Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - When Gracie Met the Grump

4.5 ⭐️ for this delicious slow burn, sunshine x grump romance from the Queen of slow burn romance, Mariana Zapata! I’m actually pretty new to Zapata’s work having only read From Lukov With Love last year (it was recommended to me for the 12 reading challenge) and I absolutely loved it so was super excited to check out her newest book.

And I have to say, I really enjoyed it and all the intriguing superhero goodness. I do have to say though that it is a pretty chunky book (at over 600 pages!) so if you’re new to slow burn romance or not a huge fan of slow burns you might not enjoy this one. Especially as the romance really only ramps up in the last 100 pages. That being said I really enjoyed the premise and thought the development of friendship (and trust) between Gracie and Alex (the grump) was really well explored and (to me at least) definitely made sense given both of their past experiences. And Gracie’s interactions with Alex (and later on meme era of his family) were really entertaining—especially her first interaction with his sister!

If you loved The Incredibles growing up or superhero-esque shows like Heroes (the one with Hayden Panettiere) then you’re probably gonna enjoy this.

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sonial's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful medium-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? No

4.25

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tieraneysreadingcorner's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

5.0

THE QUEEN OF SLOW BURN HAS DONE IT AGAIN!!!

Okay, done screaming. Mariana Zapata literally dropped this book on us like one of the nuclear bombs The Defender disposes of before it hurts anyone.

When Gracie Met the Grump will become one of my favorites. I already know for a fact I will reread this book… multiple times.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🌶️🌶️/5 of course the spice was minimal (like hello it’s MZ) but the dirty talk was so chefs kiss

I could say the amount of highlights I have in my book is astronomical, but it’s MZ herself so it shouldn’t be a surprise lol.

MZ outdid herself with this a sci-fi novel. I know it was her first one, but she wrote it phenomenally. The amount of world building she put into this was just incredible especially since she has only written contemporary before, not a lot of authors can successfully write in a new genre.

Alex and Gracie. Man. They made me laugh so much with how much they shot the shit with each other. My least favorite thing was how Gracie was so dense when everything was literally spelled out for her (HELLO THIS MAN LOVES YOU) , she made up for it with catching onto things even I didn’t connect though.

However, the carnival. The carnival was my favorite part.

“You fucking cheater,” he hissed under his breath.

“You snooze you lose, motherfucker.”

I resonated with Gracie so much in this book, but that’s what Mariana Zapata does to me in every single one of her books. The words she writes makes you (the reader) feel every single one of the emotions the MC is going through.

I can’t wait until her next book.

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martamae77's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

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lotte5322's review against another edition

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5.0

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kb33's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I might be in the minority because I liked the length of the book. I liked the world that Zapata created, and just about every character in it.

I hated Alex. He was a dick for 90% of the book, no joke. There were a few times that he was nice, and then he went nuclear cold and distant. Then, at the very end, he had the audacity to call Gracie dense when she had trouble believing that he had feelings for her.

I also hate reading books where the author dangles secrets in front of you, and you just have to hope it answer will be revealed sooner rather than later. That’s the entire book. I feel like several of the hinted secrets were never revealed. And there were a couple major plot holes that had nothing to do with the whole super hero thing or anything technical. Alex disappeared for weeks and his family is like, “Where were you? We were getting kinda worried.” Which is ridiculous once you read the book. And the person who hurt him... just... nothing. Nothing at all happens about that.

It is so hard to rate this because I really did love the unique (to me) idea for the story, but I hated Alex so much. I kept wanting Gracie to yell at him or leave. I think the power imbalance (and her need to rely on him so heavily) made her put him on a pedestal. She deserves so much better.

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ellierumoo's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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

4.25

Really funny (be warned I have a crude sense of humor) and the fastest I've ever read a 600+ page book.

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prettynerdy3's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

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