Reviews

The Best Thing by Mariana Zapata

jxbsreads's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

purpleread's review

4.0

3,8 ⭐

I don't give it 4 stars because the first 65% of this book I found it kind of repetitive, so it doesn't have this certain depth to it that makes me feel 'WOW'

BUT

The rest of it which remains 35% is definitely wholesome (∩˃o˂∩)♡ I freaking love Grandpa Gus, all about him is soooo heartwarming. I cried a lot during his conversations with Lenny. And of course the ending. Are you crazy? I'm bawling my eyes out ಥ_ಥ I'm so happy yet so sad. Just whyyyyy

amediocreintrospective's review

4.0

4⭐️ purely for grandpa gus

sbrussee's review

3.0

I loooove me a slow burn Mariana book! This has been my least favorite of hers so far though. It just felt like it dragged on and was very repetitive (i.e. how many times does the h have to comment on how big the H is?? Like, we get it). The story was cute, the ending was super sweet, the MCs were lovable, but it definitely dragged out way more than necessary.

live_2_read's review against another edition

Not right for me at the moment

fnicholee's review

fast-paced

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

2.0

zellapaige's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

For me, there wasn't enough of a big emotionally impactful love scene to really account for the extreme length of this book. It's a great read! Just a little long given the scope of the book's content.

A fun follow-up to Luna and the Lie, but totally not necessary to have read that book first. Though you will enjoy the repeat character cameos if you have.

hsecen's review against another edition

4.0

This was a slightly different take on slow burn for Mariana Zapata (as far as the books I've read). I don't want to spoil too much, but this was basically a slow burn second chance romance (and second chance is one of my favorite tropes). I love how headstrong and sassy all of Mariana's characters are and Lenny is no different. And Jonah, even though he kind of messed up, is a hero that you can absolutely root for. The only point against this book was that I felt like there could have been a little more plot to drive this story. It's really good, but there were times when certain spots would lose my attention a little bit. I just need a little more to keep pushing to the end. Otherwise, it's another wonderful read!

jazmin's review against another edition

3.0

I’d remember the next words out of his mouth every day of my life. I would remember them each time I thought I had no idea what I was doing being a mom. Jonah Collins squeezed my hand. That muscular shoulder rolled upward, and he said, in a rough voice, gripping my fingers tight, “What a gift you’ve given me, Lenny.”

This book had lots of potential, but unfortunately the execution wasn’t my favourite. The problem with books that are so character-focused is that if you’re not a fan of a character it messes up the whole experience. Unfortunately, I wasn’t a huge fan of Jonah and Lenny was just okay, so I wasn’t really passionate about their story.

Honestly… my problem wasn’t with Jonah’s personality even though it may seem like I’m being biased towards one of the few introverted male leads. In fact, his shyness made me like him a little more than I did. My issue was that I just couldn’t look past how long he ignored Lenny for so long, even if it was explained. It just never sat right with me and every time I tried to forget about it, the messages at the beginnings of the chapters would just make me angry again.

But Grandpa Gus and Peter made up for some of my character issues! They were just the cutest, and all the familial relationships in this book were nice. It was adorable to see their father-daughter relationship with Lenny.

“Grandpa Gus is gonna go kill somebody. You wanna come with me? You wanna help bury your daddy?”

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gabrieljingco's review

First of all I find that the heroine annoying and I thought that I could handle reading something about parent abandonment but I was wrong. After reading ten chapters I've realized that I could no longer bring myself to continue.