Book Review — Worth The Wait by Claudia Connor

“I loved you yesterday. I’ll love you tomorrow. Every day.”

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SQUEEE!!! This was one of the most heart-warming and ROMANTIC books I’ve read in a long time! If you’re a fan of protective single dad heroes and emotional second chance love stories, then you have to read this book!! There are SO MANY FEELS — deep pain and heartbreak, and yet such tender passion and beautiful healing — and SO MUCH LOVE!! This book made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me SWOOOOOOON and it kept my heart racing because I just knew without a doubt that this couple was meant for each other and no matter how much hardship life put them through, they’d always find their way back to each other. This is definitely a new TOP FAVORITE!!

He broke her heart. Now this FBI agent is down on his knees to win her back.

Nick Walker found his one and only when he was just nineteen.

Found her.
Loved her.
Lost her.

It’s been ten years since Nick watched Mia walk out of his life. Ten years of pain and regret. Now he will do anything to win her back.

But it won’t be easy…

Mia’s heart was shattered by Nick. They’ll have to face their painful past if they want a future, including Mia’s own secret about that day it all fell apart.

When Nick was barely twenty years old, his parents died in a car accident leaving him as the sole guardian of his younger brothers and two-year old baby sister, Hannah. Desperate to keep his family together in the wake of this loss, he assumed all parental responsibilities and in an instant everything about his life changed. With Hannah being so young, he became incredibly protective of her and she became deeply attached to him. He’d even carry her around with him to classes in college and tried his best to never let her out of his sight.

With a traumatized toddler in his care, the care of his brothers, and his focus on school consuming his life, the last thing he was thinking of was dating anyone. But then Mia came into his life and over the next few months and years, it became unquestionable clear that not only was he completely in love with her, but she was ‘the one’ for him.

But when an unexpected tragedy ripped through their lives, they lost everything. Until ten years later, when their lives brought them back together… giving them a second chance at the love they both still held in their hearts.

“I love you, Nick Walker.”
His mouth curved in a slow smile, and he caught the back of her head. “I love you, too,” he said against her lips. “I loved you yesterday. I’ll love you tomorrow. Every day.”

Okay I need to take a minute to gush over how HEART-MELTINGLY ADORABLE it was to see how caring Nick was of his baby sister. I mean seriously. PURE SWOON MATERIAL. He was the epitome of a good guy — responsible, kind, caring, deeply protective. Seriously, I don’t think it’s possible not to fall in love with him. GAH! *melts*

My favorite thing about this book was that I FELT the story from the start. You know what I mean? Like my heart was fluttering all over the place as I read. Sometimes it takes a while to connect to a story, but this one I just clicked with right from the start. Nick and Mia were so perfect for each other and the tenderness of the love they shared was beautiful. There were so many feels. So much history. So much love and pain… I was completely drawn in.

He brushed his lips over hers, let them linger. Kissed his way over her cheeks, her temple, back to her mouth. “Stay,” he whispered.
Even with the ball of fear in his gut, he whispered again. “Stay.”
…
He needed her like air; he always had. The quick, hot spark flared through him just the way he remembered. She was everything that every other woman wasn’t. She was Mia. She was his.

The story takes place in present day (twenty four years after Nick and Mia first met in college), but there are many flashback chapters that take us through their history from the day they met until the day they fell apart. I really loved the way the past and present were melded together because it kept the story constantly moving forward while filling in all the necessary blanks that brought the story together.

While it was inevitable that this story would be painful and heartbreaking at times — Nick and Mia had been through so many hardships, enough to strain even the strongest of relationships — I never doubted that they both still loved each other and it was just a matter of time before they’d be strong enough to make their way back to each other.

I was also also relieved that there was nothing involving other women/men in their lives. There are no crazy ex’s, no sleeping around, nothing like that. I just really appreciated that the story didn’t have any unnecessary drama in it.

No other woman had ever meant anything, couldn’t even remember another woman’s face. Because he’d never even considered moving on, never considered having a future with anyone else.

And even though Nick and Mia’s romance is the heart of this book, I loved that there was more than that going on. The deep bond between Nick and his baby sister over the years was gorgeous to witness. He’d given up nearly everything to care for her and protect her, and from her perspective, she didn’t even remember a time when he wasn’t there to watch out for her. And now that she was ready to build her own life and put the horrific incident that scarred her in the past, it was the hardest thing he’d ever done to learn to let go over her and trust the world with his baby girl.

If you’re a fan of heroes with kids, emotional romances, second chance love stories that’ll tug all your heart-strings and even break your heart, but then will put back all the pieces, then this is the book for you! It was everything I could want in a romance. I loved the intensity of the emotions, the push-pull of their lives and love, the intensity and tenderness of their feelings for each other, and the way I just knew that they’d find their way back to one another.

“Look at me. I loved you, Mia. There was nothing else, no one else. Even after Hannah… I loved you. I just couldn’t get to you.” He took her face in his hands with a desperation. “I ruined us. I know I did. You tried to love me, and I pushed you away. But please tell me there’s a chance. Tell me I haven’t lost you. Not again…”

Gahhhhhh I actually even cried in one of the scenes because it was just THAT beautiful. You’ll know the scene when you get to it. I don’t want to say what happens exactly but it’s at 83% and seriously… THE FEEELS!! And I was really impressed with the way that this book was structured because it strongly exemplified the “show not tell” approach to storytelling with the way that, throughout the book, it took you through all these important scenes spanning two decades, in a way where they could be references in a later scene and, because you weren’t just being told about them but because you had actually experienced those specific moments WITH the characters, they meant so much more because you were remembering them too. I hope that makes sense lol. I was just really impressed with it.

I love all kinds of romance and love stories, but the kind that have always had the deepest impact on me have been the ones where the couple has had to struggle against great hardship for their love, where they’ve beat the odds, where they’ve overcome everything that tried to keep them apart and they’ve *earned* their happiness. It’s the kind of love that you appreciate so much more because you know what they could have lost. It’s just really beautiful.

“I miss this more than anything. Your arms around me, making everything better. How do you do that? How do you make everything better just by holding me?”

“Maybe because I love you.” With his hand in her hair, he tugged her head back and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

The story is told in third person, but it’s always clear that some scenes are from his POV and others from hers. As I mentioned, it also goes back and forth between their reunion in the present day, and their college years when they first met and Hannah was still a baby. The different parts of the story were very well balanced and integrated.

This can be read as a complete standalone. You do not have to read any other book before or after this in order to understand and enjoy this story. It is also the only book focused on this couple. However, this book is connected to the other standalones in the McKinney Brothers series, and this is also the first standalone in the spin-off Walker Brothers series. Basically, in one way or another, the heroes of these books are all siblings and the heroines generally know each other so the stories are connected. You can read them all separately, but if you enjoy one, it’s likely that you’ll want to read the rest of them. I personally have only also read Worth The Fall (the first McKinney Brothers standalone) back in 2014 and it was one of my Top Favorites of that year. I love that one, I didn’t read the few the next few came in between (but they sound great!), but I loved this one too. Heartfelt, romantic, and full of feels!

I genuinely adored this book and highly recommend it!!

Rating: 4.5 stars! Can standalone.

• Buy WORTH THE WAIT (Kindle)

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These are interconnected standalones. You can read any one of them separately.