4.5 stars

It is bold to title a book “Satisfaction Guaranteed” but boy was this satisfying. This book follows Cade, a practical accountant and art gallery owner, who co-inherits her aunt's failing sex toy shop. Cade and Selena, her aunt's employee and tenant and Cade's now co-owner, must work together to save the quirky, delightful shop. It is a vulnerable, hilarious, and sexy ride.

I loved these characters and the authentic, nuanced, non-stereotypical depictions of queer women and a sapphic relationship. Is this the new sapphic version of the grumpy/sunshine trope? Practical/woo-woo? Because I don't hate it.

At its core, this is a book about sexuality, which is one of the things that makes the romance genre so incredible. This book packs real emotional depth in with humor and sex positivity. It is sex positive while also taking a really nuances and complex look at sex and sexuality, and without shaming anyone (least of all the characters) for having complicated feelings about sex. Cade is a butch who isn't sexually confident (which is a breath of fresh air all on its own), and watching her and Selena work through Cade's relationship to her own sexuality together felt almost therapeutic.

A few things I particularly enjoyed:
-A personal celibacy vow
-THE STRAP-ON SCENE
-Conversations about the value of art and what it means to be an artist
-The beautiful depiction of grief

I did want a little bit more around the 75% mark. I just felt like it moved a little too fast in the "and now we're ready to be together" portion, but all around this is a truly wonderful, funny, and big-hearted book. This is perfect for fans of Written in the Stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC.

CW: sexual harassment by a teacher, death of a loved one

3.5 stars

If you’re like me, seeing ‘sapphic romcom’ might be all the convincing you need to pick up Satisfaction Guaranteed. This book is funny and sexy with a fun premise and well-developed characters.

Selena and Cade are opposites in just about every way. Selena is a free spirit while Cade is more reserved (and repressed). Selena loves to be around people and be social, and Cade would rather stick to numbers than people. Selena is very open about sex and knows the importance of pleasure, whether solo or with someone else, while Cade has limited sexual experience and thinks she's bad at sex because she’s never had a great deal of success in that department and has never had an orgasm. Their love of Ruth - Selena’s landlord and boss, and Cade’s aunt - brings them together when Ruth dies and leaves them her house and her business - a failing, near-bankrupt sex shop.

I loved the emphasis and openness about sex, female pleasure, and consent in this book. It was woven into the story in a natural way - the sex shop setting helped with that, I think. The open conversations between Selena and Cade about sex, orgasms, sex toys, masturbation, and more were refreshing, and I enjoyed watching Selena gently coax Cade out of her shell. I also appreciated the themes of acceptance, self-love, and figuring out what’s important in life.

If you're looking for a fun, fast-paced, sex-positive, opposites attract, slow-burn romcom with wonderfully quirky characters, be sure to add Satisfaction Guaranteed to your TBR.

When uptight gallery owner, Cade Elgin, attends her beloved Aunt Ruth’s funeral, little did she know she’d befriend the woman who started their eulogy speech talking about her Aunt’s clit.

Selena Mathis, eccentric instagram influencer look-a-like who can recite the bible like no ones business but also teach you all about cunnilingus, worked at the sex shop ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed’ with the late Ruth. She’s on her way to getting her life together, but in order to do so she has vowed to be celibate, then came Cadence Elgin. These two opposites have to work together to salvage the shop & pay pack it’s enormous debt in less than a month without catching feelings.

I am so happy I found this book. I thought I was going to get a cute, spicy, WLW rom-com & I got that... and so much more. I’m a sucker for the opposites attract trope, & it was done so well here! I was a bit on the fence about how their relationship was going to develop given their drastic differences in sexual history & personality, but the author did an amazing job at developing their chemistry in a soft and sweet way, I never wanted it to end. (P.S. please read the author’s note at the end of the book because wow! so many resources on female sexuality, pleasure classes, etc.)

