4 and a Half Smooches
Synopsis
One year after undergoing a unilateral mastectomy, twenty-eight year old ER nurse Stella Ciaramitaro is working on healing all wounds, visible and invisible. And it’s going pretty well. Sure, she has four pain-in-the-butt sisters, an occasionally suicidal dad, and some serious trust issues. And, yes, all dreams of soul mates, mind-blowing sex, and everlasting love have gone the way of her left breast. But overall, she’s hanging in there. Doing just fine, actually.
Or at least she was until HE showed up.
Nathan Drazek is a hot mess and he knows it. The laundry list of things contributing to his dysfunction includes, but is not limited to: a childhood full of mental and physical abuse, four tours in Afghanistan, and ten years policing one of the toughest beats in East Cleveland. Adding insult to injury, he’s ridiculously straight-laced, beyond aloof, and nearly incapable of interpersonal relationships. But that’s okay, because Nathan isn’t interested in anything more than just getting by.
Or at least he wasn’t until SHE showed up.
From the moment Nathan nearly arrests Stella on, sparks fly, limits are tested, and boundaries are shattered. A tenuous, tender friendship quickly evolves into something powerful and passionate they cannot wish away or control. But as they grow closer, new issues arise and old hurts resurface; threatening to destroy their fragile new beginning.
With everything at stake, Nathan and Stella must ultimately decide which runs deeper: their scars or their love.
Review
I want to start this review off by saying I believe this has been re-edited since some of the previous reviews and I did not find any major mistakes and thought the writing was beautiful.
All of Me is the story of two people who have been very much broken down in life and are deciding if being together can help rebuild them both. I loved this book. I will say that I found it to be a slow read for two thirds and then it picked up and I was thrown for a loop at what happened. Even when the book was slower I could not stop and put it down and to me that is a sign of a great book.
Nathan Drazek’s job fits him perfectly. As a cop he has to be controlled and focused and in his personal life he takes that to every extreme. He is OCD to the max and keeps to himself, only really having one friend, his partner. A tough childhood and years in the military have left him closed off and scared of getting close to others.
Stella Ciaramitaro’s home life was the complete opposite of Nathans. She grew up in a large loving family with parents who were kind and generous. As a nurse Stella is continuing in the path of helping others. But Stella’s personal life is not perfect. After getting Breast Cancer and having lost one breast, Stella’s fiancé left her and told her she was repulsive. This has left her untrusting of men and not confident in her own body.
I would like to say that I go into every book with an open mind but that would not be truthful. We all know what we like and what we tend to read and we all judge things that are different. I read this book on a recommendation from someone I trust but went into thinking that this was not going to be the book for me. I was unsure of the subject matter not knowing how it would be possible for a love story to revolve around a woman who had cancer and was left with just one breast. I did not see any way that could possibly be sexy and I did not think I world be able to relate to her at all.
When I am wrong I am wrong. This book was beautiful, sexy, and romantic. Nathan’s desire for Stella is truly amazing and HOT. I was surprised as to how steamy this book got and by how much I enjoyed it. GIna Sorelle did a fantastic job of tackling real deep issues inside a steamy love story. I cannot wait to read more from her.
~miranda
