Worth the Wait

De: Kenna White

Narrado por: Abby Craden

In the wake of the pandemic, Val Nardi's dreams hang by a thread. Putting her own aspirations aside, she decides to help her brother and goes to work in his restaurant. But the sacrifice she's made means her dreams might be forever out of reach.

Then everything changes when she crosses paths with the enigmatic and successful software engineer, Dr. Susan Castle.

As Val fights to save her family's business and rebuild her life, Susan's intriguing presence is something she can't ignore. Despite the odds stacked against them—the attraction between them is undeniable.

With Val's determination and Susan's support, they embark on a journey of self-discovery and love. But can they overcome their differences and take a chance on happiness? One kiss could change everything. But is it worth the wait?

©2024 Kenna White (P)2024 Tantor Media

Age gap and Italian love love love

Love love ❤️ what a great book age gap and all thank you I needed that I’m in my 60s so thank you again

So sweet

I really loved this book. Nice to have an age gap story. Would love a follow story with these lively ladies.

Another great story from Kenna White

I have enjoyed all of this author’s other audiobooks, also all narrated by Abby Craden and this new story was no exception. Mature FMCs with realistic real-life scenarios make the story relatable.

Excellent book

I loved listening to this book, it was well written, the story line was built well and I loved the MC. Not too much drama and if you are for the sex scenes this is not a book for you. This book fits perfectly for the 50+ WLW. Abby Craden was excellent in her narration.

An Endearing Life/Love Story that's Worth the Wait

**This review is for the book and the audiobook**

Truth be told, the nature of Val's personality and some of the characters' truly abhorrent behaviour throughout the story had, unfortunately, caused me some aggro moments whilst reading which dampened my enjoyment of reading the story thoroughly. The only saving grace (bless!) for me was Susan. I wish she had more scenes in it. Despite being the other MC, it was evident that White chose to focus on Val's journey. Whilst I know real life doesn't always come with redemption or a change of heart, mind and behaviour, rather, it's more common that people tend to fall into the stereotypical human condition without a hint of any change, I was still wishing, as I read through the book, that Val would eventually shed her [pardon my French!] doormat behavioural trait.

But then, I also knew that it meant White really hit the nail on the head in portraying a brutally honest and uncomfortably realistic character in Val(entine), who was unapologetically steadfast and comfortable (enough) in her own skin even though at times she hated not being able to stand up to the bullies in her life and speak up for herself.

Here's where I truly appreciate White's honesty in portraying a doormat - that sometimes, someone like Val would have an acute outburst of her real feelings in reaction (soft retaliation) to a personal attack, albeit after the umpteenth time. White absolutely nails the nuance of that moment of uncharacteristic jolt of anger after being triggered one too many times. Everyone has a line. I know people in my life who're exactly like Val and I must say, I'd be so aggro when I saw unfair things happening to them which they'd just allow to happen even though they made them very sad or furious especially with people's unkindness, pettiness, all-around arsehole-ry, yet they just took the blows to their emotional and mental/psychological sense of being. Infuriating moments of observation.

So, when I was reading Val's predicament, with her own family treating her with such contempt and she just absorbed the blows, however ridiculous, allowing them to get off scott-free just brought back all the memories of me having observed similar situations in people I knew and I wanted to stop reading. But I persisted because I realised that it was most probably White's intention of provoking that emotion in those of us who would otherwise fight back or stand up, and also putting a mirror in front of those readers who might be in the same boat as Val. With that mindset, I'd say White has succeeded. At least for me. I would never stand for injustice, bad faith, unsavoury behavior, all-around arseholes who are begging to be scolded or walloped! But then, when I'm being forced to read about Val and her default doormat/submissive behaviour and delve into her inner psyche, I'm being reminded that there are people out there who just chose to be that way and nobody has the right to force them to be someone they're not. So, who am I to say otherwise, right?

