I think this whole series is one of her best writings yet? I look for anything that she writes and have all of her pre-orders on my wish list. I have never been disappointed with any of Bybee's writing and this is no exception. Great cast of characters and it gives the feels that put the reader in each situation. I have read and re read her books and always enjoy them more!

This is a good book. The two main characters are Selena and Ryan. There is an instant attraction. They meet at Ryan’s sister wedding. Selena works for an Italian restaurant. Ryan is a real estate investor. They start dating. They each have secrets but eventually tell them to each other. They fall in love.

I didn't realize before starting that this was a part of a series. I have never read any books by this author, but the plot sounded interesting. I definitely could have gotten more out of it, if I'd read the rest of the series, but the book does work as a standalone. Based on the premise of this book, I was expecting to get more women's empowerment messages. The FMC's perspective was more empowering, but I feel like when it came to the dialogue and interactions between characters, the author missed the mark and fell back into cliche gender dynamics. The relationships also felt kind of surface level. In the end, I don't think this book was really for me, but it was a quick fun read.

I received an ARC copy from Netgalley for an honest review. This is the 4th of the d’Angelos series. Salena is just trying to figure out life and see where she belongs. She definitely isn’t in it for the long haul however Ryan seems to want her from the beginning. Can he change her mind? This book can be read as a standalone, you don’t have to read any other book the series.(although I would recommend it as they are great).

In "THE WHOLE TIME," Salena Barone, enamored with the D’Angelo family, works in their restaurant and moves to the top floor to escape her overprotective parents. At a D’Angelo wedding, she meets Ryan, instantly sparking chemistry. Despite claiming they're not seeking commitment, their casual dating evolves into something deeper. Ryan, the black sheep of the Rutledge family, resists joining his family's wine business, mirroring Salena's desire to forge her own path. As their story unfolds, filled with beauty and heartbreak, readers are drawn into the captivating world of the D’Angelo family, eager for more.

The Whole Time is the fourth book in the D'Angelo's series by Catherine Bybee. I'm loving this series full of Italians, family, friends, wine, food and love. We've met both Serena (family friend and Chloe's best friend) and Ryan (Emma's brother) before and I was so excited when I found out they were getting a story. Together! They are both wild, carefree, not interested in following in the footprints of their families and hard workers. When they meet at Emma's wedding, sparks fly and some flirty shenanigans just make the night epic. Ryan knows Serena is skittish, but he's in for the long haul. He's going to wait her out, charm her and make her fall for him. It's not as hard as he thought it was going to be! Serena wants to be on her own. Take care of herself and earn money her way. Being with Ryan jeopardizes that, right? He's rich, she's not. What will people think? Turns out, Ryan is more down to earth and sweeter than she thought. He's also not flaunting his money and he works hard to earn his own. So what's holding her back? Nothing really! When Serena decides she's in, she jumps! I loved these two! They are perfect for each other. While both wild, they are also grounded. They are also adults who communicate. Serena may be less forthcoming, but Ryan knows this and loves it about her. A few secrets won't tear them apart. I loved seeing the family again! Overall, I loved it! I laughed, teared up, cheered and smiled a lot. Ryan is swoonworthly!

This book took a couple of chapters to get in to, when I don’t get hooked straight away I sometimes give up on the book, but really glad I stayed with it, I ended up really enjoying the book.

Can't go wrong with a Catherine Bybee book! Quick reads, page turners and a little suspense with romance thrown in!
Selena is from an Italian family with parents that think she should be married already and she should live with them until she does. WRONG!
Selena moves out to her parents dismay, but it's only to an apartment about the D'Angelo's restaurant where she is employed.
Selena is a free spirit and very in touch with who she is.
Then there is Ryan. Ryan is the son of an owner of a vineyard that Ryan wants nothing to do with. Ryan is also a no strings attached kind of guy. Never going to put a ring on it.
Likes his tattoos and motorcycle and being who he is.
Selena and Ryan meet at the wedding of Ryan's sister to a D'Angelo.
Sparks are interesting between them, but Selena holds a secret that no one would understand if it got out. Family, friends and Ryan wonder what's up.
Selena and Ryan are figuring out their relationship despite always being no commitment people. Will Selena's secret come to light? Will she be able to explain it? Will she fall further from grace with her parents? Lots of questions to be answers and lots of acceptance to be had of self and others.
Fun, interesting, quick read. Recommend

The Whole Time by Catherine Bybee
The D’Angelos #4

Perfect story for me to read today ~ Have loved every book in this series and would love to be an honorary member of this family.

