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frankiereadstoomuch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Death of parent
Minor: Domestic abuse, Grief, and Racism
hapalyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Read for:
-Minor character crossovers! (Kulti, The Wall of Winnipeg and Me, and Under Locke) it was cute to see Sal/Reiner, Vanessa/Adrien, and the brief brief mention of Iris/Dex!
-Slowwww burn (of course)
-Single mom
-Mexican rep
Bonuses I loved:
-No 3rd act breakup!!!!!!! Mariana is alwaaaays amazing at having realistic conflict without a ton of miscommunication and ridiculous breakups <33!! Loved the lack of drama in this book.
The relationship between these characters was fleshed out so so well and the kids surprisingly were also super fun and enjoyable to read about (as someone who hates pregnancy tropes and stuff! there's no pregnancy trope aside from epilogue). If you can enjoy a slow 400+ pages of relationship building then this book is 100% for you! If you hate long romances, this isn't going to be for you (and I'd recommend Devney Perry's work instead). However, this book is worth the 400+ :)! So so enjoyable.
Graphic: Cursing, Death of parent, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy, Bullying, and Physical abuse
apolen's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Moderate: Racism, Death, Death of parent, Racial slurs, and Sexual content
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
smuttymcbookface's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Suicide and Racism
cb4242's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Drug abuse and Domestic abuse
Minor: Racism
steelerl828's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Suicide, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Drug use, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Racism, Physical abuse, and Abandonment
michmoo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Minor: Drug use, Death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Racism, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
venetiana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
[The author also (afaik) appropriates the term "spirit animal" and I'm not sure how far the lines are blurred concerning colloquialisms. Some expressions rubbed me the wrong way.]
Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abandonment, Excrement, Alcohol, Blood, and Death
Minor: Cursing, Rape, Religious bigotry, Violence, Terminal illness, Misogyny, Stalking, Drug abuse, and Eating disorder
thefatpaperback's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Drug abuse, Suicide, Alcoholism, and Addiction
nisha_nee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I want you. I want your smile. Your hugs. Your love. I want your happiness. Every single thing.
Quick Stats:
Overall Rating: 4/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Setting: 3/5
Writing: 4/5
Plot and Themes: 3.5/5
Intrigue: 3.5/5
Logic: 3/5
Enjoyment: 4/5
Spice: 2/5
Review in 1 sentence: One of the most sweetest and rewarding romances I’ve read.
Mariana Zapata has done it again!!! Just like any MZ book that I’ve ever read (apart from a few outliers), I enjoyed and gobbled out this story as quickly as I could finish these mammoth books. Only MZ would I be willing to read through a 500+ pages long romance book. This wasn’t a new favorite per se but it had that signature Mariana Zapata touch with her emotional and slow-burn romances (one of the very few authors who had this trope mastered and perfected). She does well with creating strong-willed but soft-hearted heroines and big grumpy heroes with a heart of gold who slowly become smitten with the heroine and boom... IN LOVE! And the cuteness that her nephews—sons, bring to the story and every time Diana and Dallas would act as a family had my heart going uwu. But I got to admit that I did not jive well with the beginning and it’s more of a me thing than a book-thing if that’s what you’re worried about. I think that I did not just like the setup of the story, or that it wasn’t something that I’m remotely interested in. Moving houses? In a new neighborhood? Greeting neighbors with no hero action? It was all just mediocre to me so I did find it slow but when things do pick up, I was finishing this book so quickly. Diana and Dallas did not get off to a good start (hell, their meet-cute was during the middle of the night filled with awkwardness) and Dallas does have issues so there was a time when they were “estranged” at this certain level but other than that, there is no other “push/pull” with these two. It was now slow, but steady sailing. This story leans more to the sweet and heartwarming side rather than angsty but it would still leave you emotional. If you’re intimidated by the sheer size and length of this book, fear not my friend, as MZ’s writing is very easy to get through. Her heroines’ internal monologue is no-nonsense and riddled with humor and does not appear haughty or high-handed (well, in this one, it didn’t). What I appreciate in slow-burn romances, especially those written by this author, was the little things that build up the romance, it makes it all the more meaningful and when all these add up, it hits you hard in all the good places. Themes of parenthood can be seen throughout the story, a mini-discussion of what constitutes a ‘real mom’ or what does it take to be called a ‘real mom.’ Signing off, this book is included in one of the higher tiers in my imaginary MZ book ranking. And on that note, I’m so close to finishing her backlist and I don’t want to run out of her books yet
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Racism
Minor: Drug use