Worth The Wait

by Tamara Whitlow

What would you do if you lost the person that meant the world to you? Would you be able to move on and open your heart up to love again?

Emily is a single mother who is just living day to day trying to stay positive for her son. She lost her husband in a tragic accident and is having the toughest time getting over it until a fiery red head comes into her life to bring back that spark of hope. This friend brings with her, her brother Caleb, who has been dealing with his own version of loss and a family bond that Emily has never had. Each day seems to get easier but are Emily and Caleb ready to move on with their lives and pursue the prospect of love? Find out more in this rediscovery of life, love and family.

Genres: Romance

221 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2019

Reviews

[Jeanne Johnston]

Holy fuck. This is the "literary" (I cringe even calling it this) equivalent of an Ed Wood movie. Sooooo incredibly bad. I suspect the author wrote this in one sitting, fatigue and brain fog notwithstanding, as the errors snowball at an amazing rate to the end. The POV starts by changing with almost every chapter, then it becomes a free-for-all. She's talking, he's talking, an omniscient voice-over jumps in, often in the same fucking paragraph! Perfect example: "She keeps my mouth shut and just smile." Seriously?

Then there's the horrendous lack of understanding of punctuation. There are apostrophes on everything with a fucking S at the end. Punctuation is outside the quotes, inside the quotes. Often, she gives punctuation a miss altogether. "'I'm sorry'. He whispers." or "I point her out on the dance floor and he just shakes, his head..." "Balloon's." "I look at the car's."

Subject-verb agreement? Fuhgeddabodit. Like the changing perspectives, singular and plural nouns can be paired with anything! Are we in the present, past, or future? Who the hell knows! "You haven't really talk about him."

Then there are those pesky homonyms. "I'm to big." (To/too seems to be a huge problem.) I did a spit take when at one point, someone said something like "look at you two," and "two" was spelled right. The W makes all the difference! 😄

About two-thirds of the way in, people decide they're hillbillies. "I seen him." "Everybody seen you." "I find myself smiling just thinking about them two."

There are bizarre phrases that have never been uttered before: "I guess it's good I have the smaller side of breasts." Yeah, next time opt for coleslaw instead, perhaps. How about "We have watched two movies and about to be a another." Huh? Be? A another? "Diane strived on drama." Wow. Most bitches just thrive on it. "I have had my feel of going to town." Maybe you could feel that side of breasts instead. 😏

It's endlessly bad. The story itself could've been okay if there'd been an editor in sight. I found the kid Sam quite off-putting because he's weirdly infantile for a 9-year-old. Got really sick of the monkey/Monkey thing and his fist-pumping at everything.

Even more strange is that people hardly ever use contractions. The dialogue is stilted and strange, even without the other issues.

I love how Caleb decides to use a condom the *second* time they have sex. No comment or explanation for that faux pas.

I'll probably think of 400 other things to rant about after posting. It really is the most amazing debacle. Yes, I should have bailed when the first salvo of mistakes hit, but it soon became hysterical. This might best be read--if you must read it at all--with wisecracking bots á la MST3K.

I'm astounded at the good reviews. Actually, I'm a bit pissed, too. Self pub has dumbed down literature like our crappy public schools have. Kudos for picking up a book but OMFG... When people are so illiterate that they sing the praises of a mess like this, it gives a false expectation that it's worth anyone's time or money. Amazon has become a real minefield, whether you're buying or going for freebies. The real gems I've discovered on freebie lists and follow faithfully are increasingly scarce. More's the pity.

[Dez · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me so long to get thru this book. As a matter of fact, during the course of reading it, I read several other books in between. It was a nice story of two people meeting, falling in love despite obstacles that tried to get in the way . Pretty much a generic love story ....I know it was the authors first released book and it’s also part of a series. She already has book 3 released......but this first book doesn’t do much to make me want to read any of the others that come behind it.

[Kevin Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refreshing love storyline after lost

Once you get going reading the story you can’t stop , you laughing and crying, you will immerse your self with character in the book.

[A.M. Gilliam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book!

I enjoyed this novel very much. This book began with Emily mourning the lost of her husband while being a mother to her son and Caleb mourning the lost of a son, but not in the traditional sense. Both are dealing with grief and depression. They meet by chance and a sister. And the rest is history.

