5* Review

 

 

All That We Are (Trust Series Book 1)
by Holly J. Gill (Goodreads Author)

Caroline Barker's review

Aug 08, 2016

 

it was amazing

Read from July 28 to August 04, 2016

 

All That We Are is a story that kept me clinging on every sentence. Trying to occupy the kids during the school holidays was even more of a task as I found I couldn’t leave this book alone; grabbing at my Kindle in-between busy periods just to read another page or two wherever I could! Needless to say, I LOVED this contemporary, erotic romance.

Told in third person, we follow the lives of two very lonely people who lack confidence in different ways. Although Holly has a day job, friends and runs her own book blog helping to promote authors and their work, her past is a little haunted with bullying she experienced at school. This is something that held Holly back for many years. Meanwhile, Ashton is a hugely successful erotic romance author, hiding behind a pen name while leading an extremely lonely life as he shuts himself from the world in his huge home.

The fun begins when Ashton comes across Holly’s book blog and decides a little further promotion wouldn’t hurt. This opens the door to plenty of e-mail exchanges, professional at first, and it ultimately leads to intense phone conversations as the two characters begin to discover more and more about each other. It becomes so that Holly can’t get Ashton out of her mind, even when her best friend tries to set her up on a blind date!

The reader is just as in suspense as Holly is as each phone call becomes a little more personal, sexier, and even kinky! And, after reading his books, Holly wonders if the eroticism in them is something that Ashton would like himself. Does he long to be a Dom? Her Dom? She doesn’t seem to mind submitting to him in her thoughts. The conversations are playful and fun.

Although there are some mild twists, and a ‘will they, or won’t they’ eventually meet at a book signing event they both hope to attend, I felt that the story grew more and more intense with the idea that they really could face each other. The build-up to the final chapters was tremendously powerful and, as a first insight into Holly J. Gill‘s writing, I certainly want to read more.

It has a great contemporary feel and written in an area that Holly J. Gill knows only too well as she details the communication with authors and bloggers, the writing, promoting, author events, as well as using e-mails and texts within the story. The book also has a welcoming use of the main characters talking on the phone at length and, as they haven’t met, details the hearing of the other’s voice, their pauses, the tones, sighs, etc. The reader almost hears the receiving end of the phone through the author’s writing. The use of the phone also allows Holly and Ashton to sense how truthful the other is being, growing a trust between them.

Another area that All That We Are ‘wowed’ me on is the bullying aspect. Holly clearly still feels the after-effects of being bullied at school. Thus, the lack of confidence she has in herself. Whereas, Ashton has always been popular with the girls, but on an over-whelming scale, and lived isolated from many people partly because of this. It’s superbly written how these two characters build up their trust in each other, their feelings for each other, and ultimately their confidence in themselves and their future.

Despite Holly never wanting to see her school bully again, I would have loved it if they had crossed paths at a time when Ashton would be on her arm, and to see the face of disbelief and jealousy, and Holly walk pass with her head held high – or is that me being too cruel?

Either way, I think you may sense just how All That You Are has touched me emotionally. A very exciting read, and I can’t wait for book 2!

A copy of All That We Are was provided by the author in return for a fair and honest review.