This one was a fun & sexy story.

I loved seeing how the relationship between Cade and Selena grow. I loved the setting of the story - the pair working together to save Cade’s aunt’s sex store.

This one was a little different for me in how the sex scenes were written. But that is more on me than the writer or the story. I still thoroughly enjoyed them.

This was a quick read for me and I could have definitely read more about Cade & Selena’s lives.

This was a fun, sex-positive—but not without addressing serious issues—romcom that has a delightful queer cast of found family, as well as a strong sense of place in its Portland setting. It doesn’t shy away from sexuality and sex positivity, and the relationship between Cade and Selena moves slowly but realistically throughout the story. The personal growth each character displays feels real too. The burn is pretty slow, perhaps a bit slower than is my personal preference, but it works here. This story does NOT center queer angst or trauma, but the queerness of the central relationship and many of the characters just is. The writing here is fairly straightforward, but it’s the kind of romcom that has been written with a million times over, but this time it’s a sapphic romance that takes center stage. This book didn’t rock my world, but I’m glad it exists.

Satisfaction Guaranteed lived up to its title; there is so much to like about this book. I certainly had high expectations for laughter and fun considering that this book revolves around an opposites attract romance set in a sex toy store, but I got so much more. This book has a lot of heart and a lot of realistic examples of growing as a person and growing in a relationship that had me feeling very tender. The only gripe I have has to do with the pacing near the end which was a bit rushed for my taste.

Satisfaction Guaranteed is fantastic! Cade Elgin is serious and focused in an off-the-wall family. Selena Mathias, is an ex-painter, sex educator, like a daughter to Cade's late aunt. Suddenly they're forced to work together to save the aunt's failing sex toy shop, Satisfaction Guaranteed. This queer rom-com set in a sex toy shop ended up being such a fun, easy read, and even more enjoyable than I was expecting. It was a little slow to start, but once I got into it, I could not put it down.

I loved the talk of sex positivity and female pleasure. It was so refreshing to read this book and never once was anyone slut-shamed or shamed in any way regarding sex (Cade is fairly repressed/hasn't had a lot of sex/never had an orgasm and this is treated as being just as natural as Selena and her love of casual sex which is great).

The characters were well fleshed out and real. Both our main characters have fully realized arcs, both together and separate from each other, which I loved. Seeing the two of them connect and really see themselves for the first time in each other's eyes was great. Their chemistry is everything and I think the pacing of their relationship was perfect.

My only real gripes with Satisfaction Guaranteed was that the ending felt a little abrupt and the two of them had very similar issues - assuming the other doesn't want them at all but never talking about it. I could have used a little more in the epilogue, but maybe that's just because I loved the book and wanted more time in their happy ending.

Overall: I really enjoyed this. It was a cute, easy-to-read rom-com kind of book and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun read!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Forever for this ARC in exchange for my honest review

First thing’s first, again, thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this early!

I attend a college in the heart of my city and commute there from the suburbs when my classes need me to (infrequently, in the world of COVID). Every time I drive there, I drive by a billboard advertising “Romantix”, an adult store nearby. The billboard has changed twice in the past few months; at first it was a suggestive picture of a halved orange. Currently, it’s a photo of a hand holding a pair of black lace panties. The point is, this store seems to be mostly focused on female sexual pleasure, so naturally, I’ve thought of Satisfaction Guaranteed every time I see it.

God, I loved this story. Watching Cade and Selena meet in the middle, learn from each other, compliment each other, fight and make up, all in this… utterly perfect surreal background of a failing sex shop in Portland, it was genuinely one of the most enjoyable reading experiences I’ve recently had. There’s something for nearly every popular trope: fake dating? Got it. Enemies to lovers? Yep. Angst? You know it. Snowed in? … not quite, but the vibes are there and they are immaculate. Antithesis of a meet cute? I don’t think that’s a trope, but it was easily one of my favorite things about this book. There’s a certain absurdity to it all that the author leans into brilliantly; it makes the story feel like a safe place to be unapologetically and wildly queer.

All in all, don’t walk to read this book, run. Go. Go now.

This book is phenomenal. A beautifully written work of art depicting the love story between two women and their journey in sexual awareness. It’s refreshingly sex-positive in that the levels of experience between both protagonists are vastly different but validating.

It’s a quick read, hangover cure story. Very fluffy, and has that opposites-attract feel that is a personal favorite. I can’t say more except: READ IT ASAP!!

100/5 recommend. You NEED THIS in your life.

Triggers: Mentions of weed, alcohol, sex (a lot), emotional abuse

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC in exchange for an honest review and the opportunity to read this work of art.

