Book Minx

It's always a bad idea to date your boss. No one knows this better than Callie Grey who has just been blind-sided by Mark, her boss and ex-lover, announcing his engagement. Callie has been in love with Mark for years and has always held onto the hope that he would eventually return her feelings. Having that dream crushed in the middle of work and on her 30th birthday is all Callie can take. Fleeing the building, she proceeds to have a very public meltdown in the middle of the DMV. Weeks after her meltdown, things have not gotten better for her. Mark's fiancée has made it her personal goal to torture Callie at work. Ian, the new veterinarian, thinks Callie is stalking him and all the dates she's gone on in an effort to get over Mark have ended in disaster.

All I Ever Wanted was a fun contemporary romance. Callie was annoying though. She seemed too perfect to be believable. (Who goes out of their way to offer homemade scones to their ex-boyfriend's new love bunny?) She was portrayed as mind-boggling sweet and without any character flaws, which didn't make her a very engaging character. After awhile, it just got old seeing Callie able to make everyone into her new BFF. Also, because of how sweet her character was, it made the fights she had with Ian, the hero, seem forced.

Ian was what really made this book enjoyable. What's not to love about a guy who's so shy he hides in his office from a group of little girls? I also loved how the relationship between him and his ex-wife was portrayed. It wasn't full of animosity and the ex-wife wasn't shown as a raging bitch. It was a nice change of pace to see a hero be on good terms with his ex.

Higgins also does a pretty great job of writing pets into the story. The two dogs involved in the plot felt just as much like side characters as Mark and the fiancée did.

I would recommend this to fans of Julie James or Jennifer Cruise.