It’s a little hard to write this review because I’m not quite sure what it was supposed to be. The first half felt solidly like women’s fiction, the second half was a romance. I really enjoyed the second half, but the first half was a little slow for me. Once the plot finally picked up near the 45% mark I started enjoying it.

Needing a change after her ex-husband proposes again, Annabelle moves to Phoenix to accept a job working for her BFF. She’s immediately intrigued by her mysterious landlord whom she hasn’t met in person. They communicate via handwritten notes, until one day she finally antagonizes him enough for an in person meeting. He’s not at all what she expected and the two begin a steamy affair, but both have baggage from their past holding them back.

I struggled a bit with Annabelle. My pet peeve in life is tardy people, and she thinks because she is an artist that gives her license to be late everywhere she goes. She’s almost 30 years old and can’t arrive to work on time. This isn’t normally a big deal for me for a fictional character, but it is mentioned often, like it’s some charming affectation instead of just plain rudeness. From the very beginning, I didn’t like or trust her because of this. She also is an extrovert who thinks she can just force her will onto everyone and get what she wants, and I think she needed to grow up and learn how to deal with people a little more maturely.

Nick has had a hard year, after suffering a stroke at a young age, he can’t get over the fact that his body betrayed him and deals with constant anxiety it will let him down again. He had a lot to work through from his past and the present worry of suffering another stroke, but I found his character compelling and quite likeable. I love a grump, and this poor misanthropic baby won my heart quickly.

Their relationship seemed based mostly on proximity, but I did appreciate that they brought out a better side of each other. Annabelle’s work situation was interesting and I did like that dynamic.

Overall I liked the last half but the first half was not super interesting to me. 3.5 stars

This was so cute.
These people were literal broken pieces, finding their way to one another to become whole.
I didn’t think I would like Nick, at first. Too brusque, too closed off, just not enough personality. But he surprised me. While that may have been his default setting, he did grow on me.
And Annabelle. I can’t say flighty, that’s not the right word, but she was definitely a little impulsive. It works in most cases, but there were a few times that I wanted her to just stop and think for a minute.
Overall, I enjoyed, I just wish that they had had a bit more time to work on themselves individually.

I loved the charming heroine and brooding hero of this contemporary romance. She's always been a fixer in past relationships and he's coming off of a major health event that has left him with anxiety and depression. Written with a lot of heart and humor Wait For It was just the book I needed and left me smiling as I turned the last page.

If you're looking for a good chick lit read this is for you. A good enemies to lovers read to breeze through

An incredibly cute romantic book about fear and second chances. I enjoyed it immensely. The characters were well written and I was immersed in the story quickly.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for this ARC of Wait for It by Jenn McKinlay, this one is out on 08/10!

I am a sucker for a cute cover (especially a cute cover and a story that takes place in Phoenix), but unfortunately this story was a miss for me. I did enjoy the two POVs, I just wish I could've connected to these characters more. They were not very developed in my opinion. Nick is supposed to be this "broken beyond repair" type of guy, but I found him extremely arrogant, dull, and just not well written. The whole thing with his sister seemed so random and pointless, like it was just thrown in there to try to give his character some backstory but...yeah just didn't feel authentic to me at all. Annabelle's POV was better for me, I thought she was written a little better, but her character just didn't make sense to me. I know I should just take this for a romance, happy ever after story, but I just can't help but feel weird about these two together. They really were not ready for a relationship.

I wanted to like this so much, it had potential for sure.

This title - really wanted to love it - the cover gave me such grabby hands, but I ultimately couldn't connect with this one. This is more a critique of many books in romance genre (which I read a lot of!) where the protagonists don't seem mentally healthy enough to attempt a relationship and this was one of those for me. Just made me uneasy!

This didn't speak to me as much as I was hoping based on the cover and description, but I think romance fans looking for something slightly heavier and will enjoy it.

Wait for It was a little heavier than I anticipated (the content is not "easy" content) but I think that's why I loved it so much! Jenn McKinlay can write humor and heart while also connecting with her readers on a deep level. This is a skill that not all authors have so I give her props for being able to do so! This is a wonderful story and I highly recommend it.

This a sweet romance book about a woman realizing that perhaps she's a bit smother-y in relationships while at the same time trying to help a wounded man - both in mind and body - find his place in life again and begin to live after becoming a recluse. There's the usual sexual tension, angst-y moments, light humor and HEA that one finds in an enjoyable romantic read. A good way to while away an afternoon by the pool or beach.

PS - By sweet, I mean the story - there's definitely sexy times in there!

This book was cute. Kinda predictable and slow at times though. I felt like there was a lot that I wanted to skim. The story reminded me of Me Before You. Nick and Annabelles relationship was fun especially how they started as enemies. Overall it was mostly enjoyable and easy to read.

Annabelle, a successful freelance designer, moves from wintery Boston to sunny Phoenix to take a job as creative director at a top design firm run by her dear college friend and her husband. Part of the deal is that she can rent a beautiful guest house on an estate. The estate's owner wants to be left alone, and she is intrigued -- she wants to meet him. Turns out, he is a handsome, successful entrepreneur who suffered a stroke at a young age and is now incapacitated by panic attacks. She's got some issues of her own, but they work things out together. This is a fun and fast-paced romance with plenty of heart!

