Most of All You: A Love Story

A beautifully raw, utterly heartbreaking, completely gut wrenching story filled with hopeful warmth and tender touches that will wrap you up in a myriad of emotions all while comforting you in the miracle of faith. Faith in oneself, faith in others, faith in dreams, faith in hopes, faith in words, faith in actions, faith in a past and a path of a new future. A story of suffering, overcoming, escaping and finding a path towards survival while they attempt to leave the past behind; one choosing to stay present and move forward with a purpose, while the other escapes and finds no purpose in anything. Each needs the same thing, yet one searches for it, while the other hides.One clings to the pastOne embraces the futureOne sees a dead endOne sees the possibilitiesThis story forces you to find understanding, strength, determination, friendship, sacrifice, forgiveness, faith and ultimately…LOVE. A life full of promiseA life changedA loss of innocenceA loss of freedomA fear of lonelinessA fear of trustingA desire to seekA desire to hideA need for moreA need for hopeA dream of….LOVE Two people coming from similar traumatic pasts; Crystal is stuck there and Gabriel is waiting and daring her to move. He allows her to learn from him at her own pace, giving support and nurturing her through one of her darkest hours. He opens himself up to her in all the ways that matter; providing her with safety and protection, along with all the doors she needs to finally choose her change. There is no pressure, there is no force, there is no complaining, and there is no insult.  There is only patience and the wait that comes with the hope that your efforts help and heal the person that has come to mean the most to you. Because LOVE is patientThrough the haunting past of loss, pain and the struggle to move forward that is almost tangible, Crystal settles for a life of self-deprecating and self-loathing acceptance that she will only ever have what she has now.  She believes options are out of her reach and the excitement of possibility is something that she should not wait around for.  Yet it does not stop her from watching in wonder as Gabriel embraces each day at dawn like a blank canvas ready to be painted in the brightest colors of his life, nor does it stop her from feeling a sense of fear because he treats her differently than any other before him.  The respect and kindness that Gabriel shows her is like a soothing balm to the very hurt, ache and scars from wounds that run so deep they are part of the fabric of her soul; stirring the uncertainty within her that one day soon the other shoe will drop. And just like in Cinderella, Gabriel is there…ready to pick up the shoe and put it back on her with the most deliberate and delicate of touches to ensure she knows just how much she is worth. Because LOVE is kind And while it is truly a daily struggle for Gabriel to help Crystal heal and see her worth, he never denies her the time and space she needs to come to terms with all that is new. Instead he shares his joy with her. He shares his hopes with her. And he shares his canvas with her.  Each morning he allows her to share in his life’s painting in the hopes that she, too, will add her own color to his canvas. She struggles to find her place and the right color to express how she feels, but they both see the very good in each other and want the other to be happy and have everything.  Because LOVE… It does not envy There are no grand gestures, only moments. Small fragments of time shared between two characters that lost more than they ever gained. Moments so innocent and sincere that your heart feels as if it is being crushed in the truth of its purity.  Moments that seem so simple, yet are the most monumental in their journey together.  There is no competition. There are no celebrations in triumph.  There is only understanding. Because LOVE…it does not boast And while Crystal continues to struggle with the concept that she is more than the sum of her circumstances, Gabriel continues to show her that he is, in fact, everything he wants to be because of his circumstances.  That life, while taking a different path than he expected, or even wished for, he is where he is meant to be, living a life that was custom made just for him.  He shows her the portrait of his life, and he does it without reservation.  Because LOVE…It is not proud There are setbacks and self-inflicted wounds, as well as defensive coping mechanisms designed to keep a distance from one’s heart and the new found affection surrounding them, but no records are kept, no sins left unforgiven.  There are no plans for retaliation, no desire to hurt in return.  There is only affection and the need to forgive the wrongs and do right.  Because LOVE…it does not dishonor others. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered and it keeps no record of wrongs Adversity lurks around corners of the outside world. Those who think they know better disrespect. Those that do know better leave a mark.  And those who are up to no good try to defile all the good that is left.  But through it all, Gabriel is steadfast in his resolve. He is firm in his feelings. And he is loyal in his efforts.  There is no allowance for hurt. There is no allowance for interference. And there is no place for lies. Because LOVE does not delight in evil, but rejoices in truth. It always protects But sometimes it is true that only time can heal wounds. And even though some wounds never fully heal and the scars always remain, in time, the light drives out the darkness, and the good drives out the evil.  The despair fades in the shadow of truth, and the light within shines through the fractured soul.  Healing is hard, acceptance is harder. Moving on seems unlikely, and trusting impossible.  But through it all there is patience, kindness, acceptance and understanding, which slowly chips away the pieces of the wall of protection to expose a heart steeped in fear, but full of promise, potential and joy brought to light by the careful crafting of a man whose hands expose the hidden beauty of things unknown that lie beneath a surface often thought not penetrable, but result in remarkable things of beauty. Because that is love. And LOVE always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres Love never fails.

