Luna and the Lie by Mariana Zapata #bookreview

Luna and the Lie

by

Mariana Zapata (Goodreads Author)

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.

Sometimes there are things you’re better off keeping to yourself.

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Source:Kindle Unlimted

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Standalone

My Luna and the Lie Review . . .

This is my second Mariana Zapata book and another one out of the park.  This one got me right in the feels but for a totally different reason then others.  This got me in the feels because I completely connected with Luna and her emotions.  When she got heart broken, I got heart broken. 

~All I had ever wanted was to be loved.~

Luna has had a rough life but she is full of love to give.  She takes care of her younger sisters since her family wouldn't and she's done it all on her own with no one's help.   She's a painter at body shop and everything about her is kick ass.  She's real and relatable and super strong.

She's a breath of fresh air with everyone around her, yet most of her family can't appreciate the gem that she is.   She has two bosses.  One is Mr. C and he's like her pseudo dad where is Mr. Ripley or aka as Rip is a large man of little words.

I loved the banter between Rip and Luna as they became friends.   The way Luna was able to chip away at Rip's rough exterior to get in.  

"Eh, Rip, you're size ginormous and my couch is size normal."

There was just something special about Luna that hit me right in the heart.  I don't know if it was the being let down by family or just wanted to be loved that got to me, but she was written so well that you felt her pain. 

"I don't dislike a single fucking bone in your body, Luna."

This was such a great story.  It had many layers to it and it sucked me in from the start.  I couldn't put it down as I was rooting for Luna to find what she has always wanted.   And Rip couldn't have been more perfect for her. 

4 .5 Want to be loved thumbs up!

Lauren

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More Than Words: A Love Story by Mia Sheridan #bookreview #romance

More Than Words

by

Mia Sheridan (Goodreads Author)

The moment she met Callen Hayes, eleven-year-old Jessica Creswell knew he was a broken prince. Her prince. They became each other's refuge, a safe and magical place far from their troubled lives. Until the day Callen kissed her--Jessica's first real, dreamy kiss—and then disappeared from her life without a word.

Years later, everyone knows who Callen Hayes is. Famous composer. Infamous bad boy. What no one knows is that Callen's music is now locked deep inside, trapped behind his own inner demons. It's only when he withdraws to France to drink his way through the darkness that Callen stumbles into the one person who makes the music return. Jessica. His Jessie. And she still tastes of fresh, sweet innocence . . . even as she sets his blood on fire.

But they don't belong in each other's worlds anymore. There are too many mistakes. Too many secrets. Too many lies. All they have is that instinctive longing, that need—and something that looks dangerously like love.

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Source: eARC for Honest Review Courtesy of Forever via NetGalley

Genre: Adult Contemporary

Standalone

My More Than Words: A Love Story  Review . . . 

Update: I read this in 2018 and the review was written after I originally read it.  I've just been that far behind on my blog.  

OMG! I have to admit that this is my first Mia Sheridan book. Yeah! And it definitely won't be my last.

"No one makes me feel like you, Princess Jessie. No one ever will."

This book was so brilliantly written from start to finish. It also helps that I've been to the Loire Valley so the book even felt more real to me. I also loved the parallel story with translation that Jesse was working on. Joan of Arc on her own is a phenomenal story but having this alternate idea of her companion was brilliant.

"One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to love without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying." Joan of Arc

"I'm here to save you."

Jessie lived in the world of words and adventure than one day on her wandering she finds her way into empty train box and finds Callan within the box. Then an easy friendship starts between the two while Jessie introduces Callan to music. As the two grow up Jessie's feeling also grow. Then one day Callan is gone and she never saw him again.

Well until many years later when Callan crashes back into her life but he isn't the boy she used to know. Instead he's portraying himself as a bit of a cocky bad boy within the composing world. And is a bit of a jerk. Even though Callan didn't recognize Jessie right away he was drawn to her and doesn't know why. One chance meeting again causes both to have conflicted emotions resurface.

As time moves forward, Jessie gets a job to do what she loves and ends up in the same place where Callan is vacationing, which causes both of these two to reconnect as friends.

As Jessie is unfolding the new truths and a secret love story she also finds herself living out a fantasy of her own.

"At some point you're going to have to take responsibility for your own life, Callen, instead of blaming everyone else. At some point you're going to have to stop being a coward. I sincerely hope you do."

