Claudia Connor has become a favorite author of mine since I discovered her McKinney brothers series a few years back. Each story is a wonderful blend of new romance, humor, and family, but they are definitely not fluff. The stories also tackle some strong subjects that are full of emotion and grab you by the heart. WORTH THE WAIT is no exception. I read this story in early January of this year and I find myself still thinking about Nick and Mia months later.
This story takes place over a couple of decades and flashes back from the past to the present day. Nick Walker steps up to take care of his younger siblings after the death of their parents, at the age of nineteen. He takes over as over-protective father bear to three teen-age brothers and a two year old sister. He meets Mia and she brings a sweet spirit to his life. They are together for over a decade, even when Mia goes to another city for her education. Together, they keep his family together. Unfortunately, something terrible happens and it tears the couple apart. What should have been a disagreement on how to handle the situation becomes a wedge that parts the couple for another twelve years. You literally see Nick shut down and give up on the happiness he had with Mia.
Did I hate Nick? Never. I was disappointed in him, but I thought Ms Connor presented a realistic look at life when it seems like more than you can handle. Nick had the weight of the world on his shoulders for so long. Unfortunately, he let the woman he loved down in a big way. Fate just kept putting a wedge between them. Years later, his siblings have grown and moved on, but he still is a protective force in their lives, especially his sister Hannah and her fiance Stephen McKinney. He is more caustic when he discovers that Hannah has been in touch with Mia. You discover more about Mia during those long years and the wounds finally begin to heal between Mia and Nick.
Now, I am not saying this story was a downer. Life is like a roller coaster for all of us at times. The scenes with Nick and Stephen butting heads are so funny. I love the way Claudia Connor writes, she really draws you into her characters and you feel their emotions, their pain, and their happiness. I love the McKinney/Walker books and it is difficult to pick a favorite. I do know that I was on pins and needles waiting for the HEA of another couple of people that I cared about because of Ms Connor's heartfelt writing. I read this story in one day because I couldn't put it down and I can't wait for more stories in the future.

As always, Claudia Connor gives us a story full of heart. The characters are genuine, the plot is interesting and the love between Nick and Mia was heart-wrenching and beautiful.

It's been a while since a book made me cry...more than once before I finished it. But this book...WOW read it with a box of tissues by your side!

The story will break your heart from the first page when you watch a very young man become the sole guardian of his 4 younger siblings all the while trying to attend college. The story bounces from the present to the past, giving you hints that something happened that not only tore Mia and Nick apart but also damaged Hannah to the point where her brothers became even more over protective of her.

And then Hannah's story comes out (cue more tears) and you learn what she went through. But if that's not enough you learn what happened between Nick and Mia. AND THEN you learn what really happened between Nick and Mia all those years ago. (cue even more tears). AND THEN you learn Mia's story (which of course means more tears).

The author did a wonderful job of setting this book up for the first of a series because you feel tied to all of Nick's siblings. You want to know more about each one of them, because she managed to develop the characters so strongly despite them only being supporting characters in this story.

I can't wait to read the next book in this series!

Beautiful story that I would definitely reread. This was my first book by this author. However, I know I will be reading more from them. I loved the story, the characters, the pacing and the emotions I felt while reading this story.

I have told Claudia many, many times that finding her TOTALLY by accident and buying Worth The Fall on a whim was the one of the best impulse buys I have ever done. I have been blown away by her talent and by far, she is one of the classiest authors I have had the honor to know and support. The McKinney Brothers are so incredibly swoonworthy. Honorable, hard working guys… the series without fail is one of my all time favorites. Now, she’s given us Nick Walker and wow. Just plain wow!

We met Nick Walker in Stephen’s book, Worth The Risk. The tough as nails older brother of Hannah Walker. He was fiercely protective of his baby sister having given up much of his life to raise her after the tragic death of their parents. But Nick was more than brother – he was father, provider and best friend. He wasn’t always hard hearted. An even more horrible event happens under his watch to his beloved sister. It changes the course of his life in so many ways, the biggest being the loss of his true love… the girl he simply couldn’t let go. His Mia.

