Ultra Meital Reviews: Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin by Mariana Zapata

I enjoyed this one though at too many times I was SO annoyed with Gaby's brother and best friends I wanted to throw the kindle on the wall! Lucky I didn't, ha? ;) I enjoyed seeing Gaby and Sacha get closer together, the so very slow burn Mariana is so great at was also a treat in this one though the setting was a bit uncomfortable for me.

Gaby Barreto's life isn't at its best at the moment, recently dumped by her boyfriend, returning to live with her parents and struggling to find a job now that she has finished college. She truly doesn't have anything better to do than accept her twin brother's offer to join him and their two best friends on a joint tour with another band, her being their "merch girl". Gaby has known Eli's best friends all of her life so it's no wonder Mason and Gordo are not only her brother's best friends but also her own. They are silly and stupid and always get in trouble but she would do right around anything for them, including going on the tour with them. It's going to be close, maybe a bit TOO close considering it's basically 3 months stuck with 11 (!) guys in a bus but she knows she can manage it and the money is going to be awesome!

Gaby is mostly a very confident girl. She plays along with the guys immature behavior. She knows how to be a girly girl, but she can, and mostly is, "one of the guys" with very little effort. Just thinking about what she had to endure with them.. my god.. for me it would feel like literal torture. The interaction between everyone was silly and fun, for me a bit too mean even if in the end the intentions were good, or rather they cared for one another. At times their stupid and immature behavior was too much and I even considered putting the book aside at least twice (though happy I didn't!). I think you need to like this kind of behavior or like me it would turn you off from the story. It takes A LOT of time for the romance to build so we are "stuck" with the guys and their shenanigans for WAY too long IMO.

There are many things Gaby could prepare herself, going on the tour with her close friends, falling in love with the main singer of the second band - Sacha Malykhin - wasn't one of them. She is very embarrassed by her feelings for him. They start as being friends and she LOVES his company and everything they do together but she is unwilling to admit her feelings which makes too many interactions between them awkward. She wants him so bad! But she is very insecure in herself when it comes to guys mostly because of an issue she had growing up. She "fixed" it a few years back but the sensitivity is still there. Yet Sacha truly sees HER, and not a perfect girl you'd imagine, but a girl who can hold her own with 11 silly guys for 3 months living too close together than any group of friends (close or not) should.

I enjoyed this book. The relationship buildup was so sweet! Gaby could be bad ass, but she could also be shy and unsure of herself. It was quite endearing especially with how Sacha was unfazed by anything she did or said. He enjoyed her company, enjoyed getting to know her and was sure enough of himself to make it happen even if little by little. I loved that about him. He was FUN. But he was also sweet and caring. He could be mean but actually not half as bad as her brother and their best friends.

For me, after reading 5 books by Mariana, this was the "weakest" but I think it's mostly because I'm not very patient with immature behavior, especially of people I would consider "grown ups", not to mention a lot of their attitude towards one another for me felt too mean even if they were just joking around. When someone gets hurt, high-fiving before checking to see damage is NOT an acceptable behavior.