Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Worth The Wait
AUTHOR: Joelle Lynn
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 186 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 11, 2021
BLURB:
Growing up together meant life should have been easy, but it wasn’t.
Shane was confident and proud, but couldn’t figure out why a relationship just wouldn’t stick. There had been very few constants in his life. These were limited to his best friend Christopher and his younger brother Michael.
Shane and Michael had always shared a special bond, but when Shane decides to figure out why he can’t keep a stable relationship, Michael can’t keep his secret any longer. There had always been something there, but he lacked Shane’s confidence.
Can they work past their struggles and prove their relationship was always Worth The Wait?
Worth The Wait is a small-town romance that follows what happens when you fall for your brother’s best friend. It’s a sweet story with plenty of heat!
REVIEW:
First novel by a new author. How exciting!
Shane has been best friends with Christopher since the first day they met in first grade. And he has also been very protective of Christopher’s younger (by two years) shy brother Michael. He also may have a bit of a “thing” for Michael but he could never ever risk his friendship with the brothers to voice it. Plus, now that his mom has moved away their family is basically his only family. Shane also has had a string of bad relationships that leads him to question if it’s because of deep rooted issues with his father abandoning him and his mother at a young age. Now 21 and reeling from yet another broken relationship Shane decides that he is going to move back to the big city and reach out to his dad in hopes of reconnecting. Michael has always had a crush on Shane. He is everything he wants but is so shy and his anxiety gets so overwhelming that he can’t voice his desires. That all comes to a head when Shane announces he’s moving away. It’s now or never so he has to do something to see if it’s been Worth The Wait!
I liked all three boys. Their lifelong friendship and commitment to each other was sweet. Christopher and Shane seemed so inseparable that many classmates confused their closeness to a relationship. Especially since Shane was out and proud. I also like how protective Shane was of Michael from a very young age. It was hard to read that quite a few years went by that both Michael and Shane desired more but never voiced it. But what can work at 19 and 21 might have only been a short term thing at 14 and 16 so waiting was probably for the best at least in Shane’s case. I think Shane was and always would be “the one” for Michael.
The lack of communication, which isn’t uncommon at their ages, almost destroyed what could have been. It was tough to watch throughout their lives how much went by because they couldn’t talk it out. Poor Michael watching Shane wind up with the wrong guys and down after each breakup was rough.
This has what seems to be a HEA. The last several chapters left me full of questions and I was a bit disappointed with the end because I still didn’t have the answers I needed. Then I read the author’s note and was please to see that she seems to be starting a series with Christopher’s book next. Hopefully Ryan’s book will be after that. This was a good start for a brand new author. A tad it slow in places but high hopes for future books.
RATING: 
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