All I Want Paperback – November 24, 2016

Loved how much Christmas cheer and goodwill the author was able to pack into one small book. This was such a great little story. The characters felt real and the drama was just enough to not feel overdone. The smutt was hot and the love felt true. I was worried that the ending would feel rushed but the author delivered in that area as well. I would have like a little bit more real world repercussions from the events of the book. But I love epilogues that feel like a perfect bow on the top of the story.

I don't read a lot of romance novels, but when I do, they have to have something unique that draws my attention. Usually it's the paranormal thing. Most of the time, I'm not very impressed, but time reading is never a waste, so it's fine. However, this time I was really impressed. While the story line itself is fairly true to all the tropes, pretty predictable, it was a lovely ride. The characters were well fleshed-out and highly relatable. I admit, I am a little in love with Elliott too, as he's such a fantastic guy - he reminds me of a number of people I know, in different ways. Their friends are wonderful and so REAL. Ash's realizations about his life and his friends and the impacts the retail experience has on him are completely believable, if a bit quicker than one would expect.I would have liked to see more of the process of winning Douglas over - I think there were some fun compromises that could have been made to keep Ash in the public eye and show his dad that the public responds even better to a love story than to scandal. Also it seemed like he just sort of rolled over, when that hadn't been consistent with his character prior. I would have liked to see the development of the relationship between him and his son after all the upheaval. Finally, I would really have liked an opportunity to find out what Kevin's and Martin's issues were. It's rare for anyone to be such a jerk without an underlying cause and I was hoping we'd get a glimpse into them as well as the positive characters, and maybe even a chance for contrition or change - perhaps in another book? :-)Technically well-written with only a few of the grammatical, spelling, and word-swapping issues that are so common with machine-only editing. (Seriously, these kinds of errors drive me nuts and all it would take is a couple of real humans to read through a story to find and correct them. If anyone ever wants help with that, let me know!) Very believable "love" scenes with a focus on the emotional, but good writing regarding the physical, as well, without all the clichéd phrasing and progressions. The characters were unique, but recognizable and relatable individuals and I would recommend this highly to anyone who enjoys romance.

This was a DNF for me. It wasn’t that it was terrible, it was just kinda boring and I didn’t care for either of the MCs. I kept trying to get back to it and realized that I wasn’t looking forward to reading any more of All I Want. So I quit and went on to something with more zing.Elliott is naive to the point of exasperation (mine). He believes every dumb lie that Ash/Ben stumbles through. Ash is a bratty, entitled whiner who isn’t smart enough to do a plausible job at pretending NOT to be a gazillionaire. Oh, let’s go to the most expensive restaurant in town. Oh, let me plunk down daddy’s AmEx Black. Oh, I’m going to keep wearing super expensive clothing. And then I’ll come up with the most ridiculous reasons to explain it all. Ash’s transformation into a decent person happens practically overnight (he’s still whiny and entitled, though) and I just didn’t buy it.There are long speeches about the magic of Christmas and the spirit of giving and the true power of believing. Blah, blah, blah. It gave me a toothache. No one enjoys Christmas this much unless they are 7 years old, Buddy the Elf or a simpleton. Since Elliott isn’t 7 or Buddy, unfortunately I kept thinking of him as the last alternative. These are the happiest minimum wage employees you will ever meet. So happy, in fact, that they are ecstatic at the idea of dressing up in silly costumes and standing around all day looking like dopey reindeer, elves and nutcrackers. Not a single person even makes a joke about cracking nuts. These are not real people. This is the Mayberry version of people and the Mayberry version of a department store.There is a lot of awkward writing. At one point, Elliott says “Someone go call 911.” Um, couldn’t they all just pull out their cell phones and call 911 without having to “go” anywhere? Nick, his wife and their house are described as if they are in an 18th century fairy tale (apron, silver tea set and all). At the beginning, the department store staff takes photos for a store yearbook. A yearbook? Is that a thing? I’ve never heard of any store doing that. A webpage? Probably. An-house e-newsletter? Maybe. A store yearbook? Wha? Kids routinely call people “mister” (which I don’t think anyone has done since Leave It To Beaver left prime time). A young adult actually uses the word “sourpuss.” It felt like Starling was trying to write a modern story with old fashioned details (or an old fashioned story with modern details), but it just didn’t work.There is a lot of repetition. We are told multiple times that the department store staff members are paid minimum wage. Multiple times that Ash’s contacts bother him (wouldn’t it have been more realistic to make Ash a contact lens wearer to start with and just change the color of his contacts?). Multiple times that employees can’t pull their cell phones out while they are working.The dialog between almost everyone doesn’t feel natural at all. People laugh at things that aren’t funny. Elliott’s excuse for not using his employee discount on clothes for himself is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever read. In one paragraph the Giving Tree is “sparsely decorated with tags” and in the next paragraph there “are tons of tags on the tree.” Does no one proofread? Tons and tons of telling. Very little showing. Long passages where the MCs are thinking in their heads and nothing really happens.I hope that Ash took ALL the gift tags off the Giving Tree and paid for them (at the point I’d stopped reading, he’d only taken one. ONE? Really? Mr. My Shoes Cost More Than Your Whole Minimum Wage Earnings For A Year?).If you like your romances super sweet without a lot of reality intruding, this is the book for you. If you want something spicy, savory or salty, don’t bother.