This story was told in the most amazing flashbooks. We see the beginning of their relationship – the young hot love between the 19 year old Nick and the 17 year old Mia. We see their love blossom, grow and expand over 24 years. The good times, the great times… the tragic events and the heartbreaking loss of a special bond between two incredible people… a bond that survived college, medical school, the FBI academy – even time and distance – severed by guilt, pain and fear.

The emotions in this amazing story! I laughed, cried… absolutely SOBBED. The revelations of 24 years. The heartbreak that took on a life of its own when Nick couldn’t seem to reach Mia through his own pain. The losses and unbelievable hurts that Mia had to face alone. The crazy family dynamics. This was one twisty, topsy turvy absolutely wonderful roller coaster ride from the first page to the very last word. Nick made me swoon and clutch at my heart with his beautiful words, his protective nature, and his undeniable sexy ways. Mia is so strong, so beautiful… the perfect compliment to this man. Determined and independent but a nuturing soul who gave the Walkers peace in the storm of grief. She is by far one of my favorite heroines of all time.

This was just the most moving second chance romance I have read in quite some time. It was stunning and so satisfying. I closed my kindle cheering for Nick and Mia! Cheering and wiping my face! Watching them find not only their love again but coming to terms with all the pains of the past and time lost was soul warming. Claudia gave us a story that is engaging, delightful and thought provoking. So well worth the sleepy eyes and several cups of coffee that I had the morning after I finished. An absolute MUST READ for any McKinney Brothers fan!

FANTASTIC, Claudia!

Five Worth The Wait Stars!

I loved this book! Thank you so much for the chance to read it.

I’m a big fan of Claudia Connor and was so excited to see she was doing a Walker brother series, a spin off from the series I originally fall in love with the McKinney Brothers series. The first book in the series gives us the story of the oldest brother, Nick, now an FBI agent, who had the young age of 19 had to take parental responsibilities for his teenage brothers and 2 year old baby sister. That is when he meets the love of his life, Mia and although they are young he knows he has found the one. That is, until his now teenage sister is kidnapped and tortured, and even when he finds her again his relationship with Mia falls apart. 10 years later, they see each other again and realise he is just as in love now as he was when he was 19. But has too much happened in the 10 years they were apart for them to ever be together again?

I adored this book, as soon as I started I couldn’t put it down, I’m not usually a fan of the lover-reunited theme, however, Worth the Wait was fantastic. It is based in present time, and starts from when Mia and Nick see eachother again; however, Connor also shows us how the romantic first blush of their relationship and how it heartbreakingly fell apart by jumping into the past and showing us.

I admit, this book made me tear up, although despite a pretty horrible thing happening to Hannah, Nick’s sister – although you don’t get the details in this book, it’s told through Nick and Mia, not Hannah, if you want that, you need to read Worth the Risk– it isn’t a depressing book. I just found it emotional, life hasn’t taken it easy on either Nick or Mia and I found myself shedding a few tears.

What I like about this book, is that it gave you a glimpse of how messy relationships could be, Mia and Nick clearly love each other and always have. Yet, they also had very valid reasons for splitting up. One where you feel for both parties, Mia who can’t bridge the distance between them and Nick who is so full of self recrimination that he can’t let anyone get close.

This is a fantastic book if you want something, sweet and emotional, featuring an overprotective alpha male you can’t help but fall a little in love with, then this is the book for you. I now can’t wait to read the next book in the series, Claudia Connor’s books can’t come out quick enough.

Ahhh this is such a heartbreakingly beautiful story of love loss and forgiveness.....seriously he's such a sweetie with maybe a little arrogance but once you get past his exterior he's a diamond geezer.......Mia I felt for Mia over and over again the poor woman, it's so sad that she's had to go through all of that and still be quite the head strong person until she breaks oh and it broke my heart.....the story is written really well and to the point that I was feeling each characters pain....at first I did think it got off to a slow start but once a third of the way through it picked up the pace...

