Waiting for the Sun: Waiting for the Sun, Part One
Wow. I loved it.Β Yep!!! You guys were right about this one. Totally reminiscent of our old school indie feels!!
I mean… from the “meet-cute” to the “just hanging out as friends” to the obvious attraction, and the TOTALLY believable push-pull (and all the heartbreaking history behind it).
I believed it. Felt every “feel” and especially the “whys” of this emotional journey.
Leslie M:Β Guess what I read today and LOVED??? Waiting for the Sun!! I was lucky enough to get an ARC and it was fabulous.Β
Β β¦I have quite the book hangover. After two recent 5 stars (Waiting for the Sun & Behind the Bars) I just canβt figure out what to read. *grumble* Everything I try is boring me.
Jean:Β Iβm reading Waiting For The Sun! You guys! Robin is giving me the feels weβd get from our old school books! So well written and ready to get my heart torn apart!
Leslie M: Jean, I was thinking same exact thing! I knew I would like the story, but I didnβt expect a debut author to be soβ¦ (not sure of right word) βpolishedβ! I was shocked that our little Robin wrote those steamy love scenes!! *waggles eyebrows* R., you do in fact belong to us!! Donβt forget it either. Especially when you are all famous.
Lisa:Β Waiting For The Sunβ¦.itβs so good!!! Everyone MUST read it! Frankie is so darn adorable (much like our very own Robin Hill), and Darian isβ¦well, Darian is swoonβ¦thud!!!
Nay: This book is so smart, so sexy, so quirky in just the right places, so romantic, so angsty, so ALL of it! I loved the characters, especially Darian, I loved the way itβs written, and the story kept my rapt attention from beginning to end. There are certain books that a reader just connects with from the very beginning and for me, this is one of them. And now I canβt wait for the next one!
Liz: It gave me all feels. When you heart drops to your stomach that is my epitome of a 5 star⦠oh the angst. Of course I hate the cliff hanger I am not good with the part twos or threes. I should have waited until it was complete. Please tell me it will be out soon. I will need to read it again before the second book is released.
Everyone who didnβt buy the book run now get it. It will worth it guys. Iβll have to wait for my review after I digest it. I just stayed up all night bl I couldnβt put it down. I have to get up in an hour for work. Power nap or suffer through the day.
Cheryl:Β Listening to Bastille – World Gone Mad while reading the prologue in Waiting for the Sun. Coincidence? I. Think. Not! Sniffling already and biting my nails in anticipation of the cliffhanger. UGH. …I love Darian and Frankie. On the other hand, I am not looking forward to having to wait for more!! *hate cliffhangers*
And what I loved the most was how authentic the heroine was. Fun, quirky, insecure at times, and yet still plenty confident. But TOTALLY human when it came to her heart, her thought process, and her expectations of love. I LOVED that. Trying to convince herself that she was good with a friends-with-benefits” fling, and yet being unable to resist being so caught up in the moment, hoping for so much more.
Maybe it isnβt him.
Of course it isnβt him.
Iβm just missingβ¦ something. I just wantβ¦ something.
Oh the mixed signals. Oh yes. This was one of those “OH NO HE DIDN’T!!!!!!!Β ” books. I was swooning, and then I was fuming and so happy to be feeling that intensely.
The first half had me curious, and enjoying it at its calm, sweet and sexy pace. It was good (because of the solid writing and how real the characters felt), albeit, not incredibly addicting… yet.
But’s the second half that had me HOOKED. And I mean the further it went, the closer it got to the end, the more intense it became. I cried twice, at two VERY different moments and for two very different reasons. But both, incredibly sad. I almost emailed the author to give her a piece of my mind about… HIM!!! Β Grrrrrrrrr!!!
And yet, I knew the “whys” of it (one of the scenes where I cried that really brought it to life), but I still fumed. π But you KNOW I love feeling like that. This was exactly the “feel” that I’m always looking for.
βIt feels like weβre dating.β
Darian stiffens beside me, and my gaze drops to his fingers wrapped tightly around the armrests.
βWeβre not dating,β he says, his tone brisk.
βI donβt mean it like weβre serious or anything.β
βBecause, Francesca, Iβ¦ canβt.β
I put the rose back in the vase. βI know.β
So what’s it about?
Francesca (Frankie) had a fun-filled weekend planned with her very best friend at an outdoor indie rock concert. Normally more reclusive, she was going to live by her father’s last words and live a little. So when her friend bailed on her at the last minute, Frankie decided she’d attend the concert on her own and have fun. Live a little.
Maybe Janeβs right. Maybe I do need this. If it wasnβt for the diner where I work, I could easily go weeks without seeing another human. Iβm not what youβd call a social butterfly. Iβm more of an antisocial caterpillar whoβs yet to don a pair of wings. Itβs not that Iβm shy; Iβm justβ¦
Stuck in my ways. An introvert. A loner.
