Rating: 4.25 stars
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Length: Novel


Callum Jardine is interested in exploring a Daddy/boy relationship and he decides pursuing something online is the best bet given his difficult schedule. Callum quickly meets DaddyJM, aka Jack Martin, a man who lives across the country in L.A. The two begin building a relationship online, one that surprises both of them with its depth and intensity. Both Jack and Callum thought the online connection would keep things at a distance, but instead they are finding themselves falling hard for one another. But while Callum is eager to meet in person, Jack worries that they won’t be able to sustain things once they meet in real life.

When Jack faces a serious health crisis that leaves him in the hospital, Callum is frantic not knowing what has happened to him. The incident is enough to make both men realize that they want more from their relationship than long distance. When Jack finds out that Callum works at Rapture, the BDSM club his friends own, it reinforces even more that they are meant to be together and he joins Callum in L.A. Jack still worries about things moving too fast and tries to keep a little distance. But Callum is more confident and determined to show Jack how much he loves and needs him. The men are thrilled to finally be living nearby and are beginning to build their life together. But when another crisis hits, it tests both men. Jack and Callum must rely on the connection they have built and find a way to move forward together.

Worth the Wait is the second book in Kate Hawthorne’s Giving Consent series, a set of books revolving around a group of friends and the BDSM club, Rapture. This is an interestingly structured series in that the relationships are developing along a similar timeline, so while this is Callum and Jack’s story, we also see pieces of the growing relationships among the characters featured in books 3 and 4. In the same way, we learned about some elements of Callum and Jack’s relationship in the first book, Worth the Risk. So from a story perspective, you can read this as a standalone as everything we see in book 1 is covered here as well. But at the same time, I really liked how we had a peek at Jack and Callum in Worth the Risk, and even that we learned some big things about their relationship in that story (such as Jack’s hospitalization and move to LA). Learning about them there just got me all the more invested in this story, and I am finding myself anxiously awaiting reading the next two books to see those characters get their stories. Though we do get some repeated information, the book never felt repetitive with the exception of one scene in the hospital that we already saw. But that scene is the point where the two books connect, so I can understand why it was pivotal enough to show twice.

This book is really a sweet, warm, daddy kink story. The first part of the story focuses on the guys building their relationship long distance and online. Neither man thought they wanted a in-person relationship and they both expected their online dating to keep things casual, yet it quickly becomes intense. These scenes are often quite sexy as Jack gives Callum some long-distance directions and I loved to see them play and explore their dynamic, especially as Callum is newer to the daddy kink world. Hawthorne does a nice job really letting you feel the connection growing between these men and I never had any doubt about the intensity of their feelings or the strength of their relationship, despite the fact that they had never met in person. By the time Jack comes to L.A., these guys are clearly ready for more, even though Jack is wary about taking things too fast. It was interesting to see how the men navigate suddenly being in the same place and having their dynamic change so dramatically and there are a few growing pains along the way. There is just some really nice relationship development throughout this book and I really enjoyed Callum and Jack together.

I did have a few small issues here. First, Callum has an ex who clearly has left some emotional scars. He is mentioned fairly early on, but with little explanation, and even later when we get more detail, I didn’t feel like this was fully explored. If he was part of the reason Callum was wary about starting an in-person relationship, it would have been helpful to understand that situation more and how it has impacted him. I also found myself a little confused about Callum’s schedule, as much is made of the fact that it is so complicated it interferes with him having a relationship in person. Callum is a bartender and works at the club Friday-Sunday. So I could see how those evenings and the next mornings would be a mess for him giving the hours he works. But he doesn’t appear to have work at all during the week. Ignoring how someone supports themselves in L.A. working only three days a week, I didn’t understand how his schedule during the week was such an impediment to a relationship. This is a tiny issue and the only reason I bring it up is because it comes up so many times as this major problem for Callum and I just found myself confused why that was.

Overall, I am really enjoying this series a lot. The next two books are already released and I have them queued up to read as well. Hawthorne has really gotten me intrigued by these characters and I loved the glimpses of their stories that we have gotten so far. So I can definitely recommend Worth the Risk and am really looking forward to more in this series.