4.5 rounded up

Apparently, I needed a second chance for this second chance romance. I received it as an ARC back in 2018 but couldn't connect to the characters and DNFd it. I picked it up again a couple days ago and got sucked in and ended up loving it. It's all about the mood, people!

I was coming off of the emotional ride of Satisfaction Guaranteed - which I loved - and must have been in the right place mentally to fall in love with two more Stetz-Waters characters. Reading those books back-to-back showed me a lot of similarities in theme but it certainly didn't take away from the experience. These were two different women in a different situation. And then there's Portland which is a character all on its own. I've only been there once but now I want to go back and check out all the cool places mentioned.

Karelia Stetz-Waters might just be my favorite author at the moment. (I'm about to jump into Behind the Scenes next. Yes, I'm binging this author. Also working on my old ARCs...) She has a wonderful writing voice and style. She's made me laugh and cry and hope right along with her characters. I will work on her back catalogue that I didn't get as ARCs too. And wait for new books.

A hearty thank you to Mrs. Stetz-Waters for reaching out waaaay back when to see if I'd be interested in reading an advanced copy through NetGalley.

When long lost friends meet again a reunion, sparks fly but not always in the right direction. The complication of old feelings and pain cause Avery & Merritt some turmoil.
The plot is different from others in a good way and make you want to continue to read it. The multiple perspectives is always refreshing rather than a one-sided POV.

Even though I’ve read all three in the series, each one is definitely a standalone. Portland is the main commonality, which is what drew me into reading this series in the first place. And it’s always a bit of a thrill when my hometown of Astoria gets a mention.

It took me a while to get into this one. And the third person narration took some getting used to for me. I think it made me feel like more of an outsider watching the story unfold from afar. But eventually, I found myself really rooting for these characters. And the end was so perfectly poetic that it just warmed my heart and put a big grin on my face.

I saw the blurb on the story and knew it fit into my type of book. It drew me in and made me turn pages and never lost interest. I have checked several more of this Authors books to read in the future.

I just felt that, in comparison with her other books, this was disappointing. Very boring. I read all of it, but for me, it just wasn't a keeper.

this book had a MC with a cute job. sometimes I think most people resort to doctor or actress, but she was the star of a home network type show. i think it was good but not the best read i've read.

Stevie‘s review of Worth the Wait (Out in Portland, Book 3) by Karelia Stetz-Waters
Contemporary Lesbian Romance published by Forever Yours 19 Jun 18

Portland is a popular setting for LGBT+ romance stories, and I really must visit the city some day; in the meantime, though, there are series like this one to remind me of all the fun I seem to be missing. Or not, in the case of how our story opens. I quite like school and college reunions, but I know that’s not true for everyone. It certainly isn’t for Merritt Lessing: fully aware that attending her high school event means coming face to face with her planned date for the prom, who unceremoniously dumped her on the night in favour of a man. To make matters worse, said failed prom date is the guest of honour at the reunion. Avery Crown is now the star of a reality house restoration show, partnered by the man she took to the prom all those years before. He’s attending the reunion with her, but she’s not looking exactly forward to seeing Merritt again, no matter how much she regrets the loss of their friendship after the prom disaster.


When the two finally meet at the reunion, they put old misunderstandings behind them and try to catch up on the missing years. Avery longs to stop living the lie that she and her co-star are an item and come out as a lesbian, but she fears the wrath of her mother (and agent), as well as worrying what work either star will get if the show is cancelled. Merritt, meanwhile, has become a success in her own way, rebuilding the hardware business bequeathed to her by her favourite uncle, not long after Avery left, into a successful buildings reclamation and vintage materials centre. Having worked construction to make ends meet in the early years, Merritt now saves her skills for special projects and is in the process of buying the now dilapidated building her uncle once lived in to create her perfect forever home.

Avery and Merritt explore Portland together; Merritt shows off the house and details her plans for when she owns it, while Avery talks about her rekindled excitement at filming the show’s next series in her old hometown. They spend the night together, but then Avery discovers the next day that the show runners have lost their deal on the house the crew were supposed to be renovating, and their proposed replacement is going to devastate Merritt when she finds out.