This book is about hope, and finding loving again. I really enjoyed this book. A few typos but nothing that takes away from the story. Great plot with a bunch of character who evolve in there own ways.

I will be reading the next book in this series. Much a pleasure ❤️❤️

[Gina Manis · Rating 3 out of 5]

When tragic strikes and destroys your comfortable little world and the loss is so great, it hard to find your way out of the depression. But when children are involved we have to try. Emily was struggling but making a new friend gave her what she needed to start to build her life again.
I see this book more as a life challenge than a romance. Caleb does bring in feelings that Emily thought she lost and it does have romantic properties to the story. His story is just as hard as hers to overcome. Together they find their happy ending.
The book had much backstory which I usually like but I did feel that it slowed down this one. At least in the beginning.

[Maxine Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was gifted this book from voracious readers and it was a good romance, I liked how Emily and Caleb found each other but I also liked how the story was also about extended family and how everyone can fit together.

[Carole Gribner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay

I liked the story at first, but the female main character, Emily, got more and more tiresome. Her whole attitude was, oh poor me, poor me. She also jumped to conclusions, I finally just found her to be an unlikable person. Sorry, but I can't agree with the higher ratings.

[Charita Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth the read

Emily and Caleb definitely had many obstacles to overcome. Most people would find it hard to not give up along the way. This book will definitely take you on a roller coaster of emotions.

[Melissa Heaberlin]

Love this

Oh I enjoyed this, I read book 2 first and I pictured Caleb's truck and on old white Ford, and in this one I pictured a silver Chevy with a crew cab, lol. I love the drive from grief to being free with emotional acknowledgement.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received tis book from Voracious Readers in exchange for an honest review. Although a little slow to start it was totally worth it. I loved it.

[Candice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book!

I love that this story is not like any other I have read. I can’t wait to read her next book!

[Anangsha Alammyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! The characters were so complex and conflicted. My heart was screaming for Emily and Caleb to get a move on with their lives, and the transformation did come, it left me with tears in my eyes.

For a debut book, this one's an ace. Would definitely recommend to all lovers of romance and drama

[Jenna Neece · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was awesome. I tend to shy away from reading first person present tense, but Tamara did a phenomenal job! It was a page turner, and I wanted more of Emily and Caleb. I laughed. I cried. I swore a few times. Worth the read!

For a debut novel, this book is amazing. I can’t wait to read more!

[Toni Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better then expected

I love the characters! Emily’s transformation was amazing. All because of a young, enthusiastic woman named Jamie, that wouldn’t take no for an answer.

I can’t wait to read the next book. I think it will be interesting.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Far too many spelling and grammatical errors throughout this book!

[Gabriela · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t really know where to start. I tried to get over all the grammar errors in the beginning but it became a mine field. I’m not a native, I never officially studied English but the errors were just right in my face. I wish the author had invested in professional editing!
The book is a love story. I have no problem with that had it not been so predictable. The moment Caleb appears it’s obvious what’s going to happen.
The characters are flat, not relatable, without any real character arches, and they all act in a very generic way. I was not able to identify with them, let alone feel deep for their story or understand their motivations.
I purchased the book to support a fellow indie writer but it became more of a learning path of all the mistakes I need to avoid when writing and publishing my work.

[TERESA HUTTON · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn’t finish this books for all the errors ...🤯

I tried to get into the very elementary story of loss and love but there were too many typos and mistakes. By the halfway mark I couldn’t make myself finish the book. Very disappointing.

[Onome · Rating 2 out of 5]

The storyline was good but the errors were enormous. I think an editor should have looked at it. Plus, there are better ways to write than always describing the attitude of the speaker. It doesn't always have to be, 'she says, laughing'. The story is about how two people who have gone through grief end up healing through friendship. Emily and Caleb represent quite a number of people who are struggling with grief and how instrumental it is to be surrounded by love during such times.

The book would have been a lot better but I feel it was rushed. Emily and Caleb's characters could have been deeper. Yes, Sam acts more like a 5 year old than a 9 year old. The book feels more chatty than a beautiful narration. Nothing really stands out. Emily runs into Samuel by bumping into him in school and Bam! She meets the love of her life. That was too cliché.

The author still has a lot of learning to do especially on the technicalities of writing and character development. Well, I hope her next one is better.