If anyone ever said being an adult was easy, they hadn't been one long enough.
With a new house, two little boys she inherited the most painful possible way, a giant dog, a job she usually loves, more than enough family, and friends, she has almost everything she could ever ask for.
Except for a boyfriend.
Or a husband.
But who needs either one of those?
Comment: This is another book by Mariana Zapata that I had in my TBR. I suppose it is safe to say I'll end up reading all her books at some point. Her style is known to be a slow burn type of novel, where the relationship between protagonists is more focused on the emotional content than in the physical.
In this book we meet Diana Casillas, cousin to a protagonist of another book and best friend of another, whose story I haven't read yet.
Diana is raising her two young nephews after the death of her brother and, a little later, of his wife. She has made some mistakes in her past but now she is a grown up taking charge of her responsibilities and she takes it very seriously to educate the boys properly. When the story begins, they had just moved into a new house and that first day Diana happens to help a neighbor.That is also when she meets Dallas for the first time, for he is the guy's brother but when they meet again he doesn't seem to like her much for some reason.
One of her nephews likes to play baseball and he registers in a team. Of course, one of the coaches happens to be Dallas and a cousin of his which means most of the plot revolves around how often they interact. With time, though, as they get to know each other, both realize the other person is so much more than physical appearance or a first impression. Will they ever admit they like one another as more than friends?
Once again, I liked a book by the author. Even the one I liked less was not a bad book but there are some techniques I obviously prefer more and these plots where heroines aren't as one dimensional or as simple as they appear but instead hide quite a complex personality are my favorites. Diana is a good example for she kept mentioned her past choices, how silly she was before a responsibility she has embraced came into her life, and in the end I kind of liked a lot.
It's already a given this author favors the 1st person narrator and I do prefer when it isn't so, especially because it's not as exciting when we can't know what the other protagonist is thinking but also because at some point it seems things don't happen because the heroine is so clueless it can seem ridiculous. Nevertheless, I still liked the "voice" of Diana and I liked how dedicated she was to both her nephews and what she perceived as her willingness to do the right thing.
Dallas is the typical hero mrs Zapata creates, always so enigmatic, perhaps not as "alpha" as other heroes, but a guy who still maintained the distance, who seemed to not be on the same page with the heroine (until it was obvious to the reader) but who had all the required personality traits to be hero material. I would say he was slightly more approachable than the protagonist of other novels because his attitude towards those around him did seem more cordial than that with the heroine but in the end, of course it was special how he demonstrated his care and feelings for Diana and even for the boys too.
The two kids have very unique traits, they are not just props to keep things moving. The fact this is a slow burn and that Diana loves her nephews also helps in developing their personalities. There is time and page count to make them seem realistic...well, sort of because they do give the vibe they are too well behaved most of the time. Still, I could buy it considering the kind of background the author has created for them and how special is their bond with Diana too. The last scene of the book involves the youngest kid and Dallas and it was very sweet.
At times it did feel the pace was a little too slow, eve for the author. Some situations seemed to drag, to be repetitive and I can understand the need to make a point but having just one POV can have this effect if a lot of things are not that captivating or if nothing major happens in terms of action. Yes, the feels and the emotions re all there but sometimes it felt weird how much repetitiveness existed.
Still, this was a good book, I like the style so I can dismiss the things I don't like as much and there's a HEA that felt quite fulfilling. Not everything is perfect, Diana doesn't have all the negative things that happen to her or that influence her magically solved. But the important ones are quite an adventure for her and the boys and they do deserve happiness.
I'm eager to read another but I need to space them, otherwise I'll run out!
Grade: 7/10
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