4 Overprotective Stars ✮ CLAUDIA CONNOR ✮ WORTH THE WAIT

Worth The Wait

McKinney/Walker #1

Claudia Connor

This story took me completely by surprise. Claudia Connor is a new-to-me author and I was intrigued by the many amazing reviews I saw about the McKinney Brothers. When Worth The Wait popped up on Netgalley I couldn't resist. I took a chance and the rest is history.

Nick has to leave his teen years fast behind when his parents die in a car accident. Yesterday he was a carefree young adult, the next day he has to take care of his three brothers and his baby sister Hannah, who is all of two years old. At no point he even considers passing her on to a relative. He loves his family so much and wants them all to stay together.

When Mia meets Nick and his little sister on campus she realizes that this boy is one of a kind. They fall in love and fast and over the course of a couple of years they live a happy, albeit stressful life.

“I love you. I love you, Mia. You’re everything. Everything.” He didn’t hold back now, as if being inside her broke down any barriers he might have had, and the words flowed. He whispered them as he moved. She was all. His life. His heart.

One day their love is put to the test and it doesn't survive. Or does it?

When they meet again ten years later there are so many obstacles between them that you wonder how they will ever overcome them. Mia has had her share of tragedies and the way she carries herself even after them is nothing but admirable. She is a quiet person, nothing is flashy about her, there is no snark, only empathy and understanding. Mia is always there for the Walker siblings, no questions asked. Sometimes she comes across a little bit too understanding which might readers see as a bit of a pushover...but that isn't my perception of her. She just has this quiet strength she shows on the outside. On the inside she crumbles sometimes and the tragedies she has to deal with are really tough to swallow.

He'd tried his best to protect her from himself and broken both of their hearts in the process.

Nick is an amazing brother. The way he is with his baby sister is simply wonderful. He protects her, loves her and gives her everything Hannah needs. When he sees Mia again his mind is his prison and he is trapped in there so tightly that it's hard to imagine that he can free himself of the guilt he feels for everything that has happened. And his own feeling of guilt sometimes leads him to be cruel to the only person who has stood by him through everything. I struggled a bit to come to terms with him. He wasn't unlikable by no means, not at all. He was actually pretty amazing but his demons just were too strong at times and my heart ached for Mia because of the hurt he had caused her.

He was still looking for an answer, a reason, when there was no logical answer, no reason. There was nothing to do but move forward and help Hannah move forward. But he was still in the past, still looking for someone to blame and as long as he did there was no future for them.

This epic love story had emotions galore. I loved the characters, main and side, especially Hannah who actually stole the show from Mia and Nick in the beginning. She was so utterly adorable, I wanted to cuddle her silly. Nick's brothers all have their own struggles and I am looking forward to reading their stories. If this book is anything to go by we are in for lots of more emotional reads. The men don't seem to be alpha-holes but good and solid people. I'll definitely read this author's back list.

I love Claudia Connor's writing style, it's very fluid and pleasant to read. If you are a fan of emotional stories with a generous dash of angst like I am you will love this. It's about first love and love that is destined to be.