Satisfaction Guaranteed is an opposites attract, slow burn, f/f workplace romance.

CW: parental abandonment, past emotionally abusive relationship, past gaslighting, parental neglect

This book was funny and tender. I loved that it was about finding a person that accepts you for who you are, including the things you might not like about yourself. I loved that this was a slow burn and how Karelia Stetz-Waters described having a crush.

I also enjoyed how sex-positive this book was. It was about embracing what you want and finding out what you want. I loved that this book discussed sexuality and had found family, which is something that I've found is more common in the LGBTQ+ community.

I enjoyed Cade and Selena together and thought that they were the perfect match. The chemistry was steamy and I loved the slow burn. I also loved that they discussed consent and did their best to ensure they were on the same page when it came to the sexual side of their relationship.

If you're looking for a slow-burn book that has tons of flirting and sex toys, you should check this out!

With a title like this, expectations are high, but this book definitely lives up to its name. This was absolutely a 5 star read for me.

Cade, a put together art gallery manager, is forced to work with Selena, a free spirit trying to get it together, after Cade's late aunt wills them both the failing sex toy store she owned. The two women who are polar opposites have to work together while trying not to fall in love to save the store in order to keep it and each other.

This book is laugh out loud funny. I was literally cackling like a crazy person at some lines. At the same time, Cade and Selena have quite a few personal obstacles to overcome on their journey to falling in love that it feels incredibly real. Hilarious, vulnerable, and so sex positive, it feels like it's something everyone should read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the eARC!

This book is not for the prude at heart. You’re going to need to be comfortable with the words vulva, clitoris, dildo, and sex in general to appreciate this beautiful book. Don’t let it discourage you, though, because when you look past the sexuality and the erotic, you’ll watch a love story blossoming between two very different people who compliment each other beautifully. I loved this book! I finished it in a few hours and wish I could spend more time with Cade and Selena. I’ll definitely be reading more by this author soon!

Reserved and responsible Cade meets wild, chaotic Selena at a funeral, and then they inherit a failing sex-toy shop together. Ideas clash, sparks fly, and both women think the other couldn’t possibly want them for anything serious. Cade considers herself an almost virgin who has never had an orgasm, and Selena is celibate until she can get her life together and stop falling into bed with people to deal with her feelings.

Highlights:
Dual Perspective that gives us a chance to really dive into the nuance of both women’s thoughts, feelings, pasts, and hopes. We get to appreciate Cade’s lack of confidence in herself, and Selena’s deep desire to get her life together and how often she feels like she is failing.

Sweet, realistic building of intimacy between our characters, as they work together and live on the same property. Little electric moments of semi-casual touching, as well as bigger moments give us a sort of two steps forward, one step back that draws out the anticipation beautifully.

Sex positivity for days, with plenty of discussion of toys (what with the shop they run), as well as a lack of judgement about how toys don’t work for everyone or every circumstance. Seeing Cade open up to Selena and embrace her sexual side is really lovely.

Selena gets a crash course in Quickbooks from Cade, and pulls an overnighted helping log receipts to save the business, and it’s actually the sweetest thing.

Meh:
The third person narration, though alternating, always keep me a little removed from characters. I would have loved it even more if I was a little more immersed in each of their heads.

There was a lot of discussion of and some usage of drugs and alcohol, which just isn’t my thing. Nothing serious, just always took me out of the story a bit.

Cade’s parents, while okay intentioned, was actually pretty horrible to her, always talking about how she different she was from them, pressuring her to smoke weed with them, relying on her to do all the work of the art gallery they run together while taking all the credit for it. But this isn’t really addressed or even considered to be much of a problem except as it pertains to Cade’s need to relax. It feels like a missed opportunity.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

I liked this romantic comedy set in a Portland, OR, sex toy shop, and enjoyed watching the relationship grow between two very different women: Selena, a creative free spirit, and Cade, who's all business. Their characters were well developed, and I felt Ruth's presence almost as if she were still alive. It was encouraging to see both women grow in confidence as they became closer, and their friends and family were quirky and funny.

If you’re looking for a feel good, soft and adorable, hilarious, sex positive romance between two entirely different women who fit together perfectly, look no further than Satisfaction Guaranteed.

After Cade’s aunt passed away, she’s told that she has a month to save her aunt’s sex shop and house as she left it majorly in debt. Cade also has to work with Selena, a woman Ruth had taken under her wing, who wants nothing more than to keep Ruth’s business and memory alive.

