I’ll be quite honest with you and say this was one of the most difficult books I’ve read in a long time. Usually I’m drawn in by the characters, I tend to choose books where I’ll at least like, if not love, the main characters – and perhaps consider them almost like friends if it’s a good series. I can’t say that I liked either of the main protagonists of All for Maddie by Jettie Woodruff. Neither Whitley nor Alex were people I really wanted to know – or even get to know.
Yes, Whitley has a tough life. She’s a single mom, working for her father at his resort, and raising her almost four-year-old daughter alone though with support from her dad and step-mom. It’s quite clear from the introduction that the Maddie’s conception was rough, if not rape, and that Whitley at the time was practically a child herself at just seventeen. So I decided to cut her some slack and keep reading, even though my first inclination was to close the pages and skip the book.
Alex is introduced as someone from Whitley’s past – and it’s soon clear he’s Maddie’s father and that she’s born from essentially almost-a-date rape, really more like party-hook-up rape, But whatever the circumstances no means no. And having been in the shoes of a slightly inebriated and innocent 18-year-old my first semester at college and almost getting forced into something I didn’t want, my sympathy was with Whitley. But her present demeanor, her now drunken sexual promiscuity, and her selfishness – even though the author’s intent seems to be “everything for Maddie” – soon burnt through the sympathy I felt for her.
Alex now seems like the upstanding citizen, but once he realizes Maddie’s his daughter he becomes controlling. Not so different from that young man who drugged a girl’s drink at a party. When he has sex with a red-haired someone at their shared home, I found myself wanting to close the book and not reopen it. Even though they’re not sleeping together – he’s still trying to get it on with Whitley, he brings someone else home to his bed for her to walk in on. I just went ick. And she had already done the same to him on a trip home to see her dad with one of the kitchen workers – with Alex walking in on that. Nice folks. Not.
So, why did I keep reading. I’m not really sure except Woodruff is a really good writer. I’m not going into more detail nor will I reveal if there is a HEA for these dysfunctional souls, but I wanted to give you all fair warning that this is a very difficult book. Do I feel like I gained anything in the two hours it took me to read through it? Perhaps. Am I still pondering why Woodruff would choose to write this story? Absolutely. Would I recommend you read it? No, probably not.
I do know that it’s not just Alex and Whitley who are dysfunctional in this picture, but Alex’s married sister Reagan, who is Whitley’s partner in drunken binges at the biker bar (the bikers in this story come off the best of any of the characters). Reagan’s husband who spends more time checking out Whitley’s ass than any other interaction through the entire novel. And the namesake of the title, Maddie, who, I’m guessing, is going to be one spoiled rotten, uncontrollable child in a few years. Sure she comes off cute, but cute wears off and there doesn’t seem to be much more than a manipulative character behind her actions, I’m sorry to report.
I know that my review will probably be harsher than most, but I’m being honest and expressing my personal opinion about the story. If I were to review this on the basis of writing style, it would be quite good. Woodruff kept my attention even though at times I wished she hadn’t – and kept me turning the pages too.
So to balance a dysfunctional and unpleasant sort-of “love” story there is solid writing and for that I’m awarding one star to All for Maddie by Jettie Woodruff
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From the Publisher
All for Maddie by Jettie WoodruffISBN: 1494473844Price: $2.99
I believe in love at first sight… because I am a mother.
Living a complete lie, holding on to a secret that could cost me the most important thing in my life was about to surface.
I couldn’t breathe without Maddie. Maddie was my life.
The saying about dying for your child is the absolute truth. The other things you would do are comparable to that of death. I know, I did those things. I did unthinkable things, all for Maddie.
I continued the lie, the secrets with the one man who had no right. People say you always have options. That’s a lie. I had no choice. I did it all for her… for my Maddie.
Read this review as it appears on 
*Editor’s Note: This review was originally posted as my submission to an author blog stop tour, with information provided by a tour organizer. Since I was unable, in good conscience, to rate this book at three stars or above, I received an email from the organizer asking me to remove my review from the post. I refused. I’m sorry, but that’s not how this blog works. Instead I removed the tour promotional items, so if you’re looking for the giveaway, book excerpt, or author biography. Sorry. They’ve been deleted.
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