Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - When Gracie Met the Grump

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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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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kimpossiblesbanana's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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

4.75

This is by far my favourite book of the year! Their was a few small issues. But I loved loved loved this book! She somehow wrote a book with all of the good tropes and non of the cheesy bad stuff that most superhero stuff has.

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lauramparis's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted 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

4.0

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rachaelboyd's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense 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? No

3.0

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