I find writing C reviews most challenging because typically there is nothing horribly wrong with the book. Still, it lacks that undefinable attribute to make it memorable, and that something missing makes the book just an okay read. This is the case with All I Want is You by Sherrill Bodine

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Venus’ father spent decades working for John Clayworth and Company but was recently let go. Her two sisters Athena and Diana have been able to accept her father’s edict that he is unable to discuss the situation because of the anti-defamation agreement, but Venus knows that if she only shows a little tenacity she can get to the bottom of the problem and resolve it. As one of the owners of the premier vintage boutique, Pandora’s Box, Venus constantly gets invited into wealthy Chicagoans’ homes to view their possessions for resale, so when Connor’s aunt Bridget asks for her help in cleaning out her closet, she views this as the perfect opportunity to secretly interrogate Connor.

Although she and Connor have known each other since childhood, their relationship is fraught with tension. At fifteen her opinion of him took a nosedive when, acting as an unofficial lifeguard, he pulled her from Lake Michigan, exposing her ample curves to the astonished group. Then when she was in college, he broke her boyfriend’s nose resulting in the end of that relationship. However, if it means getting to the bottom of her dad’s problem, then she is more than willing to chat Connor up.

Bridget has wonderful vintage clothes and jewelry but one piece, a copy of rare Eisenberg mermaid pin given to her by her Tony, her fiancé of thirty years, brings back wounding memories so she insists that Venus take it. Venus demurs but finally agrees. Tony finds out that Bridget gave away his gift after Venus is shown wearing it on a local television show. Deeply hurt and wounded, the patched schism in their relation breaks. Intensely upset because her acceptance of the pin precipitated problems for her favorite couple, Venus also has to deal with a distressing burglary at Pandora’s Box. Luckily she was wearing the pin. Conflicted about whether she should return it to Bridget, she discovers that it is not a copy, but the original brooch worth a quarter of a million dollars. Soon she and Connor are working to clear Tony’s name and bring their favorite couple back together.

I look for three things in a story – interesting plot, realistic or funny dialogue, and unique characterization, and this one failed in all three categories. The plot didn’t work that well for me mainly I just didn’t buy into the reason for the characters’ actions. Venus has been sexually attracted to Connor since college but hasn’t been able to let go of her resentment over his youthful actions. Now when she has more of a reason to be angry at him – her father’s dismissal-she acts on her feelings. Tony and Bridget have been engaged for thirty years but Bridget won’t marry him because she questions his integrity. How do you stay with someone for thirty years when you don’t trust him? And Tony has a reason for his behavior which seemed straight out of 1950’s movie.

Connor and Venus are not bad characters but they’re also the sort that most would consider “a dime a dozen.” Nothing that they did or said made them unique. Add into that insipid dialog, and you have a lackluster book. I want to feel that a couple has found their soulmates, or laugh throughout the book, and neither happened in this instance. This is not a book that I recommend.