All I Ask is a story about learning from, and accepting, the decisions we make in life. It’s also about holding onto your dreams and continuing to strive to ensure you have what you need in life.
Publisher’s Notes: “From the author of One Last Time comes a story about first love, second chances, and starting over.
Teagan Berkley is trying her best. A single mom raising a precocious teen, she may have given up on her dreams, but she’s accepted her life in her small beachside hometown. Now the one person who abandoned her when she needed him the most has returned, bringing back memories of what might have been”.
My thoughts: Teagan is a thirty something single mother who lives in the same small town she was raised in. As a high school student, cheerleader Teagan only wanted to hang around with the popular students, often shunning those who were not as popular. Keith, now a professional football player, was her boyfriend and the father of her now 13 year old daughter. Teagan’s best friend in school, however, was Derek who wasn’t in the popular crowd. But he was her rock – that is, until the day Derek’s wife Meghan had found his journal which proclaimed his love for Teagan during their high school days. Meghan, who also went to school with Teagan, became unnerved and instructed Derek never to talk to or see Teagan again. That was until Meghan’s death six months ago, and his decision to return to his hometown to assist with his father’s veterinary practice. Will Teagan forgive him for cutting him out of his life?
I enjoyed the book, but found it to be a little slow in places. The story is told in the dual perspective of both Teagan and Derek, and in dual time frames of “then” and “now”. I purchased the audiobook through Audible and enjoyed the performances of Savannah Beachwood and Teddy Hamilton. There are a few light steamy scenes which I mention only to warn more sensitive readers. I recommend this book to readers of contemporary romance.