When starry-eyed dancer, Monroe Archer, meets professional snowboarder Xander Stone, she believes she's found the man of her dreams. Searching for her fairytale romance since she was a little girl, Monroe goes after what she wants.
Stone is a grief-stricken man. At a young age, he learned that forever doesn't exist. Ever since, he's been a tortured soul just going through the motions.
Monroe is devastated to learn that Stone wants nothing more than friendship. But just as she tries to move on, he realizes his attraction to her isn’t so easily denied. Powerless to resist her any longer, Stone starts something with Monroe knowing he is incapable of giving her forever.
With her sweet and charming disposition, Monroe sets out to heal the wounds left on the heart of the man she loves. But it isn't long before Monroe realizes that sometimes those that love you most are the ones that hurt you the worst.
A.K. Evans is a contemporary romance author of over twenty published novels. While she enjoys writing a good romantic suspense novel, Andrea’s favorite books to write have been her extreme sports romances. That might have something to do with the fact that she, along with her husband and two sons, can’t get enough of extreme sports.
Before becoming a writer, Andrea did a brief stint in the insurance and financial services industry and managed her husband’s performance automotive business. That love of extreme sports? She used to drive race cars!
When Andrea isn’t writing, she can be found homeschooling her two sons, doing yoga, snowboarding, reading, or traveling with her family. She and her husband are currently taking road trips throughout the country to visit all 50 states with their boys.
A.K. Evans has proven to me that she can write a hero.
Earlier this year, I read the first two novels in this series and met Wes and Zane. Wes was a strong, confident hero and his story was a sweet one. Zane was also a strong hero and his book is one of my favorites this year.
I was certain I might be disappointed with a future hero because it's hard to find a way into my top hero spots. When I read the description for Everything I Want, I grew even more concerned because the hero, Stone, is described as a tortured soul. I wasn't sure I'd be able to connect and love a broken hero as much as a strong one, certainly not as much as the previous one in this series.
I was wrong.
IMO, Stone is Evans' best hero yet. She managed to effectively write him as a broken character, who had a strength like none of those before. In her first two novels, I'd met heroes who seemed nearly perfect with their only weaknesses being the depth of their love for the heroines. Stone's personal story runs much deeper than that. He's torn between his feelings for the heroine, Monroe, and who he believes himself to be...someone unworthy of her love.
Just because I've fallen head-over-heels for her heroes does not mean Evans is a slouch when it comes to writing a heroine. Her heroines have staying power in my heart as well. Most notable is they are sweet, charming, and funny without needing to play childish games.
This book's heroine was one determined to show the man she loved that he was deserving of love and that he was 'enough.' Monroe added a level of humor and charisma to the story, both of which allowed Stone to show a vulnerability he wouldn't have otherwise.
The depth of the main characters, the believability of the storyline, the build up of the romantic relationship and, in many cases, the relationships with the supporting characters are all crucial elements to a good love story for me. I'm pleased to say that this book had all of these critical components, none of which were lacking in development, and that is precisely what helped catapult this book not only to my top favorite of the year, but one of my favorites ever!
Kudos, Ms. Evans, you've quickly become my new favorite.
This was another emotional read for me! It wasn't as good as the previous books in the series, mostly because Stone was such a complete jerk and moron! Monroe was put through a lot of unnecessary pain because of him, and I really hated his reasons for it! I liked how passionate Monroe was about her dancing and loved her brothers' support of her! I also loved that this book introduced us more to the Cunningham Security world that would spin out of this series. I can't wait to read the final book of the series!
I skimmed several parts of this book because it just got so repetitive. There would be several days worth of events from Monroe's POV. Then the next chapter would be a recap of those events from Stone's POV but nothing really added to it. Or Monroe would would be updating her friends or brothers on events and give a summary like the reader didn't just read all this a few pages prior. I skimmed heavily after 80%.
Stone held out on being in a serious relationship because of what happened with his own parents' relationship. It was unique that his parents actually had a loving relationship rather than a disaster that turned him off love. He wouldn't explain this to Monroe up front so instead there were several vague statements from his friends along the lines of "It's not my story to tell " or "Just don't give up on him ".
It seemed like Monroe burst into tears every other page. That's barely an exaggeration as the memory of a cheeseburger and fries made her cry.
Based on my feelings for the previous 2 books in the series and this one, I don't think I'll read Luke and Nikki's storyl
I loved Monroe and Stone. Monroe was such a sweetheart and such a loving person you can see why she gravitated towards Stone. His story is awful and heart-breaking, so you can understand why he is the way that he is and why he is so closed off. It's like she crept into his body and his soul bit by bit just to help and soothe him. He is a great guy but he's hurting and he doesn't want to hurt her but what can you do when all you want is that person and they push you away to protect you. You don't give up. You see that person and you love that person. Their connection and their love is blinding, and at certain times cruel, but you have to overcome those obstacles to find that place where you both want to be together. His love for her is fierce and moving and she loves him back just as much. She is his family and together they are unshakable. They are truly beautiful together. They are each other's calm.
Wow. I hated this book. Listen - if you’re the author, please don’t read this. It isn’t for you. It is for me to remember when someone asks me why I hated this book.
And the answer is basically all of it. I only read it because I’ve come to love this friend group and wanted to see how things progressed and be ready for Nikki and Luke’s book.
