April's Affections and Intrigues: Love and Mystery Bloom

All or Nothing, April 2007 Coxwell Family Series - Book 4 by Claire Cross Berkley Sensation Featuring: Zach Coxwell; Jen Maitland 320 pages ISBN: 0425214990 EAN: 9780425214992 Trade Size Add to Wish List Purchase Amazon Barnes & Noble Powell's Books Books-A-Million Indie BookShop

"Thought-provoking romance with realistic characters."

All or Nothing
Claire Cross

Reviewed by Morgan Chilson
Posted March 15, 2007

Romance Contemporary | Romance Chick-Lit

Jen has rebuilt her life after breast cancer, but she can't seem to find it in herself to start dating again. Unfortunately, "I'm not ready" isn't what her mother wants to hear. Her hippy-at-heart mom doesn't even care if she marries, but thinks Jen definitely needs an orgasm in the near future.

With her sister's help, Jen devises a plan to bring a man to Thanksgiving dinner who'll shut her mom up, at least for a little while. She needs someone conservative. Someone who's the antithesis to everything her hippy mom believes in. That shouldn't be hard to find. In fact, the man is sitting in her section at the bar where Jen waits tables.

Zach Coxwell is at a loss. He doesn't seem to have the same plans or interests as his friends, all of whom are on the fast track to success and spend lunch talking about clothes. Ugh. It's just not him and he feels adrift from all the people in his life.

Then he meets waitress Jen. Her surprising invitation to spend Thanksgiving with her family may be a little odd -- I mean, what kind of first date is that? -- but he's game. Even though he expects her family to be a little concerned over his past, which includes an arrest for marijuana, imagine his surprise when his past brush with the law finds approval with Jen's hippy family. And Jen feels totally betrayed -- the guy her mom was supposed to hate meets with way too much approval. What's a girl to do?

Jen and Zach both have a fair amount of baggage, and it certainly clutters their trip into a new relationship. Can they quit obsessing about the past and build a future?

You'll enjoy this thought-provoking romance. Jen's issues alone are enough to add depth to the novel; but the genuine angst brought from the main characters is counteracted extremely well with some interesting secondary characters, giving just the right blast of lightness to ALL OR NOTHING. Again, Claire Cross does not disappoint.

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SUMMARY

Jen Maitland never had any use for handsome guys with easy charm until she met Zach. He's the perfect fake date to end her mother's matchmaking scheme before it starts. The only problem is that Zach isn't as predictable as he appears...

Zach Coxwell hates commitment, but loves a challenge. Like the pretty bar waitress who turned him down flat for a date - only to invite him to her family's Thanksgiving dinner. Zach knows he can make Jen smile, and he's betting that he can unravel her mysteries.

Despite Thanksgiving dinner becoming a familial nightmare for Jen, Zach has the time of his life and finds that Jen may be worth a commitment after all - even if he has to convince her by any means necessary.

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