Worth the Wait by Claudia Connor is the most recent novel in her McKinney/Walker series, and what an amazing read. I've only said this about a very few of the over 400 books I've reviewed, but if I could give this novel more than 5 stars, I would.

Told in a series of fast forwards to the present and flashback to the past, we first meet Nick, an FBI agent, in the present, grilling his 26-year-old sister, Hannah, about her relationship with Stephen McKinney, a millionaire playboy. It's soon made clear that he's been more of a father to her than an older brother, and he takes that responsibility seriously. When their parents were killed, Nick was just 19 and he suddenly found himself in charge of his younger brothers, Luke, Zach, and Dallas, as well as his 2-year-old baby sister, Hannah, and, as Hannah now asserts her independence, we learn that more than a dozen years ago, she went though a horrific experience, one that left her scarred and left Nick with a gigantic load of guilt.

Flashback 24 years, and Nick is a student at the University of Virginia, 2-year-old Hannah was left in their daycare program, and she's screaming her head off, demanding to see Nick, who gets his professor to agree to let her stay in class with him. As class lets out, with Hannah in his arms, she drops her stuffed animal and as he attempts to retrieve it, things start falling out of his backpack, which is how he meets Mia, and while I generally dislike insta-love, Ms. Connor handles their meeting and the beginning of their relationship with such finesse, that it doesn't feel like insta-love at all. They're both very young, and both have very solid goals. Nick wants to someday join the FBI, but doubts he ever will because of the need to care for his younger siblings, and Mia, who is brilliant, has always known she wanted to be a surgeon.Their initial attraction becomes a close friendship, which, as time passes, becomes so much more. When Mia graduates and heads off to Boston for medical school, the two agree that neither time nor distance will change how they feel about one another.

From that point on, the intervening 22 years are handled in a series of vignettes, again told backwards and forwards in time, as we learn that Mia and Nick, who for the first 12 of those years went from being friends to becoming deeply committed lovers, haven't seen each or had contact with one another for the past decade, and this reader was hooked into wondering what in the world could have torn these lovers apart.

As the story progresses, Ms. Connor continues to move us into and through their relationship with amazing ease, each glimpse of these two characters drawing us more deeply into their lives, their emotions and their heartbreak, and yes, keep your tissues handy, because you're going to need them--I certainly did.

Mia and Nick both know that they've met their other half, but as in everyone's life, there are a more than a few bumps in the road, and some of the bumps in their lives seem insurmountable. When Mia and Nick again chance into each other's lives after 10 years apart, will they feel the same? Will they be able to overcome what pulled them apart? Will they finally have a chance to reconnect? Will they have a second chance at love or realize that there are some things even love can't heal? To find out, clear your schedule, get comfortable, don't forget the tissues, and become as drawn into their brilliantly written, heartwarming and heartbreaking story of love found, love lost and love found again and I was. This is a novel you won't be able to put down or soon forget.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy this book.

I received this for an honest review...

I have to say I just fall in love with this author and her words time and time again.. This book was no different.. Nick and Mia were just awesome and I loved every minute of this book!!!

One of the things that I loved is we get a look at their past and see previous characters from her other books in this story!!

