All In: Full Tilt #2 Paperback – October 7, 2016

Hello epic book hangover. That's it. I'm done.This series has captured my heart and wrecked it, yet I can't help and want to start at the beginning right now. I'm in love with the whole lot of main and secondary cast and I just missed them ten minutes after closing the book. I'm trying to keep this review as spoiler-free as possible but if you haven't read Full Tilt yet...what are you waiting for?Theo is angry at the world for having his brother taken away. Despite it all, he shoulders the tasks of taking care of his frail mother, going back to school for a business degree and dealing with his father's displeasure about his choice of career. Six months ago he made his brother Jonah a promise. Two weeks later this promise slipped away and he hasn't been able to locate Kacey since, the feeling that he has failed Jonah always present. Until a well-meaning bartender tracks him down and asks him to take care of his late brother's girlfriend.Kacey's escape from the place with too many memories was silent. She drove all the way down to New Orleans only to play her songs about Jonah at bars. Booze back on the menu she drinks herself into oblivion. Day after day, night after night, not being able to function without being numb. She sees the gaping abyss in front of her but can't pull away. When she sees Theo again after six months the reunion isn't joyful. She is full of shame, guilt and regret but Theo gives her a reality check and she knows she has to get her life back on track.Teddy finds solace and comfort in his brother's legacy at the exhibit so he ventures there to talk to his brother whenever he feels unsettled. He is the kind of person who tries to carry the weight of everybody's problems, being the rock everybody leans on to.Theo wasn't only there for Jonah during the worst moments of his life. He was there for a lot of other people, too. Taking their pain, listening to it, deconstructing it. Turning it around and giving it back to them as a piece of art. Uniquely their own, just as pain is unique to the person who bears it.Where Jonah was light and love, Teddy is something else entirely. He is fierce and passion and not as open. He has walls in place but when they crumble he is magnificent.Kacey is such an endearing heroine. I adore her. She is sweet, soft, strong and her love for her friends and adopted family beams from the pages. The way she pulls herself out of the black hole with Teddy's help had my emotions all over the place and I admired her so much for it.The development of their relationship is stunning, heart-wrenching and devastatingly beautiful. It's a deliciously slow burn and you can't help but root for them. Their dance and their first time together are one of the most erotic scenes I've read.While you may think at the beginning that their love is unthinkable at some point you will see that these two are perfect for each other. That there was never another choice than for them being together, the love for the person they both lost the common denominator. With their friendship comes acceptance, with their love healing. I know I said Jonah was perfect in my review for Full Tilt. But Teddy? Glorious. Best book boyfriend EVER.I think Emma Scott upped the ante with this one. Full Tilt was already amazing but damn. This book did Jonah's story justice if that makes any sense. He was present in every word and thought. His love was shining through the loves of his life and while I thought Jonah's and Kacey's love can't be topped, this author did just that without diminishing it. Kacey and Theo? Utter bliss.Again, the writing is gorgeous, the secondary cast fantastic. At the end there were tears, yes, but they were a mix of a bit sad and a big junk of happiness, enough humor to help you through the sad parts. My emotions are still clogging up my throat. Rarely have I read a story that made me feel so much like the Full Tilt duet, it is hands down one of my top 10 favorites.Dear Emma Scott, please consider writing novellas about these two. I hate to leave Kacey, Theo and Jonah. They are so deep under my skin and hold a special place in my heart.

I was a bawling mess when I finished Full Tilt. I wasn't prepared for that ending. At all. I think that's why the story and the characters hit me so hard. Jonah, Kacey and Theo had made an impact on me. Now after finishing All In I appreciate Full Tilt and Emma Scott's storytelling even more especially for the story and how she chose to tell it. All In can't be read as a standalone and why would one rob themselves of Full Tilt. It's truly extraordinary and so was All In. This duet is nothing but epic.Full Tilt was Jonah's book and All In was Teddy's. I was very intrigued by Teddy in Full Tilt and I liked him. Knowing how Full Tilt ended and where it would go in All In I wasn't at all frustrated or disappointed. I had already established a connection with Jonah, Kacey and Teddy so I was very excited to see how Emma Scott would make that constellation happen and how. She succeeded in doing that flawlessly. The foundation of Kacey and Teddy's friendship was so well written and done with such an ease. The development from friends to lovers felt organic and never forced. Just right.Their journey towards acceptance of Jonah's death was excruciatingly painful at times, raw but also beautifully honest in how they both handled grief. Cause man did Kacey and Teddy grieve. She was numbing herself with booze and Teddy with work, helping/pleasing others and neglecting himself and his wants/needs in life. Kacey slowly started to let go of her grief because of Teddy and his unconditional support. How they found solace in one another, how their friendship grew to more was so beautifully written. It felt real, believable and I was anticipating it. Couldn't contain my excitement.Teddy definitely stole the show. I liked him in Full Tilt and I loved him fiercely in All In. He hid so much of himself in Full Tilt and here in All In he let it all out. It was the little things that moved me and showed who Teddy really was. In words but most certainly also in his actions. For example when a drunk guy was hitting on Kacey and Teddy demanded an apology for Kacey. Not for him but Kacey. He truly was the rock everybody leaned on and how he loved Jonah and Kacey was intoxicating and heartbreaking. He was so patient, loyal and respectful towards Jonah's memory and Kacey who once again surprised me with her strength. She was a fighter and once she embraced the gift Jonah gave her she went all out and loved Teddy with her entire being.There was so much love, hope and light in All In. Also some very sexy times. A certain dance scene between Kacey and Teddy will stay with me for its seductive writing and build up. It was so sexy, I could feel every word like they crawled under my skin. Hitting me right where they were intended:) The build up between them and the release was explosive. Magnificent!All In delivered everything and so much more. I'm so satisfied and content with the conclusion to Kacey and Teddy's story. Emma Scott creates magic with words and she definitely put me under a spell. I read to escape, to be captured by the characters and their story. She succeeded again with All In and she did it so effortlessly and in such an intelligent way that I'm at a loss for words. My heart and soul is filled and sings with love. All In is a must read!5 BadAssDirtyATreasureOutOfTheRuinStars