DEAR AARON

This book is so underrated. I didn’t know that a book about Ruby (Jasmine’s sister From Lukov With Love) existed until last week and then I immediately had to read it.

The story is so unique. Based on the concept of 'pen-pals' , this novel is very relatable as well. Fantastic story line. Mariana's writing skills will make you feel every single emotion the protagonist goes through. Probably the only novel that'll give you romantic vibes without being overtly romantic. A very difficult script executed to perfection. Satisfies both the reader and the critic within me. Simply BEAUTIFUL.

An amazing read! It takes you on the journey of Aaron and Ruby and makes you a part of it. It brilliantly puts across how both of them are feeling. A one of the kind book. Loved it!

I love Mariana Zapata books, she's one of my favorite authors and the books she writes are of my favorite kind with a delicious slow burn.What that most of the book was written in the form of emails and letters. The conversations between Ruby and Aaron is hilarious 70% of the time and the remaining just 30% tugs at your other emotions.Ruby and Aaron's story is cute, the friendship they develop throughout the story is the kind every person can only wish for.Just like every other MZ book, when I started it I ignored everything that went on around me, and just completely gave myself to the book. All in all, an amazing story and my soul is satisfied. Ruron Forever!❤

Wow. Just beautiful. It seems like slow melting of ice as the sun rises in the horizon. This is my first book by the author and i just fell hard for her writing. The way character of Ruby and Aaron has fallen in love like soft music, it touches all the chords of your heart. It is no zip-zap and you are in love but the beauty of knowing you are slowing sinking in the quicksand without any chance or desire to escape.. just enchanting...

4.5stars...loved this storyline, loved the writing style...first they just got to know each other via emails and IMs...very interesting...eagerly waiting for the author's next book :-)

This was supposed to be an in-between light read between two intense books...It ended up being a book that found me a new fav romantic author. The less-than-perfect characters, the ordinariness of the background, the beautiful connectedness and friendship, the understanding, the humor, everything made the book get into my 'Books to be Reread' folder forever. I ended up reading 3 Mariana Zapata books in 3 days and now I'm an addict :)

Nice book.A different kind of story. The plot is very captivating. The way in which story is narrated by exchange of emails , chat pattern is unique.The process of bonding between Aaron and Ruby is showcased beautifully.I was completely in to the book living every emotion.Keeps you engrossed till the end. A must read.

Mariana Zapata can literally do no wrong!! I have loved every one of her books that I have read, fallen head over heels in love with them, been left with book hangovers that can’t be cured and I am here for it each and every one of them.Can I also add that not only have I read this book, I listened to it on audiobook ( Callie Dalton and Teddy Hamilton are the BEST narrators ) I’ve done the same for a few of her books and Callie Dalton never fails.Okay so this is a slow burn, totally filled with banter, cute moments, almost all of the book is letters or emails between them and I totally loveeee that!Our two leads are Aaron (obviously) and Ruby, they just get each other, perfectly made for each other and no matter how far part they are the chemistry can be felt!Aaron is in the army, has been for 11 years he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life he just knew he wanted to be more than the family business. He is down right handsome, so funny, filled with banter and wit. Protective and cute, I couldn’t get enough of him. He doesn’t realise how much he needs Ruby’s letters until they start coming. She makes him smile and laugh more than he ever has. He’s just gotten out of a bad relationship so at first he is unsure if he wants the connection but Ruby can not be denied, she doesn’t quit.Can he trust enough to open up his heart again?He thinks he’s done with relationships but will Ruby totally blow that thought away?Ruby is totally adorable and awkward in the best way! I love her personality so much and to add to that she is beautiful even if she doesn’t believe it (when she thinks her mum and sister are the stunners of the family) she’s ‘Just Ruby’. She is matched with Aaron in the program that sends letters or emails to soldiers over seas. She continues to write even when he isn’t replying, determined not to give up and give him some light from home.She has had her heart broken by the person she’s been in love with her whole life, everyone knows she loves him but no one knows what happened between them. The classic big brothers best friend..Her heart was not ready for Aaron.. she is determined not to make the same mistake again, falling in love with someone who can’t love her back.I swooned, I laughed and I loved!