Once I picked up this book I could not put it down!!!

copy received through Metgalley for review
I loved the Mckinney series. Now we get another set of brothers and still get to visit the Mckinneys.
This story of Mia and Nick is told in past and present times. We get to see how the met and how the fell in love. We also see what drew then apart. Their story was sad, tragic and yet very sweet. When they meet, they are barely old enough to have experienced anything. However, Nick had to grow up fast. He was responsible for 4 younger siblings. he was 19 and a college student. His baby sister is just 2 years old. To say he had his hands full is an understatement. He gains a great friend when he meets Mia. His friendship with Mia grew and they fell in love. She stood right there with him and gave a helping hand. Nick is overprotective. He tries to control every situation. When tragedy strikes, he is unable to deal with things being out of his hands. He has a lot of guilt and anger. He internalizes everything. By doing that he left Mia out. They kind of let each other go. 10 year later they see each other again and its like the feelings never went away. This time its Mia who can't let go of the past. she has experienced a devastating loss and is finding it hard to get past it. I cried for her. In the end they do get their HEA. It was a long process and a lot years for these two. In the end the journey made them stronger.

Perfection! Claudia Connor is magical with her words! I couldn't stop turning the pages, eager to know what happened next. Oneclick this book, for sure!

4.5 stars

Worth The Wait is an emotional read and one that will have you glued to the book until the last page. It is such a beautifully written second chance love story. All the characters are wonderful and I can honestly say that I adored each and every one of them.

Claudia has a way of making her characters so personal. You almost feel an instant connection with them. Their story draws you in and you can’t help but want all of them to find the happiness they so deserve. Her writing is simply impeccable, in my opinion.

I know this review may seem short however there is so much that transpires throughout this story that I do not want to give anything away. I went into the book blind and I think it's best if a reader experiences that way.

4.5 Stars

Worth The Wait was completely worth it. I'm a sucker for romances with "special agent" type characters and Nick Walker was just right. I didn't realize that this series was a spinoff series (and it's lucky I didn't). I usually try to skip "companion" series unless I've read the original series and if I had I would have missed out on what is sure to be a great series.

This is a standalone and I have never before read a book by Claudia Connor, but I had absolutely no problem falling in love with these characters within the first 10 minutes of reading. I had the goofiest smile on my face while Nick and Mia were getting to know each other. The single dad/brother thing was just so sweet. While reading I often want to know more about some of the "supporting characters", it was a nice surprise to find out that their stories have already been published and I will be able to read their books without waiting for them to be released.

** spoiler alert ** Claudia Connor sweeps you up in these epic stories that are hard to put down. Nick's story is no exception. First mentioned in Hannah's book, Worth the Risk, as he's her super protective older brother and he still showcases these protective, alpha qualities in Worth the Wait. It is told in dual POVS and I finally understand the mystery behind his pretty closed off 'tude. This second chance romance has you both rooting for Nick and Mia and while also wanting to shake them, over a mountain. A slow burn, it flips from past to present so that you really see how they went wrong and why they actually belong together. It's a lot of hard work and the feels are DEEP. Mia and Nick have a lot of painful history to overcome but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and their journey is one that will make it worth the wait. SWOON is all I can really say.

Worth the Wait is the first book in the McKinney/Walker Series. This series is a spin-off of Claudia Connor's The McKinney Series. Although you can enjoy this delicious treat as a stand-alone, I highly recommend reading the McKinney Series first so that you can fully understand the dynamics of these characters and the relationships they share.

Nick McKinney lost his parents in a fatal accident during his college years. While his friends were partying it up in the frat house, he was caring for his younger siblings. Through the difficulties of single parenthood and creating a future for himself, he met a young pre-med student named Mia. Mia and Nick became college sweethearts and fell madly in love with each other. Mia secured a place for herself in the family, but then something horrible happened, and it rips them apart.

Years later, Mia and Nick are both still single. Nick is filling the void with all of the women he can, pouring himself into his siblings, and his career. Although Mia is thriving professionally, personally her life is empty. When Mia and Nick's paths cross once again, it seems natural for them to fall back in sync with one another. And yet, the pain that had once torn them apart still lingers. Can Nick prove his worth to Mia and soothe her broken heart?

