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dowryofbooks's review against another edition
3.0
3/5 stars
I'll just do a little mini-review since I don't have many thoughts on this. Maybe my hopes were too high because Mariana Zapata is such a praised romance writer? Don't get me wrong I had a good time, but something felt missing. I really enjoyed the first half when they were emailing but I found myself getting bored after they actually met up in person. I think the fact that Ruby just decided to meet this guy in another state without even knowing what each other looked like took me out of the story. And also how she was always crying or tearing up. I'm sorry but it's just a personal pet peeve of mine in romances when the heroine is super whiny. Anyway I still have high hopes for some other books by this author that I do plan on reading sometime soon.
I'll just do a little mini-review since I don't have many thoughts on this. Maybe my hopes were too high because Mariana Zapata is such a praised romance writer? Don't get me wrong I had a good time, but something felt missing. I really enjoyed the first half when they were emailing but I found myself getting bored after they actually met up in person. I think the fact that Ruby just decided to meet this guy in another state without even knowing what each other looked like took me out of the story. And also how she was always crying or tearing up. I'm sorry but it's just a personal pet peeve of mine in romances when the heroine is super whiny. Anyway I still have high hopes for some other books by this author that I do plan on reading sometime soon.
lenaoknihach's review against another edition
4.0
Další knihy od Mariany Zapaty jsem se nemohla dočkat. Obzvlášť po úžasném předchozím příběhu Srdcem proti zdi. Je to královna slowburn romancí a ani Drahý Aarone není výjimkou. Romantická linka tu není všemi oblíbená od nenávisti k lásce, ale od přátelství k něčemu víc.
Hlavní hrdinka se jmenuje Ruby Santosová a pokud vám tohle příjmení něco říká, tak nejste na omylu, protože je to sestra Jasmine Santosové (postava z knihy S láskou, Lukov). Ruby ráda šije a upravuje oblečení, kostýmy nebo sportovní úbory. Je také přihlášená jako dobrovolník na dopisování v nadaci Pomoc vojákům.
Aaron je právě na misi a zrovna si neprochází nejlepším obdobím. Jednoho dne mu ale dorazí e-mail od jedné ztřeštěné holky, která ho dokáže po dlouhé době rozesmát.
První polovinu knihy čteme jen e-maily, které si mezi sebou posílají Aaron s Ruby. A to mě bavilo neskutečně. Dokonce mnohem víc, než když se autorka pak uchýlila k normálnímu vyprávění. Já si ty dva z toho jejich dopisování tak moc oblíbila a pak se konečně blížilo jejich seznámení naživo...
Hlavní hrdinka se jmenuje Ruby Santosová a pokud vám tohle příjmení něco říká, tak nejste na omylu, protože je to sestra Jasmine Santosové (postava z knihy S láskou, Lukov). Ruby ráda šije a upravuje oblečení, kostýmy nebo sportovní úbory. Je také přihlášená jako dobrovolník na dopisování v nadaci Pomoc vojákům.
Aaron je právě na misi a zrovna si neprochází nejlepším obdobím. Jednoho dne mu ale dorazí e-mail od jedné ztřeštěné holky, která ho dokáže po dlouhé době rozesmát.
První polovinu knihy čteme jen e-maily, které si mezi sebou posílají Aaron s Ruby. A to mě bavilo neskutečně. Dokonce mnohem víc, než když se autorka pak uchýlila k normálnímu vyprávění. Já si ty dva z toho jejich dopisování tak moc oblíbila a pak se konečně blížilo jejich seznámení naživo...
lexijas's review against another edition
1.0
As a Filipino, I am disgusted with what I came across when I read this book.
Of course, there are some dishes in my culture I don't eat for personal reasons but that doesn't mean I should shit on the dishes because I don't like them or I can't eat them. The disgusting behaviour I saw of the "supporting" characters and Ruby, herself, about "explaining" Filipino cuisine to them is horrible. Ruby, being half-Filipino and being apologetic about her culture, how "gross" the food is and how Ruby's passiveness to her so-called friends brings the important topic in real life of how many POC kids, grow up resenting their culture food in a way to fit in with the norm.
The microaggression and cultural insensitivity ughhhh.
