I am sitting here not really sure how to start this review... mostly because I have soooo many thoughts and feelings about this story... I read a few other books by Mariana Zapata already, and I loved them all, so my mixed feelings about this one, along with a bit of a disappointment, is a real surprise for me... especially since the main couple in this one is connected to the one in "From Lukov with love" which is one of my all time favourite stories ever... *sighs* ok, so maybe let's start with me telling you a bit more what this book is all about and then I will try to articulate all my tangled thoughts into semi-coherent sentences and try to explain why I feel like that about this novel :)
This novel is all about Ruby and Aaron... Ruby is in her early twenties and part of the Santos family, that I met and fell in love with while reading "From Lukov with love" a while ago... which is actually the reverse order, because this book was published first :) I mean, all of Mariana's stories can be read as standalones, but you can find smaller or biger connections between several of them :) like I mentioned, I knew all about these guys, and more importantly I already adored Ruby and Aaron, since I met them as an already married couple with a few kids :) so I was curious to see how they got together... that's the main reason why I picked this book soon after yet another re-read of that other story... ;) Ruby "meets" Aaron through the "Help A Soldier" foundation, which pairs up soldiers stationed abroad with people in the States to exchange letters / e-mails and such... so a bit more than half of the book is in that format... most of it in the first half... so be prepared for that, cause I know not all of you might enjoy this format... I didn't mind it at all, especially since I was listening to the audiobook, and Aaron's messages were narrated by the amazing Teddy Hamilton *swoons* ;) don't get me wrong, Callie Dalton as Ruby was wonderful as well, but there's just something in Teddy's voice... :) ok, back to the story :) those exchanges last for almost a year before Aaron comes back home and they actually have a chance to meet... the rest of the book takes place over a surprisingly short amount of time, so I don't want to say too much about it, because of spoilers, so how about we just jump into my thoughts and feelings :)
Like I mentioned before, I have a lot of feelings about this story... some things I really loved, but there were also quite a few that irritated me... I will try my best to share with you some of both, so you can form your own opinion if this is a story you want to give a try :) since there were a few 5 stars worthy moments, but also quite a few 3 stars as well... and lots of in between, I originally landed on 4 stars as my rating for this book, but then after writing and editing this review I decided to change it to 3,5... apparently I have more resentment toward it than I thought... ok, where to start... I am a huge fan of slow burn romances... I will read other stories as well, and in lots of cases really love them, but if I had to choose my favourite type, it would be stories that unfold over a long time, usually starting with a friendship that grows into someting more... that's one of the reasns why I absolutely loved all of Mariana's stories I read so far, she truly is Queen of Slow Burn romances :) but this one... just... it didn't work for me the way I expected or hoped it would... as oppose to a lot of opinions I heard about this story, I actually loved the first half or so, when Ruby and Aaron exchanged e-mails and messages between each other... how you could slowly see the change of tone in them, as they shared more personal thougts and feelings... even though I do agree it's a very hard way to portray growing emotions and feelings between a couple... then, after almost a year of said exchanges they meet... I don't want to get into too many details so as not to spoil you everything that happens, but the rest of the story unfolds mostly during a week long trip... which was a bit too quickly for me... when I was talking about it with my sister, and I told her how I feel about it, she pointed out that it's not like they didn't know each other really weel, so it's not like they went from nothing to everything over the span of a week... and I was like... yeah, you have a point, but it's hard to explain if you haven't read the book... but I will try nonetheless right now :) the change of pace was sudden and pulled me out of the story a bit... to see them interact online and take things slow, and then suddenly things were happening a lot faster... especially if you take into consideration both of their personalities... I mean... both Ruby and Aaron have issues that weren't exactly addressed within the pages of the story... I feel like I'm missing a few more chapters at least, to show us how exactly did they manage to be in a relationship, taking into account the distance and other factors... but let's put that aside for a moment and talk about them as individuals... as in other Mariana's books, I missed a bit the hero's perspective... especially during the second part of the book... because Aaron doesn't talk a lot... so as much as I got to know him through his messages, when they met face to face he was talking a lot less... and I never really knew what was going on inside his head... and I would love to be able to see that, especially since he's a soldier coming back home after another tour abroad... so I don't have a lot to say about him... now when it comes to Ruby... boy oh boy, do I have some opinions about her... *sighs* where to begin? :) on the one hand there are a lot of things about her that I can really relate to... being shy and insecure, doubting other people's intentions... all of that sounds really familiar... but it's also a while since I felt like that, so I can understand why some people might find her whiny and irritating... from the perspective of a person who dealt with some of the things she's still struggling with, I get it... I really do... and I did understood a lot of her