While there wasn't anything truly horrible about All I Ask, I finally made the decision to DNF this book around 40%. There wasn't anything memorable up until that point and I found the reading very slow. I might try this author again but I'm not in any real hurry to do so, I have far too many other books waiting for me to read.

Reeve and Emily meet the night of her best friend's bachelorette party when at a bar Emily takes a trip to the wild side and explores unbelievable passion with Reeve for a one night stand. As one night turns into two and three they seem to have trouble stopping. Eventually, they get a happily ever after.

*3.5 stars*

When opposites attract…

Yet they don’t even know they are opposites. Reeve’s upbringing is one he didn’t want to remember. Joining the military meant his days were structured. Everything and everyone had its place. Starting his own company meant he was still in control of himself and his day, which was the way he liked it. Meeting Emily, he thought he met someone special. Beautiful, honest, independent. The chemistry was undeniable but so was a secret…

This was a well-written story, with characters with heart and humour. Unfortunately, what marred an otherwise good read was the premise of Emily hiding her career and the fact that she had money. I get why initially, but when things got serious, why wouldn’t she be honest? A plotline I’m not fond of when drama could be created in so many different, honest, ways…

Definitely worth a read and has me looking forward to more in the series.

All I Ask is everything I love in a romance- strong characters, amazing chemistry, & a great story.

Nicole McLaughlin is a new author to me but I will be reading more by her ASAP

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

This is the first book by Nicole McLaughlin that I have had the pleasure of reading and I was happy to find out that it was also the first book in the Man Enough series as well. That meant that I could read the book without having to wonder whether I was missing some important information from previous books! Nicole McLaughlin can really bring the heat when writing! I have to be honest and say that yes, I love a good book with tons of sex scenes, but what I love even more is a book with sex scenes AND an actual story.. This book has both! Secrets abound in this book, and problems are caused when those secrets come to be known. Another thing about this book that I enjoyed is that it takes place around where I live!!

Really enjoyed this story and couple. They had me from the beginning

We meet Reeve and Emily in this love story. Reeve is in the national guard, and is starting life as a civilian, after being in the Marines for many years. Reeve had a pretty difficult life due to his mothers mental illness, and he is highly embarrassed of her situation. On a night out in the town, he is instantly attracted to Emily, and he makes a move on her. Emily is headstrong in business, but shy in real life situations, she is also instantly attracted to Reeve, They decide on a one night stand, and Emily does not even give Reeve her name, they were hot together, so Reeve keeps thinking of her. They do get together again, and she still does tell him who she is, and when he finds out, all hell breaks lose. Eventually they fix, I love myself some Reeve.

Emily Phillips is with some friends from high school for a bachelorette party for the one women who she has always considered her best friend. Now sitting by herself while everyone is dancing she is reading a book on her IPad and wondering why she can’t be like the female in the story and be daring for a change and pick up a guy. She does have a few rules and one is not to be with a man who is in the military, because her step father a Marine General is not a nice man and they do not have a relationship. She is a millionaire who owns a company that she took over after her grandfather passed away. Reeve Miller owns his own landscaping business and after leaving the Marines he joined the National Guard. Now at the same honky tonk he decides to take a chance and walk across the dance floor and her for a dance afterwards they end up leaving on his bike like the women in her book. After a wonderful time with Reeve she wakes up early and sneaks out of his house and walks back to get her car to get ready for work. Once there she sees that a company has shown up to work on a design for a new patio for her company and she wants to save the tree that she planted with her grandfather. The problem comes in when the company that was hired is Reeve’s company and she does not want him to know that she is the owner and millionaire. She has another employee work with him, but it is difficult for her to listen to other female employee’s talk about Reeve and his looks. Reeve on the other hand is working through why the hot woman he went home with was gone when he got up in the morning. He is also dealing with a mother who is a hoarder and he is embarrassed by her, but also must deal with her. When he does find Emily and they are able to go out on a date she still does not tell him who she is, but the more time they spend together the more she finds that she really likes him and she knows that she needs to tell him. This all comes to a head when there is a tornado in their town and with him being in the National Guard he is called into action. He decides to go to the business because he is worried about the tree and it causing damage. This is where he finds out that she is the owner of the company and he wishes she would have told him earlier. I thought it was good showing how he went to the Armory even when his house was destroyed, but knew he needed to help others. Can they find a way to make it back to one another and make it work? Read this very good story and find out.

