situation. Not only did she get it on with him in a smelly old closet, but it looks like he's been lying to her all along.

Fortunately, there's a reasonable explanation for the whole mess, though Neve doesn't make it easy on Rory. He heads back off to war for a few more months while she stews in the aftermath of her “mistake,” but once he's home for good, Rory wastes no time in trying to clear things up. Neve's situation by that point isn't ideal, as she's suffering from an infection after donating bone marrow, and she has little choice but to accept Rory's help, much as she'd like to keep pushing him away.

The path of their relationship is intriguing, starting off too strong, falling apart, and then slowly building back up as they really get to know each other. Neve's got plenty of issues due to some reckless behavior and bad decisions in the past, and it colors her view of any future for herself. On the straight and narrow now, she's determined to take her dance career straight into Cirque du Soleil, but ugly pieces of her past keep showing up and breaking down her self-respect.

Rory, for being such a great guy, also has plenty going on with his PTSD, but he's falling for Neve wholeheartedly, and the idea of her leaving to follow her dreams is the worst kind of quandary for him. He doesn't want to get in the way of her career, but he wants her to choose him. The real issue, though, is simply Neve's view of herself.

Like the book before it, All I Need is You was nothing like I expected, but the very flawed characters and totally human screw-ups were what made it so great. Neve's past isn't pretty, but it's also not unheard of. And Rory can't seem to keep his foot out of his mouth, even when all he wants to do is be the man Neve needs. I also loved that he's not exactly tall, dark, and handsome at 5'4″, though he's definitely got the alpha & hot thing down. This is one series that turns the usual romance trope completely on end in the best possible way.

***FicCentral received this book from Random House LLC (via NetGalley) for free in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by Wendy S. Marcus and I enjoyed reading it a lot. This book was a bit different than others I’ve read. The hero is only 5’4” tall; a bit unusual for a romance novel where most heroes seem to be tall and dashing. Rory’s size doesn’t in any way diminish his hero-worthiness. Neve (pronounced Neeve), the heroine, is also diminutive so they fit well together.

Rory and Neve begin their relationship as pen-pals; her letters help Rory endure his tour in Afghanistan. A misunderstanding tears them apart and he is determined to repair the relationship.

Neve has quite a past. She was a bad girl like a lot of romance books have a bad boy. She enjoys sex and has been with a lot of guys but now she wants to change her life and start over; she’s tired of being a bad girl. Rory is no angel; he’s not really interested in having a long-term relationship with Neve but neither does he want to use her like so many of the guys before him.

There are a lot of ups and downs for this couple and there were a few times I kind of wanted to slap both of them upside their heads. The two of them have a real connection but both of them fail to realize it at times.

There were several interesting secondary characters in this story; in particular I’d like to read a story for her brother, Nate. He’s been her champion since they were kids. He’s only 6 months older than Neve and finding out how that is the case was an interesting part of this book.

In short, I enjoyed reading this and would read more books by this author.

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

“All I need is you. You make me happy.”
“I’m more apt to make you miserable than happy.”
“Miserably happy.”

Neve James was looking forward to change her life. She wanted to be a better person, do a 180o in her life. And because of one person: Rory McRoy, soldier (yeah, I don’t remember his ranking or whatever the name is) – and a strong one.

They met each other as pen pals. “Support our troops” initiative was a great excuse to start being a better person (or so she thought). But sending hot Hot HOT letters as a support was kind of weird, but, hey, whatever works for them. It was all sent to the ground when some stranger claimed to be his fiancé.

My thoughts about the book:
I liked it more than Loving You Is Easy, but it still has room for improvement. The story is a bit dragged down and, sometimes, I was a bit bored with the whole “don’t want you around, but I still want you”.

I am, however, waiting for Nate’s story. It sounds like it’s going to be goooooood