What I liked:
* The return to San Diego and the D’Angelo family and catching up with the various characters from previous books in the series
* Salena Barone: restaurant manager for the D’Angelo’s restaurant, seeks independence from controlling old-fashioned parents, free spirit, responsible, caring, good friend, team player, rather intrigued by Ryan
* Ryan Rutledge: wealthy, real estate owner, into motorcycles, silent partner of Mateo, has no interest in family wine business, the black sheep of his family, protective, open, honest, caring, rather taken with Salena
* Ashlynn: owner of the pole dancing studio, highly skilled, instructor of pole dancing, has a solution for Salena’s money woes
* That I could see Ryan and Salena together – they are perfect for one another
* The family interactions and how different one family was from another
* The close community of Little Italy – want to find it next time I’m in San Diego
* Wondering if there will be a book five in this series and if so, who will be the main characters
* Thinking about pole dancing as a sport-exercise-profession-workout and wondering how difficult it would be to take up
* The epilogue – great way to end the book

What I didn’t like:
* Thinking about the pressure the daughters must have felt growing up in Little Italy
* Wondering why “mean girls-women” feel entitled to do the things they do

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series/by this author? Definitely!

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

Heartfelt love oh so much love and it's hot! That is what this book is but also sweet at the same time. I enjoyed reading it in the sun with a cup of tea!

I’ve enjoyed the D’Angelo series and I always love reading Catherine Bybee’s books.
Chloe's strong-willed friend Salena has her life to live without a man messing it up, until she meets Ryan.
The storyline is written to clearly show Salena working to gain her independence and to accept her place in Ryan’s life. Salena melds into managing an Italian family restaurant, she finally finds her freedom but her attraction to Ryan means revealing more of herself than she ever imagined.
I love this fast paced read with spark and passion sneaking up on the main characters. I would highly recommend this series and any of the other romantic series written by this author.

Huge thanks to Montlake, NetGalley and the wonderful Catherine Bybee for the opportunity to read this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The D’Angelos are back and now that the three D’Angelos have found their forever person, family friend Salena gets to find love. She is the fun loving friend who never wants to commit, the flirty good-time-girl. Ryan is the perfect cinnamon-roll hero. I loved how he’s such a good guy, but also has grit and is humble. He tried so hard to take care of independent Salena who wanted nothing to do with it. This opposites attract romance is sweet and full of heart. It was so easy to let the story sweep me away.

Salena is the younger daughter fed up with her Italian parents dictating her life and moves out and into the D’Angelo apartment above the family restaurant where she works. When her car dies, she suddenly needs a new source of revenue. She is a bit of a wild child and her side hustle would raise eyebrows. When she meets Ryan at her bestie’s wedding, she can’t resist flirting. Ryan is the youngest brother of the groom. With tattoos and a motorcycle, he’s a little bit of a black sheep. They become friends with benefits, but when feelings start getting involved, will they give in and let things become a little more?

I loved Salena and Ryan. Since they are both independent people who pushed back at their unreasonable familial obligations, they each needed someone who could love them exactly as they are. I loved their easy acceptance of who the other person is. Salena is sassy without being rude and Ryan eats up her teasing. And Mama D’Angelo was a gem helping give these two the nudge they needed to see that they might have a future together after all. This story is filled with family, food, and love and is an amazing light heat romance to fill your day with all the magic of falling in love.

The book The Whole Time was an enjoyable read. I would recommend any book written by Catherine Bybee. Happy Reading!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely.

You just can’t go wrong with Catherine Bybee.!

Serena may not be a D’Angelo, but that doesn't stop the family from treating her as one of their own. Hers and Ryan’s story may start as friends with benefits, but it eventually becomes so much more.

I really enjoyed reading The Whole Time. Getting to know Salena was so much fun. And, following along with her relationship with Ryan was even more fun!
I always enjoy Catherine Bybee;s writing.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

THE WHOLE TIME is the fourth book in the D’Angelo series and I have enjoyed them all. This book featured Salena Barone, who is not a blood member of the D'Angelo family, but is Chloe's best friend and manages the family restaurant. In an Italian family, that makes her family. Salena has made it clear that she is not looking to get married. She likes men, but hasn't found one that she loves enough to give up her independence. Being Italian, you live at home until you get married, but she is stifled and needs more freedom, so moves in the small apartment above the restaurant. In the last book, Beginning of Forever, Gio and Emma have their love story and are getting married. At the wedding, Salena meets Ryan, the youngest of the wealthy Rutledge wine family and Emma's brother. He is also not looking for anything permanent, but they are immediately attracted to one another. As they spend more time with each other, the chemistry is hard to ignore. They have fun, a few physical encounters, and begin to want more than friendship. The problem is, Salena is keeping a huge secret from everyone, one that could ruin everything.

I love the D'Angelo family. They are loud, boisterous and love each other to bits. They tease and harass, but will protect each other with their lives. Salena is another sister to Gio and Luca, so she has to keep things secret from them as well. Beyond that, I don't want to give away the rest of the plot, so will say no more about it. I loved the banter between Salena and Ryan. They have so much fun together, I don't know how they resist one another. Ryan is a swoon worthy partner to Salena's feisty personality and I was rooting for them both to see how much they really cared about one another. I enjoyed their story, and was pleased to see that Salena got her HEA. I recommend this book and the whole series to those who enjoy a fun, enjoyable romance.

