If anyone ever said being an adult was easy, they hadn’t been one long enough.Diana Casillas can admit it: she doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing half the time. How she’s made it through the last two years of her life without killing anyone is nothing short of a miracle. Being a grown-up wasn’t supposed to be so hard. With a new house, two little boys she inherited the most painful possible … painful possible way, a giant dog, a job she usually loves, more than enough family, and friends, she has almost everything she could ever ask for.
Except for a boyfriend.
Or a husband.
But who needs either one of those?
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EDITED AGAIN: I have just stayed up to the wee hours of the morning finishing my fourth re through of this book. I only picked it up this morning. Each time I laugh harder, my heart aches stronger and I fall for all of them even further.
EDITED: I decided to do a re read with audio with a book buddy. It was really great reading it with someone who was experiencing Diana for the first time. We have many messages going back and forth with our favorite bits and what was cracking us up. Made me fall for Dallas even more and reminded me how much I adored Louie.
5 Professor ‘s
OMG! I just love this author’s work. Whenever I want to fall deeply into a book, with lots of emotion and some giggles, I know I won’t be disappointed with a MZ novel.
I had a strong connection with Diana, she has the same parenting skills I do, with humor and sarcasm and a touch of strictness. She was perfect for those boys, who were so adorable.
What can I say about Dallas / Dalass, first impressions are hard to live down! He may have been a little reserved in the beginning but once he was sure who he was dealing with, he was such a softie!
I was excited to read how some characters related back to other books, it was fun catching up with them. I am now up to date with all MZ books, which is a bit sad, although I see a lot of re reading happening in my further with these novels. Love them all and highly recommend each and every one.
I have become an amazing fan of this author! I have binged listened and read all this authors works in the recent past.
I have always attempted to give ‘star’ ratings on my completed reads, just as a tracking method for my titles that I have completed. I have unlimited packages for audio, kindle, and utilize the local/state library.
However, I do not check the ‘I recommend this book’ unless I am willing to reread a book and or a series.
[I read about 5-15 books a month through kindle, and I listen to about 15-30 books monthly]
I have a full life as a nurse, professor, wife, daughter [daughter in law], sister, and mother. I love to read and love a thousand other lives by turning the pages in countless books.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide a review. Happy reading 🙂
Another amazing book by Mariana Zapata..
This time is the story of Diana and Dallas..
Dianas brother suffered a terrible accident a few years ago leaving Diana in charge of his two kids. Josh and Louie.. Diana is trying to do her best to raise them, josh is a huge fan of baseball and he wants to continue his passion in one of the local teams.. Diana enrolls Josh on the team when one of her neighbors invite him to become part of it.
Dallas lives across the street from Diana, he is a quiet enigmatic man who lives with his brother Jackson who is not so friendly at all.. Dallas is also the coach of the local baseball team.. separated from his wife, a wife who just wants to get something of of him before they finalize the divorce..
The relationship between Dallas and Diana doesn’t start very well Diana thinks he is not a very nice person.. once she found his brother being beaten by a few guys outside their house.. Diana and Dallas friendship/relationship start very slow both not knowing much about each other.. she thinks he is married or have a bad relationship with his wife and therefor doesn’t want any type of relationship with any other women. Dallas thinks she is divorced and mother of the two boys, he thinks Diana is out of reach…
but surprises will come out when they finally realize so many things they thought aren’t true..
I love how Dallas and Diana relationship starts to build up slowly.. they don’t want anything more than a friendship or at least is what they say to each other, until some circumstances change everything.. their feelings and the way they see each other.. Diana keeps lying to herself that she doesn’t feel a thing… until one day there is not going to be anywhere to hide anymore and the feelings will start to come out… you are also going to laugh a lot with Diana.. she is a very nice heroine, strong and also sensible.. always fighting for her boys and for what she wants..
We also are going to meet Dianas family, her mother is not so nice and she always is trying to make her feel like she is not good enough.. she is the one who’s not so happy with Dianas and Dallas friendship.. always making remarks about Dallas Tattoos.. or how he is not good enough for her.
There is also Trip a good friend of Diana and also the cousin of Dallas and we get to see other good friends of Diana Vanessa and Ginny that is also her boss… Miss pearl another great neighbor and also Dallas grandmother.. she is a very nice lady and she will scared the hell out of Dallas and Diana at some point making Diana do something not very smart that would put her in danger..
you are going to hate Christy that woman needs a few slaps once in a while and also some kicking in her a… lol she is just too mean and too prude for my taste..
So many great things in this story.. the love of Diana for these two kids is beautiful.. i love how she love them more than anything in the world.. and how they both love her so much.. i also love how much Dallas respect her and make her see how strong and good she is whenever she is falling downs, when life is just crashing down on Diana, Dallas always makes her see she can do it..
very amazing story and i love Marianas writing..
I really enjoyed the book because it had it caring parts .especially at the end.
Long live the queen of slow burn!