This was such a great book! I was hooked from the first page. Reeve is a hot sexy alpha male! You could certainly understand why Emily was drawn to him. Emily I felt for as I was reading this book. So busy that your life is passing you by and what can be done to change it. Go ahead and fall in love with this book and these characters.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

All I Ask is the 1st book in the Man Enough series and my first read from this author. I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down. I loved the chemistry between Emily and Reeve. The book was a fun, quick read. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for supplying a copy of Nicole McLaughlin's "All I Ask" in exchange for an honest review.

Emily, new CEO of Movie theater corporation is afraid to date anyone. She is afraid everyone will use her status for their advantage and her past record doesn’t help.
Emily was attending a bachelor party at some bar and meets Reeve without revealing her true identity. She wanted to live life being someone else. She was so tempted to call him but when he shows up at her work to work on her garden, she decided to send her friend out instead of revealing herself. She doesn’t want to reveal her status but she feels strong pull from her him.
Reeve has a secret of his own. His mother is a horrible hoarder and he doesn’t anyone to know about it. He lived all his life knowing his mother has been a hoarder and soon as he was old enough, he joined military. So he is very opposite of his mother. He blamed his mother for his poor childhood.
Both kept their secrets to themselves and their relationship at arms length. But when Emily finally meets his mother, things changes for both. But not until tornado hits his home town, when he finally finds out her identity, both are shocked and he couldn’t believe she has been lying to her all the time they have been spending time together.
Now what will happen to both.. Emily wanted to reveal her secret but timing was bad before the tornado and now she doesn’t know what will be happening between them since he knows who she really is. Reeve can’t just leave Emily and he wants to do something special for her. Will both look beyond their faults and move on?

It was fun read and I liked both characters and his friends. I can’t wait to read about all his friends.

I really enjoyed the book, it has everything I love in a novel from start to finish. I can’t wait to read what the author has planned next!

This was a very interesting premise. I enjoyed the shifting balance of power with Emily being the wealthy powerful one and Reeve being the blue collar worker. They definitely had chemistry, and I loved their story.

WHY I READ IT:

I’m such a huge fan of Nicole McLaughlin, who previously published titles under the name Nicole Michaels. I saw that All I Ask by Nicole McLaughlin looked like a fun romance, but I got doubly excited when I realized that this author is one that I already adored from reading her previous books. Once I realized these two “Nicoles” are the same gal, I was immediately invested in this series.

REVIEW:

All I Ask by Nicole McLaughlin is the story of Emily and Reeve, two very successful business owners with secrets. Emily is the CEO of a nationally-known movie theater corporation; Reeve is in the National Guard and he also owns his own landscaping business. They spend an evening together, thinking they will go their separate ways, but end up feeling more for one another than they intended. Emily tries to bury her feelings and move ahead with her work, but it isn’t easy when Reeve begins to pursue her and makes it known that he has true feelings for her. It makes it hard for Emily to deny the true feelings that she has for Reeve.

The two are forced to share their secrets, and this is where things have the potential to make or break them.

I am often wary of romance stories in which one or both parties keep secrets because someone usually gets hurt. The secrets are revealed in an interesting way in this story. Emily doesn’t particularly want Reeve to know the extent of her success (read: how rich she is) because in her experience, men are usually threatened by her money. Reeve doesn’t want Emily to know that he grew up with a mentally ill mother that has a severe hoarding problem. I always think that it would be ideal if love interests could talk about their secrets and issues, but that doesn’t happen very often in life or romance books. In this case, the way the secrets come out creates tension in the story, but feels pretty low on the angst-scale between the characters. So while there is a small bump in the road for Emily and Reeve, the end of the book is satisfying for all parties.