As a queer woman, who reads tons of WLW novels, I have never learned so much about female sexuality and sex positivity than I have in this book. It was so enlightening AND so beautifully written. Satisfaction Guaranteed is an informative book about female sexuality & the transformative power of being seen for your true self disguised as a funny book about a sex toy store.

3.5/5 stars

While the initial premise of this book feels incredibly silly, the execution of the plot is actually incredible. I really enjoyed both Cade and Selena as individuals and together. Their relationship felt fun and serious at the same time.

I would highly recommend this book to romance lovers!

Wow! SATISFACTION GUARANTEED was a surprisingly beautiful book about the difference between looking and seeing. It follows the story of a talented but troubled hipster painter, Selena, and a famous Type A gallery owner/accountant from NYC, Cade, as they work to save the eccentric sex toy store Cade's aunt left to the both of them. Along the way they heal themselves and fall for each other. It was hilarious and heartwarming, if not at times sad. A very fun and quick read.

Read this book if you like: polar opposites, sex positivity, and sapphic romances. So basically, everyone should read this!

Cade and Selena are polar opposites who meet when Cade inherits her aunt’s sex toy store where Selena works. I really enjoyed this story for many reasons but mostly the sex positivity!

5⭐

WOW. I am OBSESSED. Please tell me Karelia is writing a new book set this world of fantastic people that includes a cameo from Cade and Selena because I love them and I want more.

So the basic premise is that after the death of Cade's aunt, she must work with her aunt's employee/tenant Selena to bring her aunt's sex toy store out of bankruptcy. Which you know is going to be such a fun read just from hearing the plot, but the book dives so deep into these characters with their back stories and quirks and how their relationship develops. It was so lovely and beautiful.

I loved how these two women are unapologetically themselves and accept their partners. Cade feels like she always gets stereotyped as the business woman so Selena learns about accounting for her. Cade does not judge Selena on her past relationships whatsoever. I loved the strength and depth of Cade and Selena and I am yearning to know more about Selena's friends. Also the ENDING! It was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

I don't want to say more and spoil it. Go read this book!!!!

Satisfaction Guaranteed delivers as promised!

Karelia Stetz-Waters' opposites attract rom-com between a buttoned-up art gallery manager/accountant and a free-spirited sex educator is filled with humor, heart, and...sex toys.

This is an absolute summer must-read.

4.25 out of 5 stars for me! i love, love, loved this book. the incredulity of the premise, of the store, and just of selena as a person were all striking and attractive to me as a reader. i found cade to be one of the best written characters i have read in this genre, and her development was more than just satisfying. this book is so outrageously gay, sexy, and clear about sex and body positivity. it was a breath of fresh air.

Opposites attract. Enough said. Seriously though, this book follows Cade who is an art gallery owner with hilarious over-the-top parents in NY and Selena who is a former painter and current sales person at the sex shop/celibate sex educator. When Cades aunt Ruth passes away, both Cade and Serena inherit the sex shop, the house and the cabin from Ruth. They are left trying to save all of them in a month before everything gets given to the debt collectors.

Cade is uptight and Serena is outgoing. They both inherit the shop together and are trying to keep it afloat together, even though they don't agree on how to do that.

Everything about this book was great. I was laughing out loud from the first few pages. Definitely one to check out.

Thank you NetGalley + Forever Publishing for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub Date: June 1

I have never read a sapphic romcom before and it seriously needs to be more popular. This is a sex-positive romp that touches on topics like imposter syndrome and abusive relationships, all while promoting an organic fake dating romance. The sense of community and steam in this book won't leave you wanting more... Satisfaction guaranteed.

This book is exactly what I needed at this time. If you want a sapphic opposites attract sex shop rom-com, this is for you!

Cade Elgin is an art gallery owner from NY who travels to Portland for her aunt’s funeral. At the funeral Selena, former painter, delivers an eulogy that catches Cade’s attention. Together, Cade and Selena inherit a sex shop and work together to try to pay off its debt in one month.

