Luna and the Lie

Mariana Zapata is a wonderful writer, the queen of slow burn romances, and her stories allow you to luxuriate in the characters and their story. Luna and the Lie is wonderful. Rip is an early prototype for Tobias Rhodes, but goodness, what a hero!! All the elements are there, age gap romance, drop dead handsome hero with issues, quirky and funny heroine who breaks down the walls, slow burn where you can tell the hero has the feels for the heroine even though neither of them realise it, til right at the very end - bam! The ending was so perfect, so good - the final love scenes were awesome. the best part is you know from page 1 that it is going to be awesome which makes the whole long road to get there so much better. This is a great book, highly recommended - you wont be able to put this down if you love what Mariana does!

— 4 stars⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️“Life was a choice. You get to choose how you handle things. You get to choose how you deal with those things. You get to choose if a rose is beautiful or if its thorns are a menace to your fingers.”📖 | 628 pages👤 | author Mariana Zapata🏢 | published independently📅 | release date 12 December 2018What you can expect:— New-Adult Contemporary Romance— First-Person POV— Age Gap (26/41)— Boss/Employee— Sunshine FMC/Grumpy MMC— Slow-Burn Romance— One-Bed— Found FamilyTrigger and content warnings include: grief and loss, death of a parent (off-page, past), parental estrangement, domestic abuse, child neglect (recounted, past), minor car collision, PTSD, minor injury and blood.Luna and the Lie is a standalone New-Adult Contemporary Romance by author Mariana Zapata. The problem with secrets is that they’re too easy to keep collecting. Luna Allen has done some things she would rather no one ever know about. She also knows that, if she could go back in time, she wouldn’t change a single thing. With three sisters she loves, a job she (mostly) adores, and a family built up of friends she’s made over the years, Luna figures everything has worked out the way it was supposed to. But when one of those secrets involves the man who signs her paycheck, she can’t find it in her to regret it. Despite the fact that he’s not the friendliest man in the world. Or the most patient. But sometimes there is more to a person than meets the eye... and when life continues to push Luna down to her lowest suddenly her grumpy boss Lucas Ripley is the one helping her pick back up the pieces. Could the lies they share be the start of something new... or could is be the end of it all before its even begun?”I was choosing to be happy. I was choosing to be happy every day for the rest of my life, and nothing and nobody was going to take that away from me.”I have read this book three times and not a single time has it disappointed. Luna and the Lie has to be one of MZ's longest books to-date sitting at a whopping 628 pages. This book puts the slow in slow-burn romance and my-god is it delicious. Luna Allen is the sweetest angel who deserves nothing but the best out of life. Unfortunately due to circumstances out with her control and an awful family she wants nothing to do with... trouble comes knocking more often than Luna would like. Luna is the literal definition of a pushover throughout the vast majority of her story which often left me frustrated and wanting to shake some backbone into her. Luna is a tough girl through-and-through, and I hated seeing her underestimate herself and allowing people to walk all over her. I understand that the large majority of Luna's issues stem from her childhood abandonment issues and deeply-rooted insecurity so I gave her grace throughout her development, and I was truly cheering as her growth began to shine through by the end. Luna has such a loving and nurturing nature which was rewarding to see as it positively impacted the relationships around her. The guys at the shop were top-tier as they had Luna's back no questions asked... and sweet Lily was exactly the kind of sister that Luna craved and deserved. Thea was truly disappointing and I completely understand and validate all of Luna's emotions throughout that sibling conflict. And yet, at the end of the day I had nothing but respect for Luna and her approach with her younger sisters. Luna respects her siblings as the adults that they are and never once tries to dictate what and who they want to be within their own lives, and instead respected their choices whilst learning to establish her own boundaries. I think what I love the most about Luna is just how relatable she can be to the reader. Luna goes through very traumatic and life-like ordeals that have you rooting for her character and for her happiness. I felt genuine pride for her growth by the end, and for that Luna remains one of my favourite Mariana Zapata FMCs.”I couldn’t think of a single person, a big MMA fighter or not, who was as scary or intimidating as Lucas Ripley was. That was the truth.”Lucas Ripley has got to be the biggest jerk MMC that Mariana Zapata has ever written... and I'm not even sugar-coating that one. But do I still love him? Yes. Does that speak volumes concerning my mental wellbeing? Possibly. Do I have regrets? Absolutely none. When we are first introduced to Rip he is seen to be the hard-headed co-owner to Cooper's Collisions and Customs as he berates Luna for closing her eyes during one of their weekly meetings. Rip is known for his tough exterior and even tougher interior as he comes across as unforgiving and rude... to the extent that Luna can gauge the severity of his moods based on the colour of his compression shirts. But as to be expected with any story written by MZ, the queen of slow-burn, we are gradually introduced to a softness that Ripley only harbours towards our girl Luna. As harrowing circumstances threaten Luna and her safety we see Ripley step up again and again as a solid support-system. The best thing about a re-read is just how many additional moments that I'm noticing that never caught my attention first-time around. Specifically, all of the moments where Luna would refer to Ripley as her friend and in turn he would either say nothing or seem dismissive. Initially that seemed rude... when actually it makes so much sense by the end that this man has been for pining for Luna from the beginning. Of course he didn't want to be known as Luna's friend... he wanted so much more and that made me giddy. There's much more depth and history to Rip's character that comes to light as the story progressions which I really appreciated to better understand him. This grumpy 6'4 man has a soft spot for Luna Allen and nobody else... and wow that makes me swoon. When that third act conflict comes around I was so relieved to see Rip's development as he better learns to how become the partner that Luna wants, needs and deserves. Getting to witness as he clearly shows that he has always, and will always, listen to Luna was so sweet as this is an issue that Luna battles throughout her character arc. Rip shows huge development with his communication skills and there's nothing I love more than to see a man rightly work and grovel his way to forgiveness.”You gave me these pieces of you I know you haven’t given to anybody else, and they’re mine. You can’t take ’em back. I need them more than you do, you hear me?”The relationship development between Luna and Ripley was slow to begin with during Luna and the Lie before it reached its crucial point. We watch as Luna and Rip gently navigate this budding companionship that is new and fragile between the pair, and whilst being rocky at times I really enjoyed following the pair as they addressed their conflicts before reaching that rewarding conclusion. One of my favourite aspects about Mariana Zapata's books is how she manages to subtly intertwine her stories without any real connection or commitment. A prime example from Luna and the Lie is the mention of the motorcycle club The Reapers and its leader, Liam, which are based in San Antonio. We see some involvement from Liam and The Reapers in the Mariana Zapata book Under Locke, which is also a standalone New-Adult Contemporary Romance. If you're an avid reader of this author then it's a lot of fun making these subtle connections which ultimately make the universe and their stories feel all that more believable. But again, they're merely fun Easter eggs and you do not need to read other books to understand this one.This is one of those stories that I could go on and on about within this review... but I'm not going to do that and instead hope that I've convinced new people to pick up Luna and the Lie and fall in-love with Luna and Ripley as I have. I've read this book three times in 2023 and I will absolutely continue to pick it up in future years.

