ARC Review: Satisfaction Guaranteed by Karelia Stetz-Waters

“It was so much fun, and I couldn’t put it down!”
~ Under the Covers

Recommended Read!

Satisfaction Guaranteed follows two women, Cade Elgin and Selena Mathis, who inherit a dying sex shop in Portland from Cade’s aunt. Cade is a sophisticated, level-headed woman with a career in New York City she can’t wait to get back to. Selena is an eccentric sweetheart who cares so much about everything. Cade thinks Selena to have an infuriating lack of sense when it comes to business, and an infuriating ability to turn her on. Selena finds it hard to ignore the feelings she has for Cade as the two of them work to save the shop.

This book has everything I was expecting out of a sex shop romance- sex positivity, female empowerment, self-love, and so much more. I was really in the mood for a light rom com and this totally fit the bill for me! It was so much fun, and I couldn’t put it down!

I loved the two main characters so much. I loved Selena because she was free-spirited and extremely open and positive about sex. I really enjoyed her blunt way of talking about sex, because it is something that should be talked about openly and honestly. Cade was someone who is considered boring by her family because she is “uptight”, and her family are weed-loving hippy types. I also really liked the juxtaposition of Selena and Cade’s personalities, because it really showed how they brought out the best in each other as their relationship strengthened throughout the book.

I felt that the romance between Selena and Cade was really natural and fun, and I just kept wanting to read more! Cade’s sexual history (not being able to orgasm and had been kicked out of bed by partners for not being good at sex) mixed with Selena’s celibacy vow (she did not want to use sex to distraction/coping mechanism) led to some really tender and sweet interactions. Their interactions were so well written, and I was extremely pleased with their steamy scenes as well!

The thing that really stood out to me about this book was the underlying theme of accepting and loving yourself, even when you’re different or think less of yourself. This is something that I think everyone has struggled with, and Stetz-Waters really writes a beautiful narrative about how important loving yourself is. Writing about a sex shop seemed weird at first, but as I read the book, I realized it wasn’t so much about the sex shop, it was about learning about yourself (and your body).

I will absolutely be on the lookout for Stetz-Waters books in the future! If you like rom coms, or LGBT+ books, this should be added to your TBR ASAP!