All I Want is the second book in the Alabama Summer series and my favorite so far. The story picks up a year after Tessa broke up with Luke. Luke still hasn’t forgiven Tessa for breaking his heart and keeping an important secret from him. Rather than admit he still has feelings for Tessa, he tries to erase her from his memory by turning into a manwhore and flaunting his sexcapades in Tessa’s face. Tessa still hasn’t gotten over Luke, but she refuses to settle for a man who doesn’t want marriage or kids and who won’t open himself up emotionally. Unlike Luke, she’s spent the past year being celibate. Finally ready to move on, it’s Tessa’s venture into the world of online dating that forces Luke to confront his feelings. And when the two come together their chemistry is explosive.

Luke and Tessa bring love-hate to a whole new level! There’s a scene where they have angry sex that manages to be steamy and tender at the same time, in the midst of which they finally discuss their feelings about their breakup. It sounds odd but somehow it works for these two.

I absolutely adored Tessa. She’s brash, no-nonsense, confident, and witty. I love a strong woman who’s unafraid to speak her mind and quick to put someone in their place. Tessa’s got some hilarious comebacks. In one of my favorite scenes she’s confronted by one of Luke’s hook-ups.

"Whore,” she finally says after being shocked into silence for a good minute.

I shrug. “I prefer lady of the evening, but I understand if your vocabulary is a bit limited. That high school diploma is a bitch to get."

Despite her bravado, Tessa makes herself extremely vulnerable to Luke and he breaks her heart more than once. There’s an edge to Luke, a hardness born of his own emotional scarring. The interactions with his dad are sometimes painful. Emotions run high in this book and I liked it.

Nobody blends a saucy romance with fun like J. Daniels and All I Want is signature J. Daniels on steroids: provocative and humorous, intense and fun, passionate and raw, sweet and dirty.

Why not five stars? I wasn’t satisfied with the ending.

Spoiler

Despite the jackass way he left her, when the two are reunited at the end, Tessa accepts Luke back without a decent apology or sufficient demonstration that he has changed.

Suddenly, strong-willed Tessa becomes someone who compromises her self-worth? It was like The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In the end I was left wondering if Luke would ever be able to fully give Tessa what she needs and deserves. 4 out of 5 stars.