“‘What are you doing?’ I demanded. I was getting impatient. “Wait for it.’”
Two-time divorcee Annabelle hilariously dodges a third proposal by making an impulse decision to move to Arizona and accept a high-up graphic design position working for her best friend’s company. Once in Arizona, Annabelle moves into a fancy, yet barren guest house owned by reclusive retiree Mr. Daire. After getting bombarded with impersonal infraction notices from her new landlord (e.g. no using the hot tub, no noisy singing, no feeding the stray cat), Annabelle makes it her mission to meet and charm the “old geezer”. As it turns out, Nick Daire is a very attractive young man who uses a wheelchair because of a stroke. We quickly deduce that there is no physical reason why Nick hasn’t fully recovered from his stroke nine months ago; the paralysing fear of suffering another stroke is what has prevented Nick from recovering. Annabelle and Nick quickly develop an infatuation with each other. Their connection grows when they are forced to work together; Annabelle needs Nick’s help securing a big-league client to show-up her rude nemesis at work and Nick needs Annabelle to help his sister (whom he hasn’t been in contact with since childhood) positively promote her new housing development.
Wait For It is a “sick lit” and a romance that deals with mental health and self worth. One of the main takeaways for me was that you are stronger than you think; “He [Nick] was a man who’s been on the top of the world and had it all crash down around him, but he survived. There was a strength in him he didn’t recognise, but I [Annabelle] did”. Another big takeaway from the story was that you are worth it; one of my favourite quotes from the text (surprisingly said by one of Annabelle’s ex-husbands) is, “you need to stop settling for diamonds in the rough, Annabelle. You deserve so much more”.
This book is ideally suited for adults who enjoy contemporary romance novels that deal with heavier topics like loss, abuse, addiction, mental health, and disabilities. Wait For It would also be perfect for fans of Jennifer Niven, John Green, Jay Asher, and Gayle Forman. This book deals with themes like power and strength, companionship, order and chaos, empowerment, love and loss, heartbreak, escape and isolation, family, fear of failure, losing hope, resilience, appearance versus reality, strength, as well as wealth and poverty.
A major downfall for me was that you must wait until the midway point before the main characters meet in person. I also really didn’t like Annabelle’s rude work nemesis, Carson; he was completely disrespectful and crossed multiple lines and it was hard to believe that Carson was able to get away with harassing his co-workers for so long without being caught. For me personally, I wished the book ended differently as it was a happily ever after ending, but it seemed as though Annabelle was almost reverting to her old self-harmful patterns by rushing into another serious relationship.
First off, Nick and Annabelle’s relationship was “enemies to lovers” was fantastic; their vibe reminded me a lot of Lucy and Josh from one of my favourite books, The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. Furthermore, the main characters in Wait For It, especially the fact that they grew a lot throughout the book. Nick was able to move past his traumatic childhood, learn to let people in, accept his weaknesses, and take steps towards improving his mental health. Additionally, Annabelle was able to conquer challenges at work, stand up for herself, deal with her grief, and start to become more confident in herself. Lastly, I enjoyed reading about Jackson (Nick’s physical therapist/ friend) and Lexi’s (Nick’s sister) budding relationship; I would love to see their love story continue in a sequel!
Overall, this book was incredibly enjoyable and very engaging. I would definitely recommend Wait For It to friends who enjoy reading romance novels that deal with more serious topics.
Wait For It is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of August 10th 2021.
Will you be picking up Wait For It? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
A woman looking for a new lease on life moves to Arizona where she rents a guest house on a gorgeous property with a mysterious owner–a man who teaches her about resilience, courage, and ultimately true love, in this funny, bighearted novel about hope and healing from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay.
Stuck in a dreary Boston winter, Annabelle Martin would like nothing more than to run away from her current life. She’s not even thirty years old, twice-divorced, and has just dodged a marriage proposal… from her ex-husband. When she’s offered her dream job as creative director at a cutting-edge graphic design studio in Phoenix, she jumps at the opportunity to start over.
When she arrives in the Valley of the Sun, Annabelle is instantly intrigued by her anonymous landlord. Based on the cranky, handwritten notes Nick Daire leaves her, she assumes he is an old, rich curmudgeon. Annabelle is shocked when she finally meets Nick and discovers that he’s her age and uses a wheelchair. Nick suffered from a stroke a year ago, and while there’s no physical reason for him not to recover, he is struggling to overcome the paralyzing fear that has kept him a prisoner in his own home.
Despite her promise to herself not to get involved, Annabelle finds herself irresistibly drawn to Nick. And soon she wonders if she and Nick might help each other find the courage to embrace life, happiness, and true love.