I loved these characters so much! Cade is more reserved whereas Selena is more over the top and outspoken. They’re complete opposites that worked so well together. The banter is this book is phenomenal! The wlw romance is spot on, definitely the most realistic I’ve read. This book is sex positive and has toys with very explicit scenes🔥🔥 This is the kind of book you read in a day or two because it’s THAT GOOD!

I didn’t like that Cade and Selena don’t vocalize their feelings for each other for about half the book, but the inner monologues were brilliant. I just wish more of it was in the epilogue. I disliked how Selena brushed off that the store only catered to cis woman but she does make the necessary changes for the business to thrive after realizing. Didn’t love the lesbian “u-haul” ending but it’s the one the book needed and I can’t think of an alternate happy ending.

Thank you so much NetGalley & Forever for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

TL; DR Review: often funny, w/ two leads who do the work. This one made me feel very positive about my vulva (is that TMI?).


Uptight & agent of chaos is one of my fave couple combos *she says very nonchalantly & not as if she has a major internal squee nearly every time she encounters it.* Karelia Stetz-Waters’s Satisfaction Guaranteed does it really well.

Starchy gallery owner & manager Cade Elgin doesn’t really know how to lighten up—which makes her a bit of an anomaly in her free-spirited, unconventional family.

Selena Mathis is a celibate sex educator who is trying “to get her shit together on her own.” An artist who isn’t making art, she’s haunted by her last relationship—which was emotionally devastating & the aftermath of which led her to make some decisions she’s still wrestling w/.

Cade’s aunt leaves her home & struggling sex toy shop Satisfaction Guaranteed to both of them. On the surface it seems that Cade has the business savvy & Selena has the heart & passion but as the book explores, maybe they’re both more than that.

This romance offers a real sense of growth for both leads & a winning sense of humor. It’s sex & body positive & really exciting seeing Cade (& Selena!) learn more about their wants. I stan honest convos about female orgasms & in Cade’s case, love seeing how she can finally experience an orgasm with Selena but also how it’s not a guaranteed situation & that’s okay too.

Throughout the latter half of Satisfaction Guaranteed there’s a real hopefulness in where things are going between them & where each character is going on her own & a celebration of bravery—taking a chance.

It hits so many of the right notes for me.

4.5 ⭐️. Release date: 06/01.

​CW:

​Selena’s ex is extremely controlling, verbally/emotionally manipulative & I think emotionally abusive. There’s also what I would call a flippant conversation including mandalas.

Satisfaction Guaranteed is the first story that I have read, that explains women on woman sex in a realistic light. I found myself relating a lot to the characters when it came to sexual inexperience. Because the fact is there aren't has many resources to figure out women x women sex than heterosexual sex. And it's why this story is extremely important. Not only is the concept great, I thought both characters balanced each other well. It's a heartwarming romance and predictable rom-com. Overall, this story has an amazing concept, strong characters, great love story but it is predictable.

Cade Elgin is serious and uptight to a fault. She has to be a given her job as a manager of a high powered NYC art gallery. But when Cade's Aunt Ruth and wills her one half of her failing sex toy business, she must team up with free-spirited painter Selena to save the business. Almost $100,000 in debt, Satisfaction Guaranteed is going to need a complete overhaul. In this opposites attract queer romance, Selena is unwilling at best to part with Ruth's vision and fights Cade at every turn. But when the two start to wear down each others' emotional walls, subtle flirting might actually turn into more.

This was such a fun read! I enjoyed both Cade and Selena's characters and how their opposite natures tended to balance each other out. I love a good opposites attract romance and these two could not be more different. The two women really pushed each other outside of their comfort zones and they had the sweetest and most tender romance. Their subtle flirting was adorable and the pair just works.

The main highlight for me was the sex positivity in this book. The author does a fantastic job emphasizing that there's no shame in pleasure and understanding what you like and need, specifically when it comes to your sexuality. It made for an absolutely beautiful love story.