The cover of this book completely sucked me in right off the bat. Super obsessed, but who’s surprised? I decided to, very randomly, read this book ASAP when I was approved on Netgalley. I read it in just a few sittings because honestly it was pretty addicting and enjoyable!

The setup here is that Annabelle’s friends invite her out to Arizona to work at their up-and-coming graphic design studio. They’ve hooked her up with a rental on the property of a mysterious retired man named Nick. She doesn’t lay eyes on him for a long time and incorrectly assumes (because he’s retired and he writes her curmudgeonly letters) he’s an old guy. Wrong – he’s her age and super hot.

I enjoyed that there were a lot of things happening in this book – each character had a ton going on in their life and all of the side characters did too. Lots of history and current drama with work or family/friends. At times it felt like a bit much, but for the most part it made everyone feel very fleshed out. I always appreciate that. I also liked that the POVs went back and forth between Anna and Nick – it was important to actually get in his head to understand why he was acting a certain way. On the surface he just seemed super terrible.

The writing style was a little repetitive and sometimes annoying (there were a number of things that rubbed me the wrong way). As usual, I can’t put my finger on it. Annabelle’s inner thoughts were the more repetitive ones and she talked to herself in a weird way that I can’t describe properly. I liked her as a character for the most part, but I wanted to punch her for constantly being late. You’re almost 30 years old and you don’t know how to set a recurring weekday alarm on your phone to get to work on time? HOW? She was also married and divorced twice by this age, which isn’t a big deal when you learn the context, but just reminded me of Ross from Friends lol.

The ending was not necessary at all so the final couple pages annoyed me, which is not how I like to end a book lol. I won’t spoil it but it was just a completely ridiculous way to end the story based on Annabelle’s life. It didn’t leave a good taste in my mouth overall.

I very much enjoyed Jenn McKinlay's "Wait For It." Her book was humorous with heart and a very sobering story line at times. I laughed and I cried but mostly I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

McKinlay's tale follows Annabelle to sunny Pheonix, AZ from Boston in the dead of winter. With her fresh start she meets new people, falls in love, and learns about herself. I adored McKinlay's combination of laughter and more serious topics. It kept me flipping the pages but not getting so sad that I needed a break.

This romance is worthy of a Hallmark movie. Annabelle Martin, lives in Boston, is offered her dream job at a great graphics design studio in Phoenix. The offer comes along at the perfect time. Her relationships with the opposite sex haven’t gone so well, and the weather is dark and cold in Boston.
The studio is owned by her good friends from college, and they have arranged a temporary rental for Annabelle as she decides if moving to Phoenix is going to work for her. The catch with the cottage is that it is on the property of the landlord, Nick Daire, who has many rules about what his tenant may or may not do. Based on his notes, Annabelle figures he is some rich old guy who can’t be happy about anything.
She is shocked to discover that he is a rich young guy just about to turn 30 and uses a wheelchair after suffering from a stroke. Annabelle tries not to get involved, but soon finds herself trying to encourage Nick in his rehab as well as in venturing out and being with people again.
In spite of themselves, these two can’t help but fall in love.

When Annabelle noticed that her ex husband is about to propose to her AGAIN, she quickly decides to take her best friends job offer in Arizona. Sophie’s husband has found her a perfect place to live, just follow the landlords rules, and don’t try to meet him. When she finally manages to meet Nick, he is not what she expected at all!

This book was so dang cute! I really loved all the characters, I felt they were all very complex and intriguing. I particularly loved Nick’s story, and how he was still feeling effects from his stroke several months later, and they were mostly anxiety related. I thought him learning more about how his anxiety and stress was hurting his body was fascinating and a great add to the story. Overall this was a very enjoyable vacation read!

This was spectacular. Wait for It has everything you could want in a book: a sexy, brooding landlord with past trauma and a quirky, witty tenant new to the area to escape some past mistakes. It's sweet, tender, and unbelievable steamy.

I love how Jenn McKinlay is branching out into romance! I love that this is the sister of the main character from "Paris is Always a Good Idea". It connects the books without creating a series. I thought the mystery around Nick and his illness was good and kept me waiting to hurry up and find out what was wrong. Overall, this was a great read and I'd recommend this to anyone who wants some lighter romance fiction to escape with.

I was hooked by the teaser for this book - I was expecting one of those chick lit books with alllll the feelings. My favorite kind. McKinlay definitely builds in the elements for all of this emotional magic to happen, but there was something about Nick that was just too hard at times and a lot of his internal struggle is skipped over at the end - so the reader gets to see hardened Nick and then they break up and when he returns he's all fixed (well, it alludes that he's a work in progress, but damn, he made a lot of progress in 2 weeks of therapy after a 20 years of parental neglect).
Annabelle is, of course, the stereotypical manic pixie dream girl (they actually call her 'goddess' to her face) - she's quirky and artistic. She's been married twice before, but no damage has been sustained from her break ups. Her baggage is barely touched upon and except for one element that her exhusband and best friend bring to light, she's a fully realized person - in touch with herself and insightful to all the motives and baggage of everyone around her.
I just couldn't buy the characters as much as I needed to be able to adore this book the way I wanted to.
I appreciate the ARC! Thank you!

I like this author there were definitely w=some funny spots. It was a quirky quick read and I liked it but I did not love it. I had a hard time connecting with and believing the main character. I did think it was great that the main characters were not perfect. I think I just wanted more growth for Annabelle. But I did enjoy this one. Worth a read.