All In ( Bridgeport Social Club #2 )
By: Shelley Shepard Gray
All In Is book two in Bridgeport Social Club Series. This is not Ms. Gray’s usually Amish story. Ace moves to Bridgeport to offer his son a better life. Meredith is content with her life. She can take care of herself. She has a hard time relying on others. There is attraction between these two, but Ace is not ready to fall in love again. The author ties things together with the poker game, which i wasn’t to fond of.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley and the Publisher, but was not told that I had too give a positive review. All opinions are my own.

All In is the second book in the Bridgeport Social Club series. I really enjoyed, it in fact I liked it even better than book one...and that was a great book.

The two main characters in this sequel are Ace and his son Finn. They have moved so that Finn can play football and have a normal life away from his inconsiderate selfish mother. Ace and Finn help out Meredith a local Pilates instructor and high school volunteer aide who was mugged. They are central to helping Meredith as the mystery mugger continues to prey on her. Ace is very well defined with his somehat bad boy image but looks can be deceiving. He is so likeable you cheer for him through the entire novel.

I really enjoy this series. I hope Shelley Shepard Gray continues it for an extended peiod of time. I love seeing the male perspective in the story...it is refeshing since we ladies do get strung out with emotions! This is a must read!

This second book in the series was another well written and thoughtful story.
Meredith Hunt is a pilates studio owner. She has not had much love in her life and keeps to herself not because she is aloof , but because she fears that if she gets close to anyone, she could be hurt.
Ace Vance, has recently moved to Bridgeport so that his 15 year old son, Finn, can have more opportunities. A son that unbeknown to him, had not been well taken care of by the boys Mom. Vance is a man a little rough around the edges , and one that hides a big heart.
Ace, and Meredith meet when someone mugged her. Much to both their surprise , a friendship and relationship starts. But both keep their hearts closed up for fear of not being enough and being hurt.
But in holding back, will they miss an opportunity of being truly happy with someone special?
It’s a story about friendships, support systems, and families made up not only by blood but also by friends. Also a reminder, that though life is messy, and full of bumpy roads, in taking chances and giving of yourself, it can also be fulfilling and so much brighter.
Looking forward to the next book in this series.
I was entrusted a copy of this book by Netgalley. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

This is a sweet romance with three romances all featuring shy females finding romance with guys who are just good people. The main romance features pilates teacher Meredith who meets Ace and his 15-year old son Finn when she is mugged while jogging. They step right up to help her out and take her to the clinic. She and Ace are immediately attracted to each other and their romance develops naturally among a few doubts on each side because neither of them are aggressive romantically.

Ace has moved to this small Ohio time from West Virginia to get his son away from the negative influence of his mother. It’s sweet to see a single father questioning himself over his parenting. I did have a question why he’d left Finn with his mother so long when he knew what a selfish and damaging person she could be. Why didn’t he step up earlier given that the mother didn’t seem to fight giving up custody? Finn is a talented football player and ripe to become a star hunk of his new high school. But he’s also modest and wants to avoid the limelight. After a slow start he begins to feel something more for his shy neighbor. Their romance develops as the book goes on.

And finally, there is a shy student in Meredith’s pilates class who is attracted to the mailman. With encouragement from her friends she makes the first move and it’s clear that they are going to develop their own romance.

So the moral of this book is that shyness won’t keep women back from meeting a great guy who will treat them extremely well and be their dream relationship.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Meredith Hunt is the owner of the Pilates studio. She volunteers at the high school and has just bought her first home. She has a hard time asking for help. Ace Vance has moved to Bridgeport to give his son a better life. When Meredith is mugged Ace and Finn are there to rescue her. Can Meredith trust enough to make this work. Can Vance chance his heart when it was torn apart by his ex. I loved this book. This is a sweet series and I can't wait for the next book to come out.

"All in :When a player bets everything he's got . Be advised that this can be risky undertaking.if you lose theres nothing left . " Meredith meets a gentleman when a punk knocks her down and takes off with her back pack.

This was such a pleasant read, just a simple and sweet story with still a deep message about trust. The heroine didn't have the best family so had a lot of trust issues but Ace and his son Finn rescued her after being attacked. She is not used to people fussing over her but slowly she lowered her guard and let them in as well as the tight community she's built around her through her Pilates studio. As a pilates enthusiast I loved that she was an instructor. I read this in 2 afternoons, it was a nice and feel good read. I would totally pick up more book from the series as I would to learn more about their friends and keep in touch with Ace and Meredith. I love that every character wasn't perfect, with no fault and rich. This book felt very real.

ALL IN - Shelley Shepard Gray
Bridgeport Social Club – Book 2
Perfect 10
Blackstone Publishing
ISBN: 978-1438440889
February 2019
Romance Women’s Fiction

Bridgeport, Ohio – The Present

An unexpected hit in the back while hiking dropped Meredith Hunt to the ground, and whoever hit her, stole her backpack with all her vital information, car keys, telephone, and money. She didn’t see the person who struck her. A man, who calls her darling, helps her to a sitting position. Then she recognizes a young man with her rescuer. Finn, a sophomore from her friend’s classroom where she volunteers once a week, stands nearby. His father, Ace Vance, and Finn saw the mugger, but stopped to help her. Ace tells Finn to follow down the trail to see if her backpack has been discarded, and Finn does find it. They insist on taking Meredith to urgent care for her bleeding hand, cut on glass shards where she fell. While surprised at their kindness and at the giddy feelings her rescuer inspires, she doesn’t want to be a burden. She felt that often enough while growing up when she never seemed to reach her mother’s expectations or earn her respect. Her father left when she was five to never reenter her life.