behaviour... but she also got on my nerves from time to time... I feel the need to mention that this story included one of my pet peeves when it comes to books, as in: unprotected sex scene where characters don't really talk about protection before doing it, or after... and that was like a hit in the head for me, cause I did not expected it... I mean... no mention about it, even after... no explanation... nothing... I know it might be a small detail for some of you, but like I mentioned, it's an issue for me... I mean, come on, you guys are both adults and should know better... and another thing, when it comes to both main characters, although more for Aaron than Ruby, some things about their pasts were barely mentioned, not really explained better, even though they had a huge impact on both of them as people... how they act now and what sort of people they are... and I needed more... more background, more explanation... just... more... ending felt a bit rushed and just not really like an end to be honest... I feel like I missed a chapter or two between the last one and the epilogue... *sighs* because I loved her other stories, all of that made me disappointed about this book... even seeing Jasmine, Ruby's younger sister and the heroine of "From Lukov with love" didn't help... from what I could see, for some people this is their favourite Mariana's book... others didn't finish it... and I can understand both sides... all I can do is share my thoughts and feelings about it, and encourage you to maybe check a few other reviews if you want, but definitely make up you own mind if you want to pick it up :) if you do and absolutely love it, then I'm happy for you :) we have our own personal preferences for a reason, and stories that irritate me might be your favourites, because of tropes and characters that we have very different feelings about, and that's all right :) you do you and I will do me ;) happy reading either way ;)
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Another great read from Mariana Zapata!
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2017
I honestly had no intention of reading this book today. Or any time soon really. I knew Mariana Zapata had a new book coming out soon but I planned on waiting a few months before picking this one up.But then I saw it was released today and I told myself, "ok sure, buy it. But let's not read it right now since we've started so many other books."But then I decided to just read the free excerpt that amazon gives you when you click "look inside". I told myself, "we're just going to take a little peek to see what this is about and then when the sample is over, we'll go back to our other books, or maybe watch a movie."That obviously didn't happen.Once I started reading, I couldn't stop. I was so hooked and I should've known better because this has happened to me with her books every time I pick one up. It's precisely why I hold off on reading all her books because I become obsessed and then do nothing else but want to read them.I love that she always incorporates diversity in her books.I love that she can make me love slow-burn romances, though it kills me that we don't get any steam (or change in relationship status) until the last 5% (I mean, literally, the last. five. percent.)I love that she cares more about character development than adding a bunch of random drama into a plot just to make time pass.This book was so good. It was everything I was expecting and yet not expecting from her kind of books. My only complain would be that around 80% I found myself becoming a little impatient for them to just be together already because it seemed just a tad drawn out and that the end left me a little unsatisfied. I just wanted more from the epilogue. I wanted more of seeing them together, instead of just kind of knowing they end up together or are happy, if that makes sense.It's like when you read a fairytale and then you get to the end and it has the formulaic, "and they lived happily ever after" and you feel happy and satisfied but for me, there's a voice inside my head thinking, "well, how? what happened after they finally got together? Tell me all the deets!" And I'm not talking about the sex deets (though of course I want to know those). I mean I want to know how they made their relationship work and last. I want to know what happens once they finally get together and how they make it work despite everything. I want to see them just being happy and doing mundane, everyday things together.And I don't really feel like I got that with this book. And it's ok. But I would've loved it more if I had gotten it.Regardless, I am so happy that I spent my Sunday reading this book and I have a feeling that many others will love this book just as much as I did.
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2017
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Top reviews from other countries
Chloe Hughes
okay, but could've been done in less words
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 9, 2022
An
I loved Aaron and Ruby's story so much!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 29, 2020
An
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 29, 2020
Ruby is writing letters to an unknown soldier. It is part of a program which encourages civilians to connect with soldiers and help them through the time they are abroad.
Ruby didn't expect this time to be any different. But with each letter and email, she gets to know Aaron better while also sharing parts of herself.
The romance is a slow burn which makes sense giving the distance. This book has so much built up, the tension was so intense at points.
Letter exchange is always very interesting to see. I liked the way they got to know each other and how much they shared from the beginning.
Even though it is a 500 pages book I read very fairly quickly because a big part of the book is in letters and dialogues format, which I enjoyed very much.
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Chrissy’s Book Shelf
A Long Slow Building Romance
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 20, 2019
