Love Delayed follows Zamora and Marcus as they navigate the emotional highs and lows of their relationship, spanning from their teenage years to adulthood. A decade after their painful breakup, Anna Black paints a picture of two souls who seem fated to be together, despite life pulling them apart and leading them into the arms of others.

While I appreciated the premise and the emotional weight of Zamoras and Marcus’s story, I found myself torn about the execution. The book struggled to hook me at the start; the early chapters felt rushed, leaving me without a strong connection to the characters. For me, the opening should be a foundation—showing us why Zamora and Marcus matter, why we should root for their love—and this buildup didn’t fully come until later in the story.

That said, once the narrative found its rhythm in the middle, it drew me in. There were moments that shone with raw emotion and authenticity, but these highlights only emphasized the gaps in the less-developed sections. I wanted more depth, more exploration, and more time spent fleshing out the elements that felt glossed over.

In the end, the book had plenty of potential and some truly engaging moments, but it left me feeling like parts of the story were left unfinished. With more attention to pacing and character development, it could have been a standout read.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️
Format: Audiobook

Anna Black’s Love Delayed is an emotional rollercoaster of a romance that had me hooked from start to finish! Following the journeys of Zamora and Marcus, this story offers an incredible blend of well-developed characters, compelling plot twists, and pacing that keeps you turning the pages (or listening on repeat).

The audiobook narration was phenomenal, with voice actors who brought every scene and emotion to life. I loved how deeply layered the characters were, and the plot never felt rushed or drawn out. That said, I would’ve enjoyed less spice from the supporting characters and a bit more romantic focus on Zamora and Marcus—they deserved it! Additionally, the drama in their individual lives sometimes took precedence over their development as a couple, but it all worked to keep me emotionally invested throughout.

This book kept my emotions in overdrive: laughing, crying, and rooting for the leads. If you love a romance with depth, drama, and relatable characters, Love Delayed is a must-read (and must-listen)!

The Story: What happens when you were together just not the right time? Well it just happens to be Love Delayed (see what I did there lol). Zamora and Marcus were together through college, but with each of their career paths after college leading to opposite ends of the country they decide its better to let each other experience life/career without the long distance. Shoot to 10 years later and they happen to run into each other at the airport back to their hometown, but the flight gets delayed and allows them the time to catch up but that catch up led to them realizing they still have their old feelings for each other.

Review: I have no idea exactly what to say about this, if I'm being honest. I didn't totally hate the story, I think there were some extra stuff that wasn't needed specifically the third person pov. There are timeline jumps and sometimes it was very hard keep track of when we were in the past and then back to the present.
I am not one to hate on religion or religious beliefs, but I feel like there were times where the FMCs beliefs comes in and seems contradictory at times or not even needed. I am also very curious as to what her beliefs are as she states "the most high," which could be related to a slew of different religions.
I was able to read this as an audiobook. I love having multiple narrators to the respective povs. I hope to hear them again in other audiobooks.

This was just not great. What I thought I was getting, based on the book cover and the synopsis, did not line up to the actual story. There was just too much going on, like every bit of drama was thrown in but it didn't flow well. I didn't connect with the characters and it was hard to follow.

Thank you to Netgalley, Anna Black and RB Media for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was just. So. Wild. I don't even know where to start.

First of all, the summary/back cover blurb is SO misleading. The delayed flight was a tiny part of the story. A blip. The rest of the story was messy as all get out.

There was not a single likeable character. They all had maaaaaaaajor red flags and were completely blind to how problematic everyone else was. I hated everyone. So much.

The plot was WILD. With everything that happened, I would think to myself, surely it can't get anymore ridiculous, to which the author seemed to say, "hold my beer." I am genuinely in shock that this was advertised as a sweet romantic comedy when it played like a trashy soap opera.

As part of the chaos of the plot, there were a lot of elements that could be really triggering to a lot of people, including infertility, miscarriage, infidelity, and rape, which happened on page. In the ARC there were absolutely no trigger warnings, and I sincerely hope they changed that for the published version so that no one has to come across that unawares. Since, you know, they thought this was a cute airport romance.