At this point, I feared the whole book was going to revolve around one big misunderstanding between our heroines, but actually that issue was dealt with quite neatly. Instead, the major dilemma has far more to do with how the pair could be together without destroying the careers of the many people working on Avery’s show. Avery’s mother has filled her mind with insecurities of what will happen if she comes out, coupled with the idea that Avery is a good enough actor for reality TV, but not for ‘real’ screen or theatre work. Nevertheless, our heroines work at making the most of the time they have together, although they can’t dodge the press forever. When they’re spotted in a gay club, even though Avery’s co-star is with them and tries to protect her, it looks like all Avery’s fears are going to come true.

Although I loved Avery’s last-minute escape from the cover-up attempt that’s forced on her, I did feel that the overall ending to the story felt a little rushed with just a few pages and an epilogue to give our heroines a happy ending and catch us up to where all their friends had ended up. On the other hand, I did love those friends and hope to see more glimpses of them as the series progresses.

Grade: B

A good fun second chance romance this is the first book I have read by Karelia and I enjoyed it and would check out more from her in the future. I liked both Merritt and Avery their relationship starts out quite rocky and I found myself not wanting to put it down wanting to know how they were getting on they are both really great likable characters and I really enjoyed their book a good friends to lovers romance

I just felt that, in comparison with her other books, this was disappointing. Very boring. I read all of it, but for me, it just wasn't a keeper

Yet again another good read from this author and I will look forward to reading more from you from from you thank you for my arc

received in exchange for a honest review.

I liked it. I wasn’t a fan of the beginning with Avery and Merritt but enjoyed the book. I loved Lei LIng and King-these two were a hoot. King because he was clueless. He tried so hard to understand but was clueless.

Avery begins the book by creating her own angst as does Merritt. Years ago Avery let others influence her more than they should and let her dreams come in the way of her heart and now she is back and looking to reignite either a friendship or more. Only Merritt is angry and closed off. Merritt doesn’t really trust things. She and Avery see each other at the reunion and Merritt tries to act like a cool cucumber but doesn’t pull it off . They reconnect in intimate ways and the next day the shoe drops.

AVery finds out something and tries to talk to Merritt but Merritt in her I knew I was right to not trust you and see you haven’t changed and are like everyone else jumped to the wrong conclusion. She goes all commando and is now wanted on the show King and Crown. ONly she doesn’t want to be there she wants the home she was supposed to have to fix. Avery convinces her to come on and buy the house afterwards and this way she gets the house and what she wants. This allows Avery more time with Merritt.

We see a reporter dogging Avery and her co-worker trying to get dirt on them and we see Avery need to make tough decisions. Most of the angst was self created by Merritt and Avery.

Avery overall is a good character but at the beginning she just is too disconnected from herself. She doesn’t see really what her decisions did and almost repeats that history. Avery is kind and sweet but loses herself at times in herself and doesn’t always see the big picture.

Merritt is stubborn and scared. She is sweet and sassy as well. I love watching her speak her mind. Didn’t like how distrusting of everyone and everything she seemed but it was understandable with her mom the way she was.

The romance was sweet and cute. The side characters were awesome. The story of choosing love over career when you find what you want is good. The story is one that you just sit down and enjoy once you get by the beginning.

I struggled to get into this book in the beginning, but it did get better as it went along so I'm glad I stuck with it.

It had a good premise, and I appreciated that it wasn't a love story between two twenty-somethings (bit of a f/f trope there), but the backstory for the romance made it feel like they were emotionally still stuck in high school.

Overall, an enjoyable enough read. You just need some patience to make it through the start.

I enjoyed this book of the two young women. It was an engaging love story and one that has its ups and downs. If you enjoy these in a story, this is the book for you.
I would recommend and you don't have to be a YA to enjoy!

I received an ARC copy from Netgalley for my honest review.

Bit silly of me but hadn't realised it was a female-female romance. However there was enough of a story that i was able to skip the female steamy parts back to the story. I liked the story actually, it was sweet without being sugar sweet and romantic enough that i went ahh a few times. It was also enough of a story to keep me intrigued.
Avery and Merritt were both strong characters in their own right and together made a good combination.

