Review: All My Life (First Things, #1) by Rucy Ban

(Blurb): Seventeen-year-old Kari meets Neil Mars. “Neil as in Armstrong and Mars…as in Bruno.” A boy who beats every vampire, werewolf, highlander fantasy Kari has ever had. But she knows she can’t get close to him. Not ever. Because that would mean telling him everything. Coming clean. And Kari can’t bear the idea of changing the way Neil looks at her. Like she’s the only girl in the world. His reverence is something too precious to lose. Perhaps even at the cost of losing him.

But Kari doesn't know why Neil calls her his ‘Angel’ and when she finds out, she realizes what love is all about. Boundless joy, unending longing and a fuckload of heartache.



















Book Information:

Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 152 pages

Review:

I'll admit I was a little thrown off by the book blurb because I didn't know what to expect. When I read "A boy who beats every vampire, werewolf, highlander fantasy..." I was thinking that this would be a paranormal read. But the book wasn't listed as that. So I really had no idea what I was getting into. I will say that I like going into some books not really knowing what they're about. It makes it all that more surprising when the story starts to unfold and you find yourself going, "Ohhhhhh, this isn't anything like I was expecting!" - But in a good way of course! And with that, Ms. Rucy Ban delivers a great novel!

What I liked:
The story line is captivating. Kari is a very likable character with a head on her shoulders. She doesn't live her life like a dead fish and she does what makes her happy. Kari makes a desperate move by working at a tattoo parlor for some extra cash and ends up discovering that she has quite the talent for inking. The story unfolds from there as she meets Neil at the parlor. I liked the tattooing setting simply because it was different. It adds a bit of a twist to the typical run-into-a-guy-at-work theme, and provides great talking points! I mean, what better way is there to connect with someone than over art; be it music, painting, photography, tattooing, etc.

Because I have a thing for tattooed, motorcycle riding men, Neil in my mind is one of the sexiest characters there is. One tattoo or 1000, it really doesn't matter. It's ALL welcome ;-)

Neil's character is great because he has some secrets of his own and you as a reader don't realize that until is smacks you in the face and you're laughing to yourself in that crazy "Is this really happening?!?" type way.

What I didn't like:
I felt like the book ended too abruptly. I realize that this is listed as the first in a series, but it was one of those things that I didn't realize I was at the end of the eBook until my kindle popped up asking for a review. I was expecting a little more explanation on some of the events and really had no idea that it was done. Granted, it doesn't end with a cliffhanger. So there's credit there. But I still had questions that I wanted answered then and now. I'm hoping that the next book will cover those and clarify some situations a little better.

Some of the Kari's actions irked me. I'm not completely sure why she ended up in a certain situation with her ex and why it was resolved the way that it was. I felt like her ex's motives were completely up in the air and I was expecting some more explanation towards the end of the book but didn't get it.

Overall, All My Life is a very good New Adult romance. It deals with the types of life events that actually do happen when you get out in the real world and act a bit naïvely. The flow of the story was nicely contiguous and the story well written. I would have liked to have had a little more conflict resolution at the end, but it in no way took away from the basis of the story.

Ratings:

Romance: steamy connection- not explicit
Character Development: ***+
Plot Progression: ****
Writing Quality: ****

My Rating:


I'm stuck between a 3.5 and 4 simply because of the latter plot progression. So, per my general review guidelines, I'm going with a 3.5. It really is a great book and I suggest it for a quick read!




GoodReads: 3.6
Amazon: 4.2