Emily Ryan-Davis

All He Wants is a short, stand-alone, erotic romance novelette. Keith is Telly’s older brother’s best friend, so they’ve known each other for years. Although they’ve kind of had a thing for each other, Keith kept his distance because of their age difference and them always seeming to be in different stages of life. During his most recent military deployment overseas, Keith and Telly kept in touch, and when Telly became pregnant by a guy she no longer wants in her life, Keith offered to let her stay at his house rent-free in exchange for house-sitting. He also discovered a fetish for a pregnant woman’s body when pictures of Telly with her growing belly started really turning him on. Now returning home at Christmastime, he’s eager to claim both Telly and the baby as his own. But Telly has an independent streak a mile wide, and while her pregnancy-charged libido makes her eager for sex, she doesn’t seem as anxious for a long-term commitment. Keith will have his work cut out for him convincing her otherwise.

I came very close to giving All He Wants four stars. There were definitely things about it that I enjoyed. Keith was a sweetheart who really wanted to look out for Telly and the baby, even though she didn’t seem to appreciate him wanting to take care of her, and he was patient and forward-thinking enough to respect her need for independence. Also, not every guy would be able to accept another man’s child, but he was eager for fatherhood and family, which was very appealing to me. The steamy scenes were well-done, too, with several packed into this short novelette, showcasing variety and creativity. However, as much as I enjoyed those aspects of the story, when I really started to think about it, there were also several weaknesses. Telly could be very confusing to me. Deep down it seems like she wants Keith, but she fights an actual relationship with him almost tooth-and-nail and doesn’t really believe anything he tells her. For example, he says she’s beautiful and that he wants her, but she thinks he’s just horny from a long deployment with no women around. Or he tells her to stay with him, then she’s immediately looking for other living arrangements. Keith was basically a dream lover and boyfriend, but I felt like Telly kept pushing him away, which was frustrating to me. Also, there’s a bombshell revelation regarding her ex that’s dropped in the last chapter that I didn’t feel was given anywhere near the weight it deserved. Then the ending was rather abrupt, leaving me not entirely satisfied or convinced that Keith and Telly were on the same page and fully ready to commit. In fact, Keith declares his love, but Telly doesn’t, at least not directly, which was a little disappointing. My frustrations aside, though, the things I liked about this little novelette weighed heavily in its favor, so I did mostly enjoy reading it.

Note: This book contains explicit language and sexual situations, which could be objectionable to sensitive readers. However, aside from the pregnancy fetish, there isn’t anything particularly kinky or out there.… (more)

Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't realize that this was the second in a series. While not imperative to read the first one before this one, I think some of the events in this story would have made more sense to me with a little more context. This had many of my favorite things. 1) Free (I read quick and at 150 pages, that's my favorite price). 2) Hotness 3) Fun 4) Did I mention the hotness? This is most definitely one of those I should not have been reading at lunch books because it was hard to concentrate later on books. Can't wait to read more from Emily Ryan-Davis.… (more)