Take a photo of a barcode or cover
jenwesner 's review for:
Wait for It
by Mariana Zapata
I love this author and I love this narrator on audio. And I loved this story. I loved the characters.
Diana, the first person narrator, is someone who loves fiercely and unconditionally. She portrays the costs of sacrifice. She strives to be level headed even though she has a hot temper. She is insecure about her strengths and struggles to believe people when they are pointed out. She's funny. More than anything, she's a real person with real flaws.
Dallas, the love interest, is solid. He's solid in his loyalty and commitment, he's solid in his protection of Diana and her boys, he's solid in his relationship both with his Nana and his errant brother. He believes for the best in people. He also loves deeply, rooted in that commitment to others. And he has first, a respect for Diana, and second, a love for her.
Lou and Josh, Diana's nephews, are such fun. They are as integral to the story as the two main characters and add a dimension to it rather than just being side characters with little influence.
The other secondary characters served as the finer points to the story, influencing it without taking over. They were just enough to explain a character trait of Di's, Dallas' or the boys. It would have been easy for Zapata to give Anita (Josh's mother) a bigger role. Instead, she chose to focus on the budding romance and just use Anita to round out Josh and Diana's characters. The same applies to Dallas' brother; while he might have been given a bigger part, it would have overshadowed the primary storyline.
Romance lovers might consider this story slow paced, but I think that's just her style. She grows a relationship organically and over time, which enables her concentrate on the emotions of the romance and not the peripheral aspects.
My one criticism of this story is that Diana was a bit too rough around the edges for my taste. She's a hairdresser/colorist, she both knows how and has the stuff to dress up for weddings and other occasions, she is aware of the way her house needs attention. So, clearly she cares about appearances to some degree. All these things lend themselves to her being feminine. But her language was very rough and much of the humor in the book was bathroom centered. I think it worked because much of it was within her interactions with a 5 and 10-year boys. It's not that it didn't belong in the story, it's just that I found it to be gratituous. Toning down that aspect of her language wouldn't have taken anything from the story or her character. If anything, it would have made her more attractive.
The flawed characters in this story lend it a sense of realism and many points of connection. Diana's relationship with her mother and Dallas' relationship with his brother are good examples of this. Although each one is right (and they remind the other that this is true), they are bogged down by insecurity. This is real life in me and virtually every person I know.
Callie Dalton is just fabulous. Her range for the different voices was almost perfect. My only suggestion (and it's a very slight one) would be that the boy's voices should have been higher pitched. Sometimes they were, and sometimes they weren't. Most children's voices are the same pitch until they get to be about 12-13, so a higher range would have been appropriate. But again, that's such a minor thing that it didn't even affect her performance.
If you love romance, you'll not just love this story but this author. The way she slowly grows a relationship give her the opportunity to be far more realistic. It also lets peripheral aspects influence the characters, giving them dimension. I can't wait for her next book.
Diana, the first person narrator, is someone who loves fiercely and unconditionally. She portrays the costs of sacrifice. She strives to be level headed even though she has a hot temper. She is insecure about her strengths and struggles to believe people when they are pointed out. She's funny. More than anything, she's a real person with real flaws.
Dallas, the love interest, is solid. He's solid in his loyalty and commitment, he's solid in his protection of Diana and her boys, he's solid in his relationship both with his Nana and his errant brother. He believes for the best in people. He also loves deeply, rooted in that commitment to others. And he has first, a respect for Diana, and second, a love for her.
Lou and Josh, Diana's nephews, are such fun. They are as integral to the story as the two main characters and add a dimension to it rather than just being side characters with little influence.
The other secondary characters served as the finer points to the story, influencing it without taking over. They were just enough to explain a character trait of Di's, Dallas' or the boys. It would have been easy for Zapata to give Anita (Josh's mother) a bigger role. Instead, she chose to focus on the budding romance and just use Anita to round out Josh and Diana's characters. The same applies to Dallas' brother; while he might have been given a bigger part, it would have overshadowed the primary storyline.
Romance lovers might consider this story slow paced, but I think that's just her style. She grows a relationship organically and over time, which enables her concentrate on the emotions of the romance and not the peripheral aspects.
My one criticism of this story is that Diana was a bit too rough around the edges for my taste. She's a hairdresser/colorist, she both knows how and has the stuff to dress up for weddings and other occasions, she is aware of the way her house needs attention. So, clearly she cares about appearances to some degree. All these things lend themselves to her being feminine. But her language was very rough and much of the humor in the book was bathroom centered. I think it worked because much of it was within her interactions with a 5 and 10-year boys. It's not that it didn't belong in the story, it's just that I found it to be gratituous. Toning down that aspect of her language wouldn't have taken anything from the story or her character. If anything, it would have made her more attractive.
The flawed characters in this story lend it a sense of realism and many points of connection. Diana's relationship with her mother and Dallas' relationship with his brother are good examples of this. Although each one is right (and they remind the other that this is true), they are bogged down by insecurity. This is real life in me and virtually every person I know.
Callie Dalton is just fabulous. Her range for the different voices was almost perfect. My only suggestion (and it's a very slight one) would be that the boy's voices should have been higher pitched. Sometimes they were, and sometimes they weren't. Most children's voices are the same pitch until they get to be about 12-13, so a higher range would have been appropriate. But again, that's such a minor thing that it didn't even affect her performance.
If you love romance, you'll not just love this story but this author. The way she slowly grows a relationship give her the opportunity to be far more realistic. It also lets peripheral aspects influence the characters, giving them dimension. I can't wait for her next book.