Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - Wait For It

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.

Content Warnings

thatbakerthatreads's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

4.0

Synopsis:
Diana is the guardian of her two nephews and now they have moved to a new house. But their new neighborhood holds big surprises for them.

Includes:
✨Age Gap (12 Years)
✨Single Guardian
✨Grumpy x Sunshine
✨Protective MMC
✨Independent FMC
✨Ex – Navy
✨Baseball
✨Mexican Culture
✨Grief

🌶️Heat Level:
One Open Door Scene
Language

My Opinion:
I only have one thing to say: Dallas has my heart. That's it, that's my review.

Okay, this is a slow burn! I wanted to enter MZCU (Mariana Zapata Cinematographic Universe) in order of release, but thanks to my challenge (Check my Reels), I managed to read this as my second book by her and I liked it much more than 'Under Locke'.
I found the 'Slice of Life' narrative interesting and how you can see the friendship and tension growing little by little, but there were times when I wasn't very interesting in every detail of their lives. Besides being very long, I love how she shows us their relationship and struggles as a Family, her as a new mother, dealing with the Family's drama as everyone tries to overcome their traumas. The writing built everything effortlessly and the reading was a lot of fun.
Yes, there is a lot of swearing, but not on every page and somehow the story felt more important and I could care a lot about them and less about the language (but if you are sensitive to this, you have been warned).
I love how Diana is a strong and independent woman and I loved Dallas. I've said before that a good Grumpy/Sunshine needs a good reason and they both had it. Dallas isn't rude, just reserved, but he's a sweetheart and I completely loved how well he treats everyone (who deserves it, of course).
I hope I can like next books from the author.

MMC = Male Main Character
FMC = Female Main Character

Close Door Modifications: Skip the End of the chapter 25

TW:Child Abandonment, Loss of a Parent and Relatives, Mentions of Divorce and Domestic Violence, House Fire.

Content Warnings

luchikreads's review

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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

kjenae's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It’s no surprise that I rated another Mariana Zapata book more than 4 stars!
This particular slow burn brought out a plethora of emotions within me. I didn’t expect to have a full on crying session, but i did.
Diana and Dallas’s strangers to friendship to lovers development was so good! ugh.
Diana and her relationship with her boys (Louie and Joshua) is so precious. They have been through a lot together.

i almost LOST it when the epilogue took place 5 years later and i found out that Josh and Lou were older😭 like Josh became a whole teenager

Content Warnings