All the Way: A Romancing Manhattan Novel

I love the way in which Kristen Proby writes heart-warming romance but in All the Way we get the addition of thriller elements within the narrative!!!! London has recently experienced a horrific tragedy, suffering a possible career-ending injury in a house fire that also took the lives of both of her parents. Dealing with her grief over both her parents and career, as well as her drug-addicted brother, London first encounters Finn at the reading of her parents will as Finn is the executor of the estate. There is obvious chemistry between the pair even under the troubling circumstances, however, London is not in a place to pursue any kind of relationship. London retreats to one of the properties she has inherited in order to heal both physically and mentally; a place that has a lot of wonderful memories of her family and where London feels a sense of security. In a strange twist of fate, Finn happens to be her next-door neighbor who is currently looking after his tween niece. Being in such close proximity ensures neither Finn nor London can fight the attraction they have for each other.  Catching feelings is easy when two people are so perfect for each other. Finn and London fit seamlessly into each other's lives to offer an individual support system for each other. Finn has his own emotional baggage although he is very self-aware in that respect and a role model for the way in which to communicate with women 😍 Although the romance between Finn and London is the central part of the plot, there are a number of sub-plots at work adding depth to the story as a whole. Kristen has a way of writing family dynamics that make you want to be part of that particular family, although there are a few unexpected twists in All the Way.  While the plot is in no way predictable, the puzzle pieces are definitely there with one shocking exception!!!! I loved the flow of All the Way, it was effortless, inducing a great deal of investment into the happiness of the characters. I am a great believer in everything happening for a reason no matter what it is - in this case, tragedy lead London to Finn 💞

3.5 stars--ALL THE WAY is the first instalment in Kristen Proby’s contemporary, adult ROMANCING MANHATTAN erotic, romance series focusing on three brothers and attorneys -Finn, Carter and Quinn Cavanagh . This is forty-year old, attorney Finn Cavanagh, and thirty-two year old, singer/dancer/ Tony Award winning actress London Watson’s story line. Told from dual first person perspectives (Finn and London) ALL THE WAY follows the building relationship between forty-year old, attorney Finn Cavanagh, and thirty-two year old, singer/dancer/ Tony Award winning actress London Watson. Several months earlier London Watson would come face to face with her future, her father’s attorney, and the man with whom she would fall in love. But the tragic death of her parents, and the subsequent disaster that left our heroine with permanent injuries, finds London Watson recovering in the family home on Martha’s Vineyard. Enter attorney Finn Cavanagh, her next door neighbour and the man with whom London would fall in love. What ensues is the quick building relationship between London and Finn, and the fall-out as another potential disaster threatens London’s long fight for peace and rehabilitation. Finn Cavanagh is a successful attorney whose down time spent on the east coast with his niece Gabby finds our hero falling for the woman next door. Hoping for something more than a summer fling, Finn offers to follow London, as she is offered a role on the country’s west coast. London Watson is an extremely independent and forceful heroine who isn’t above telling it like it is. Growing up in a controlled environment, she refuses to ‘allow’ anyone, including the man with whom she is falling in love, to control any aspect of her life although ‘control’ is a questionable action –in this, I struggled to sympathize with our story line heroine. Her acerbic condemnation of Finn’s actions were just short of rude, condescending and b*tchy. The relationship between Finn and London begins as a seaside romance, a romance that will continue after Finn’s return to work, and London’s offer to work on the west coast. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic, language and text. We are introduced to Finn’s brothers and fellow attorneys: widower Carter Cavanagh and his ten year old daughter Gabby; Quinn Cavanagh, whose over protective nature pushes all of his mother’s (Margaret Cavanaugh) buttons; London’s friend and colleague Sasha; superstar Jeffrey Cameron, and London’s brother Kyle. ALL THE WAY is a story of family, friendship, betrayal and pain. The premise is entertaining but the conflict resolution, and the building mystery was predictable and disappointing. The romance was seductive and provocative but I struggled with the heroine’s attitude and need for control-there is a fine line between independent and strong vs b*tch; the characters were colorful and charismatic. I am looking forward to a happily ever after for both Quinn and Carter.

A new series, told in two perspectives, with adult characters and plenty of angst to mix in with the sexy times, All the Way is the story of London and Finn, an actress and lawyer, and their romance between neighbors. London is a successful Tony Award winning actress that loves her work on Broadway and doesn’t want to stop it anytime soon. But she’s recuperating and healing on Martha’s Vineyard after an auto accident killed her parents and left her with a severely injured leg. Bereft, limited and more than a bit depressed, she’s hiding out and wondering just when (or if) she can return to the stage. Finn is one of three brothers, and he, a brother and his brother-in-law run a law firm in Manhattan, that just happened to represent London’s parents. Introduced a few months earlier, there was something in London that drew Finn’s eyes and desire – and it wasn’t just her looks. He wanted to see her happy again, not mired in the grief and pain from their loss. Finn gets word that London has gone to Martha’s Vineyard, staying in her parent’s home. It just so happens that his family has a place next door, and he’s going out to check on her – perhaps surreptitiously and not to ‘start anything’ but just to check on her. He’s not interested in a relationship, and he believes she isn’t – and it’s all just about looking out for the welfare of a client. Right? From the first tentative steps toward friendship, to sharing of themselves and taking advantage of the attraction between them, these two are well-matched, even as I often had difficulty with finding the palpable in their connection outside of the sexy times. What was intriguing, however, was the slightly older tilt to the characters – being past that ‘new adult’ stage where impulsive decisions, friends’ opinions and their own struggle for careers and establishing their lives has passed, and they are solidly successful, perhaps a bit more guarded and self-protecting, and the walls are harder to bring down. But, this is romance and the two are, first and foremost, adults with an attraction that is electric and fills a need. And Finn’s family is wonderful and perhaps a bit put off by his controlling nature, but not much, and he now is learning their frustrations, as London’s need to control events around her, always prevalent before the accident, is far more present now. It’s an intriguing tug-of-war between emotions, attraction and the truth of who they are. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.