I hate myself for waiting so long to read this book, because WOW! What an amazing book, amazing cast of characters, and the slowest, sweetest, most romantic slow burn romance! I listened to the audiobook version of Wait For It, and Callie Dalton absolutely killed it! She is such a lovely narrator, and I love when she brings Mariana’s books to life.
Diana is genuinely one of the most selfless book characters I’ve ever read. She has the biggest heart, and no doubt would give a stranger the shirt off of her back without hesitation. Mariana always creates the BEST heroines, and Diana was no different.
And then we have Dallas… so big, so broody… and such a big teddy bear. So many times I say that a certain hero is the ultimate book boyfriend, but Dallas truly is the ULTIMATE book boyfriend. He puts on a big, tough guy front, but underneath he’s like sweet cotton candy that melts as soon as you touch him. He truly lived to serve and take care of Diana and the boys, even when he was being a grump. One of my favorite scenes in this book was when Diana got a migraine, and he took care of the boys so Diana could rest. I get migraines, and it was the most realistic migraine scene I’ve ever read in a book. Dallas took such great care of Diana, and was so thoughtful when it came to her pain.
I think that’s mostly how I would describe Wait For It; thoughtful. Both Diana and Dallas are so thoughtful, and even Josh and Louie are. There’s so much love between all of them, and it filled my heart with so much joy getting to read such a sweet story. I can’t wait to continue working my way through Mariana’s backlist!
Wait for It:
“I always thought you looked like mine but you sure do fucking feel like you’re mine too.”
My mortal body cannot possibly wrap its brain around how in the name of everything holy these books, these stories, and these men can even get better. Three Mariana Zapata books in three days should have warned me that my devotion to her as an author wouldn’t die down and yet, here we are.
Diana Casillas moves to a new neighborhood with her brother’s boys, Lou and Josh, who she has assumed guardianship for. Her new neighbor, a quiet and grumpy man, Dallas Walker, happens to coach baseball, a sport Josh is passionate about. As the kids and Diana slowly grow increasingly fond of Dallas and he becomes an integral part of their life, the sweetest story unravels between them.
Diana is literally a fucking boss. I have absolutely no words for how much I love this woman. Her strength, her love, her effort, her realness, her everything made her my uncontested favorite Mariana Zapata characters, and honestly probably all time favorite women. She is such a good mom and she loves with her whole heart. She constantly gives and never likes to ask for any help because she’s independent. She does everything she can to make sure she’s a good role model for the boys and is always on their team, no matter what.
Dallas Walker is fucking perfect. As usual, he drove me up a goddamn wall for the first part of the book but then when I fell? I fell off a fucking cliff for him. Hard and fast with not a single chance of being able to brace myself for the landing. He is so very dreamy. Always around to help, willing to do anything for Diana, and his relationship with the kids, especially Lou, stole my breath away. He’s protective as hell, possessive as heck, and smooth as I don’t even know what. The second he started with the “baby” and the “anything for you”, I knew this man was going to be hard to get over. I cannot stop thinking about him. He’s so perfect for Diana.
The way Dallas loves all three of them and even the way Diana and the kids fold him into their little family tugged at my heart strings over and over again. Not to mention, the way the boys love Diana is so fucking perfect. She’d do anything for them but you can bet your ass they’d do anything for her too. The epilogue killed me oh my God I don’t even have words for it pLEASE how are they so cute.
This made it’s way into the top books I’ve read this year and I am so very glad that I read it.
An unintentional single parent , smart Ass nephews and too good to be true hero. Put the pot on slow simmer and you have a MZ story to the T. The trope of slow-burn should be trademarked by Zapata, cause she takes it real slooooooww. She’s in no hurry and it shows
This book in particular had a few unnecessary details, some loosely written characters and minute details of daily lives, unceremoniously thrown together.
Plus the fact that there were no conflicts, no twists and turns made it a chore to finish. I loved the plot but was bored halfway through.
I’m just being honest and no ill will towards her style of writing, but inserting a paragraph of monologue between the question Dallas asks and a monologue before the heroine- Diana answers and the thoughts, dialogues, speeches on repeat just ruins the flow and mood.
MZ need to change her style, because this has become her format.
Please go ahead and read it and form your own opinion, It didn’t do for me but you may like it.
The narrator did a bang on job tho
3.5 stars for peaches and buttercup
OH Man, Mariana’s books are so so good. She writes them so well, the actions plays out so well, and this book was so funny. I want a Louie for myself <3 such a funny little dude <3
Even though the heat starts at the end of the books, her stories are always so captivating, I just could not put the books down( I mean all her books, not only this one ). I had an exam and i could not put it down :)) I was f...the exam... what happens next :)))
The book is cursive, flowy and I loved it. 5 stars plus.
This is my third book of Mariana Zapata and she didn’t disappoint me once again.
Diana moves to a new house with her two nephews, Louie and Josh, that she is the guardian of after her brother and his wife died. Soon she’s a witness of a fight in the house opposite and she goes there to save the man who is the centre of fight. The man turns out to be a total jerk, but his older brother who is the owner of the house gets her attention.
