🎧Love Delayed-a standalone

✍🏾By-Anna Black-new to me author

📅Publication date- 11/26/24, Read- 12/13/24

🏃🏾‍♀️‍➡️Run Time-7:10

🗣️Narrators-Geneva Mitchell, Eden Lafon, and Freedom voiced the characters with stand outs from Marcus and Eliana. The reading style brought the text to life, and the author and narrator worked together perfectly. The pacing and flow allowed me to get lost in the story. The narrators paused and announced new chapters and there was a table of contents which helped me follow along.

👆🏾POV: multiple, 1st person

Quick Summary-Marcus Coleman and Zamora Hill were college sweethearts, but future dreams separate them. Ten years later, they have a meet cute at the Vegas airport. They haven't forgotten about each other and compare their partners to each other. Zamora is married and Marcus is in a two-year relationship. Is their love enough to choose each other this time around?

🤷🏾‍♀️ What to Expect
⭐ ️AA Interests
⭐️ 2nd chance romance
⭐️ marriage/divorce
⭐️ family drama
⭐️ Contemporary Romance
⭐ Women's Fic
⭐ secret pregnancy

⚠️TW-SA, sex trafficking(mentioned), cheating (on H and h), fertility issues, miscarriage

🤔 My Thoughts: I loved all the drama but be warned there are a lot of triggers. Christianity played a big part in Zamora's life. She prayed to Abba and antagonized her sister Zaria for being a non-believer. Zamora, Marcus, and Eliana (to an extent) had to make choices between career and love. They do get a satisfying HEA and Marcus's mother was the MVP!

Rating: 3/5⭐⭐⭐

Spice level 4/5🔥

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, RB Media, and Anna Black for this ALC✈️! I voluntarily give an honest review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Found the written okay and the characters were annoying why are they staying in relationships they don’t want to (to be a good person?) that’s not how that works. This felt like drama show they both come off as entitled people who act like they think they’re better than everyone else.
You staying in a toxic relationship and letting yourself be treated like crap doesn’t mean you should feel entitled and expect better in your life. It’s your mistake for making those choices and letting people treat you that way in the first place. You should have more respect for yourself can’t expect things to just happen for you if you’re not happy with your life change it. It felt childish for the guy to expect her to not follow her dreams. They could’ve worked out. I get it for the drama for the plot but still and why doesn’t he see that his fiancé and him are not well matched even if she wasn’t doing what she did to him I still don’t get why he would think it’s a good decision to get married to her with him running his family‘s business he comes off as if he is meant to be intelligent, but he doesn’t act like it in that relationship. I don’t know why we had to make the fiancé Just the bad person so we just hate her cause I’ve just been she was a lovely lady but he just didn’t love her so he broke her off simple as. People are allowed to make their own choices, but I do not understand why she tries to work it out with her husband after what he did that is a dealbreaker for me seems like that was just for the plot for us to not like him and for her to suffer later on With what happens next. Was a cool concept feel like I have read books with similar concepts that have done it much better I would say it was a 2.5 so okay but nothing amazing or original did enjoy the narrators for the audiobook. Keep cover would recommend to Reid but it’s not going to change your life. Will be super memorable if you enjoy this kind of trope I have personally read better ones.

I really struggled with this book.
While I enjoyed the overall story, some of the storylines were unfulfilling.

I appreciated how Z followed her dreams.

Two scenes in this book really lowered my opinion of the overall story. I'm not a fan of descriptive SA scenes with no trigger warnings.

There were times when the mmc was painted in a false-negative light and I don't think the author did enough to contradict that.

The narration was good and added positively to the story.

Book contains
-2nd chance at love
-on page SA
- very good narration

Zamora taking off to pursue her dreams was cool but she didn’t see anything wrong with including Marcus in her plans until the last minute. Marcus laughing her off in the beginning left me feeling some kind of way as well. The timeline threw me off throughout the book. I found it hard to enjoy and connect with characters because of how the time jumps. With all that being said, this second chance romance had the potential to be one of those soul stirring reads that have you rooting for the couple. Although it was not a favorite for me I will still read more from this author.

Oh, I loved this story! It was super cute and a little unbelievable, but I like that sometimes in a corny love story. I did not love the narrators. At times they sounded like they were AI and not human, this threw me off at times. The internal conflict of the MFC was a real one that many women go through and the ending. THE ENDING!!!!!!!

The ending was perfect for me!

Thank you Netgally, RBmedia | Recorded Books, and Anna Black for allowing me to listen to Zamora and Marcus's love story. I am voluntarily leaving this honest review without coercion.