This is the second MZ book in the last couple of months that I’ve completely fallen in love with. The way this book has me giggling and smiling was actually a bit embarrassing.I’m a big fan of emails/messages in books and the first like 45% of this book is purely emails and IMs so it makes it SO easy to get into!I have a very love/hate relationship with MZ and I think it’s because her books are so character focused so if you don’t like the characters that much, you’re not going to like the book. When I’m not sold on the characters, I notice all the things that annoy me so much: the repetition, the constant use of identifying descriptions instead of names, the endless poop references etcI had the complete opposite experience with this because right off the bat, I fell in love with Ruby. She is by far my favourite MZ female and I related to her so much, like I was crying from the first page because of the way she spoke and viewed herself.I’m also madly in love with Aaron, and he’s blond… MZ does grumpy men so well and it was nice to to see the opposite of that because I love a non-grump so much. Aaron is just perfect. I can’t believe Aiden Graves is now down to three on my list and Aaron and Rhodes are both fighting for that top spot (I’ll probs have a different fave depending on my mood 🤣)Watching Ruby and Aaron’s relationship grow from him not replying to the long emails to the messages to the phone call to them meeting, I just, god it was so good. I didn’t even mind the constant poop discussions in this book because it just showed how comfortable they grew with each other.

The first 50% had me, the second 50% did not.I've seen many people say that the first half bored them because it was just emails and IM's but that was actually my favourite part. I felt super connected to the relationship and MZ still managed to make it exciting.However the last 50% was just kind of baffling. The problems or tensions between them felt like they were created out of thin air and didn’t make a whole lot of sense. The miscommunication was infuriating and the MMC clearly had some sort of depression after his deployment and it was just never mentioned or dealt with. Also the epilogue was super weird and not the resolution I wanted.Lukov is my favourite book of all time, and Ruby is the sister of the MC in FLWL, so I was SO excited to read this one.What MZ does do immaculately is she wrote Ruby and Jasmine’s narrator voices in such a similar style, I could tell they were related. It was surreal. That’s talent!! They’re totally different girls but you could distinctly tell they are sisters.This should’ve been 150 pages shorter imo but overall was a pretty okay experience.

I loved Aaron and Ruby's story so much!Ruby is writing letters to an unknown soldier. It is part of a program which encourages civilians to connect with soldiers and help them through the time they are abroad.Ruby didn't expect this time to be any different. But with each letter and email, she gets to know Aaron better while also sharing parts of herself.The romance is a slow burn which makes sense giving the distance. This book has so much built up, the tension was so intense at points.Letter exchange is always very interesting to see. I liked the way they got to know each other and how much they shared from the beginning.Even though it is a 500 pages book I read very fairly quickly because a big part of the book is in letters and dialogues format, which I enjoyed very much.

Mariana Zapata is one of my favourite romance writers. She is the master of the long slow build book and I really enjoy that sometimes in my romance. This book is no exception.A large part of the book takes the format of emails back and forth between the protagonists Ruby and Aaron. Aaron is in the army and Ruby is a volunteer in a program that ‘adopts’ a soldier when they are deployed. They promise to email and write letters and send the occasional care package. I think this appealed to me initially because in my teens I used to write to an airman who was stationed in the Falklands that I met through a mutual friend. I remember that we used to talk about everything and anything and this is what this book started out like.Ruby’s brother was a marine who was injured whilst deployed and his stories of his time overseas made her want to give support to someone that didn’t have a family like hers. She’d had several other soldiers before Aaron that she’d written to, but none that she connected with so well. Gradually over the course of the book we see them both starting to open up to each other, starting with silly jokes and asking about ‘favourites’. The emails start to get more personal as time goes on and we gradually get to know the characters at the same time as they get to know each other.Eventually the format changes to sending Skype messages. They become very close friends and admit to sharing things with each other that they’ve never shared with anyone else. It’s a slow intimate journey as the relationship transforms into something deep and beautiful, especially once the relationship moves out of the virtual into the real world after Aaron comes back to the US.It’s a lovely book that allows us to see into the heart of two characters. I really enjoyed getting to know Ruby and Aaron. They are both interesting characters with flaws and weaknesses that they slowly reveal after the initial getting to know each other phase. At the same time they are both good people who want to help others, they are funny and supportive of each other as they become friends.This is a great book, but if you want hot and steamy, this doesn’t have much of that at all. If you like a long slow build, then this is a book you will enjoy.