Such a lovely romance! Elegantly capturing the spirit of Christmas and the feel of a fairy tale, with a beautiful grounding in the real world, this story had me hooked the whole way through.Ash is the heir to the Ashby fortune, and it shows. A notorious playboy, he has never truly worked a day in his life, and he doesn't see the need to. When one of his most recent exploits lands him in hot water his father punishes him by forcing him to work at the Chicago branch as a temporary Santa, without the luxury of recognition as he must go undercover as 'Ben'.Elliott loves his job at Ashby's and all of his friends. Christmas is his absolute favourite season, with fond memories of the Santa at the very Ashby's he now works at. Grow up in a single mother household with just enough money to get by, Elliott loves how the spirit of Christmas brings out the joy of giving in people, and the wonderful reactions he gets to see from kids of all money brackets as they talk with the same Santa he knew as a child. When Nick, the store Santa and close family friend, has a stroke just before the season Elliott worries about the change and takes over as lead for Santa's village in his role as nutcracker. When he has to help the new temp Santa get into his role he is delighted to see the man blossom in the role, and even more shocked when he meets the gorgeous man and interest blooms.It was very rewarding watching the romance grow between Ash and Elliott. Ash hates being stuck where he is at first, but it really opens his eyes to another side of life. He gets to see how the Ashby floor crew is a close family of friends that truly care for one another. Away from his own 'friends' he finds that they lack in the simple caring that these other people have. Away from his money and status Ash finds that building a relationship with Elliott is about truly connecting with another person, rather than material things and sex. Through it all Elliott is open and loving, really letting Ash see everything that there can be in love, and opening his own heart at the same time. A gorgeous and heart rending romance, I couldn't put it down!

All I Want by Stella Starling is sweet. Very sweet. It's a Christmas romance about two men - Elliott, a shop assistant at Ashby's in Chicago, and Ben, who is Ash Ashby, tabloid darling and heir to the Ashby department store chain - who meet after Ash is sentenced to hard labour playing Santa as punishment for his recent sexual escapade.There was nothing wrong with the story beyond it being a little too drawn out. The redemption arc of Ben/Ash as he learns the meaning of love and Christmas was well done. I felt Elliott was a bit one-note. He didn't learn anything or grow in any substantial way.The supporting characters were also a flat and one dimensional, particularly the two characters sharing the role of the Grinch.

The story captured me from the first paragraph. I wasn’t prepared for the tender and heart warming moments, but despite the intense sentimentality, I loved the book. It’s a true, sappy, gay romance for those who believe.

I found emotions I never knew I had. If crying is a sign of enjoyment, I enjoyed this book immensely.

This was one of the cutest stories. You really feel the connection b/w Elliott and "Ben", loved the holiday Christmas spirit as well.