But when she arrives at her hotel, and is told there are no rooms reserved for her, nor are there any left (all the hotels are booked due to this huge concert), she’s ready to hightail it back home and forget about being adventurous. She wants to be back in the safety and comfort of her cozy log cabin in the woods. With a creek! I don’t blame her. It sounds like heaven to me!! LOL. Gah I loved Frankie!!!
My stomach clenches. If I go home, Iβll spend another six months eating frozen dinners and binge-watching Netflix. Iβll want to change. Iβll want to live a little, but I wonβt actually do it because brooding is way too easy.
Can a person brood to death?
LOL!!! I SO get you, Frankie!!! π
Anyway, “Darian” sees her from across the hotel lobby exasperated over her roomless situation and offers her a room… after all. He has a whole floor of the hotel reserved for him and his company.
“I booked the entire top floor for myself, which leaves three available rooms. You can have one if you want it.β
Oh. My. God. Mr. Beautiful just offered me a room. The best romantic comedies start this way. But⦠so do the best horror movies. And probably the best porn.
βWhy?β I ask.
βWhy am I offering you a room?β
βWhy did you book the entire floor?β
βSo I could proposition youβ clearly.β
Laughter bubbles out of me, but I dial it back.
βIβm kidding,β he says. βIβm here on business…”
Yep. You guessed it. Darian is an indie music producer. Manager? Anyway, I can’t remember the ins-and-outs off my head of what exactly he is, but he’s essentially the head of a very successful indie music company.
And she reluctantly accepts his offer (internally swooning over how sexy he is).
“Iβm alone all the time. And I donβt mind being alone, except being alone is soβ¦ lonely. Jane says all I need is a herd of catsβ and now I canβt stop talking. Oh God. Just kill me.β
As I start to stand, Darianβs fingers circle my wrist. βDonβt go.β He draws the bedding back, making room for me. I hesitate.
βJust sleep,β he says in a low voice. I lie down beside him, my back to his chest.
He wraps his arm around me. βIβm familiar with lonely.β
*my heart*
And so the story begins…
Great writing, and fantastic little details during conversations that made the conversations flow naturally. The characters came to life and moved as if I were watching a movie.
Leslie:Β Maryse, that is it! The βflowβ of Waiting for the Sun was perfect. I couldnβt think of the word. I am DYING for part 2 as I have no idea where story going.
And yes, I was so excited about a certain… part, and then I was allβ¦ WHAT? OH RIGHT!! GAH!!!!!! LOL! That’s right. To be continued…Β Β Tee hee!
But no worries. I can go withΒ this kind of “cliffhanger” because it’s not so much a cliffhanger since the end of this one essentially came to a solid conclusionβ¦ it’s just the start to part 2.Β
I’m in!
4 stars! Easily!! And maybe even 4.5 stars (yes I’m vacillating), but I’m going to wait until it all comes together to reevaluate (which is what I often do when I complete duets and trilogies).
P.S. IMPORTANT NOTE!!!! Thank you to the author for sending me this review copy. And yes, I want everyone to know that Robin is one of my very best book-buds (she’s known as “R” here, in our book crew), and has been in our crew for years. I adore her, and her taste in books (she loves the shock and pain and elation of emotional angst and crazy endings, like I do).
BUT!! It’s very hard on me, reading a friend’s book. I dunno. I worry. What if I don’t love it?
*bites nails*.
What if I DO love it, and nobody believes me?
*Double bites nails*.
I struggled with whether I would actually review this book or not, in case other readers (knowing of our friendship) might think the review is biased. But I want to assure everyone, this review is honest and from my heart (as they all are). True, she’s my friend, but I’m not sugar-coating. This book is really good.
*tosses all the glitter* YES! That is precisely how I felt. Robin is my home girl…and home girl can write! Regardless of our friendship or maybe in spite of it… Maybe I even criticized her harder than normal (and we all know how tough I am)…sorry about that Robin! You’re so good, girl! *more confetti for good measure!* Thank you, Maryse, for making me feel vindicated, lol!
Thank you so much Maryse. I love this more that you could possibly know. I never expected you to read it and I certainly didn’t expect a review! And having the comments from my blog peeps with it if just gahhhh! π
*shoots glitter cannonball out of a cannon all the way to Texas*
I’m SO thrilled for you, Robin! Your years of hard, HARD work are obvious and are getting the book love they deserve!!
Awesome review Maryse!!!
You are amazzzing Robin – can’t wait for Book 2
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Perhaps now Robin will believe that her book REALLY is good??
I loved it, getting ready to do a re-read as my first time I was anxious and read fast.
Oooh Maryse, you know how we say some books bore us with too many/drawn out love scenes and we eye-roll & skim? This book had perfect sexy times! *waggles eyebrows*
Mandarin infused oil anyone??
Maryse- EXACTLY!!
Waiting anxiously for book 2. π
Great review Maryse!
Congrats to Robin and *huge hugs*!
Yeah – what Maryse (and all the others said). The girl can write a romance!!! So swoony!!
Will this come out in audiobook? I try to stick to only those because if not I canβt get ANYTHING done! I love to listen all day while Iβm busy and kids are at school!