As a friend put it - maybe Monroe and Stone deserve each other. They are both red flags. I HATE all the emphasis put on her virginity. “Once you give it you can never get it back” type bullshit. Monroe was so immature. Her deep show of emotions was playing an Adele song so he knew what she wanted? PUH-LEASE.
This whole thing felt like it was written by an overly emotional 17 year old. People can feel free to skip this book. Nothing happens you need to know for the next. The end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This book had everything. The story was captivating from the very first line and I didn’t want to put it down.
I love that the author writes in the dual POV. Monroe was a joy to read and had me laughing at the most unexpected times. It was great to have her perspective, but even better to get his. Stone was fighting a battle between his mind and his heart and, in the end, it was beautiful to see how he overcame the struggle between the two.
Overall, I found that I was either laughing, crying, smiling, or sitting on the edge of my seat with this read.
If you’re looking for a book that shows you two people falling in love instead of just telling you about it, Everything I Want is it.
Having previously read Everything I Have & Everything I Need, this latest installment in the series did not disappoint! A.K. Evans continues to deliver a satisfying story and each book gets better & better. Monroe & Stone's story was presented with tenderness and I appreciated that about this particular storyline. As we move along in the series I enjoy the feeling that I already know these characters and it is fun to get glimpses of the characters from prior books that I have already fallen in love with. I understand that the 4th and final installment, Everything I Love, will be published soon and I am looking forward to reading Nikki & Luke's story.
Another cute quick read in this series. I really liked Monroe in this installment and glad she got her fairytale. That is once Stone for his head out of his a&@. I mean I completely understood his hesitation to be in a relationship. He had some pretty bad things happen when he was young. He had a pretty devastating childhood. But he was such a good guy and he just really needed to see the people around him loved him and supported him. They were such a cute couple. This book had a little bit more angst in it than the others but worth it in the end. Can’t wait to read the final installment in this series.
I chose this rating because this book was really great. I enjoyed pretty much all of the characters. This was a book of determination, compassion, kindness, believing in yourself others, as well as falling in love and believing in worthy of love. I enjoyed Stone and Monroe story. I think the author did an amazingly exceptional job at putting these characters together. Stone he was so very unpredictable but Monroe still loved him I am so glad they finally got that thing together and realized that he could love somebody and that they could love him in return. Great read! I recommend this book to all romance readers.
This story fits into the series well in that one person has a troubled past and the obstacles along the way are due to misunderstandings and omissions of truth. Something about this one though seemed to get me—the flowers at the beginning, the hurt feelings after the conversation in the parking lot and Stone opening up to Monroe. Maybe it’s the way it was written or maybe it’s just the idea of Stone being heartbroken to see Monroe’s pain but I felt so bad for him during this story as he tries to do the right things and ends up hurting himself.
Oh Stone! Soo damaged 💔. I very much enjoyed this one, and finally seeing Monroe have her HEA. I was worried she might mot get it with Stone, but I truly loved how it happened! I highly recommend reading this series in order to get the most from this story... 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This one was an emotional story with lots of feel. I was torn between wanting to throttle Stone for his behavior and feeling sorry for his circumstances. I really didn't think Monroe was going to get her fairy tale ending. She hung in there though and finally convinced Stone she was what he wanted.
Fabulous book full of heartache,drama and love. To top that it has hot Alphas and a fab crew of feisty and courageous women. Add in the Cunningham security team in the background. It’s an exciting time in the series.
This is a very heartfelt and beautiful story. I love Monroe and how she is innocent and feels so deep. And Stone’s character was so interesting. Definitely worth the read! The series as a whole is amazing!
This is the 3rd book in the series. This one was a little hard to get through. The h Monroe was a little hard to like. She cried way too much for my liking. Other books in the series are really good.
Great addition to the series. Lots of sadness. Stone had such a hard life. The only thing that bugged me was she called him Stone. I wanted her to call him Xander. Just a silly thing for me, but still was a great story. Can't wait to read the next one.
I absolutely loved this book. Love the story!!! I love all the authors books so far. I can’t seem to put any of her books down especially this series and these characters were awesome along with the story itself. I laughed I cried I loved.
I loved and enjoyed this book. Everything I Want had me up to we hours of the night and turning over in the early morning hour before dawn just reading. I cried and smiled throughout the book. Ms. Evans is a dynamic writer.
I absolutely love this book. I have always been able to enjoy a well written book but in this one I actually could feel the characters come to life. I laughed with them and cried for them. Amazing job.
Why do some books portray women as so weak? And, somehow that weakness makes them attractive? The heroine spent the first few chapters crying over slights and misunderstandings (that she could’ve cleared up). I couldn’t finish this one. Just couldn’t.
This book made me mad and sad alot, He was stupid alot and her heart paid the price I loved the brothers and the fact that they are there for her and that they lay into him which he needs I also feel he should have had a big slap upside his head. but you cant help falling in love as they do
Monroe and over protective brothers. Stone damn he's hot specimen! How hard it had to be to not let love in for so many years and to be so stubborn and make her sad. So glad Monroe came to Wyoming to live by her besties!!! So glad they are getting their happy ending!!!
This was an amazing read for me and so far my absolute favorite. I love these 2 together. I cried. I laughed. I cheered for this couple. Wish I could give 10 stars
This may be my favorite book you have written. As heart breaking as this story is in parts, Monroe and Stone are special characters. Thank you for this gem.