5 Stars.
I don’t even know where to start. The emotion that flows through Everything For Us, is so strong I literally feel wrung out and exhausted now it’s finished. I am happy too, deliriously so, because for me this book highlights just how freaking talented Michelle Leighton is. My massive author crush for Michelle is in part due to the Bad Boys series, I discovered her through Down To You, I fell in love with the Davenport brothers, and as they say the rest is history.
Everything For Us brings the Bad Boys series to its finale (although, part of me hopes that at some point in the future Michelle will return to this wonderful group of characters), and it focuses on Nash Davenport and Marissa Townsend. It takes up right where Up To Me left off, so I highly recommend you read the book before venturing in to EFU.
My heart broke so many times for Nash in this book. I post spoiler free reviews so I will not give away any specifics of the story, but I am going to assume if you are reading this you have read the rest of the series, so you know the back story.
This is a guy who has been dealt a really shitty hand in life, having had to spend the last 7 years in hiding after witnessing the explosion that ripped his family from him. He has had to live in the shadows, with the dregs of humanity, and because of it believes he has lost the capability to feel anything for anyone.
I found myself sniffling into a tissue so many times whilst reading EFU, as the reader is wholly drawn into the constant internal battle Nash wages with himself about pretty much everything, this is a man out of his comfort zone and who is struggling to try and fit back into normal civilisation. His coldness and harsh demeanour, reveal in his thoughts a man that is actually lonely and emotionally vulnerable. Reading his internal monologue as he tries to justify his reactions to situations, whether it be with regards to his connection to Marissa or his relationship with his brother, made me literally want to just give him a hug, and tell him everything would be ok, although he is HOT, my maternal instincts really kicked in at points.
Nash - “you should probably stay away from me.”
Marissa – “I know,”
Nash – “I’m trouble.”
Marissa – “I know,”
Nash – “you’ll probably get hurt.”
Marissa – “I know,”
Nash – “Then you can’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Marissa – “I know.”
Marissa as you know from the previous books is a spoilt, rich, and to quote Ginger a “bitch-on-two-sticks”! After the events of Up To Me, she is forced to re-evaluate her life, goals, and the person she has turned out to be.
This is where the alternate POV really comes into play; as the book progresses you actually see that Nash and Marissa aren’t really that different. They have both unfairly judged and drawn conclusions about people in the past, as well as being subjected to others doing the same to them. Their previous treatment of their peers at best can be called rude, at worst downright nasty. Marissa is trying to make herself into a better person, and I really enjoyed getting into her head so to speak. It really highlighted that she knew just what sort of person she was, she realises just how badly she has behaved in the past, and I admired her determination not to be that woman anymore, by trying to make right as many of her wrongs as she can.
Whereas Nash tries to justify to himself, that his behaviour is a direct result of the life he has been forced to lead. It becomes apparent as the book progresses that the fear of rejection and overall acceptance from his brother and Marissa are big factors too.
Nash - “I realised something tonight.”
Marissa – “What’s that?”
Nash – “I realised that no matter how tightly I closed my eyes, no matter how much I wanted her to be……” “She just wasn’t you.”
The sex in this book is imaginative, well written and off the charts hot. Nash has a dirty, dirty mouth and I absolutely loved it. This is a man who isn’t afraid to say what he wants (in beautifully graphic detail), take what he wants, wherever he wants. Whether it be biting a peachy ass because he feels like it, or using a beer bottle in the most imaginative of ways (fanning oneself, at that memory)!!! He opens Marissa’s eyes to what sex should be like between a couple, and Michelle’s imagination in this area is just pure gold, she always makes each time fresh, explosive and deliciously naughty!
Odd to say I know, but I actually felt pride for Nash and Marissa at the end of Everything For Us, watching them grow, learn from their pasts and become better people because of it completed the circle for me, again it’s the maternal instinct in me kicking in. Although, very anti-maternally, I definitely wouldn’t kick Nash outta bed for eating biscuits
What more can I say, READ THIS BOOK.If I could give it 6 stars I would. If I could get a job a Dual, and share a little in the lives of the Davenports and their family and friends I would be a happy, happy gal.
One other thing I will add is that I would love to see more of Gavin and Ginger in the future, I think they both have stories that beg to be told, and I hope that Michelle at some point has the time to give it to us!