I utterly loved Jaime Clevenger's "Three Reasons To Say Yes," Book 1 of the Paradise Romance series (and my first book of hers), which incidentally made my favourite lesfic books of 2018. So when I heard that there was going to be a sequel exploring the romance between Mo and Kate, the secondary characters featured in Book 1, who were Julia's BFFs, I was thrilled! "All The Reasons I Need," whilst can be read as a stand-alone, if you ask me, I would highly recommend reading Book 1 first simply because Mo and Kate were heavily featured in it with details about their characters and relationship. That said, Clevenger did give a general recap about what transpired between these two best mates in Book 1 in this installment. But I'd still recommend giving "Three Reasons..." a read, perhaps after reading this sequel if not before.

Mo and Kate. I was intrigued by their characters and their relationship as part of the trio of BFFs since college sixteen years ago - Julia, Mo and Kate - when they were introduced in Book 1. Their relationship got even closer as they ended up spending most of the time with each other when Julia was busy falling in love with Reed whilst they were all on holiday in Hawaii. Things happened which led to the start of this story.

I was delighted Clevenger began by flashing back to how the trio met and became BFFs 16 years ago when they started college and discovered that they were assigned to share a room in the residents hall. Fate, much? Right there and then, the moment Kate laid eyes on Mo, that was it. Their chemistry was off-the-charts as Clevenger skilfully described Kate's smitten reaction with her inner thoughts. I felt their instant connection there even though Mo's POV was muted then (only revealed later when Mo reminisced about their first encounter later in the book). Speaking of, this story was told from Kate's POV, third-person narrative style. Whatever I felt about Mo's POV was conveyed from Kate's, which Clevenger constructed effectively so even without a proper dual-POV, I was able to grasp Mo's mindset during crucial points of their relationship. Back to their first encounter, it was obvious that Kate had unwittingly fallen in love with Mo despite not even sure about her sexuality, then, what with having a homophobic and racist mum! That's the magic of affinity, innit? When cupid's arrow strikes, there's no escaping the fate and/or destiny. Anyway, for the past 16 years, Kate was hiding her unrequited love for Mo as they went through their own personal relationships with various people, Kate carrying on as a straight person with Mo still capturing her heart, whilst Mo bounced around from one sexual partner to the next. Until what transpired in Book 1.

Whereas Book 1 was pure romance, this one's romance centred around Kate's journey. Since this story was told from Kate's POV, Clevenger delved into her life in great detail. Her journey of letting go of her painful past, reconciling her physical and emotional connection with Mo was described and portrayed with an in-depth understanding of the destructive implications of her psychological and emotional trauma, particularly when it occurred in her childhood. Initially, I was getting a little "antsy," for lack of a better word (!), when the level of angst just kept piling up and in frequency, too. The endless push-pulls between Kate and Mo, Kate's relentless rejection of hope of having the hole in her heart to finally be filled, refusal to believe that she deserved true love, in the sea of fear and insecurities that had kept her enslaved, and Mo's projected struggles and dilemmas about the matter.

Just when I thought this couldn't go on, this neverending angst created by a lack of open communication between the two, Clevenger finally tore open the lid to reveal the truth! And then everything made sense. All the pieces fell into place. And when presented at stages of the story development, with each layer of Kate's psyche peeled off revealing more underlying factors, veiled or otherwise, my perspective of Kate's POV, her state of mind, her tentativeness, her reluctance, her low self-esteem, her sense of worthlessness instantly changed, renewed with a sense of awareness, understanding, empathy, protectiveness. I'm normally not a fan of frivolous angst and drama, which tends to happen in the romance genre, but when it's purposefully deliberate, it's almost a MUST so that the crux of the angst is epitomised with a depth of emotional resonance and connectivity between the reader and the characters. Clevenger nailed that objective with aplomb for me. Albeit, it could've been reined in with just a little less drama but that's just my personal preference. It didn't affect its overall impact, which I certainly felt. 

My favourite moment was when Kate finally revealed her deepest secret, her past, her struggles to Mo at the pivotal point of their relationship, as BFFs or more, which opened up Mo's own revelations in the past 16 years. I thought their mutual revelation was THE essence of their romance, really. And then, the subsequent chain of events that became either a source of their destruction or strength of their innate true love. I loved Clevenger's authentic weaving of how Kate and Mo's relationship progressed in the aftermath of each other's revelations and truths, not to mention, those unforeseen circumstances. There's no magic. It takes effort for love and relationship to work. When the love between two people is strong and powerful enough, effort is inevitable. When trust and security are given, true love endures. And that's what Kate and Mo had to work on before they had their long-awaited, well-deserved happy ending, whilst their naturally sizzling chemistry just kept getting more relentless than ever! Also, Clevenger depicted, with realistic fervour, how conditioning (old habits) affected Kate and Mo's desire to be together. See, when you spent so long manufacturing altered realities in your life in order to pretend, avoid, deny the truth, old habits die hard. So it takes time to re-orientate the brain and mind to forego the "lie" and operate and function with the truth long hidden in the deepest recesses of the mind. Clevenger brilliantly applied these intricate emotional nuances to Kate and Mo's transformation, specifically Kate's. Obvs. This was essentially her journey!