I hate saying negatives about books it breaks my heart because of the amount of effort it takes to write one.

However

This book just didn’t work there was quite a bit wrong the characters just to mesh well. This didn’t feel like a 2nd chance romance.
I felt like the actual story and a very messy feel and didn’t flow right at all it was super confusing and hard to follow to the point where I wanted to DNF.

I’m so sorry

⭐️

Thank you netgalley and RBmedia for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book and style of writing just did nothing for me, so I ended up DNFing at about 20%. There was just too much drama and I couldn't make myself be invested. Additionally there was a lot of telling rather than showing because of the past tense writing style.

Marcus and Zamora's second chance at lobe after ten yeard of breaking is a rollercoaster of emotions, feelings, bad decisions, bad partners and a little difficult to relate to. I' be listened to the audiobook thanks to Netgalley

I DNF’d this book at 56% because it made me uncomfortable. While labeled as a romance, it felt more like a story of messy, toxic relationships. Themes like accidental pregnancy, miscarriage, cheating, gaslighting, and constant lying dominated the plot (without a single trigger warning too). The aggressive fighting, especially early on, was amplified by the audiobook narration, which made it feel even more intense.

Thank you NetGalley, RBmedia, and Anna Black’s team for the audiobook ARC.

So freaking cute!!! I was hooked from the first minute! The narration was wonderful. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this audiobook.

I was very excited for this book, but I couldn't read past 28%. The blurb is very misleading. I was expecting most of the story to take place in the airport during their flight delay, but that was such a small part of the first 28%.

The timeline of this audiobook was confusing. In a physical book/ebook flashbacks can be italicized to show the reader timeline, but this audiobook didn't have clear indicators of where things were in the timeline which made it confusing.

With the way things were written I didn't care for the relationship between the characters and nothing was making me root for them to get back together.

The rest of my review will include things that should have had trigger warnings provided so if you don't want to know feel free to stop reading now.

I think it's irresponsible to not include trigger warnings with this title. I checked the ebook on Kindle unlimited to see if they were just missed in the audiobook and they aren't available there either. I myself do not have these triggers, but I was upset on behalf of my friends who could have picked this up only to have no warning of their triggers.

I could handle cheating, infertility, and pregnancy not having trigger warnings.... I don't love that they were not given for these, but the final straw leading me to dnf this book was when the FMC had an ON PAGE miscarriage without any indication to expect that from the blurb.

Also, someone who tried to get pregnant for YEARS would definitely know that "2 weeks pregnant" would be when conception occurs and not when you find out you're pregnant. That took me out of the story a bit.

The narration was good. I had no issues with the audiobook production.

Thank you NetGalley, RBmedia, and Anna Black’s team for the audiobook ARC.

🎶Siri play: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together by Taylor Swift🎶

I truly had high hopes for this story, but soon found out it would be one of my top worst reads of this year. I’m truly torn up to even write this review, but I will be paying forth a completely honest review to hopefully inspire others to not be scared to voice if they didn’t enjoy something they’ve read.

The story follows FMC Z and MMC Marcus who are both infatuated with one another; that is until Z gets an opportunity to go to culinary school a few states away and will be gone for 13 months. Which puts an end to their relationship. Ten years pass and the MC’s run into each other at an airport after their flight has been cancelled. What seems like fate brought them back together turns out they each are very much have moved on and are committed to their respective partners. Turns out the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Z and Marcus go through hell and back, but finally get another stab at rekindling their relationship.

✌🏻Dual POV
🤰🏾Accidental Pregnancy
💋Cheating
👼🏾Child Loss/Infertility
🥈Second Chance Romance
😱Deception/Lies/Secrets
💍Marriage of Convenience + Distress
🤫Hidden Truth
😮Sexual Assault (Rape)


Way too much going on in one book! I’m always down for a book that will keep me busy or engaged, but everything that was thrown into the book was just too much. What the author thought was great components turned into a recipe for disaster🔥 It was one thing after the other and I couldn’t take it anymore. To start there should’ve been a TW’s page before starting this… the plot and characters were so underdeveloped as well.

The characters were all so unlikable and toxic it made me sick🤢 The MC’s didn’t act their age and were immature. I feel the MC’s didn’t deserve each other or anything else that happened in the entirely of this book. It brought me back to the days where I’d see Maury playing on the tv and thinking wtf am I witnessing. Who in their right mind actually enjoys this crap.

