I remember when Jenn McKinlay said her first couple attempts at writing romances didn’t go well. She switched to mysteries because she continually killed off people in her romances. She’s proven she can write sparkling contemporary romances, as shown in her latest, Wait For It. It also doesn’t hurt that she makes me homesick for Arizona.

Annabelle Martin’s best friend, Sophie, knows how to entice the freelance graphic designer. Offer her a job as creative director of her company in Phoenix while Annabelle is suffering through a Boston winter. Even so, Annabelle is reluctant to leave her safety net in Boston, until she realizes her first ex-husband, Jeremy, is about to propose. In a frantic attempt to ward that off, she tells him she’s moving to Phoenix.

Sophie and her husband, Miguel Vasquez, owners of Vasquez Squared, a graphic design firm, even find Annabelle a place to rent, a guest house on a palatial estate. But, they warn her against trying to get to know her landlord, Nick Daire. When Annabelle sees his list of regulations, everything from no pets to no music after 9 PM and no swimming in the pool, she’s too impulsive and too much of a rebel to abide by all those rules. One by one she breaks them, until she decides her elderly landlord can just kick her out, and she decides to break all kinds of rules in one night.

Nick Daire is a recluse. He made his money in the construction trade, but had a stroke at 35. He doesn’t want anyone to know he uses a wheelchair. He’s afraid his bad leg will give out on him. His doctors, his staff, and his physical therapist are the only ones who know. But, if Annabelle continues to push his buttons, he may have to confront her.

Nick and Annabelle both have issues in their background. She’s handled hers by marrying anyone who asks. Now, she’s escaped to Phoenix, but she has to deal with a co-worker who wanted her job. She’s lonely, doesn’t know anyone in Phoenix except Sophie and Miguel, and they’re now her bosses. And, she’s struggling to prove herself at work while dealing with her artistic tendency to run on her own schedule. Nick’s issues have to do with his childhood, and his fear of abandonment now. He won’t let anyone get close because they’ll only leave him. He certainly doesn’t want Annabelle to get too close.

I’m a fan of romances in which we see the story from the point of view of both protagonists. We get to see Annabelle’s reaction to her landlord, and his frustration and interest in his new tenant. And, their correspondence is so fun. He writes “Tenant” and signs his demands with “Landlord”, while she draws colorful pictures of Phoenix on her responses.

Jenn McKinlay’s romances always sparkle. She creates believable flawed characters, but allows them to find their path to happiness. They struggle, and they often face confrontation. But, it’s always obvious that her characters will find a happily-ever-after. And, in her recent books, no one gets killed.

Looking for a contemporary romance with humor and delightful characters? Try McKinlay’s Wait for It.

Jenn McKinlay’s website is https://www.jennmckinlay.com/

Wait for It by Jenn McKinlay. Berkley, 2021. ISBN 9780593101377 (paperback), 352p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I read a copy from NetGalley.