This is a beautiful, honest and raw story. Mark and Ashley have discovered that they are unable to have their own biological children. So they have decided to go for a surrogate. That surrogate is Dani who is trying to raise the funds needed to cover a medical operation that her sister needs. When the surrogacy begins is when things get complicated because of emotions from all parties. The story is deeply layered with emotional upheaval and I didn't know if I wanted to laugh, scream or cry. It has impossible choices with a powerful storyline.

Ashley and Dani, who is serving as a surrogate, tell this emotional story of two women and the family Ashley is trying to make for her husband Mark. Mark, who was adopted, wants to be a bio-dad more than anything but Ashley's fertility is compromised. Dani's younger sister needs surgery insurance will not fully cover. Seems like a good match at first but neither woman considered how they would feel as the birth neared. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Kate Hewitt is the master weaver of the books she writes. it feels a privilege every single time we get to read on of her books. and ive no idea how time after time she produces these stunning works or well...art. for they are that.
this book is so totally heartbreaking. its a touch read. and many many many will feel a certain emotional attachment to both the plot points and the characters involved. its certainly one that many can walk alongside and feel all the feels with it.
its tough. and at certain moments i wanted to shake a few of them. or put a halt to the situation. and i know many people will have their own views be it morally or ethically on surrogacy and all that entails. i find myself swinging between a fair few thoughts on it! but as with all things it can depend on the situation and the people and when Dani and Ashley are being spoken of in this book i felt a certain way almost the entire book. and so was desperate to see how it ended.
this book centers around fertility, surrogacy and all the in between so those who might find this hard might find this book too much.
but kate does it brilliantly so there is no worry about that side of things, it just might feel too tough for some.
Ashley finds out she cant give her husband the one things he wants. that one things is a child of his own. when she cant even use her own eggs the heartbreak continues. so the choose the surrogacy. enter Dani who needs the money for a life altering operation for her sister( you see for me this was already the wrong decision because how could you think clearly or put a halt on things with such consequences for you own sister! it would skew emotions all the way)
but Ashley clearly feels not right about things. and Dani too is feeling uncertain. so what comes next is a fracturing of hearts and relationships and just how this goes you will have to read to find out.
i knew how i wanted it to go but then felt guilty for doing so. and then didnt want it to wrap itself up one way because i didnt believe that way would ACTUALLY be right. and so my emotions were all over the place with this one!
but what a book. what.a.book.
a must read right now and leave space for tears and emotions around the times you read it! you will love it.

**CONTAINS SMALL SPOILERS **
"All I Ever Wanted" is a story about Mark, Ashley and Dani. Mark was adopted as a child and longs for his own biological child, which Ashley can't give him due to early onset menopause. They go the surrogate route and choose Dani as they're surrogate. Dani will biologically be the mother so how will this all end for everyone involved?
I loved this book, just as I do all of Kate Hewitt's books. It both broke my heart and mended it again as it's written with so much emotion and from both women's perspectives. This is a book I will certainly read again and cannot recommend it enough!

Motherhood can be the greatest joy and the greatest heartbreak. Read along as a couple decide to try a surrogate mother. The many. emotions and the many decisions are both heartwarming and heartbreaking. A really good read

This is a great family drama. I felt a range of emotions while reading this including sadness and happiness. My emotions were all over the place.

This was my first ARC read and what a read it was!

There would certainly be a lot of people who would find it a difficult read. It touches on a lot of sensitive topics - infertility, adoption, surrogacy.

Told from a dual POV, we follow Ashley who, at 38, has found out she cannot have her own biological children and Dani, desperate for money to fund her younger sister's spinal fusion surgery who turns to surrogacy as a means to raise the funds.

What follows is an emotional rollercoaster where Ashley and her husband Mark try and navigate the different avenues open to them and the impact it ultimately has on their marriage. From Dani's side it shows the impact her choices have on her own relationships and the turmoil she finds in herself along the way.

The result is a highly emotive read which handles these sensitive topics with care and decency. What I liked was the fact it was told from two perspectives. Showing how all parties in this situation may feel and the heightened emotions they may face, both the intended parents and the surrogate herself.

All in all an excellent read to round off March with!

TRIGGER WARNINGS BELOW

The story starts with a girl called Dani who has a younger sister called Callie who has spinal problems serious enough for surgery to be considered. Unfortunately this procedure is not covered by insurance so Dani needs to find a way to make £50,000+ to make this happen, her first option is ONLY FANS but then she finds out about surrogacy and how much that pays.
Dani decides to go for the surrogacy and gets matched with a couple in another state who seem like a lovely couple ( Mark was adopted through a closed adoption and his wife unfortunately can’t have children) things start off as they should with boundaries and responsibilities being agreed but as the physical process begins some cracks start to appear and all is not as it seems, Mark seems to have been the ‘‘driving force’ with regards to the surrogacy situation and is very excited with the prospect of having a relative with his DNA soon in his arms - but will he? Let the 9 months of unease begin…

Three cheers for the author because they have done it again… I opened this book and I was lost straight away… brilliant story… fast-paced… emotional I just love this author… 5 stars, of course.

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

This is an emotional, sensitive story about a couple who desperately want to be parents.
They decide to go the surrogacy route when realizing that Ashley is unable to have children.
They find the perfect young woman to carry their future child; or so they think.

It is a heartbreaking, poignant journey of two families who want the very best for this baby!
If you love tender family stories then this is truly one to get and devour! It is good!