The writing was unstructured, sloppy, unbelievable, etc. The simple fact the characters were ALL colored (lack of diversity) but that’s not what bothered me. It was the way they were written. All I heard was the ‘N’ word on repeat and the unlimited profanity. It was very uncomfortable… I was happy to see colored MC’s on the cover, but not so they can be portrayed as damn fools. It gives a negative connotation on the black community and I just can’t stand that.

For an author whose primary work is writing about colored characters it seems like this was the first book she’s EVER written. I hope the author can see how powerful her words are once they’ve reached printed pages.

Unfortunately I would not recommend this book or the author to anyone. For now, the only thing delayed is the author’s ability to right a good prose.

#LoveDelayed #NetGalley

**Review of *Love Delayed* by Anna Black (Audiobook)**

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*Love Delayed* by Anna Black is an emotionally compelling romance that will resonate with fans of heartfelt stories about second chances and personal growth. The audiobook, narrated with passion and nuance, draws you in from the start as it explores the complex dynamics between the main characters, Jada and Mike.

The plot revolves around love that comes at the wrong time, and the challenges that arise when timing and personal circumstances complicate relationships. Anna Black does a great job of capturing the emotional tension between the two leads, and the author’s writing keeps you invested in their journey. The chemistry between Jada and Mike is palpable, and the book does a wonderful job of exploring themes of forgiveness, healing, and rediscovery.

The narration is where this audiobook truly shines. The voice actor delivers a strong performance, bringing each character's emotions to life with depth and authenticity. The pacing is steady, and the transitions between different emotional beats are handled with care, making it an engaging listen from start to finish.

If you're a fan of romance with a touch of drama and a lot of heart, *Love Delayed* is a great pick. The only reason I’m not giving it five stars is that the pacing felt a little slow in certain parts, but overall it’s a solid listen that delivers a satisfying, emotional payoff.

Highly recommend for anyone looking for an audiobook that balances romance with real-life struggles and emotional depth!

First of all, I would like to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me this arc for an honest review.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars.

This unfortunately was not for me. To me, it felt more like a chaotic reality TV show than a book. The expressions on my face were changing constantly because of the jumps and shifts that happened in this book.

In the end, I couldn't connect with the characters and their story. I am sure someone would find the drama that happened here engaging but it was just too much for me.

2.5 ⭐

Not my cup of tea.
I couldn't connect to the characters, I kind of hated the narrating voice of the FMC and still don't understand the necessity of the second female POV. Her story could have been told with the MMC pov.
The whole airport plot was just a very brief mention while I thought it was an integrating part of it. I was convinced most of the book took place that night at the airport.

Just generally disappointed.
It's not a bad book but I just didn't like it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for providing me with a free arc of this in the audiobook version for an honest review 🤍

This audiobook lacked romance. It was not for me. It just seemed like it was about childish people who were married/engaged/dating other childish people. It seemed like every relationship was forced including Marcus and Z. There was no tension that I normally enjoy. Everyone was pregnant and it just all seemed so odd to throw this into every portion of the story.

The narrators are great! I listened at 1.75 times. The narrators were the saving grace for this audiobook.

I finished this within a couple of hours and I loved the swoon’s characters and the banter! The it’s always been you and the ending!!

2.5 stars

This has the potential to be a good second-chance romance, but it missed the mark. The storyline was confusing, and the characters weren't developed. As a result, I was not invested in the story. It was messy and some of it was weighted down with unnecessary details. I would love to read/listen to this again if there would be a revision.

Love Delayed
Anna Black
We mainly focused on the couples' story after their breakup. This might be interesting for some people, not everyone tho. I liked how they planned the way that the two separate couples broke up and how the main couple got together after 10 years apart. That was the most interesting part. The main female character gets pregnant and something unexpected happens. I haven't had a lot of books with the pregnancy trope in it. Most books that I read have the pregnancy at the end. I like the business side of this story as well. I like how the male character treated the main female character.
I loved both the main characters' energies and how they solved their problems. Although how they solved their problems was a bit questionable at times. The overall message of the book is quite strong, fulfilling relationships. What relationships offer and what a stable relationship can be.
Overall: 4 stars. Well done to the author.

I loved the premise of this book, but it really fell short of expectations. Many situations felt a bit unbelievable. The characters were not developed enough to really connect with and therefore I felt really uninvested in the story. The religious aspects of the book were very abrupt and incongruous. Also, the language is terrible. I can usually skim over cursing in literature but the level in this book was distracting. Graphic sexual scenes and conversation including a sexual assault. Would not recommend.