I adore this book!

I love how the author, Mariana Zapata describes trauma in this book. It is a sunshine x grumpy, but sunshine is very much an attitude and hope that Luna really works on having. She, in many ways, has a very childlike desperation for love, fear of being left, and in many ways avoids conflict and having to stand up for herself, all stemming from her childhood of abuse and neglect, and having to take care of everyone else first. She just wants someone to be there for her, like her for her, and not leave, because so many has decided she wasnt enough or for other reasons left or hurt her.

Zapata writes very realistic, because its not all happy endings. Dealing with people are hard, things damage relationships so they never can be what they were, and Zapata lets those things stay difficult and not fully resolved because that is real. I both love and hate that, I would love for everyone to overcome amd be happy and close again, but at the same time would that be so cheap when Zapata has spent so much time showing how these difficult relationships impact the characters, both as hurt and as growth.

Another strong book by Zapata, and despite the high page number, really didnt feel long, so never let that discourage you from picking up a book by her.

Every time Rip said “baby girl”

Luna and the Lie: ★ ★ ★ ★ . 7 5

Mariana Zapata

“You got that little fox on you, but you’re a wolf, baby. A fucking miracle.”

The slow burn queen has honestly ruined romance for me in the absolute best way. I don’t think anyone will ever do it for me anymore, because she is the standard.

Luna Allen has secrets hidden in her chest—about her family, her past, and what brought her to CCC, where she does paint jobs on cars. But despite the unbelievably rough past she’s had, she’s nothing but sweetness and sunshine in a human body. An absolute angel whose positivity was so potent and honestly made me rethink how I live my life because I need to be more like her.

There’s no doubt Mariana Zapata does grumpy/sunshine unlike anyone else in the entire world, but Lucas Ripley? The textbook example of grumpy. Like seriously. Oh my god.

Rip is so fucking hot I literally think I might collapse if I think about him for too long because holy— The protectiveness, the possessiveness, the sweet, sweet man that he is deep inside for Luna and only Luna. He cooks, he keeps his house clean, he won’t leave Luna alone when she’s afraid. He’s literally perfect.

Mariana Zapata served us some of the best groveling I’ve ever read. The way Rip would do anything to “get his goddamn Luna back” was just precious—the flowers, the cake, the donuts. And the one bed trope in this? Y’ALL. PLEASE. MY COLD DEAD HEART.

I’m not even kidding when I say every moment of physical contact and every dropped “baby girl” made my heart beat so fast and my face pull into the widest grin.

Luna & Rip have my whole entire heart. They are such a fortifying strength for one another and despite all the secrets, lies, and things that have broken them down in the past, they come together in the most beautiful way.

Mariana Zapata is consistently one of my favorite authors and there’s no way she’ll ever lose that throne. I am helplessly, wholeheartedly obsessed with her and every single bone in my body is devoted to her supremacy.

Ok, I know this author is known for the slow burn and I completely went in know this. I loved Luna, her love for her sister’s shines through and she needs them because of her family past. But I don’t think they fully understand what she lived with if they did they might not have been the way they were.

Now for the heart of the matter, this is listed as a romance so where was the chemistry? I get the slow burn but there was no burning. Luna had a one-sided affection that she never showed hardly even in her head.
I was waiting and waiting for the long looks the tension the chemistry we get it at the very, very, end when it was too little too late.
I liked the characters overall but I also felt like this book was way too long, let’s be honest if something anything happened it would have been exciting. ANYTHING but we got like 1 thing and all the eluding to stuff and it just fell flat.

I kept with the book because I was hoping for something. And we got it at the end 17 hours, for 1 hour of the meat.

The narration was FREAKING AWESOME, this is probably why I kept with the book. I really enjoyed both narrators and will be looking for more by Gomez Pugh.

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Relistening has been the best thing I could have ever done, I liked this book and this author more and more after I relisten to the her books the second time. I loved this book.

the way I think that Mariana zapata can’t keep writing bangers…she does!!! I think what made this book amazing for me was that I could feel in my body everything that Luna was feeling. Marianas writing is so astonishingly beautiful and real. Her characters and their stories feel so real and authentic. All my love for Luna and Rip

Blah blah blah, "I was fine, I was loved" x8000. Luna is the most annoying, doormatty, passive aggressive (I use this term by the loosest of definitions) "heroine." God forbid she have even a backbone sometimes.

Rip is also awful. Like who would want to date this man? He is never even a little bit nice.