Sunday, December 23, 2018

Luna and the Lie by Mariana Zapata

Another OUTSTANDING book by Mariana. If you're into "slow burn" and even if you aren't I HIGHLY recommend you give this one (or any other book by Mariana) a go. As with her other books we only get the feminine side of the story with SUCH a beautiful buildup, both of the relationship as  well as personal growth as this book takes a few months and that's without counting the time both MC have known each other before our starting point.

Luna Allen had a difficult life growing up. It's more than she was just "unwanted" by her family, she was neglected and abused. Now ten years later she is in a totally different place and she has her own 2 hands and 10 fingers to thank for. Yeah, she had help from friends who were SO much more than her family ever was but still she managed to build a life for herself as well as take care of her three younger sisters. It wasn't easy, but she has done well. Lily, the youngest, will  be following her older sisters' footsteps and getting into college. Well, Luna didn't have time for studies, but she made sure her siblings did. She found her calling in CCC a repair garage where she paints cars. It doesn't sound glamorous, but she is good at her job, she actually enjoys her work and (almost) all the people she works with, especially Mr. Cooper the owner who has become the father she could have only wished for.



After years of working at CCC came a very unexpected change - a co-owner - Lucas Ripley. He and Mr. Cooper don't get along AT ALL, yet the business still works and the workers are getting along with the new change and how demanding Ripley is. He isn't unfair but he is HARD on everyone, including Luna. She might have been Mr. Cooper's favorite but she doesn't feel like one where Ripley is concerned.. Yet with a a fresh cup of coffee for the new boss and mostly a huge smile on her face she begins every morning.

Luna have been attracted to Ripley from the start but he is her boss, so it's obvious he can only stay a very HOT fantasy and nothing more.. Yet she doesn't expected to form a sort of friendship with the most remote and unattainable person she has ever met.... but she does.. It starts with a favor she freely offers Ripley and from there he helps her out a few times only to find they are really good for one another. Luna doesn't take it too seriously. She sees Ripley's behavior as him "settling a debt" but I think it's obvious for us as readers he sees in Luna FAR more than she realizes.

Lies and unsaid truths are somehow always in the way of happiness for both Luna and Ripley. There is much they don't say to one another or/and the people around them. Truths that might have the power to change everything, but that would happen only if they LET them control and define them. It is in both of their hands to decide how to deal with all the things hiding behind the surface.

I could say so much more about this book. About Luna's relationship with everyone around her - her friends (on and off work), her sisters, Mr. Cooper and his wife and even her estranged family. Luna felt so GENUINE to me. I felt like I went through this journey WITH her by my side, or rather it was ME on HER side. It was beautiful, heart breaking at times, yet mostly endearing and sweet. Luna is such a wonderful person, it's so easy to see what Ripley saw in her. She is the light to his darkness, she is the one to SEE the lightness in HIM, something no one has seen in him for so many years. It was never about Ripley changing and becoming a better version of himself, it was about him realizing what he wants and WHO he wants and going for it (you won't believe how incredible romantic he could be!). I think for both Luna and Ripley it was about accepting who they are. They were already in a better place, it was just about finding true happiness in the moment.

One last thing I have to add. Luna has this incredible sense of cherishing her accomplishments. Every time she was in a not so great place she would remind herself she is loved, happy, has a roof over her head etc. Things she didn't have growing up and she DOES have now. So things might not look bright at the moment, but there is much to be grateful for. I think it's something we should all incorporate into our life. Being grateful is a wonderful and helpful gift we have the power to give ourselves and it's totally and absolutely free.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.   

Rating:
E-Book
Edition
580
pages
Read on:
21-22 December 2018
  

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