I am glad I stuck with it after a confusing info dump of an opening chapter but I definitely feel like this is one of Mariana’s weaker books. It was a repetitive, overly long and chaotic affair. I found myself rolling my eyes and skimming as there was so much repetition and what felt like word count filling (how many times do we need to be told what a character looks like? Or what colour their eyes are?). But it was a cosy story, with the found family storyline being far more satisfying than the romance which I never fully believed in. I suppose that’s the problem with single POV books.

I enjoy a meandering Zapata, but this one didn’t unfold particularly well in the first few chapters. Layering world building on top of “A Big Secret” with a thick layer of “so down-to-earth I talk about farts” character development was a lot… but once Nina gets to her destination it was an easier read. The found family of it all definitely drew tears.