Vance has taken over the care of his son from the boy’s mother Liz. Finn has become his priority. His boy needs someone to show they love him and will always be there for him, unlike how his mother treated him. A brief encounter resulted in Finn’s birth, so Ace can't regret it, except Liz was not a very good or caring mother. He has Finn now, and a few weeks ago they moved from West Virginia to Bridgeport for a fresh start. The difficult part is that Ace is now far from his loving parents and siblings. He works as an auto mechanic working on valuable classic cars. He knows Finn has trouble in his new high school, but the coach is very interested in adding Finn to the varsity football team knowing Finn’s size and talent will help the team.

Finn has trouble relating to anyone as his mother always left him to fend for himself. Allison, a junior girl from his high school, lives next door. But in a brief encounter to look at her dog’s puppies, he realizes her family is the perfect family, and when among them, he doesn’t know how to relate, how to act, or what to say. He finds it difficult to believe anyone wants him for who he is.

The unexpected relationship between these three wonderful characters develops quickly and goes through several distressing events, which allows them to emerge as stronger individuals who want to take a chance in believing they are worth someone’s love. Their mutual support helps them develop in important ways, and they each have supportive friends who add interest to the story. Themes of loneliness, parenting, developing friendships, and finding not only love with someone else, but also self-love, create a moving, emotional story. Yet overcoming doubt and distrust is difficult. Once readers start down this story’s trail, they won’t want to stop, earning it a Perfect 10.

Robin Lee

I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion of it. It was a cute romance book but didn't really do anything for me. I love her Amish books but this just didn't do it for me.

"Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review."

Loved this book very much. It had just enough sweet romance and the storyline was great! I highly recommend!

A quick read with a very basic and innocent type of storyline. The character development was very surface level on all accounts. The author tried to tie the whole novel in to poker terms and though there was a boys night sort of poker game, I never really understood the point of it. It felt like a gag to pull you in but was never really used.

All In is the second book in this series. Its is not the usual Shelle Shepard Gray Amish fiction. This book is edgy and emotional but I liked it. I like the well developed plot and the characters who came off the pages as real and well thought out. Although not what I expected I liked it. Thanks netgalley for the arc, the review is only my opinion.

All In is book 2 in the Bridgeport Social Club by Shelley Shepard Gray. Don't expect the usual clean Amish or historical Christian romance that Ms. Gray usually writes. This one is edgy. The main male character has tats, wears earrings and smokes cigarettes but he is a good single father to his son Finn and his protective nature is endearing. Even though there was no sex in the book the main female character was looking forward to going to bed with him. I think I would have enjoyed the book better if she was not considering going to bed with him. Also, it would have been better had there not been any swear words in the book but you have to consider that these characters did not express a belief in Christ so you can't really expect them to act like saints. Overall the book was well-written and I will probably like to read the next one in the series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blackstone Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This book is due to be released on February 5, 2019.

All In. This book was a good story, but it wasn't what I had expected from Shelley Shepard Gray. I've read many of her books, but all of them had been Christian historical fiction. This book is not in that genre. Having said that, this story was an interesting one, with good characters and a good plot line. I enjoyed the story, and it had an exciting beginning that captured my attention immediately. It was an enjoyable read!

All In is an easy to love novel. From the first page I was instantly rooting for the main character, Meredith. As the story continues, the reader is introduced to other characters, all who I felt I could relate to in some way. The story is emotional and hard to put down.

This is the second book in this series and just like the first, I really enjoyed it. Shelley has a way of pulling you into her story and making you truly care about the characters. I like the continuation of the characters from the first book and enjoyed Ace and Merideth's story. The side characters made this story very enjoyable and I like that she spent time helping us get to know them as well. I highly recommend this book and will look forward to reading the next book in the series.

This book just wasn't for me, I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy reading this. It was well written and not a bad story just a little mmmmmmm tame? For my taste! I like more grit and much hotter lol this is Meredith and Ace book, Meredith owns a Pilates studio ace works at the local top-notch garage fixing high end cars and hopes to be a football player! Meredith ends up getting mugged and Ace ends up coming to her rescue! Like I said it was a decent read a little boring in some places mild heat factor but an ok read! Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me!

ALL IN ..Shelley Shepard Gray
A hard shove, landed Meredith sprawled on the ground, minus her backpack. As a volunteer for the friends class she knew Finn, and now meeting his father Ace. Realizing it had been years since she felt so vulnerable. Now finding she even trusted someone else again. The words of Ace, ‘I not a man to leave a woman in need,’ hit her issues of abandonment. Disappointment, from her Mother, telling her, when she opened her own Pilate studio. For Ace, time to reflect on his attraction to her, the tender and emotion feelings, didn’t realize he could have anymore. After being lied to and manipulated by his ex, hadn’t felt the need to be with one and to be needed in over a decade.As his friend Kurt told him, life has a way of doing it’s own thing rather one is ready for it or not. Their relationship wasn’t perfect, but was solid and had a good foundation. Sums up this story, of second chances with love and being a family. Given ARC by Net Galley and Blackstock for my voluntary review and my honest opinion.