Thank you to @NetGalley and to @Bookouture for this ARC to read and review.
Well done.

When Ashley and Mark decide to use a surrogate for their longed for baby they have no idea how their lives will change..

This is an emotional and tear jerking read. It is brilliantly and sensitively written and All the characters are amazing.

This is a rare book that really delivers what it promises.. it is also so much than just a story. It gives a notion of reality and for this reason I loved it..

Overall a good family drama, not particularly a psychological thriller but the storyline was good and well written.

The characters were good and told from two different timelines

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC and I can recommend if this is your type of read

This alternating point of view story was an emotional read about family, sacrifice, and what defines being a mother. While sort of predictable at times, this was a decent read!

After Mark and Ashley discover they are not able to have biological children on their own, they decide to seek a surrogate.  The decision is a difficult one for both them and the surrogate, Dani, with lifelong considerations.  There are others in the picture as well, including Dani's young sister Callie who suffers from a chronic illness and the motivation behind Dani's surrogacy decision. Like underground tree roots, consequences spread further and deeper. It is interesting to see the meaning of family to each character, individually different, yet the need for security and love is the same.

Callie and Dani's predicament and worry about the future is very real. I live with chronic illness as well and each day is riddled with unknowns. I appreciate the author's sensitive portrayal.

The gorgeous writing is thoughtful and every word has its place. Nuanced subtleties got me in the heart and I felt apprehension, anticipation, disappointment, and joy. The novel feels intimate with contemplative moments, undercurrents of the past, indecision, and fear and hope for the future. It is more a family drama than a thriller but still incredibly gripping. It is also proof there is no need for graphic language and adult situations in novels. Refreshing, really. I like that the list of characters isn't long and the ending wrapped up beautifully. Simply put, this is well worth reading!

Ashley and Mark want a baby, but Ashley isn't able to conceive. Dani is desperate to earn money to help pay for her sister's medical care.

The book alternates between Ashley's point of view and Dani's point of view. The author spends a significant amount of time describing how each character truly feels about surrogacy. At times, I wanted to scream, "Just get to the point already!!!" I didn't feel at all like a thriller to me, and I kept waiting for the ball to drop.

I don't know as though I would classify this as a "psychological thriller." One minute, Ashley agrees with surrogacy, and the next minute, she doesn't. One minute Dani wants to keep the baby and the next minute she doesn't. Just so much back and forth with their thoughts that I found it to be annoying.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion/review.

ALL I EVER WANTED by KATE HEWITT is a well written, emotional read that I hghly recommend for the brilliant character analysis and interesting story about surrogacy and how it affects the families concerned.
Ashley Weir feels like a failure when she cannot give her husband Mark a child. Mark was adopted and never knew his biogical parents. He is almost frenetic about having a biological child and gives Dani Bryson, the surrogate, a really hard time at the start of her pregnancy, and makes Ashley feel left out of the proceedings.
Dani agrees to be the surrogate mother of the Weir’s child in order to make enough money for her sister’s surgery.
When somethng unforseen happens, decisions need to be made before things blow up.
The family dynamics are well portrayed.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bookouture. The opinions in this review are competely my own.

read if you like:
🏡 family dramas
👶🏻 adoption stories
👯‍♀️ dual women POV’s

summary:
Kate Hewitt is an automatic read for me always, and this book did not disappoint. It follows two women — Dani, a 28 year old PhD student trying to support herself and her sister, and Ashley, a 38 year old wife whose husband desperately wants a child after being adopted himself. After Ashley finds out she cannot have a child naturally, her and her husband, Mark, begin to explore surrogacy. At the same time, Dani finds herself looking for ways to make money when her younger sister, Callie, needs back surgery that her insurance won’t cover. Ashley selects Dani from a surrogacy agency website, and with hesitation, agrees to use Dani’s eggs for her baby. What happens next is both predictable and heartbreaking, questioning what it means to be a mother.

As with all of Hewitt’s books, I sobbed. While the storyline itself is somewhat predictable, her writing takes you on twists and turns you won’t see coming. Both Ashley and Dani are deeply relatable, and their nerves and hesitation around the journey feels so similar to other moms. Mark is a pretty unattractive character personality-wise, and while he does redeem himself at this end, this book is a much better highlight of female strength and courage. Hewitt’s books ask tough questions and make you wonder — what would you do if faced with the same situation? I binged this book in a day, and can’t wait for her next book.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley as always for the advanced copy, and make sure you check this book out on Kindle Unlimited when it releases on April 24!

A beautifully written and super emotional story that will stay with you, long after you finish reading.

For some women, motherhood is a natural step in life, but that's not the case for Dani and Ashley. Despite that, when Ashley finds she is in early menopause at 38 and with her husband, Mark, desperate for a biological child, she agrees to hire Dani as a surrogate. Dani desperately needs money to pay for her sister's life changing surgery and so, for her, this is purely business. But that all changes when the two women see the baby at the ultrasound scan and they both fall in love.

Initially, I didn't especially like any of the three main characters, they were all very focussed on what they each wanted and had little regard for anyone else's feelings, so I really loved following their journey as they grew emotionally and learned what real love really means.

To a degree, the outcome of the story is fairly predictable, but the heart-wrenching journey that Kate Hewitt takes us on, with the emotional angst and moral decisions that have to be made by Dani, Ashley and Mark, this is a gripping read.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Kate Hewitt and Bookouture for an ARC in return for an honest review.