Review: 'All She Ever Wished For' by Claudia Carroll (2016)

Marriage. It’s a dream come true. Isn’t it?
One wet winter night, two women meet on a bridge. One is Tess Taylor, a personal trainer on the way to meet her boyfriend for date night. The other is Kate King, a celebrity married to a handsome billionaire who just happens to make her cry. In the cold dark evening, there is nothing to link them together but the bridge they shiver on. Little do they know they’ll both hold the key to each other’s future marriage…
All She Ever Wished For tells the story of what happens when your dream is about to come true. And what happens when that dream turns into a bit of a nightmare…
Last year I was lucky enough to get the chance to read and review author Claudia Carroll's novel 'Love Me or Leave Me' (click here to read my review). While I'd read other novels by Claudia before, this one was something else; a simply fantastic read and one that straight away had me longing for more. So when I spotted 'All She Ever Wished For' on NetGalley, I straight away requested a review copy. I have to admit I actually thought this was a Christmas-themed read, based on the book cover, but this turned out not to be the case... Nonetheless, I was still incredibly excited to sit down with this read and hoped it would manage to live up to my expectations!
At the moment, Tess Taylor's life only revolves around one thing: planning her wedding. While her family is sure Bernard, who is quite a bit older than her and has completely different interests, is just a rebound from her previous relationship, Tess knows she and Bernard were meant to be together and this wedding is going to happen, no matter what. But when Tess is suddenly called up for jury duty, her careful planning is all shook up. Jury duty and organising a wedding at your family home are two things that don't go together, so Tess is determined to get out of jury duty. However, when the case turns out to be a rather big one featuring celebrity couple Kate and Damien King, Tess can't help but be intrigued. But she has no idea how this case is going to affect the rest of her life and especially her upcoming marriage...
I have to admit I had pretty high hopes when I started this novel, based on my previous experiences with Claudia Carroll's writing, and I'm incredibly happy to say the book definitely managed to live up to those expectations. 'All She Ever Wished For' focuses on two female main characters: Tess and Kate, both with a really captivating storyline to follow. Tess is about to be married when she is called up for jury duty which completely ruins her careful planning; Kate has been married for several years when everything she knows is suddenly turned upside down. I went into this book not knowing too much about the story inside, and I have to say it held my attention at all times and I couldn't get enough of it, constantly curious to discover what would happen next.
It was easy to warm to both Tess and Kate and I enjoyed both storylines; I was even a bit surprised at how interesting Claudia Carroll managed to make certain parts of this book. Her writing style only seems to get better and better with each novel, which has only got me even more excited about what she will treat us to next. I think 'All She Ever Wished For' is one of those reads you don't need to read much about, you just need to pick it up, give it a chance and be blown away; if you're a chick lit or women's fiction fan like me, you certainly won't be disappointed. All in all, 'All She Ever Wished For' is another compelling, memorable and simply stunning read by the amazing Claudia Carroll; I loved it from start to finish!

Rating:10/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.