For me personally, Val's character serves as a reminder of a few people I've known in my life who didn't choose to be like that, rather, it's just their nature. And they have a way of going through life in their own terms. It doesn't matter if others agree or not because at the end of the day, it's their innate right to choose how to live and go through their lives. It's all about the human experience, good or bad, right or wrong, light or dark. It's personal. For that, White did her job in showcasing the contrast between Val and Susan. Not that Susan didn't have her own character idiosyncrasies as well but she was the very character who'd never, ever allow anyone to bulldoze her in any way, shape or form. So, it was an ideal contrast between the 2 characters to explore and contemplate the state of the human condition whilst going through life's trials and tribulations, reconciling what we can or can't change.

Now, listening to Abby Craden portray these characters, with her tremendous zeal in navigating her wide range of vocal artistry, only further amplified the emotional effects that were hidden in-between the lines. In particular, Val's constant turmoil when faced with verbal cruelty that she could never confront that weighed heavily on her, was portrayed through choreographing her voice in such delicate subtlety that spoke emotional volumes. The effect was acutely more visceral than reading it. I could feel it in my gut, this suffocating sense of helplessness and frustration, the silent aggravation simmering just beneath the surface.. And it was all down to Craden being able to embody that level of raw authenticity in her voice to bring this quietly-charged story and its realistic characters to life.

I absolutely enjoyed Susan's clearly neurodivergent character, her distinct peculiarities so vividly personified by Craden that it resonated endearingly within me. What a welcome contrast from Val's in every way, especially in the art of communication. Susan's was always clear, concise, honest and dare I say, unrelenting! So well-written and understood by White/Craden for both of these imperfectly perfect souls!

Again, I wonder if White deliberately crafted them this way so that we could appreciate the beauty of polar opposites eventually coming together in union through the power of love. But not before going through their fair share of angst! Such is the life that we are given to explore in this realm we call the human experience, innit? As the saying goes, "the hardest things in life yields the biggest rewards."

In other words, true love is... "Worth the Wait," as White so aptly titled this story! I see what you did there, White! Brilliant motif! Well done! Another great collaboration between White and Craden.

Read the words. Listen to the visual voice. Experience it.

worth the wait

I hadn't realized this book was a Kenna white until it popped up. I knew nothing about the book when I started listening but I love it & I hope there's a sequel? Anyone at all is there?

Eh, this one was ok

This one kind of drug on, then just ended rather abruptly. It was ok, but not my favorite. Abby Craden was great, as usual.

I’d skip this one…

This book was really annoying. I was pretty much over it by chapter 5 but I continued to listen because I love Abby Craden’s voice, and I wanted to give an informed review.

For those wanting a short explanation here it is:

There was no depth, the supporting characters were all irredeemable jerks, there were some weird word choices and situational turn-offs, it was infuriating yet boring and the MCs ages are 44 and 63 respectively.

For those wanting a longer explanation:

The first thing is that it felt superficial. I got the feeling that the author wanted the reader to intuit the emotions that weren’t explicitly stated, but unfortunately, her writing here wasn’t skilled enough to make that happen,

The next thing is that nearly every supporting character is generally a horrible person that continually treads all over the indefectible MC. The amount of times the MC declared that she “didn’t have a choice” anytime her family members took advantage of her was maddening. Yes, you have a choice Val! You’re a 44 year old woman for crying out loud! It put me in a bad mood to listen to someone being treated so poorly and doing nothing about it.

In the moments that the story wasn’t irritating, it plodded along slowly and uninterestingly. There were also some weird choices that were distracting like phone calls always being answered on the fourth ring and an excessive use of the word ‘crotch’. Crotch is not an attractive or sexy word. It’s bad enough that it was used at all and so frequently, but using it during a love scene is unforgivable.

Finally, the age discrepancy was too much for me. The second MC is 63 years old (which you don’t find out until well into the book). I’m sure there are plenty of people who are fine with that dynamic, but I would have preferred that it be mentioned in the synopsis as it’s not really my thing. Also there was a weird moment where the 63 year old was worried that the 44 year old was only attracted to her because she saw her as a stand in for her recently deceased GRANDMOTHER!! What??!!

I really didn’t like this one. The only reason I’m giving it more than one star is because of Abby. She is the queen after all.

I always struggle to write reviews that aren’t favorable, but the audience should know what they’re getting into. No disrespect intended.