And also, this was a conversation over dinner. This topic in general virtually added nothing to the plot. The author could have written anything else they could have talked about in this scene. And you, Mariana Zapata why did you have to add and write this scene specifically? Did you think this through first with your editing team before publishing, thinking that maybe this scene can harm views of Filipino cuisine and culture, and cause controversy with fellow Filipino readers?
This kind of behaviour allows people to think that they can just disrespect cultures without dealing with consequences in the future. It is very harmful to young POC readers who stumble upon things like this in books and think that it is okay and that they have to assimilate into the "norm".
This is just my opinion of one certain scene of the book, the whole plot itself (the romance part) is not even up for debate that it is one of the worst written I've read:
- The characters lacked... character.
- There was no chemistry.
- The "heroine" was annoying.
- The story lacked structure and respect for other cultures *ahem* *ahem*.
- Boring and cliche.
- And based on how they emailed each other, I thought they were teenagers, so let's say immature.
(From what I heard too, this isn't the first time Zapata landed herself to be controversial)
Do yourself a favour and don't waste your time and money on this book.
Of course, there are some dishes in my culture I don't eat for personal reasons but that doesn't mean I should shit on the dishes because I don't like them or I can't eat them. The disgusting behaviour I saw of the "supporting" characters and Ruby, herself, about "explaining" Filipino cuisine to them is horrible. Ruby, being half-Filipino and being apologetic about her culture, how "gross" the food is and how Ruby's passiveness to her so-called friends brings the important topic in real life of how many POC kids, grow up resenting their culture food in a way to fit in with the norm.
The microaggression and cultural insensitivity ughhhh.
And also, this was a conversation over dinner. This topic in general virtually added nothing to the plot. The author could have written anything else they could have talked about in this scene. And you, Mariana Zapata why did you have to add and write this scene specifically? Did you think this through first with your editing team before publishing, thinking that maybe this scene can harm views of Filipino cuisine and culture, and cause controversy with fellow Filipino readers?
This kind of behaviour allows people to think that they can just disrespect cultures without dealing with consequences in the future. It is very harmful to young POC readers who stumble upon things like this in books and think that it is okay and that they have to assimilate into the "norm".
This is just my opinion of one certain scene of the book, the whole plot itself (the romance part) is not even up for debate that it is one of the worst written I've read:
- The characters lacked... character.
- There was no chemistry.
- The "heroine" was annoying.
- The story lacked structure and respect for other cultures *ahem* *ahem*.
- Boring and cliche.
- And based on how they emailed each other, I thought they were teenagers, so let's say immature.
(From what I heard too, this isn't the first time Zapata landed herself to be controversial)
Do yourself a favour and don't waste your time and money on this book.
trich85's review against another edition
2.0
This author is fantastic - this book just wasn’t. I felt it was lacking a real story which made it drag on. Most of the book was just correspondence between the two characters, then a week at a beach house with nothing fantastic occurring…and that’s it.
tea05's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I can totally see and understand the criticism this book gets, but it doesn't make me love it any less. I loved the email format and how you actually got substance from Aaron even though he was closed off at some points during the novel. Ruby was so lovable, and you could really sense the progression of Aaron's feelings towards her. Another banger from Mariana Zapata
paxyquiltan's review against another edition
3.0
Somewhere between 2.5 and 3 stars. I died and almost dnfed the book 10 times while reading Ruby and Aarons email exchange. But i pushed through and finished it. It was alright. I dont have any strong opinions really. Not Zapata’s best work but it was okay..
mandolina's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
selmaryyy's review against another edition
1.0
painful, just a painful read. how do you write Kulti, Winnipeg, and Lukov but also write Lingus and Dear Aaron?
god, the emails. the first few chapters were tolerable but dear lord. no substance. no character development. god forbid you're a grown woman on a date and the man has an expectation of sex after. MFC is insufferable. MMC is bland. The blurb they had in Lukov had more depth than this whole book did
god, the emails. the first few chapters were tolerable but dear lord. no substance. no character development. god forbid you're a grown woman on a date and the man has an expectation of sex after. MFC is insufferable. MMC is bland. The blurb they had in Lukov had more depth than this whole book did