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lauraelovesbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide, Sexual content, and Addiction
n_malin_p's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Vomit, and Suicide
hapalyn's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
4.0
This one was definitely high on my list of Mariana's books!
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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
luchikreads's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
🌶️🌶️🌶️emilyfrenchie's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
apolen's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
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
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Suicide and Racism
amanda_reads13's review
funny
lighthearted
sad
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? Yes
4.75
This book is SO good. I laughed, I cried, I swooned.
Diane is a 29 year old hairstylist who is raising her two nephews (5&10). Her little family has endured so much and she is doing everything she can to give her boys the best life possible. When they move into a new house, she meets Dallas, a 41 year old retired from the navy. Not only is he her neighbor, but he also becomes her oldest nephew's baseball coach. As their friendship flourishes, so do their feelings for each other.
Diane is so incredibly strong and determined. She has taken on such a huge responsibility in raising her 2 nephews and will do anything for them. She is fierce, speaks her mind, and loves her family more than anything. Her boys are her whole world and she will fight anyone who tries to hurt them. As much as she worries and stresses about not being a good enough guardian for them, she is raising some incredibly smart and sensitive boys. Her relationship with them comes first and is more important than anything else in her life. She is very hesitant to let anyone in due to her past truama and the fear of her boys being hurt.
Dallas is grumpy and a bit closed off, but as he warms up to Diane, we see that there is so much more to him. He is generous, protective, and so caring. He takes care of his grandmother and even takes in his asshole brother. He loves Diane and her boys so fiercely and wants nothing more than to take care of them. He takes his time and truly gets to know her. He is honest and open with her. He takes a while to tell her how he feels, but he shows it in everything he does throughout their entire friendship.
I love that we get a peek into the characters from Kulti and Wall of Winnipeg. Vanessa is Diane's best friend and Sal is her cousin. I also really liked all the side characters.
Yes, it is a SLOW burn, but I love how much we get to see their relationship grows and their feelings develop. Their relationship develops slowly, but it makes sense considering their respective backgrounds. Neither would jump into something quickly, it wouldn't make sense for their characters.
That epilogue... Perfect ending.
My only issue is that I think that large age gap wasn't necessary, 12 years is a pretty big gap.
Tropes: slow burn, age gap, grumpy/sunshine, single parent
Diane is a 29 year old hairstylist who is raising her two nephews (5&10). Her little family has endured so much and she is doing everything she can to give her boys the best life possible. When they move into a new house, she meets Dallas, a 41 year old retired from the navy. Not only is he her neighbor, but he also becomes her oldest nephew's baseball coach. As their friendship flourishes, so do their feelings for each other.
Diane is so incredibly strong and determined. She has taken on such a huge responsibility in raising her 2 nephews and will do anything for them. She is fierce, speaks her mind, and loves her family more than anything. Her boys are her whole world and she will fight anyone who tries to hurt them. As much as she worries and stresses about not being a good enough guardian for them, she is raising some incredibly smart and sensitive boys. Her relationship with them comes first and is more important than anything else in her life. She is very hesitant to let anyone in due to her past truama and the fear of her boys being hurt.
Dallas is grumpy and a bit closed off, but as he warms up to Diane, we see that there is so much more to him. He is generous, protective, and so caring. He takes care of his grandmother and even takes in his asshole brother. He loves Diane and her boys so fiercely and wants nothing more than to take care of them. He takes his time and truly gets to know her. He is honest and open with her. He takes a while to tell her how he feels, but he shows it in everything he does throughout their entire friendship.
I love that we get a peek into the characters from Kulti and Wall of Winnipeg. Vanessa is Diane's best friend and Sal is her cousin. I also really liked all the side characters.
Yes, it is a SLOW burn, but I love how much we get to see their relationship grows and their feelings develop. Their relationship develops slowly, but it makes sense considering their respective backgrounds. Neither would jump into something quickly, it wouldn't make sense for their characters.
That epilogue... Perfect ending.
My only issue is that I think that large age gap wasn't necessary, 12 years is a pretty big gap.
Tropes: slow burn, age gap, grumpy/sunshine, single parent
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Suicide and Domestic abuse
caitmitt's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
breesmith2364's review
emotional
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I felt like I was falling in love with Dallas as Diana did. This wasn’t just because Dallas is a great book boyfriend (though I do love his character), but because MZ did such a good job building their relationship through a combination of small and big moments. It seemed so realistic because of this and you got to experience everything with Diana and understand what truly made her fall in love.
I also love that this book (and MZ’s books in general) stick to one point of view. So many romance authors are going with the increasingly popular dual POV, which works for some books and authors, but this book would not have been the same if we had Dallas’s POV. Again it goes back to being able to experience everything WITH Diana. This includes her uncertainty with how he feels. It would have taken away that tension if we knew what Dallas was thinking.
Lastly, the characters were just great. Not because they were perfect, but because they were very complex/developed. Most characters had good and bad things about them.
I also love that this book (and MZ’s books in general) stick to one point of view. So many romance authors are going with the increasingly popular dual POV, which works for some books and authors, but this book would not have been the same if we had Dallas’s POV. Again it goes back to being able to experience everything WITH Diana. This includes her uncertainty with how he feels. It would have taken away that tension if we knew what Dallas was thinking.
Lastly, the characters were just great. Not because they were perfect, but because they were very complex/developed. Most characters had good and bad things about them.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
This book does have spice at the end and that is well done BUT if you are just looking for smut, this won’t be the book for you. MZ is called the queen of slow burns for a reason.