Thank you Forever and NetGalley for the advanced copy! Satisfaction Guaranteed is out June 1.

This was a such a funny and sweet romantic comedy. Cade and Selena are thrown together to try and save Cade's deceased Aunt's failing sex toy shop. Opposites attract with a slow burn makes way for some great sexual tension in this one! You get female/female romance, some of the best sex positivity I have ever read, and the importance of seeing someone for who they truly are.
My favorite thing about their relationship and the way this story was told was that both had some less than stellar opinions of themselves but we are able to see how the other person sees them which is just so beautiful!!
I love being able to see both characters through the other person's eyes.
The way this book talks about female sexuality and female pleasure was just perfect in my opinion. No judgement, no shame, and each person's experience is valid. Perfection!

Oh and don't miss out on the authors notes at the end. You get insights to her inspiration for this story and some more of her thoughts on sex positivity and female sexuality. Absolutely amazing!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Thank you to @readforeverpub and @netgalley for this e-ARC!

Going into this book I heard it described as “lesbian adult shop romance”. While this is technically true, it only is at the basic level. Two women, who are very unlike each other come together in order to rescue a deep-in-debt adult store. Honestly we don’t hear much about the adult store at all and is very much about the women getting to know each other as well as involving art (I don’t want to give too much away! It’s an interesting storyline though!) The whole book was very sex positive and the characters were likable and charismatic. It is very much an insta love story so it did feel like the relationship developed entirely too quickly for my taste but for a fast fun read, I didn’t mind. This book is perfect for a low stakes romance and as always I love to see the wlw representation.

Copy provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Oh. My. God, this book. How much do I love Satisfaction Guaranteed?! I was hooked right from the first few pages, where stiff, serious Cade sits out-of-place and uncomfortable at her free-spirited aunt’s funeral, and her aunt’s friend Selena opens her eulogy by talking about the deceased’s clit. Then I got to know Cade and Selena, and the more I read of them, the more I loved them, and longed for them to achieve their happily-ever-after. Satisfaction Guaranteed is one of the best books I’ve read this year, and I absolutely, very highly, recommend reading it for yourself.

This book works on so many levels. Many opposites attract romances feature fun bickering and sexy personality clashes; the set-up of this novel shows from the get-go how much Cade and Selena’s relative strengths complement each other and combine them into a formidable team. Cade’s Aunt Ruth leaves her home and sex toy shop to both women. The shop is unfortunately very much in the red, and Cade and Selena have only a month to turn a profit before the properties need to be sold to pay off the debts. Cade has the financial literacy and business acumen; Selena has the product expertise and passion for the shop. Their differences causes them to butt heads early when Cade decides to streamline their inventory, and Selena argues that her decision lacks long-term vision, but even that argument shows how important both women’s perspectives are to making this business work.

A major theme in this novel is the importance of consent, and I absolutely love how Stetz-Waters shows how absolutely romantic and sexy this concept is. For example, Cade is insecure about her perceived lack of sexual prowess — she’s never had an orgasm, and her last sexual partner kicked her out because she sucked, and not in a good way. I’ve read many romance novels, where one character admits they’ve never had an orgasm, and the other promises they can give them one right then and there. I’ve never really thought too hard about that trope, until this book. When Cade admits she’s never had an orgasm, Selena simply says “You don’t have to,” and continues to pleasure her. I swear, that’s about the sexiest, most heartwarming moment I’ve read in a while, and seriously: more of this in novels, please!

I also love how consent is shown outside the bedroom. Selena is a super talented artist, but a traumatic relationship has made her give up her art. Cade, who runs her family’s art gallery, recognizes Selena’s talent at once, and can’t understand why she’d give it up. But there’s a moment where Cade basically says Selena doesn’t have to explain if she doesn’t want to, and it’s totally her choice whether or not she returns to painting. Throughout the novel, we see Cade engage in a friendly rivalry with a co-worker to find the next artist superstar, and Cade knows how valuable Selena’s paintings can be. But she never once pressures Selena to return to painting if she doesn’t want to. And again, I’ve often read romance novels where one of the main characters does push the other to use their talent, and I’ve always read that as simply a way for them to show their support. But Cade’s support for Selena’s decision to stop painting is so much sweeter, and makes Selena’s character arc in the latter half of the novel so much more powerful.