They are both such different people but the way their pieces fit together so perfectly! Cade seems intimidating and cold, a more reserved type, especially compared to her parents and aunt. But Selena sees through her right away, uncovering Cade’s soft and shy sides. Cade on the other hand, brought Selena confidence and the ability to stand up for herself and her needs. It was a delight watching them make each other bloom.

I loved how effortless all of the queer rep is. There’s no hate, no shame, no hiding anything. It’s so queer positive and sex positive that this book felt like a safe space for me and I hope it encourages that feeling for other queer people.

My only issue was the third act breakup as I am not the biggest fan of those. This one felt more realistic and I loved how the ending turned out! But it did sap just a bit of my enjoyment. Also, a warning for toxic exes. This book deals with that subject a lot and I can see it being triggering for some people who have experienced that.

I sped through this book in just a few hours, I couldn’t get enough of it! I adore this author’s writing and will definitely be picking up more of their work in the future. Highly recommend!

4/5⭐️

TW: death of a loved one, abusive/toxic relationship.

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED has a great concept: Two women are brought together by a dead friend/relative to save their struggling sex toy shop and fall in love. However, the story itself felt haphazard and as if the majority of the plot was placed there just to supplement the various sex scenes and the romantic climax of the book. I would say not that this is a terrible book - if you are looking just for those scenes to be highlighted and the rest of the story to be a blur, then go ahead and read SATISFACTION GUARANTEED. Ultimately, this wasn't a good fit for me.

Satisfaction Guaranteed is a wonderful, light story with two protagonists that you just can't help but root for. A classic opposites attract story set in a quirky sex toy shop, this read balanced exploring the sadness of death with the levity of first time romance.

Author Karelia Stetz-Waters words shine in this book, landing both comical and deep retrospective conversations flawlessly.

Finally! A sapphic romance where satisfaction is guaranteed when it comes to humor, emotion, individual character growth, sex, and love!

That's a tall order for a book about two opposites - Cade Elgin and Selena Mathis - who are tasked with saving a floundering sex toy shop from the edge of failure in Portland after the owner, Ruth (Cade's aunt; Selena's friend), dies and decrees them co-inheritors of her business/estate for the next six months. Yet, tall order or not, the author manages to strike a good balance between amusing and heartfelt. I couldn't have asked for better harmony on that score.

I was happy to laugh with these characters. To emote. I was happier still to be met with oodles of sex positivity and vocalness about female pleasure. The openness surrounding these topics was refreshing to say the least. Wonderful. Sexy, too.

As one would expect from a story about a sex toy shop, however, outrageous elements do populate the plot. That's part of the fun! One of the things I liked best.

For instance, not only is there a Paint Your Vulva night and a Bouncy House of Breasts at the Sexpo but most of the Elgin family, save Cade, is a free-spirited, marijuana-smoking, let's-buy-alpacas-even-though-we-have-no-use-for-them bunch who dress in gold lamé for a funeral and prefer to let the universe "take the wheel and steer," as Carrie Underwood would say. If that doesn't sound like it's for you, that's fine. However, if you're up for a splash or two of absurd in tolerable doses, then prepare yourself for a barrel of laughs.

(I still can't get the neon clitoris sign or the wall of dildos out of my head. I giggle just thinking about them.)

I will caution you and say that the main characters have a bit of a "not good enough" complex, though. It's the major obstacle in their romance. That typically isn't my cup of tea, but I think it works well in this book. I say that because Cade and Selena both have individual journeys where they must learn how to be accepting of themselves and of love. For Cade, that means seeing herself as more than a straight-laced "boring accountant" who will never be able to orgasm; for Selena, it means no longer labeling herself a "fuck up" due to her failure as an artist and the degradation she suffered in a past relationship.

Cade and Selena easy to root for as a pairing. Most everything between them is conducted in a mature, healthy fashion.

Though clearly opposites in personality, in dress (hello oversized gray sweaters and purple faux-feather jackets!), they bring out the best in one another. They're supportive. They're honest. They're sweet and compassionate. They push each other out of their comfort zones. Most of all, though, they're open about what they like and don't like, staying respectful of the sexual/emotional boundaries that have been put in place.

Such a delight! I'd recommend this to any of you who are in the mood for a fun, steamy, somewhat unconventional and uproarious F/F romance this summer. 3.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Forever Grand Central Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my review.

