I just finished reading “Wait for It,” by Mariana Zapata, and I recommend it highly. Zapata goes deep with her characters, building the story slowly but deftly. The romance happens organically with well-defined characters that I fell in love with myself. The story starts with Diana, a mother of two kids, moving into a new neighborhood. Before she knows anyone living nearby, she’s awoken in the middle of the night by her five-year-old who’s heard people screaming outside. Diana is doing her best to be an adult but hates getting involved in other people’s drama. Afraid that someone will get seriously hurt, she overcomes her own fear and dashes outside with a baseball bat to break up the fight, saving her neighbor’s life. Instead of a thank you, she is met with insolence. Despite the rude treatment she receives, she knows in her heart that she has done the right thing.
The book moves along and Diana is faced with one obstacle after another, each testing her maturity. Zapata paints a believable woman making difficult choices in a world that doesn’t always appreciate a good Samaritan. The romance develops slowly and quite naturally. Zapata presents no bodice ripping scenes unless you count the one love scene near the end, which could have been toned down for my taste. Instead, the story treats you to a natural progression from mistrust to guarded trust, to friendship, and finally to love. And isn’t that really the way life works for most of us?
Instead, the story treats you to a natural progression from mistrust to guarded trust, to friendship, and finally to love. And isn’t that really the way life works for most of us?
I am ready for Diana and her kids to move next door to me. I was sad when the story ended with an epilogue that was five years after the last scene. I wanted Zapata to write the happenings in those five years, not a summary. That’s how good the story was.
If you’re looking for fluff, forget this book. If you want a story that will make you smirk, laugh, cry, shake your fists one minute, thank the heavens the next, but mostly convince you that true love is worth waiting for, then this book is for you.
Have you read any books by Mariana Zapata? If so, let me know what you think of them using the Contact Me form.
Subscribers to my email list receive a free pdf copy of my book, “What’s Love Got to do with Green Beer? and other short stories.”
It’s a book of twelve romance filled stories, one for each month of the year. Subscribe now and I’ll email the book to you as soon as possible.
As always,
Thank you! Happy Reading! Happy Writing!
Shirley Holder Platt