Book Talk Review; All Or Nothing

Will and Dean and Patrick and Shawn!

Patrick Lindsay wasn’t looking for anything when he met Shawn Waters. Flirty and forward, the younger man didn’t seem opposed to an open relationship. They could see other people, the exact level of commitment Patrick wanted.

Shawn was looking for a good time when he stumbled into the arms of two people who seemed destined to be together, but for an unknown reason, weren’t. Will Steele and Dean Baldwin had danced around each other for years, their feeling gradually growing with time. When they included Shawn in their bed for one steamy night, it changed everything forever.

Almost missing out on a chance to have something serious with Will forces Dean to admit his feelings, but Will has grown attached to Shawn and doesn’t want to give him up. Rather than walk away with nothing, Dean agrees that Will can have them both.

When the three of them first discuss this crazy plan, they realize they should talk with someone who has been down the same road. Shawn thinks his boyfriend Patrick is just the person. But Patrick isn’t sure what he can offer the trio. His marriage ended when his husband ran off with their boyfriend and he doesn’t feel qualified to lead them down that path.

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This is not only my favorite book in the Upstate Education series but my favorite E.M. Denning book. I love threesomes, I never get tired of watching three people figure out how to navigate a relationship together. I have less experience with foursomes, but I was excited because it's an Emo book, it has to be amazing no matter how many dicks in the bed there are. 

One of the main selling points for me when it came to All Or Nothing, was the fact that we were finally getting Will and Dean's book. I've wanted their book since Half As Much. I loved them from the beginning and I hoped they would eventually get their shit together. What I didn't count on what Shawn and Patrick. Not gonna lie, Shawn seemed a bit too excitable for me in Never Enough. And then I read this book and now I absolutely adore him. 

Relationships are work, even if you have only two people. With four that leaves room for error times four. One of the biggest things in a relationship is communication. What Will and Dean were doing before they met Shawn and Patrick was not communicating. My heart was breaking for them at first. Because more than anything I wanted them to work out and they couldn't figure themselves out. It hurt to see them hurt. 

Patrick has his own insecurities after his husband and their boyfriend leave him to be together. It left him afraid of being left behind again, which made the whole communication thing tricky and I wanted to scream. I did scream a bit. Because the four of them were perfect. They worked well together, they just needed to talk, which Patrick didn't do and AHHHH! 

Shawn kind of ends up being their glue, but there's so much more to them by the end of the book. They all eventually figure themselves out and become what they were meant to be. Is it complicated as fuck? Yes, but that's a relationship for you. 

I am fascinated by relationships. Because there is more than just one way to have a relationship. One person's vision of what an ideal relationship is will vary greatly from another's. I could go on and on all day about relationships and their uniqueness, but I won't. What I will say is that the entire Upstate Education series, not just this book, shows just how various a relationship can be. From Rider and Eli and their emotionally endearing gang bangs in Half As Much, to the Daddy, Boy, and Brat dynamic, Thurston, Eugene, and Joe have in More Than Anything, to Vince and Tommy's sweet and loving Daddy/Boy dynamic in Never Enough. All Or Nothing and it's very complex foursome with Shawn, Will, Dean, and Patrick, only goes to show how each relationship is different. 

These four books show just pieces of the broad spectrum of relationship dynamics. With All Or Nothing being the most complex of them all, but at the same time, it's not really. These four made their relationship work for them and it's hopeful to see that while they shouldn't work, with the various personalities, careers, lives these characters have, they somehow make it all work. Because they all need each other in their own way. They all have different relationships with each other, no two pairings are the same, but that's what not only makes it interesting but makes it work. 

This type of book isn't easy to pull off, but E.M. Denning does it brilliantly. It was believable, I felt like these four could have a functioning, healthy relationship. It could have been confusing, trying to navigate the intricacies of the different pairings, but it wasn't. The writing made it seem almost flawless, even with the hiccups the characters had while they were finding their way. 

All Or Nothing gave me everything I wanted and then some. It was the perfect way to round this series out with and I'm going to have to come back to Upstate because I am not done with these boys yet. I used to say I only had a handful of books I could re-read and still enjoy like it was the first time. That list is growing with every single book E.M. Denning puts out. I cannot wait to see what comes next from her talented hands. 

*Quote-

"He didn't realize how beautiful a person could be when they let their passion consume them. And then he met Will." 

"People don't have to like how I live my life, because it's not theirs to live." 

"If we didn't have lows, we'd never appreciate the highs. Our negative emotions are as valid as our positive ones, but we rarely let ourselves feel them. We run from them...We don't live in happiness. And we don't live in our other emotions. You can visit things like fear and pain and not make them your home." 

"He hadn't asked for this in a long time and he wasn't sure why he asked for it now. Maybe because he wanted to find one way to render Shawn speechless, or maybe because he wanted to feel touched by Shawn and his beauty."