Saturday, August 17, 2019

The Best Thing by Mariana Zapata ~ Review

The Best ThingSource: KindleUnlimited.

The Best Thing by Mariana Zapata


Some things are easily forgiven. Other things… not so much.

Lenny DeMaio made herself a promise: she was done.

Done thinking about him.

Done worrying about him.

Done reaching out to a man who clearly didn’t want to be found.

Too bad no one gave Jonah Collins the memo.





Mariana Zapata is one of the few authors that is not only an auto-buy for me, but also an auto-read. The day a book by her is released, I am ALL OVER IT. This was true with The Best Thing. So it's safe to say my expectations were high, along with my anticipation. And while The Best Thing was very good and I did enjoy it...I have to admit that it's not my favorite MZ.

There is a whole heck of a lot to gush about. The biggest for me was the shy, gentle giant of a hero, Jonah. I can't get over how much of a sweetheart he was. Though Lenny's perception of him in the beginning of the book pointed him toward being an asshole, that is the farthest from how he actually is once we get to know him. He's kind and caring and sweet and I am head over heels. He's also a big rugby player who's incredibly shy, so that was cute.

I was also a fan of Lenny. She's strong, independent, and confident. And she's realistic. And fair. And honestly just a really commendable person. I got a kick out of her family, too. They're funny and loyal and I was never bored when they were around.

Well, I wasn't bored in this book at all. In fact, I flew right through reading it in the time I had. Not out of the ordinary for me with a book by Mariana Zapata. Her books tend to be well written to the point where even when things are moving slowly (her slow burns are to die for), I'm still super into the characters and their story. I will say that with The Best Thing, she did something that hasn't happened for me in...gosh, I don't even know how long: She made me cry. I rarely cry reading books, and if I hear a book made people cry I either scoff (because I know it's not going to get ME) or I run (because I fear it might get me and I am not here for that). But this one got me and I'm not even mad that it did. It was so freaking GOOD.

But as I said in the beginning of this review, this isn't my favorite MZ. So now I'll explain the two main reasons why:

1. The second chance aspect of the romance. As a whole, the romance wormed its way into my heart. I adore Jonah and Lenny as a couple. They're so cuuuute. But they were second chance. And as a trope, this one is pretty hard sell for me. Partly because it requires the couple having been together before and breaking up--which means they are apart and with other people in that time and I HATE that. This wasn't an issue with The Best Thing, though, so no worries there. The other part of my dilemma with second chance romances, however, is that it requires the couple to have a history outside of the current story being told. And in order for the current story to be told we either have to have flashbacks to catch us up, or we kind of get thrown in with little memories to give us the lay of the land but not much else. I'm not a fan of either of these options. (The Best Thing went with the latter, if you're curious.) So that took a tad bit away from the story for me.

2. While I was very invested in Lenny and Jonah and Grandpa Gus and Peter and this whole book, I wasn't as into it as I would have liked. I was reading it and enjoying it and my heart was happy, but I wasn't complete and total trash for this book. Which I feel weird criticizing, but there are books I've been like that for. Some MZ books even (Kulti and Wait For It, to drop some names). This one just wasn't. Which doesn't mean it was a bad book, it just was not up there with those favs.

2.5. This is a little aside that didn't quite fit in either of the two categories but I still want to mention: I wasn't entirely sold on the whole missed connection thing Lenny and Jonah had going on. He broke his phone, didn't check his email, whatever. She missed what he tried to contact her. There were explanations for everything, and the characters themselves admit that their excuses are weak, so it's not like this is a huge plot whole of a big deal, but as I said--I wasn't entirely sold.

Overall, The Best Thing isn't quite the perfect read, but it made my heart so happy. The romance was sweet, I adore the love interest, and the family dynamics were so beautiful. I felt so many feels for this book, and I loved it. While not Mariana Zapata's best, it's for sure worth a read!


4 stars - A sweet read that made my heart so happy!


1 comment:

  1. Hmmmm...I think I need to give this author a try but with a different book. Which one do you recommend I start with?

    ReplyDelete