Waiting In Vain

Waiting In Vain
by Charlotte Stein
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

My Review:
I loved the hour I spent reading this book. It's really short, more like two or three scenes than a whole book. But it felt complete all by itself. I've read it two or more times already because it's just perfect when you want a little taste of romance and awesome sex, but don't have time to spend on a full-length novel.

Nancy's been coming to her sister-in-law's family Christmas celebration for three years in a row, but this year the eldest brother makes a move on her. She's not sure why, but she goes with it. I loved that she doesn't sit questioning herself on this one. She doesn't need all the answers right away because she's ok going with what she wants.

Mick is the hero in this book. He's fun and sexy and is totally self-confident from Nancy's perspective. We never find out why he waited for three years of Christmases, but I was happy to be a part of this Christmas experience. It's fun to see some of their vulnerability and awkwardness and there's no extra pressure or external forces because this book is so short.

Charlotte Stein manages to take a short book like this, that's almost totally about sex, and end it with so much hope and happiness. Since the book is written only from Nancy's perspective, we get her feeling of uncertainty about what will happen after the holiday is over. But we're never left that way, even when we think this might only be about sex, it's always wrapped up perfectly and we're left feeling satisfied. This is one of my go-to reads when I just want something sexy and complete, with no extra time to get super involved with characters and conflicts.