Sidenote: This story made me laugh throughout with the banter between Emily and Reeve. They’re funny. I like the way these two don’t take themselves too seriously. I like the way Emily insists on her independence, but her ferocity with this is a little tired at times. I’m a YES for feminism, but she really could stand to loosen up with her “arm’s length” approach to everyone. I think Reeve will be very good for her and I’m hoping they show up in future books in this series.

The start to the Man Enough Series is great and I’m excited to read the next book and find out more about Reeve’s friend Tyler. I enjoyed getting to know the secondary cast-particularly Reeve’s friends-and the setting of Manhattan, Kansas, and I’m eager to see how their stories will unfold as each installment is released.

Oh, my goodness! Nicole McLaughlin can really write the heat. We're talking wasabi hot! This book starts right off with the sexy stuff with Emily and Reeve. Bonus: there's also a story here. Ms. McLaughlin gives you two characters that probably shouldn't have anything to do with each other, but come together like dogs in heat. Emily owns her own VERY successful business and just happens to hate military men like her stepfather. Reeve is an ex-Marine (I know...there is no such thing) who is now in the Guard. He also owns his own business, but on a much smaller scale than Emily's. AND Emily hired his company to do some landscaping before they had their "one night stand". By the way, the scene where all the ladies in the office are watching Reeve bend over and work was one of my favorite-I wish I'd been included!
Emily and Reeve both have things they are keeping from the other. Of course, that causes all sorts of problems when those secrets pop out of hiding. Reeve's secret is a lifetime secret. Emily knowing his deep, cluttered past might actually help him in the long run. When he finds out Emily's secret, however, it could be the equivalent of a mid-west tornado. They have a lot standing in their way, but the biggest thing is not knowing love when it bites them in the buttocks!
I love books that take place in my own backyard of the Kansas City area, but I would have loved this book anyway. Ms. McLaughlin writes awesome characters and plots that keep you reading and reading. All I Ask was hot, heartbreaking, hilarious (think foundation garments) and heartwarming! I absolutely can't wait for the next book in the series!

Have you ever read a book that you couldn't put down? If so, this story is just like that. Wonderful from start to finish and a great beginning for a new series.

All I Ask is my first Nicole McLaughlin book and it definitely won't be my last! I came into the book looking for a swoony romance that would be perfect as a beach read and that's exactly what I got! I love that the book manages to be hot and hilarious at the same time, and that the female protagonist is the one with the high-powered job in the relationship. Emily Phillips is more than your typical romance heroine, as she truly does care about her work and employees. Furthermore, the chemistry between Reeves and Emily was pretty steamy and both were likeable characters making this a quick read. I'll definitely be picking up more books in Nicole McLaughlin's Man Enough series as having had a peek at some of the other guys who work with Reeve I'm definitely interested to see the direction that their personal lives will take. (especially Hannah and Jase though too bad I will have to wait until Spring 2018 for their story)

If you are heading to the beach and want to grab a book, this might be one. This is a nice romance with a unique story. Enjoy!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first read for me from this author, and I am happy to say she didn't disappoint.

I overall really liked this book, and didn't want to put it down (my family can make their own dinner, right?). What I liked the most about the characters and the book is that (beyond meeting billionaires at dive bars), the characters were realistic. Emily can be any woman who is out with friends, but really wants to be at home reading a good book. She is also the girl who wants to have a one-night-stand, but who also isn't sure that its the right thing for her to do or the girl who just isn't sure what she wants and just needs some time to sort things out before diving in head first. Reeve was also adorable and sexy in his interactions with Emily. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Emily and Reeve, and thought it was endearing and showed a different side to a man - Reeve actually wanted to get to know Emily and have a relationship with her, yet also had a side to him that was vulnerable. There were also some moments that made me laugh out loud, where the joking banter between the two characters had me thinking "i can't believe she just said that" yet it was funny and entertaining.

The book overall is a light read with predictable moments, however there are a few twists in how Reeve and Emily get to being in a relationship that I thought was interesting and not predictable. I also loved how both Emily and Reeve were strong an independent, yet neither were threatened by this in each other.

Wonderful, engaging read with fantastic characters. Will update with full review soon.