I love Catherine Bybee books, and this series and love the D’Angelo family and I love our hero Ryan in this story, but I did not love Salena. She has no path in life and likes to use men and move on, but somehow ends up dating Ryan and liking him. She finds a path to make money, but keeps it a secret because it’s considered taboo by some and then is excited Ryan kept a secret too so they’re even? Her whole attitude when they are caught by the police acting like teenagers annoyed me too.

Despite my lack of love for our heroine, the writing is top notch, I love catching up with all the D’Angelo family and Ryan is a really cool hero!

I have loved this series and hope we see more of the D’Angelo family! I’d love to see Franny grow up and get her own story!!

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Salena and Ryan meet at Emma’s and Gio’s wedding. Ryan is Emma’s brother, Salena is Chloe’s best friend and a close friend of the D’Angelo family. She’s currently the D’Angelo’s restaurant manager. It’s important to remember when Chloe and Salena were in Vegas, where Chloe and Dante had their surprise wedding, how fun-loving and sexy Salena is. In this book, that is front and center in the middle of the story.

When Ryan and Salena meet, it’s not surprising they had a lot in common, they were both the rowdy child in their family. It’s as if a hidden thread sewed them together. Both were against commitment, and yet, it found its way with them. I loved Ryan, felt for Salena.

Salena had a secret, not illegal, but something her family would disapprove of. So she kept at it in secret, and it made it hard for Salena to commit. She’s independent, needs to be self-reliant, and that is what sold Ryan on her, since his prior experience were clingers who wanted his wealth. Their love story proceeds slow and steamy, with long lingering stares, very few moments to be together, a man who is slowly and strongly falling for his woman who resists to the very end. I loved their story, even as I struggled with her family history.

I hated Salena’s parents! They were so judgy and opinionated, never a positive thought came out of them, as related to their younger daughter. And that is why Salena is so secretive and defensive. I felt for her, a woman so comfortable in her own skin, owning her sexuality, and yet craving an approval that never arrives. The D’Angelos are more understanding and supportive, so I wasn’t surprised she moved out of her parents’ home and into the apartment vacated by Gio.

The first part of this book dragged for me, because there was a lot of the judgy parents. Then enter the D’Angelo family, with their intrusiveness but also love and support. Ryan’s mother is a darling, his father not so much but he’s learned his lesson and behaves. This book is as much about love and steam as about family, which is what makes it so lovable to me. Franny stars in many of the funny moments, innocently springing important information to a startled crowd! I love the complicity between the brothers, sisters, friends and in-laws, they make the story so heartwarming. It was truly a lovely read!

Another day, another Catherine Bybee book that was an absolute delight to read.

The Whole Time (The D’Angelos #4) takes us back to Little Italy in San Diego and the D’Angelo family restaurant. With all the D’Angelo siblings happily married, this book follows family friend and restaurant manager Selena Barone as she moves out of the home of her uber-traditional parents and into the top apartment above the restaurant. When she meets Ryan at the wedding of Gio (the D’Angelo’s middle child) and Emma (their story is in book three of this series, Beginning of Forever), sparks fly both ways but Selena is reluctant to have a serious relationship.

I confess, this one didn’t pull me in as hard or quickly as the other three books in this series - but that’s more a me problem. I had a hard time connecting with Selena and her “I don’t give a @&$#” attitude (especially when she absolutely did give a @&$#), and I didn’t ever feel like I was truly able to understand why she was the way she was. But I liked her a lot. And Ryan? I liked him even more! There’s nothing I love more than a hero who falls first and is willing to be patient and play the long game to win the heart of the woman he loves.

I suspect some readers may say nothing happens in this book. To a point, that is true - we spend a lot of time with Selena and Ryan’s day-to-day activities and seeing their relationship develop in a very sweet, organic way. We watch as Selena builds a potentially scandalous side-hustle to improve her finances. But there isn’t a whole lot of angst or soap-opera levels of drama. Just relatable people dealing with realistic life challenges. And you know what? THOSE are my favorite kinds of stories. They are also the kind of stories this author specializes in and I love them.

Catherine Bybee is one of my favorite authors and this book - this whole series, really - is one of the many reasons why. I know whenever I open one of her books I’m going to get a heartwarming story about lovable characters that will leave me with a smile on my face. And there’s not much better than that!

* thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Salena Barone is the daughter of strict Italian Catholic parents and expected to live at home until marriage. But at 35 and with no intention of being controlled by any man, she's finally out on her own and renting the apartment above D'Angelos restaurant and also working as their manager.
Ryan is the youngest of the Rutledge wine family, determined to make his own way and not depend on his trust fund. When these two meet at his sister's wedding is instant attraction, but neither is looking for long term. But as their friends with benefits starts to develop into something more, Salena knows she has to find a way to tell the secret that might blow up everything.
This was a great continuation of the D'Angelo series. It can be read as a standalone, but there are a lot of characters in this story from pervious books. I love how these two interact with the other characters in the series. They're both so independent and determined to make their own way despite overly controlling parents on both sides. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.