Perhaps most wild of all was the Christian side element, in which the two FMCs were deeply religious. I don't have anything against including religious beliefs in a novel, but it just felt suuuuuuuper weird shoved in there along with everything else. Like... what???

The saddest truth is that Anna Black is a talented writer. She just seems to have (IMO) no taste for plot. Like, at all. Maybe if this book was advertised differently I could've handled it at least a bit, but it was so completely crazy and unexpected.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for the honest review.

This story is about two lovers whose relationship started in their teenage years and after a bad breakup rekindled in their adult years. This was a page turner for me and I enjoyed seeing Z and Marcus overcome and work through everything. Their chemistry was undeniable and captivating.

I listened to the Audiobook and I felt that the narrators they used took from the storyline because I didn’t care for some of the male voices. That being said I continued listening and the story line was pretty good.

Trigger warnings: baby loss and cheating

2⭐, 2.25🌶️

Im gonna be quick with this review, because I really dont have anything positive to say about this book. I probably should have DNF'ed at 25% when I first thought about it.

I couldn't connect with the characters - none of them had redeeming factors. Yes both of their partners were trash- even though Eliana being an extra POV was a fun twist (love a good villian POV), but that doesn't make either of their shady moves better. And this was a second chance romance I couldn't connect with seeing how gross the first chance ended - Marcus my guy, you needed to grovel.

The cover, the title, and the "flight delay" plot were such a minor glimps in the beginning of the point that it didnt matter, to the grand scheme of the book.

I did the audiobook of this and my biggest qualm isnt over the narrators (honestly, their voices were one of the best parts of this audiobook) but WHY were there no trigger warnings? On page miscarriage was heavy to deal with. I need more audiobooks to include the TW at the beginning.

Thanks NetGalley and RBmedia for the ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This story had me hooked immediately. Zamora and Marcus were each other’s first loves and ones that got away. Ten years after their relationship ended, the pair reconnect when their shared flight home is cancelled.

Both are in drastically different points in their lives; Zamora, in the process of divorcing her husband, has just found out she’s pregnant and Marcus is newly engaged to a woman who checks all the boxes but one - she’s not Zamora.

I really enjoyed this second-chance romance. The story was real and raw. I was floored about halfway in when the third narrator was introduced and an additional perspective came into play. However, towards the end, it felt very rushed and everything seemed to fall together without any real conflict.

There is one glaring issue with this book that knocked it down an additional star for me. This audiobook did not come with any trigger warnings yet there are very graphic descriptions of rape and miscarriage.

Through it all this was still a very enjoyable read/listen and the narrators did a great job!

📚 3/5
🌶️ .5/5

Love Delayed

I Picked Up This Book Because: Cover lust

Media Type: Audiobook
Source: Netgalley
Dates Read: 1/1/25 - 1/1/25
Rating: 3 Stars
Narrator(s): No idea as the book and the website have different names

The Characters:

Zamora Hill:
Marcus Coleman:

The Story:

A little predictable but a pleasant enough way to pass some time. Marcus’ mother surprised me the most but she is nowhere near the star of the show. Marcus and Zamora are interesting and relatable characters who traverse some real problems and some self created ones but manage to come back together for their HEA.

I stopped reading this book at 35%. It became repetitive and I couldn’t relate to any of the characters.

I loved the cover and the synopsis for the book is what drew me to request and read it, but it wasn’t for me

I love any books that involve airports or travelling but man this book was boring with a capital B. The story is told in multiple POVs and at times it felt like the characters were just repeating each other over and over. I wanted to like this but unfortunately i cannot recommend

I really wanted to love this story but I just could not get into it. I wouldn't say it was the narrators fault at all. It was more so the story line. The story just did not keep my attention. The cover is really adorable I just could not get into the story.

