Scan barcode
lululem's review against another edition
3.0
”You didn’t know what love was until someone was willing to give up what they loved the most for you. But it was also never letting them make that choice, either.”
this book took me a while to get into. as in like, over 120 pages. but when i finally got into it i was deep in there.
THE BEST BOYS THAT HAVE MY WHOLE HEART AND SOUL: JOSH AND LOU OMGGG. they might be my fav book kids ever ever. i love them so much. they CARRIED this book for me. josh the little protective 11 year old and lou our 5 year old sunshine. they hit a little close to home for me and i just want to give them both the biggest hugs.
i was NOT prepared to cry as much as i did while reading some parts of this book, but i was so emotionally invested in diana and the children’s grief and their lives.
“You can buy me socks if you want.”
how did this line trigger the absolute wildest of waterworks. i am crying just writing the line down. tbh the entirety of chapter 12 had me violently sobbing.
i loved the rawness diana spoke about raising the children.
”I hated when they asked me things I really didn’t know how to answer. I didn’t want to lie either, which just made it that much more complicated.”
the storyline between diana, josh, and lou is the one that has my heart and it’s their story that’s gonna stick with me. they are living in my heart fr. the challenges they went through, the emotions, their daily struggles were all so well written. i loved reading about them and their relationship.
okay despite me loving these three characters i did have some issues:
it honestly took me way too long to get into the book. the inner monolgue was going a bit too ham at times. wrap it up miss girl. it got better as the book went on but in the beginning it just kept taking me out of the story because the information felt so tedious and i’d just be thinking “fam when are we continuing the story??”
the next thing also has to do with the writing. this is the same issue i had with the last mz book i read, but it didn’t bother me AS MUCH in this book. it’s just super weird to me so i’m pointing it out again. instead of saying the name of the person in a scene or even just saying “he” or “she,” she describes the characters by using their attributes or a fact about them which i find so odd.
she did it with the mmc’s cousin a lot. she kept calling him “the blond” but tbf that one had me giggling everytime.
but at one point she really wrote “the boy blinked up at the man” bruh the boy is like her son and the man is the mmc like girl you can just say their names. sorry but this little quirk she does with her writing drives me insane sometimes.
also notice the “blink” here in this quote. she used my two least fav aspects of her writing in one quote. but i’m glad i read this after i’ve almost fully recovered from the blinking trauma of her last book because it surprisingly didn’t drive me insane when they would blink at each other in here because it didn’t happen very often and i would instead have a little giggle about it.
omg this is my personal favourite blinking line it had me cackling:
“He blinked. But it wasn’t a normal blink. It was the kind of blink that changed your life. The kind of blink you noticed enough to earmark this moment in history.”
no bc clearly my human interactions need to evolve if a BLINK is doing all this?? what in tarnation??
okay the only other thing i didn’t love very much was dallas. yup. the mmc. i did love certain things he did which were cute like when he would help them out a lot and leave cute notes and stuff and his relationship with the boys and his nana was adorbssss. omg and the knitting byebyebye that was so cute. but i wasn’t very invested in other parts of his story. the whole storyline with his ex wife and his brother weren’t of interest to me. and i was prepred to actually give this book like 4 stars but the way he yelled at diana in two different parts of the book rubbed me the wrong way. i got the ick so quick. he was cursing at her and calling her a “fucking idiot” in front of her kids too and at some point was like “if you ever do something so fucking stupid ever again—” WHAT?? YOU’LL DO WHAT? idgaf if he’s saying it because he loves her and he’s scared for her dont be doing that shit especially in front of the children. and the other part he was yelling at her she was mad drunk and it just wasn’t the time? they kept saying he was such a “calm” character that didn’t get mad but i was getting a little bit scared when he was mad icl. also he should’ve spoken to her about what upset him later when diana was in a better headspace at both times.
deep breath.
i’m gonna lighten up the end of this review with the funniest part of this book. the smut chapter.
Dallas came and came, so much cum that when he retreated an inch before thrusting back in me, his cum trickled out from around his cock and down my skin.
“Fuck, I didn’t mean to cum that fast.”
“It’s okay.”
bitch this had me WHEEZING.
───
i’ve been told the streets won’t be safe for me if i don’t like this…anyways im going mia for a bit while i read this
now_aleksandra's review against another edition
3.0
Polskie tłumaczenie jest absolutnie tragiczne i brak porządnej korekty... bardzo utrudniały czerpanie przyjemności z czytania
jessicajessica101's review against another edition
4.0
An emotional journey through grief, family bounds and love.
I loved Diana and Dallas, I loved how their relationship progressed and how he fits in Diana family with her two little boys. Out of all the books from Mariana Zapata, this one felt not as much as a slow burn, but it was stil such a good romance overall.
I loved Diana and Dallas, I loved how their relationship progressed and how he fits in Diana family with her two little boys. Out of all the books from Mariana Zapata, this one felt not as much as a slow burn, but it was stil such a good romance overall.
lianam729's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
vale_valenciano's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
rafokarim's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
I loved it. Diana and Dallas have my heart but the best part about this story was Josh and Louie.
This is my favorite Mariana Zapata book after the wall of Winnipeg and me. Unpopular opinion I liked this one more than I liked kulti and I loved kulti so that's a LOT.
This is my favorite Mariana Zapata book after the wall of Winnipeg and me. Unpopular opinion I liked this one more than I liked kulti and I loved kulti so that's a LOT.
emilyjadesc's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
goldensisyphus's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kailee411's review against another edition
3.0
‘Twas verrrrrryyyy slow, nothing happened till 30% in but after that