Callan had a secret and when it came out I got why he acted the way he did, but I did feel it was a bit much for that secret but in that industry a hang nail would most likely be a big deal, so I see why he would want to keep it secret. Thankfully Jessie brings him out of cowardness. Callan conquering his fear was truly beautiful .

"Then write me love letters with your music. Write me songs that make my heart ache and my soul feel full. If you . . . If you have feelings for me, express them through your songs. I don't care. But don't live a life you don't want to lead. Don't become something you don't want to be. Don't throw away what we have because you don't feel worthy of me."

This book is about love and Miracles. I loved this story and can't wait to read more from this amazing author

5 Profoundly Beautiful Thumbs up!

Lauren

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Most Of All You by Mia Sherida #bookreview #romance

Most of All You

 

by

Mia Sheridan (Goodreads Author)

 

 

A broken woman . . .

Crystal learned long ago that love brings only pain. Feeling nothing at all is far better than being hurt again. She guards her wounded heart behind a hard exterior and carries within her a deep mistrust of men, who, in her experience, have only ever used and taken.

A man in need of help . . .

Then Gabriel Dalton walks into her life. Despite the terrible darkness of his past, there's an undeniable goodness in him. And even though she knows the cost, Crystal finds herself drawn to Gabriel. His quiet strength is wearing down her defenses and his gentle patience is causing her to question everything she thought she knew.

Only love can mend a shattered heart . . .<

Crystal and Gabriel never imagined that the world, which had stolen everything from them, would bring them a deep love like this. Except fate will only take them so far, and now the choice is theirs: Harden their hearts once again or find the courage to shed their painful pasts.

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Source: Kindle

Genre: Adult Romance

Standalone

My Most Of All You Review . . .

Crystal (Eloise) and Gabriel.

This was such an unconventional love story. And it was told so beautifully. Mia Sheridan is one of my favorite authors and has such a gift at writing profound beauty.

Gabriel is survivor of a child kidnapping and because of his past he doesn't know how to be intimate with females.

Crystal is a survivor of life. And right now she's stripping to pay her bills. She also comes with loads of baggage herself.

These two need each other. Gabriel is an earth angel to help heal them both. Here some of my favorite quotes to explain why I love this book so much

~ I was going to go with my gut. And my gut told me to try again. My gut told me she needed me to try again. ~

"That's not all you want. You want to save me from my intolerable life of pain and misery."

"It's not the things you do with love and good intentions that you end up regretting. It's the things you don't do that you have to live with."

" . . . Be honest with yourself about your intentions, Gabriel, and then follow your heart. Regardless of the outcome, you'll never live with regret." ( I loved his pseudo dad George. A man with such heart and kindness. We all need George's in our life)

"I'm still not the right girl."
"I still don't agree."

"I don't create beauty, Eloise, I just reveal what's already there."

"Life mixed me up with the wrong crowd."
"I don't doubt it. But life also brought you Gabriel." (George)

"It's going to help you see that you don't have to take it. I think, Ellie girl, that you've been taking it for a long, long time. . ." (George)

"I don't mind chasing you, Ellie. Just let me catch you once in a while." (Gabriel has such a sweet beautiful soul)

~ Because Ellie's mine. Not to possess. But to love.~

"And you , most of all. I want to look at you and say, one evil man did not stop me from presenting my heart to the girl who claimed it. You get my heart, Eloise. You. And, God, I hope you want it. But if you don't, I still won't regret giving it to you. Even then, I won't regret loving you because it means I win."

"I've always pretended I was made of stone, but the truth is, I feel more like I was formed from sand, as if I might crumble at any second."

"I think . . . I think I loved her more than any of them because she was the one who saved me when I needed it the most."

" . . . I'm a woman, with a heart and a soul, and with pain and regrets. I've made mistakes and poor choices, but I don't deserve to be hit. I don't deserved to be used. And I don't deserve to be left to die in a pool of blood in an empty parking lot. It took me almost dying to realize that the words you used against me only hurt because I agreed with them. But I don't agree with them them anymore. . . ."

To Gabriel, finder of beauty, rescuer of souls. ~

"I was sand, so easy to crumble. You provided the pressure, Gabriel, the holding together, the love. All the confidence you had in me was what I needed in order to take a chance on myself. And then you gave me the most selfless gift of all: time, so I could finally break apart and put myself back together."

~ The man who'd loved me enough to wait for me to love myself. ~

This story is thing of beauty and I think all need to experience it. I freaking love this author and everything she writes.

5 Unconventionally Beautiful Thumbs up! 

Lauren

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