Holly‘s review of All Over You
Millions of women drool over soap star Mac Harrison. And scriptwriter Grace Wellington is no different—the hottie headlines all her wildest fantasies. She keeps him firmly in his place there, however, because her days have no room for such ego-driven men.
But when she and Mac are thrown together on a project, fantasy becomes blissful reality! All of her secret, naughty desires come to life under his sizzling ministrations. This is one affair to remember—and to let go of when it’s over.
Too bad Mac doesn’t agree. He wants to move things from just sex to true commitment. Worse, he has all the right moves to convince her real life is much better….
This was another winner from Mayberry. There were times when Grace came close to being too independent, but she always managed to pull it back.
Grace has sworn off men. Except in her fantasies. Then she imagines all the ways she can get dirty with Mac Harrison, the star of the daytime soap she writes for. She tells herself she’s happy with the way her life is, that she’s a strong, independent woman, but the truth is she never dealt with leftover baggage from a breakup in her past.
Mac has been feeling dissatisfied with his life for sometime. He left the show 6 years ago to break into movies, but returned with his tail between his legs. Now he has the opportunity to direct and he really wants to make the move behind the camera. As a bonus, he gets to work with amazing – and surprisingly sexy – writer Grace Wellington. He can’t wait to put their minds – and other body parts – together.
Neither is looking for anything series at first, but it isn’t long before Mac starts thinking this might be more than just a fling. Now if only he can convince Grace…
Grace is just one big ball of issues. She’s been a doormat for her family for years and has refused to deal with a major breakup years before. She doesn’t believe in love – or doesn’t want to – and keeps people (read: men) at arms length. This could have been frustrating or annoying but it wasn’t. Because Mayberry did an excellent job of showing the reader why Grace was the way she was. And pushing her toward being a better person.
Mac was the more grounded character. His ego took a beating when he left the soap to hit it big in Hollywood, but otherwise he doesn’t bring much baggage to the relationship. He acted like an idiot with Grace in the beginning but he more than made up for it later. He’s kind and patient with Grace, pushing her to look for more in life than what she has now.
The secondary characters were well drawn without detracting from the main protagonists. I especially liked the relationship between Grace and her two best friends (who also get books in this series). They pushed Grace when she needed it, teased her mercilessly about her relationship with Mac and gave her their unwavering support.
Grace’s family was the one drawback. They were shallow and selfish. The way they treated Grace made me very angry. I was glad that Grace stood up for herself in the end. I was worried she was going to continue to let them walk all over her, but she didn’t.
For awhile I didn’t think Grace was going to redeem herself. She was able to because she was so self-aware. Once she realized she’d been avoiding her problems instead of dealing with them, she really tried to make it right. Also, I loved the end. It was sweet and mushy and melted my heart, just a little bit.
4.25 out of 5
The series:
This book is available from Harlequin Blaze. You can buy it here