coldasyou's review against another edition
5.0
holy moly this was so good. i saw a bit too much of myself in luna though agahahagahahah. also.. the epilogue 😭😭😭 my heart
amanda_reads13's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Luna has been working in a body shop for the past 9 years. 3 years of which she has spent harbouring a secret crush on her broody and grumpy new boss.
Zapata is definitely the queen of slow burns. But this was the slowest of slow burn and was veryyyyy long.
Luna is an enigma. How she came out of her family situation the way she is is completely shocking. He family was scum, completely horrible. Her father and her step mother were abusive, neglectful addicts. Yet somehow she became this caring and thoughtful woman. Yes, we see a ton of self-doubt and low confidence, but Luna has suffered 18 years of trauma that has never been dealt with and has definitely left her with PTSD, abandonment, and trust issues.
Luna did whatever she could to protect her sisters. She sacrificed so much to ensure that they had a better life than her. Then her two middle sisters go and
I loved the found family angle. I loved how Luna was able to find and connect with her own group of people who loved her like their own family.
Rip was just meh for me. He didn't have much of a personality. I wish this had been a dual POV so that we could have got to know him more and his past. He lacks basic communication skills for majority of the book and sometimes he was just plain mean. He thinks that he is too old for Luna and not good enough for her due to his past. But he is always there to protect her and shows his affection in little ways.
One thing that really bugged me was the constant description of Rip's size. He is a big man. We get it. You don't have to tell us 1000x.
One thing I notice with Zapata's books is that there is so much time spent building up the tension between the characters (like 70%+ of the book), that the ending often feels rushed. That means there are always questions left unanswered. What happened between Luna and their sisters? How was the situation resolved? Did she ever meet her mother's family? What really happened in Rip' past?
Tropes: grumpy/sunshine, slow burn, boss/employee, age/gap, troubled past, roadtrip, found family
Zapata is definitely the queen of slow burns. But this was the slowest of slow burn and was veryyyyy long.
Luna is an enigma. How she came out of her family situation the way she is is completely shocking. He family was scum, completely horrible. Her father and her step mother were abusive, neglectful addicts. Yet somehow she became this caring and thoughtful woman. Yes, we see a ton of self-doubt and low confidence, but Luna has suffered 18 years of trauma that has never been dealt with and has definitely left her with PTSD, abandonment, and trust issues.
Luna did whatever she could to protect her sisters. She sacrificed so much to ensure that they had a better life than her. Then her two middle sisters go and
Spoiler
forgive their father? Are you kidding me? If my father ever treated my sibling the way that he treated Luna, he would be dead to me.I loved the found family angle. I loved how Luna was able to find and connect with her own group of people who loved her like their own family.
Rip was just meh for me. He didn't have much of a personality. I wish this had been a dual POV so that we could have got to know him more and his past. He lacks basic communication skills for majority of the book and sometimes he was just plain mean. He thinks that he is too old for Luna and not good enough for her due to his past. But he is always there to protect her and shows his affection in little ways.
Spoiler
I figured out his relationship to Mr. C pretty quickly. It wasn't hard to figure that he was his father.One thing that really bugged me was the constant description of Rip's size. He is a big man. We get it. You don't have to tell us 1000x.
One thing I notice with Zapata's books is that there is so much time spent building up the tension between the characters (like 70%+ of the book), that the ending often feels rushed. That means there are always questions left unanswered. What happened between Luna and their sisters? How was the situation resolved? Did she ever meet her mother's family? What really happened in Rip' past?
Tropes: grumpy/sunshine, slow burn, boss/employee, age/gap, troubled past, roadtrip, found family
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Sexual content, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship
marciabrilhante's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
erica_audio_addict's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
mrose21's review against another edition
4.0
Quick Info
Standalone/Cliffhanger?: Standalone
Part of a Series?: No but they do seem to link although I can't link this one very well but perhaps I've missed a few books in between others so it doesn't make sense yet.
----------------------------------
Meeting the Characters
Luna Allen
Rip
----------------------------------
What happens?