Okay, the amount of deep, meaningful, sad, and lovely things said in this book. A million praises to the author! Such amazing words. I honestly have no other words for the deep emotions said in this book. Let's talk about Gabriel ... omg, like, come on. 😍! This man was hands down the deepest male character I've read. I love how the MFC became a strong woman. Growing up throughout the story, knowing her worth. It's just amazing. Not 5 stars just because I have to be absolutely intertwined in a story. I have to cry, laugh, and scream out loud. This story had all the feels but in a different way.

Most of All You by Mia Sheridan5 stars!!!“It’s not the things you do with love and good intentions that you end up regretting. It’s the things you don’t do that you have to live with.”Wow, this week has been one hell of an emotional reading week, three books, three lots of tears spilled of various quantities. But this is why I love reading. I love to experience those emotions, I cherish that character connection that can only be delivered by an author whose words call to every heart string, every fibre of my being, words that embed themselves into your heart and soul and Mia Sheridan never fails to deliver. Archer’s Voice is one of my all-time top favourite books ever, I have read that book well over twenty times and it is one that I will treasure for the rest of my reading days. Most of All You had all those Archer vibes, it had that same intensity, that all-encompassing emotional connection and a story that even the hardest of hearts could empathise with. I loved everything about this book, my second favourite Mia Sheridan read, because frankly, Archer’s Voice is untoppable.“I told my heart to stop beating. I told it not to hurt anymore. I told my heart I wouldn’t let it hurt anymore. Ever.”Captivating, superbly written and breathtakingly unique, Most of All You delivers two characters that you cannot help but embrace, empathise with, sympathise with and love implicitly. Their story ripped me apart, piece by piece, every ounce of empathy I had was given to these two broken characters that deserved their happy ever after more than anyone. Their back stories were harrowing, but it was those that made them the people they are today. Yes, they were fractured, they just hadn’t found their band aid, until the unlikeliest of couplings brought together one of the most tragic yet totally uplifting love stories that I have ever had the pleasure of reading.“You shouldn’t love me.”“It’s too late. I already do. I’m sorry but I can’t take it back.”I am not going to go into this story at all, this is a book that you need to read as the author intended. From the first word, your attention will be gripped in Mia Sheridan’s words as she expertly navigates the reader through Gabriel and Ellie’s story. Our pasts are often our backbone, childhoods often meld our futures and the more traumatic the past, the greater the ramifications. You can either let it make you or break you. Your past doesn’t have to define your future, you can break the cycle, but sometimes it just needs that person that can help you navigate, give you the strength and belief, but the only person that can make that change a reality…is you.“Gabriel was a brilliant artist and I was a disgusting, talentless joke.”This book was truly awe inspiring, life is a series of choices, some are harder to make than others, some are in fact not choices at all even if that is how they manifest themselves. You never know what choices you will be forced to make and often you are torn between a rock and a hard place. When life always gives you lemons sometimes it is hard to make the lemonade. This book was about those choices, how one can let them define them and how the other made them a stepping stone, a stepping stone to being a better person. Be the best you can be, find the positives, don’t dwell on the negatives.“He wanted to give me the peace of this moment, the…poetry of this place, the romance, the scents and the sounds and the serene beauty all around us. He wanted to give me love. And, God, I wanted to take it, I was just so scared to reach out and grab it.”This book was all about character growth, I loved how these characters transformed before my eyes. Their journey was fraught with obstacles, both physical and emotional and yet, not once did I ever not believe in them as a couple. Sometimes the heart knows, the soul calls and the future is a foregone conclusion it just took Gabriel and Ellie a little time to fix themselves before that was even a possibility.“and time. That’s all it is, my sweet love. Just sand and pressure and time.”Mia Sheridan delivered this book with perfection. That perfect balance of angst, emotion, laughs and love. Nothing was overdone, everything believable and the story felt organic. Once again Mia Sheridan delivered and although Archer remains my favourite, this one is a very close second.

It's my first time to encounter both main characters having very tragic pasts, and initially from the 1st chapter I had to brace myself because I had a feeling it's going to be emotional and heart wrenching, to which I was right. Mia certainly never ceases to amaze with her writing and story-telling. Ever since I finished Archer's Voice, I immediately wanted to try her other books. So far, I can say she's one of my favorite authors.

War ein Geschenk. Kam gut an

Written so captivatingly that you can see every scene and feel every emotion. Hope Mia has written other books. This one has been so engrossing.

I loved the story...I loved the kindness that the characters show, in spite of everything, as well as the positivism that comes from the book. This is my third book after: Savaged, and Archer's voice. Also highly recommendable. She reminds me a little to another writer that I love: Amy Harmon. They both share an special sensitivity in describing the story and the characters.Also I like the cover of the book vs. more sexual options. It makes a difference and out stands from the rest.

I loved this book. It's so beautiful and lovely. Sometimes, broken my Heart. Mia's writing is perfect, sensitive, refined.I recommend