My absolute favourite scene involves Selena giving Cade a ride on her motorcycle. Cade’s never ridden a motorcycle before, and at first, she’s afraid Selena would zip around at top speed. Again, this is a trope I’ve read before, where the more cautious main character doesn’t realize how much they enjoy a wild activity until they try it. And again, Stetz-Waters turns this trope on its head, and makes the motorcycle ride sexy and sweet precisely because Selena takes it slow the whole time. She takes the time to teach Cade some non-verbal signals to ask her to slow down or stop, depending on Cade’s comfort level. Then she starts at a putter, and throughout the ride, continues to check in on Cade’s comfort, using hand signals to ask if the speed is okay, or if Cade wants her to speed up or slow down. It’s just an absolutely beautiful, heartwarming scene, and the moment when I went from liking them to all-out being in love with them. Selena and Cade are both wonderful people in their own right, and this scene beautifully encapsulates how together, they’re downright magical.

Do yourself a favour, and read this. The book has a good ending that, yes, made me all kilig to the bones, but I admit feeling a bit sad when the book ended. I want to read more of Cade and Selena, and I’m very much looking forward to checking out the author’s backlist!

+

Thank you to Forever for an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Two complete opposites, forced to work together to save a sex toy shop? Sounds like a recipe for a fun, unique, rom-com. While the general story was fun and endearing, I didn't fall in love with this one as much as I was hoping. I felt the way our two main characters, Cade and Selena, were portrayed tried too hard to emphasize their differences, to the point where they felt over the top. I also found the writing to feel kind of choppy with lots of short sentences. That, combined with it feeling like not much happened made it hard to get invested in the story and the relationship. I wanted to get a bit more into how they were trying to save the store, but I felt that started to fall into the periphery a bit too much. I did enjoy seeing both Selena and Cade both end up fighting for what they wanted their lives to be, and finding that together. While this one wasn't a hit for me, I think a lot of romance readers will enjoy!

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the eARC!

This is a very important book. It’s funny and charming and tugs at the heartstrings and all of that as well, but goodness, mostly it is important.

Satisfaction Guaranteed is a delightful standalone from author Karelia Stetz-Waters, about two women who have never met who inherit a sex toy shop and are tasked posthumously to try and save it from a mountain of debt. The deceased’s niece, Cade, is a butch lesbian accountant from New York who’s never had an orgasm. She meets Selena, who worked at the store and lived with Cade’s Aunt Ruth before she died, at the funeral, where Selena gives a heartfelt eulogy about Ruth’s clitoris.

The leading trope in this book is obviously opposites attract, but this story also features amazing friendships, interesting family dynamics, abusers getting what they deserve, and so much sex positivity in a refreshingly honest presentation. There was miscommunication but in a queer-women-having-too-many-feelings way, which was both funny and heartbreaking even if it hit a little too close to home at times.

What made me love this book the most is that it is so clearly a story written by a queer woman who loves queer women and queer people and wants the whole world to know. When Cade identified herself as a lesbian on the page, with the actual word, I had to put my Kindle down and do a little happy dance in my seat. It’s so rare for me to see my identity so clearly reflected in the stories that I read, and especially in such a positive light.

Being a lesbian approaching 30 and falling in love for the first time myself, Cade Elgin was a literary dream. This book made me laugh, made me smile like a dummy, and occasionally made me blush quite a bit (it IS an adult novel, as these women remind you of that more often than I expected them to), but mostly it made me feel loved and valued and seen. I cannot appreciate that enough.

This book comes out on June 1st. I can’t wait to get my own copy. Please please please read this book, and then come talk to me about it.