Book Review: All He Ever Dreamed by Shannon Stacey

Title: All He Ever Dreamed
Series: Kowalski Family, Book 6
Author: Shannon Stacey
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality Rating: Sensual
Source: review copy from publisher
Published: January 2013 by Carina Press

Josh Kowalski is tired of holding down the fort—better known as the Northern Star Lodge—while his siblings are off living their dreams. Now that his oldest brother has returned to Whitford, Maine for good, Josh is free to chase some dreams of his own.
As the daughter of the lodge's longtime housekeeper, Katie Davis grew up alongside the Kowalski kids. Though she's always been "one of the guys", her feelings for Josh are anything but sisterly. And after a hot late-night encounter in the kitchen, it's clear Josh finally sees her as the woman she is.

Katie's been waiting years for Josh to notice her, but now that he has, she's afraid it's too late. Giving her heart to a man who can't wait to leave town is one sure way to have it broken. But Josh keeps coming up with excuses not to leave—could it be that everything he's ever wanted is closer than he could have imagined?

Why I Read this Book: Shannon Stacey writes good contemporary romance and the Kowalski Family series is on my auto-read list. The books in this series are cute, fun, funny, romantic, smutty, yet there's an emotional connection that the characters bring share with the reader. I absolutely love this series!

What I Liked: One of my favorite tropes is a friends-to-lover romance. I love the discovery, and the transition from friends to something more, that comes with this type of love story. Josh and Katie have been best friends for so long and have a very comfortable friendship. Katie has been in love with Josh for a very long time and everyone knows except Josh. He’s never seen Katie as anything more than his best friend. And when written by Shannon Stacey, it’s fun and entertaining to watch this kind of story unfold.

The romance wasn’t the only thing going on in this book; Josh has some real concerns in regards to his manning the Northern Star Lodge. He’s been stuck in the same town, watching everyone else around him go on and live their lives. He wants to know what else there is out there in the world. Which proves to be an obstacle for Josh and Katie’s relationship but the outcome was realistic and believable.

I enjoyed reading about Rose and Andy as much as I did the lead characters. Their relationship somewhat mirrors Josh and Katie’s and I was rooting for them as much as I was the main couple.

This book was just a barrel of laughs. There was funny dialogue, memorable moments, and even a possible serial killer friend.

What I Didn’t Like: A little predictable in some areas but I didn’t mind at all.

Memorable Moments:

“Mom wants fresh blueberry muffins for your guests, so I have to go make a test batch. That gives her time to tell me what I did wrong and make me bake more.”

“So you’re telling me we’re having shitty blueberry muffins for supper.”

“Yup.”

***

“Wait. Did you just middle name me?”

Overall Impression: All He Ever Dreamed is one of my favorite Kowalski Family books. Shannon Stacey writes good small town, family-oriented romance novels without making things too serious or heavy. These books are the perfect reading material when I’m in the mood for a light, fun, smutty read. All He Ever Dreamed was a great addition to the series and I look forward to catching up with this couple in future installments. I'm ready for the next book – Love A Little Sideways – which will be Liz’s book.

Brianna’s Rating:
5 Frogs