All She Ever Wanted by Lynn Austin

Kathleen Seymour has been running from her past and her family all her adult life, but now her teenage daughter, Joelle, has been caught shoplifting, sending off alarms in Kathy's head. On top of this, Kathy has gotten herself fired from her job because of her temper. Now an invitation to a family party being thrown for her father don't seem so bad. Kathy and Joelle skip town not only to escape the endless counseling sessions, but also to discover what really went wrong in Kathy's past and how it can impact their future. Little do they know that the deeper they go into the past, the more surprising things get, and more secrets are revealed.

As usual, Lynn Austin has crafted a non-linear plot driven by well-developed characters and imperfect circumstances. The plot covers several generations of women and the highlights of their lives, namely their mistakes that impacted future generations. Nonetheless, this is a typical Lynn Austin book.

Kathy is a refreshing lead for Lynn Austin, since she is not her typical stereotype. She brings a unique flavor to the plot that would be otherwise lost. Joelle is interesting enough, but Kathy's parents, grandmother, and uncle are all interesting and ambiguous characters that make for an entertaining plot. These add a little more of a comedy touch than Lynn Austin usually has, but it's good to change things up once and a while. As usual, Lynn Austin has crafted a flawless character base.

Lynn Austin specializes in past\present plots, and All She Ever Wanted is no exception. She uses this format to creatively conceal secrets until the reader needs to know them. She is a master of telling the reader why something is what it is by telling the reader the background behind the situation. She has learned to right lengthy novels in this manner, but she does it correctly. Though she repeats her same tendencies every time, they are tendencies worth repeating. As usual, it is the end of this novel that keeps it from being five stars, because she fixes too much rather than just leaving things alone. However, I cannot complain, for Lynn Austin has written more Elite novels than most other authors ever will.

Whenever I'm in need for an Elite novel, I can always refer to Lynn Austin.

4.5 stars