Thank you Netgalley for this Audiobook

This book walks us through real duality and emotions of a couple. I enjoyed it. The narrators were great and they made sure to get us into the listener zone. Zamora is a strong women who went thru soo much and stood up strong and steady! Admirable!!

First I'd like to say that I'm thankful that netgalley has provided me with my first opportunity to listen to my first audiobook.

I do feel kinda duped, this was advertised as a cute second chance romance.... It was not.

I personally found it hard to connect to the story. I'm sure if because it was audiobook, that I found it harder to connect.
I personally, don't like more than one POV in a book, so that spun me and didn't think it was necessary.

I don't believe the story flowed very well, and felt clunky and disjointed a multiple point.

I was just kinda overall dissapointed

This is a second chance story of Zamora (aka Z) and Marcus. They met as teenagers, broke up, and now a decade latter find their way back to each other. I really appreciated how Anna Black includes their history in the Prologue. Many second chances books have this level of tension below the surface as the reader waits the whole book to understand how these two characters hurt each other and can't be together even though they seem so perfect together. I appreciated understanding what happened first and then watching them work through their differences.

Zamora has always wanted to be a chef. She left Chicago to go to culinary school in Maryland. Years later she is married and faces a number of different struggles in her life. She has a supportive family and a career she loves. Marcus works for his family's hotels and has never found love again after Z. He still lives in Chicago, but did not follow his dreams as Z did.

They run into each other in an airport when their flight was delayed from Vegas to Chicago. Their feelings all flood back immediately. Like many other reviewers, I was surprised that the airport was not a major focal point of the novel, given the title. However, the epilogue gave the airport the weight it needed, and I do feel like it was pivotal for the story.

I was surprised by the third POV. Maybe I shouldn't be, because there are three narrators listed, but I was. At first, I did not like the third POV. But, Anna Black uses this third POV to explore and tackle additional challenges the characters face. This book does not shy away from difficult topics. It's real and she does a great job of explain the characters stories, backgrounds, and the difficult choices we all make in life. The story has an HEA, but there is definitely heartbreak along the way.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

There was so much happening, the plot was jumping around too much. Some chapters were the same, just told from the other main characters perspective, repetitive . The miscarriage was unnecessary and quite sudden. It was a lot. And the male main character's love declaration in the first five chapters was questionable at best.

I really didn't enjoy this book! This book is completely unlike what it's being promoted as. The description gives off a vibe of a cute second chance romance. This WAS NOT that. I forced myself to finish this book. The narrators did a great job. The book itself just missed the mark for me. Too much drama and most of the book DID NOT flow.


Thank you NetGalley, RBmedia, Recorded Books and Anna Black for giving me an advanced listener's copy of this book.

DNFd after 33%. The storytelling/timeline was too choppy and disorienting and the religious mentions were too much in such few chapters.

I wanted to love this book deeply... Yet here I am, with a few things to say.

At first, I thought it would be a light, fluffy second-chance romance. However, this book was a mess! So much happened, and it all went in so many directions—breakups, time jumps, pregnancy, another time jump, more pregnancy, and endless drama.

Everything was crammed into so little time, making my head spin more than once. And let me add: we could have removed all the chapters about Marcus’s fiancée (I honestly don’t know why they were there in the first place) and instead focused on developing the main couple, Zamora and Marcus. I expected a dual POV, but I ended up with three POVs. It was surprising, yes, but not in a good way—it didn’t add much to the story, and neither did the cheating trope.

If the story had been centered on the main couple, it would have been better and made more sense.

In my opinion, the book lacked depth and development for Zamora and Marcus as a couple. Hence, rooting for them or fully enjoying the story was hard.

And let me just say, I winced several times—especially when, after ten years, Marcus recognized Zamora because of her... well, her butt. No further comment on that.

Regarding the audiobook, I loved the FMC's voice, but the MMC's narration gave me chills—in the worst way. He growled in my ear for hours, and it was honestly unsettling.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free audiobook.