I appreciated Clevenger's mindfulness in telling a realistic love story between two best friends who had to spend 16 years roaming and stumbling in their life journey before destiny showed up and led them to each other. Timing is KEY. Destiny has no fixed time. It only appears when the two connected people are physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually ready. Kate was definitely not ready to open up until this particular time, at this destined point of her life. I loved Clevenger's conviction in describing all the nuances of Kate's coping mechanism when it came to Mo, in particular, physical and emotional intimacy, which she never dealt with honestly and openly in her past relationships until Mo. I thought those intimate moments of truth was depicted with utter realism and authenticity.

When you discover the full weight of Kate's PTSD that she was carrying with her since childhood, you'll know that nothing could be simple for her. Childhood trauma takes a lifetime to heal. It doesn't disappear but exists beneath different coping mechanisms. That's where steadfast love and support come in, with constant reminders to instil the truth and the belief that one is worthy of falling in love, being in love and being loved, deserving of that one true love she always desired - Mo - and vice versa. Enduring love conquers all. Eventually, all the reasons Kate and Mo had been giving themselves to prove they shouldn't be together began to fizzle out one by one, effectively succumbing to all the true, no-longer-deniable reasons they should be, finally sealing their true love and happy ending with physical, mental and emotional absolution.  Obviously, this is only my own interpretation, mind!

On a side note, there was a secondary character featured in this book, Terri, a paediatric internist and Reed's mate/colleague, who made an impression. I was intrigued and wanted to find out more about her. I wonder if Clevenger was setting her up to be the next installment's MC with her own, imo, deserved romance, eh? I hope so! Anyway...

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the very complex character of Kate's, her harrowing journey and her equally complicated relationship with Mo, which was enriched and personified genuinely by Clevenger's honest portrayal of both characters' inner emotional and psychological states of mind at every stage of their character and relationship development. Whilst this friends-to-lovers romance had a darker, more solemn flavour to it, the end result was an utterly rewarding one especially when it was between these two lifelong best mates! To me, it was a bloody good read and I wholly recommend it to fans of non-fluffy romance!

**I was given, with much thanks and appreciation, an ARC of this book, by Bella via NetGalley, in return for an honest review.

I'm a big fan of "Three Reasons to Say Yes" and was waiting for the second part! This was very enjoyable read. I liked almost every aspect of it, starting from the amazing dialogue between the MCs (the connection was very strong and i loved the banter between the 2 MCs), and a glimpse of what life has become of Julia and Reed from book 1 in the series.
What i liked most about it is that it wasnt just an enjoyable fluffy romance, but rather it tackled some very heavy topics like eating disorders and another topic that i dont want to reveal so as not to spoil the book. At the beginning i was extremely annoyed with Kate, her self-loathing, insecurity and at a certain point i really wanted to bang her head with my kindle to wake her the f**k up! but then once the story developed, i tolerated her character and at times felt very sorry for her (she still annoyed the hell out of me though).
It is interesting that if you look at the book from outside it seems that it is a light read, but if you think about it more, this wasn't what i expected and it made it a lot more interesting for me!
One thing that was very evident from the first book in the series was the ability of the author to create amazing secondary characters, and this continued quite well in the second book and i am interested to read about Terry the doctor :)
The only thing i wouldve liked to see is a stronger ending with a bit more details! but i am hoping that there would be a third one in the series!
I highly recommend this book, but i would suggest that you read the first part.
"I received an ARC for an honest review."

I enjoyed book 1 in the Paradise series and gave it 4 stars. When I started this one, I was trying to remember the supporting characters and sorta came up blank. Now i think I need to reread. Anywho. All the Reasons I Need is not what Three Reasons to Say Yes was for me. I swear I wanted to throttle Kate. There really hasn't been that many romance that I have read where one of the main MC's drove me crazy like this. Maybe I would have been able to enjoy this more if it wasn't Kate's story. I like Mo alot and think I would have enjoyed this more if Mo was able to tell her side of the story. I have never really been into butch, but Mo seemed sexy af. I also felt the chemistry between the two MCs. Kate just drove me to want to drink. I understand that Kate really did have issues but Kate's indecision, self doubt and insecurities was just too much for me. I did enjoy most of the other parts of the book (well those twins were way more annoying in this one than book 1). :)

I will rate this one 3 stars.

Clevenger’s Three Reasons to Say Yes had three college friends: Julie, Kate and Mo. That book was about Julie finding her perfect partner. But there was all this barely conceal attraction and simmering sexual tension between Kate and Mo which left us wanting a book about those two. This is that book.

Kate Owens and Monique (Mo) Calloway shared a dorm room in college with Julie. The two were instantly attracted to each other but could never work up the nerve to approach the other, instead becoming best friends. Sixteen years have passed and now their friendship seems to be in peril too. Julie (the third roomie and BF to both) has a family-and-friends vacation planned with her two BFs, partner Reed and twin daughters. So Kate and Mo go to Cozumel, Mexico for the vacation and end up sharing a room.

The chemistry between the leads a popping. The attraction is palpable. All the banked fires, the angst, the tortured burning, the crackling electricity is almost tangible. When Kate and Mo kiss for the first time it is like we can finally exhale. The author does a great job with Kate’s personality, her insecurities and the relationship. We wish we knew what was going on with Mo too – but may have got too unwieldy for a single book. Maybe a Mo’s POV book at some later point in time?

We absolutely loved this book and wholeheartedly recommend it.

PS: Though this follows Three Reasons to Say Yes, it can be read standalone.