Told in dual POV, Worth the Wait is a tender second chance romance that will certainly make you swoon, cry, laugh, and love. There is a perfect balance of romance and steam. The characters are complex, and the relationships are thoroughly developed and endearing. The pacing is steady, and the circumstances were unique. Ms. Connor certainly knows how to write a strong hero and the driving theme of family is by far my favorite element of the series. With each installment, I fall more in love with these characters and catching glimpses of their future interactions only make me love them even more. With Nick and Mia, I felt slightly frustrated with the amount of time it took for them to finally get things right (Nick sure knows how to make a mess of things), but when they finally came together, it was indeed "worth the wait."

Worth the Wait is another stunning addition to the McKinney family, and with the introduction of the Walker siblings, I am certain there will be more greatness to follow. I am certainly looking forward to more!!!!!

Wow! Fantastic second-chance romance! This was a really emotional story and at times I wasn't sure how I felt about these characters - I got angry at them at times and there were moments that broke my heart but overall I really just loved this book! I can't wait to read more by this author.

‘They just were. Nick and Mia. Always.’

We picked Worth the Wait up not having read the series from which this is a spin off, on the basis it’s being tagged a standalone. For us, we felt like we’d missed out somewhat on Hannah and Nick’s sibling bond, but yes, in most respects this stands alone. There’s absolutely no question that Claudia Connor’s writing is beautiful. She demands attention with a powerful and passionate prose. We felt incredibly sad with very heavy hearts as we read one of the more emotionally upsetting romances we’ve read in a while. It’s very difficult to read a story where the heroine and hero spend more agonising time apart than they do together. You begin to doubt it’ll ever happen for whichever tragic reasons presented.

“It’s been a long time. Maybe you don’t know me anymore.”

“I know you.”

We fell in love with all the characters in this story; especially Nick and his much younger sister, Hannah. Their relationship melted our hearts whilst making us all teary at the same time. Nick found himself in the distressing position of having to hold his parent-less family together when he became the head of the family through heart-breaking circumstances. A heavy load for a young man barely out of his teens. His caring, protective, determined and nurturing side knew no bounds and we fell in love with this young man.

“How can I forget when you always remind me?”

Worth the Wait is a book of continuous past and present. Through the flashbacks we learn of how it all began for Mia and Nick; with two year old Hannah in tow. From the present we learn of them being apart, and the struggles facing them individually, due to a horrific event which separated them a decade ago. It broke us. In the flashback’s we felt some of their love and connection. In the present we felt their agony and subsequent emotional pain.

‘He was barely there, so lost in his dark cage of anger and guilt he’d built for himself, he’d locked himself in and locked her out.’

Whilst we loved many, many parts of this story we felt the balance was excessively weighted towards the incredibly heavy angst, guilt, responsibility, despair and suffering. We barely experienced any joy nor happiness.

“You’ve got the past clenched so tightly in your fist, I’ll never be enough to make you let it go. I can’t go back to that place we were. It nearly killed me.”

Now, we love our highly emotional reads, however we do need some happy or at least an epilogue that completely mends our broken hearts and leaves us more than satisfied that everything is okay and everyone is where they need to be. Particularly after a journey that was as emotionally taxing as this one. This is a personal preference so we may be in the minority. Saying that, there is no question that this talented Author made our hearts bleed and kept us riveted, needing to find out if Mia and Nick would ever find their way back to where they began after so many years separating them.

“It still shakes me that something so enormous as our love could be erased so simply.”

Wow......I have loved every book I have read thus far by Claudia Connor and this one is no different. Second chance romances are a favorite of mine...but this story is so much more. We get the back story of Nick and Mia's romance...from the beginning they were so dedicated to each other and their love...for years they dealt with separation knowing that their future was together. Then a terrible tragedy occurs and they lose sight of each other. Nick can't deal with it and he pushes Mia away.....and she goes. I read this book with a constant lump in my throat. Claudia does a wonderful job of conveying the heartache and loss that Nick and Mia feel. It was heartbreaking to see where Nick and Mia had been and where they started out in this story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book - it is so well written it carries you away into the story. I highly recommend it.