Return All by Eve Dangerfield

Eve Dangerfield is back with 'Return All, the second book in the Rebirth series. Following on the heels of 'Begin Again Again', this standalone steamy romance novel entertains the reader to no end. Derek Hardiman is a professional football player, a talented and popular one at that. With his success and fame, come 'femmes'. He goes through a more than fair share of them too. The problem is that he doesn't seem to feel anything real in the process, and feels like he's just going through the motions. The reason: his high school sweetheart Mara Temple, who is now a nouveau riche philanthropist. It's been ten years since Derek left, but her scars haven't yet healed. Her freshly acquired wealth means that she always has something to do, parties and shopping, and the otherworldly pleasures that money is capable of providing a person with. Despite all this, she too feels a part of her still pining for, and missing Derek, whom she has vowed to get over and never forgive. Fate has different things in store for both of them though. So, when they serendipitously meet each other after ten years of hurt and heartbreak, will the sparks fly again, and if yes, then will the fire of desire scald their very souls? That's the premise of this book.

The writing style is overwhelmingly signature Dangerfield. The writing is authentically Australian, and often leaves the reader breathless and wanting more. Personally, I'm not a fan of either second chance romances, which I feel are too cliche or 'daddy kink' books. Although this book is undoubtedly both of these things, some parts of it did manage to intrigue and keep me engrossed. The characters are the real strength of any good romance. In this book, the characters of both Mara and Derek, unfortunately, fail to live up to the expectations, especially Derek. Derek's character comes out as too strongly masochistic, and mostly just plain immature. He has his moments in terms of making big romantic gestures, but the generous sprinkling of stupidity doesn't help his cause. Meanwhile, Mara's character is written in an underwhelming fashion, with her being predominantly portrayed as being perennially horny, and not much emotional depth is associated with her character. That being said, Eve offers a slightly different perspective when it comes to her in terms of her 'f**k you' attitude, unlike other cliche second chance romances where the female protagonist is shown to be eternally waiting for 'one' to come back to her.  

Overall, the plot is not very intricate but does the job in a decently convincing fashion. Definitely a one-time read in my personal opinion. It's the perfect book for those readers who are always up for second chance romances, or those who are freshly venturing into the steamy romance genre. The book has its flaws but it does offer the reader something different.