I normally hate leaving a book unfinished, so I seldom do so. But this book was one of the few that was absolutely impossible for me to get through. I had a lot of problems with it, to say the least. *Worth the Wait* follows Avery Crown and Merritt Lessing, two former high school best friends and secret loves who reconnect after fifteen years. Avery works for a home renovation show and is in a fake relationship with her co-star, making it impossible to be with Merritt, despite how much she likes her.
My first gripe about this book is the writing style. While reading, I felt like there just wasn't a good flow to it, everything felt choppy and all over the place, especially during dialogue. The dialogue between the characters was long and drawn out, to the point where I would lose focus and have to reread it to remember what they were even talking about. The writing style alone was enough of a reason for me to not finish reading it, but I still have other issues.
The characters, themselves, were insufferable. Both came off as immature, despite the fact that were adults. Their approach to feelings was particularly immature and confusing as a reader. There was too much of a love/hate relationship going on. They went back and forth between loving and hating one another, which made it an ongoing conflict. I felt like I was watching a tennis match of their feelings. Additionally, I thought they got together too fast. I know the stereotype for lesbians is that they move fast, but they hooked up within the first few chapters of the novel. I would've appreciated more time being taken to develop the characters themselves and the relationship.
As an LGBT+ reader, I find it hard to find solid, good representation of wlw and unfortunately, this book was just another let down for me. The poor writing style, drawn out dialogue, and confusing characters made it impossible for me to tolerate. I wish I could've liked it, or found some kind of enjoyment while reading it, but sadly, I did not.

What a cute love story!! I wasn't sure if Worth the Wait would be up my alley but it was. I would recommend this.

Avery Crown is half of a home & garden show host duo; her partner is a hunky guy whom everyone assumes is her romantic partner. But Alistair's asexual, while Avery far prefers the ladies. The book opens with the two attending Avery's high school reunion in funky Portland Oregon, and once again encountering the girl she left abruptly behind, Merritt, who runs a funky hardware store. There is a lot of "I don't trust you/I don't want you/Let's have sex" back-and-forthing here (a trope I find annoying in both het and queer romance), as well as a lot of ridiculous reasons and justifications for said distrust, which makes for a less than satisfying read. There's good ideological stuff about poor body image, parent-shaming, and public vs. private images, but it wasn't strong enough to outweigh the lack of character development that would have made Avery's low self-esteem feel believable rather than just told about, pasted on in the service of plot.

Gah- I loved this book! It is everything I love about romance, swoon-worthy, emotional, and with the perfect HEA. I immediately went for her backlist!

This is the third in the Out in Portland series and it's a bit of a doosey.

It's about Avery and Merritt. Avery is one of the stars of the King and Crown Home Improvement show and very very in the closet pretending to be with her asexual co-star Alistair.

Merritt is still in Portland, now the owner of a reclaimed hardware store (and, it's sorta interesting now that I think of it, the store is reclaimed and the hardware within it is reclaimed too, cool). And she's not lucky when it comes to love (although some of that is self-inflicted).

Avery comes back to Portland to film her show and go to the class reunion. They meet and while there's an attraction, there's also a whole lot of tension and problems for the two of them to overcome if they want to be together.

The twists and turns weren't super surprising, but I liked how diverse and complicated the characters were. I do wish that there'd been a little more Alistair though.

It was a unique novel ('cause of the Portland characters) and a fun read.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Forever (Grand Central Publishing).

Worth the Wait was a great romance. The story between Avery and Merrit meeting and falling in love after 15 years was awesome. Avery went to her High School reunion hoping to see Merrit and apologize for standing her up for their senior prom. Merrit is still angry and hurt from the event, put also wanted to see Avery if for nothing more than to show her how indifferent she was about it, instead of how hurt she really was.

It turns out that Avery is in Portland to film her newest season of her Reality Show King and Crown. Merrit gets upset when the show buys out from under her the building she’s wanted to buy and remodel. It’s a great story and there are lots of back and forth between them getting together or not. It is a great story and I highly recommend it.

I think this book can stand alone from the “Out in Portland” series.