Diana doesn’t want to start anything with him when she sees a wedding ring on Dallas’ finger. But it doesn’t stop her from making friends with him, but Dallas doesn’t look like he wants it too.
Soon it changes and Dallas helps Diana a lot. He helps her when Diana has breakdowns and with her nephews.
I really loved the book. Mariana is one of not so many authors that writes great slow burns. The plot was so good planned and written. I loved the relationship Dallas had with Diana’s nephews. I loved his caring side for Diana.
For fans of the slow burn, this book has it all. I love this book so much, that I will read it at least once a year along with other books by Mariana Zapata. I love others that let you get a glimpse at previous characters from other books, and this particular one ties in characters from Kulti, Under Locke and The Wall of Winnipeg. When I’m feeling a bit blue, these books all come out and I am right with the world again.
This was my second reading of Wait For It, and I truly think it gets better each and every time. This book is under appreciated. Diana, Dallas and the boys are not your average family but they’re so perfect that you aspire to be real like them. They’re great role models.
I found myself highlighting even more this second time around. The queen of slow burn is just that, the queen. A perfect gradual romance that makes you a hopeless romantic for all of the heroes that MZ creates, and this is no different.
The banter and quick wit of Diana and the boys had me smiling throughout the entire book. It was so real and raw and something that was not your norm. Real life situations and real life outcomes with realistic characters.
And that epilogue whew-wee! Beyond perfect for these guys. Plus the cameos of Vanessa and Aiden, Iris and Dex, Sal and Kulti… I appreciated so much more this second time around since I have since read their stories.
Don’t wait for it, read this book now!
Such an absolutely amazing book!
This shouldn’t come as a shock since Mariana Zapata wrote it but seriously she amazes me with her perfect hilarious,slow burn, heart warming stories.
As soon as I picked up the book I immediately was dying in laughter with Diana threatening to beat a possible Willy Wonka Oompa Loompa with a pillow. The non-demon that startles her awake. She is so far my favorite female character and I simply can’t get enough of her, Dallas, Josh and Louie.
The author knows just how to pull you into a story and keep your attention solely on what is happening and nothing else.
It gave me ALL the feels and add it was not angsty is always a perk. Just a perfect balance of emotions.
I laughed, I almost cried so many times for so many reasons, I would swoon, I would get butterflies… it was simply amazing.
Another magnificent masterpiece, one that I plan on reading again and again.
Wonderful story with a slow burn romance that evolves in a very satisfying way. Diana and Dallas were the stars of Mariana Zapata’s Wait For It, but it was a pint size 5 year old, named Louie, that captured my imagination and stole my heart from his very first appearance in the book all the way through to the last page. Everything about the characters, the family dramas and comedies, the headaches suffered by coaches of children’s recreational teams when dealing with the parents, all of it makes for an extremely engaging story, told by a very talented storyteller.
I love Mariana’s books and this was just lovely. She is the master of the slow burn, and creates the most delightful and relatable characters.
This was such a Fun. Beautiful. Sweet. Story. Slow burn here I come…. Loved it.
The build up of this relationship was perfect!!! I mean. I just kept falling and falling and falling in love with Dallas and I’m wanting to shout “KISS HER ALREADY!” but we had to “‘Wait for It”‘ *wink* LOL.
So worth the wait.
I’m a reader who loves duets or trilogies because I get so much more from my characters and I love spending time with them. So I absolutely love a standalone that doesn’t rush because I get to spend more time with the characters.
This is a lengthy book BUT I didn’t feel it. As I knew I was getting near the end I tried stalling because I didn’t want it to end.
I thought I couldn’t love a Mariana Zapata book more than The Wall of Winnipeg and Me…Until Wait For It! It is so witty and smart!! A super slow burn with heart.
“Talk was talk. Anyone could say they were Batman, but not everyone could be Batman.”
I loved listening to the audiobook of Wait For It. The narrator, Callie Dalton, does an amazing job bringing the author’s voice to life right off the page
It is one of the best books EVER. All of Mariana Zapata’s are AWESOMEEE!!! the female protagonist has two nephews -who are the cutest things in the world- and the male is older -like old but not that old- and so misunderstood. SO CUUUTTTEEE. It’s a MUST READ.
Another great slow burn romance from Mariana Zapata. I’ve been flying through her catalog and this particular book was just so down-to-earth and so very fun. I laughed so much at the easy camaraderie between all the characters, the boisterous bantering, and all the living these people did while together.
The writing of Zapata allows you to feel everything in her books and the humor is no exception which is what I really adored about Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin. Another great book from a great new-to-me author.
What a great read! I have enjoyed all the books I have read by this author, she definitely does not disappoint. I recommend this book and this author.
Mariana is my favorite writer of realistic romance stories. Her characters are honest and real and you can’t help but love them. In this particular story she deals with grief and responsibility in a very thoughtful way. Her plots are never contrived they flow from the essence of who the characters are. I recommend all her books very highly especially this one.