Luna is working as a car painter in a garage that pretty much saved her life when she turned up at 17 looking for somewhere to go.
Rip is the 'new' part owner of the garage, and hes broody and lovely. A tough cookie and a tough boss that is slowly trying to win Luna over without either of them realising it.
Final thoughts
I LOVED THIS. I dropped a star because I didn't enjoy the no resolution between Luna and her sisters. I also dropped the star because her sisters are dicks and I refuse to 5 star a book where some character' actions go unpunished.
Luna was a good character, strong and vulnerable. I thought she was a nice mix and pretty believable in how someone who had had the life she had before getting a job at the garage.
Rip I thought was too harsh at points but I think I loved him more the meaner he seemed to get; not because I like mean guys but you can see him softening at the same time. It was a tug of war with him being nice to not nice, nice to not nice and I liked that difference. It made him more than just a character in a book.
Would I read again?: Yes
Would I read this author again?: Yes. I have a slight addiction going on.
Standalone/Cliffhanger?: Standalone
Part of a Series?: No but they do seem to link although I can't link this one very well but perhaps I've missed a few books in between others so it doesn't make sense yet.
----------------------------------
Meeting the Characters
Luna Allen
Rip
----------------------------------
What happens?
Luna is working as a car painter in a garage that pretty much saved her life when she turned up at 17 looking for somewhere to go.
Rip is the 'new' part owner of the garage, and hes broody and lovely. A tough cookie and a tough boss that is slowly trying to win Luna over without either of them realising it.
Final thoughts
I LOVED THIS. I dropped a star because I didn't enjoy the no resolution between Luna and her sisters. I also dropped the star because her sisters are dicks and I refuse to 5 star a book where some character' actions go unpunished.
Luna was a good character, strong and vulnerable. I thought she was a nice mix and pretty believable in how someone who had had the life she had before getting a job at the garage.
Rip I thought was too harsh at points but I think I loved him more the meaner he seemed to get; not because I like mean guys but you can see him softening at the same time. It was a tug of war with him being nice to not nice, nice to not nice and I liked that difference. It made him more than just a character in a book.
Would I read again?: Yes
Would I read this author again?: Yes. I have a slight addiction going on.
siobhan_1234's review against another edition
5.0
Turned me into an addict
I got no work done, I just read all day until I finished this book. I knew it was coming all of Mariana's books do it me. I loved it. So much.
I will re-read it a million times, just like the rest of them.
I got no work done, I just read all day until I finished this book. I knew it was coming all of Mariana's books do it me. I loved it. So much.
I will re-read it a million times, just like the rest of them.
angelbwell's review against another edition
I’ve read the “Wall of Winnipeg and Me” and really liked it. I found “Wait for It” a little annoying. So this one could have went either way.
DNF'd about 14% through.
Luna is a doormat.
From the first page:
There are so many tropes I like in a romance: grumpy/sunshine, boss/employee, age/gap, grungy, motorcycle garage atmosphere, troubled past, roadtrip.
But instead it's 580 pages of self-doubt and repetitive thoughts.
I wanted to like it so badly, but I gave up.
DNF'd about 14% through.
Luna is a doormat.
From the first page:
The employee who came in earlier than everyone else, stayed later than everyone else, and had only called out of work a handful of times in the last nine years. The person who had never said no to extra hours.But it was and always had been my choice to do all those things, and I knew it. That's why I kept my mouth closed. I could have said no when they asked. It had been my decision to stay late and come in on the weekends each time I did.
You didn't jump off a bridge, break your legs, and then blame the friend who dared you to do it for why you were in the hospital.
Taking responsibility for my actions and not blaming other people for things I brought upon myself was one of the few positive lessons I'd learned from my family, even if it was something they hadn't tried to teach me on purpose.
There are so many tropes I like in a romance: grumpy/sunshine, boss/employee, age/gap, grungy, motorcycle garage atmosphere, troubled past, roadtrip.
But instead it's 580 pages of self-doubt and repetitive thoughts.
I wanted to like it so badly, but I gave up.
angel_nicolai's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
katieandrews658's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
4.5