All He Ever Needed by Shannon Stacey (Kowalski #4)
Released: September 10, 2012
Contemporary Romance
Carina Press

Reviewed by Mandi

Mitch Kowalski heads a well respected demolition company and often finds himself on the road, supervising the next big building he is going to take down. This suits him just fine though. He has left plenty of stories behind in his hometown of Whitford, Maine as he bedded many ladies as a younger guy, and left a good impression.

“Half the women in this town have had you and want you again, and the other half want to know what the fuss is about.”

Oh Mitch, you naughty boy. Unfortunately for Mitch, whenever he comes home for a visit (which is rare) all everyone talks about are his wild days of his youth. It gets old quick. But with a brother who just broke his leg, and is trying to run the family owned inn, Mitch decides to take a much needed vacation from work and come home to help his brother out. What he finds is an Inn that is in disrepair and a brother who needs a major attitude adjustment. But he also finds a new pretty lady that owns and works at the local diner.

Paige came into town two years ago after receiving some inheritance money. A spur of the moment decision, she decided to buy the diner and trailer right behind it and have a new start in life. What she found was a wonderful town, that welcomed her heartily. She now has great friends, a thriving business and she couldn’t be happier. Well, she has not dated since moving to town, having lived with a mother who put more stock on a man, rather than her own life. So Paige might be a little lonely in the romance department, but she would rather be living her own life, than trying to change for a man. That is until she is greeted by Mitch’s charming, flirtatious smile.

This is just an adorable book about two people who flirt and dance around each other before Mitch, finally (and I mean finally, because Paige really makes him work for it) breaks down Paige’s defense and gets in her pants. He also becomes a good friend of hers, and they enjoy spending time together. Even with the entire town watching and gossiping, they go for it. And it is so cute.

While this book has a great romance (and super sexy…oh Mitch) this book also has such a great small town setting. We meet Mitch’s brothers Josh (the one with the broken leg who is super cranky) and Ryan (he builds very large houses) and their surrogate mother of sorts Rosie (who whips those boys into shape and I loved every second of it). Paige has girlfriends, Mitch has guy friends, and every scene is filled with really fun characters and a glimpse into this small town life. Although Mitch gets annoyed with the constant gossip about his wild past, he is a very good natured guy. He is so charming, and hard working and while he loves the chase of getting Paige, he also treats her well. While they do the whole, ‘let’s just have sex, no strings attached’ it works well for me here because they both fall hard with the strings.

This is a theme we have all probably read before. Heroine with crappy parents fears commitment, meets a hero from out of town. What happens next we can all guess. But Shannon Stacey writes such fun, warm characters with the back drop of a great small town, that I was totally engrossed in it. Plus all those gossipy stories about Mitch being good in bed – totally true. We gets lots of sexy times, even one with whip cream.

When she reached out and smeared it down the rigid length of him, his breath hissed through his teeth and his hands curled into fists. Paige only had to shift a little to get her dessert.

Damn, I want Mitch for dessert too!

Rating: B+

Recent Reviews:
Under the Covers – 4/5
Smitten with Reading – A
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