2.5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️✨
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Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book! This is my honest review, all views are my own.
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I’ll admit, I didn’t love the book at first. The writing felt rushed and “off”, the humor felt like it was trying too hard, and the characters introduced to the reader very quickly. That being said, once I got past the writing—which was humorous in part because of how absurd and effort-filled it was, but also in part because it was funny—it was very cute and I enjoyed it a lot! There was a large cast of characters, but of the few important ones, they were very well rounded. I loved the quirks and the conflicts of the characters and the plot, and the main romance was super cute! Selena was very passionate, and it made me so angry every time her abusive ex popped up on screen because she deserves so much better. I do wish her background was introduced earlier/discussed more, as I think her past was introduced very late in the book and I think having that information would have been nice. As for Cade: she was very precise and business oriented, but I think her background and passions made her very interesting! Elaborating on her connection with her parents and previous partners would have been very interesting, but that didn’t really happen, so I was a bit disappointed. The chemistry between the two was palpable, but it didn’t help that they always described each other as sexy and beautiful; at some point, it gets overused. Also, the sexier scenes felt rushed and I would have liked for them to be more... elaborated upon? I don’t mean that in a pervy or creepy way, it just felt short and rushed past, or it was written in a very simple way that didn’t quite reach what I had imagined for a book about a sex toy store... But perhaps that’s just me expecting more erotica than an adult romance actually has— After all, I’m only just getting into the genre! Ultimately, I think my issue with this book is that it had a lot of potential, but only met some of those goals and expectations. I think that it was a wonderful, quick, easy read, and I would recommend it, but it falls short in too many areas to earn that 3 star rating. It’s not quite 2 stars either, so 2.5 it is!

Overall I really liked this one even if it was kind of a rocky beginning. I had some issues with some of the subplot/side character balancing but I liked both Cade and Selena and thought the "work together to save a local sex shop" premise was fun.

*eArc provided by NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) in exchange for an honest review*

Everything about the pitch of this book works for me. A sapphic rom-com set in a sex toy shop? What more could I want. Unfortunately, this was truly just not the book for me.

Between the feminism that felt extremely 2nd-wave, the romance that feels rushed, and the shocking lackluster (at least for me) sex scenes, this book really fell flat for me. I think, more than anything, the characters felt so erratic in both their own lives and in each other's lives. While I'm sure that they would have been a good match, I felt uncertain who either of them actually were - and found myself not caring in any particular way.

I’m certain that there’s an audience for this book and the very specific characters, world, and plot… I just 100% wasn’t that person. Though I do hope they find this one.

Review will be posted on 5/18 on instagram and blog.

Rating: 4/5
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Adult Fiction, LGBTQ+ Romance
Warnings: Emotionally abusive relationship (in past)
Read if you liked: Written in the Stars

Review: Cade Elgin, an art gallery owner from New York, unexpectedly inherits half of her aunt's sex toy store in Portland...unfortunately it's about to be foreclosed on. Free-spirited artist, Selena Mathis a friend and of her Aunts, is given the other half. The two couldn't be more different, especially their vision on how to make the store successful. But as they work together, could opposites attract? And can they save this unique store?

Y'all this is such a unique book! One of my friends was given the ARC and raved about it, I immediately applied for it as well. The pacing + banter was fantastic. I fell in love with the story and it's characters. A little on the slower side at first but it picked up. I also love a good sapphic romance, we don't have enough in commercially published romance book and the representation is needed.

Things I loved: The main characters were delightful with each other. There was a beautiful undertone of loving and accepting yourself, especially if you are "different". Obviously, this book was sex positive and it did so without being trashy and only having mild steam (in my opinion). It also had a great representation of consent.

Things I didn't care for: I really don't always jam when characters both "don't think they are good enough" for each other, it's a lot when both have the internal dialogue. I would have liked a bit more in the epilogue.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Satisfaction Guaranteed will be released on June 1st, make sure to look out for it!

So fun! I had heard good things about this one so I was excited when I was approved for an ARC. Thanks so much to Forever Publishing and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

There are so many things to love about this book. It's funny and kind of wacky, it's sex-positive and it's sapphic as hell. Both of our main characters, Cade and Selena, are fully realized characters with their own individual issues that gave them a lot of depth. I liked them both together and separately, though it took me a minute to settle into their story. I really related to Cade and I appreciated the discussion around confidence, sexuality and having pride in who you are, even if that's not always the exciting, spontaneous wild child. Selena and Cade balanced each other really well and they made my heart happy. I also loved any story that has queer characters just being queer, and this definitely checks that box.

This book has a lot of fun tropes sprinkled in-- a little fake dating, a kind of relationship of convenience-adjacent romance, all while trying to save a sex shop on the verge of bankruptcy. I thought the writing was a little clunky in places with the third-person dual POVs, and it got a little redundant at times, but I read this in less than 24 hours and definitely expect it to be a big hit when it comes out next month!