This is a five star story, beautifully written and unique. I could knock off a star for only having a small amount of time reading about the h and H together, finally, but that would be mean.I loved the heroine and tears welled a couple of times during her journey. Yes, there could have been more about the hero, but, I loved the journey taking me timelessly to the end.

This is my all-time favourite book by Mariana Zapata. I have read most of her books, and this is the one I keep coming back to to read and read again just to make me feel soooooo good. Rip is the best book boyfriend ever, but MZ allows him to emerge from an older-guy grump really slowly and I loved the way she eked out this part of his character. Luna, too, was allowed to develop well and really stand on her own two feet. The ending was so special, too, the best. Although I can usually rely on MZ to deliver the goods, I really, really recommend this one. I'd give it 10 stars if I could.

Luna and The Lie was a mixed bag for me. I struggled through the first 30 per cent, and then it seemed to pick up in parts but never quite fully pulled me in, like so many other Marina Zapata books have done.I think this was a preference thing. I love Zapata’s slow-burn brand of romance, but so much of her stories rely on the reader engaging with the female main character. For me, Luna was interesting - she had a cool job, was kind to the people around her, and seemed to have a bit of an edgy vibe. Still, I struggled with how repeatedly self-deprecating she was, and at times she felt manipulative. She seemed to say a lot of things to create a reaction out of the people around her - almost like she was testing them, and I just don't love that.I wasn’t the biggest fan of Rip, Luna’s boss and the love interest, too. He had his moments (“did I stutter?”), but they were too few and far between.As always, MZ wrote a 10/10 epilogue that was lovely and heartwarming.The connections to the broader Mariana Zapata universe are less obvious in this book. Rip is a former member of the Reapers MC, which was featured in Under Locke (still my fave) and Luna’s best friend Lenny is part of the DeMaio family that owned the gym Biana worked at in Hands Down. Lenny is also the main character in Zapata’s book The Best Thing, which is next on my reading list.

A classic Mariana Zapata book with a grumpy main man and sweet main female. There’s drama and angst and lots of sweet moments. This book had me tearing up and my heart aching over Luna. She just wanted to be loved, desperately. It took her a while, but she found Rip and they managed to come together.Slow burns are the best burns. And Mariana Zapata is the queen of slow burn. Fantastic story!

Perfect!!!!!! There is nothing to dislike about this bookMariana has the best writing I've ever seen." The way she makes you connect with the characters is beyond wonderful 💖 Just love for her and her amazing gift of bringing to life, beautiful love stories

Mariana Zapata escribió un muy buen libro, una historia de amor que se disfruta, un libro de esos que terminas amando por todos los sentimientos que te hace experimentar y odias simplemente porque se termina.Cuando crees que tienes claro para donde va, da un giro que te mete de nuevo a una historia bien contada y llena de matices.

⭐ 4.75/5🌶️ 0.5/5Another book that is practically 5 stars by Mariana Zapata, another book that has had me hooked from the beginning and another book that even though it is more than 500 pages I read in less than 48 hours.I would like to know what kind of drug Mariana Zapata puts in her books because they are ADDICTIVE, there isn't a book by this woman that I haven't eaten in a matter of a couple of days.There are a lot of people who say that this book has not been their favourite, I understand that, the personality of both main characters has not been 100% to my liking (only at the beginning). Luna at the beginning seemed to me a character too weak and too easy to manipulate, I mean girl they are taking advantage of you, realize for god sake.Lucas was too insufferable at the beginning but you end up liking him so much that he has become one of the male characters of Mariana Zapata that I have liked the most.I don't know, I seem to like grumpy and insufferable guys too much.But don't let my opinion of the characters fool you (after all, this opinion didn't last long) I ended up falling in love with both of them and their stories.And of course, I have nothing bad to say about the evolution of their relationship because it's a 10/10, chef kiss.In short, if you like Mariana Zapata I doubt you won't like this book because it's in my top 5 of her best books.

Je ne sais pas par où commencer. Quel livre. Quel bonheur. Tout est parfait. J’aimerais juste tellement que l’épilogue fasse 100 pages 😜. Mais quel slow burn passionant. Profond. Magnifique. Superbe.Ce livre est une prouesse. J’ai adoré!!!!!!