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 … 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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I loved this book although its not my typical read. Slow burn for sure. The main character has a unique voice that was fun to read as she sort of stumbles, with lots of bravery and spunk, through a lot of bad things happening to her and realizes she has the love of a really great guy, who wasn’t always so great in his past before he met her. Lovely writing. A lot of these characters are very flawed (I really detested two of her sisters) but I loved this love story and the brilliant writing.
One of my favorite books of all time
I love this story. So quirky and funny while also deep and emotional, a bit swoon and So Sloooow burn!!
“I was fine. The heart is more resilient than anyone ever gave it credit for, and I liked to think mine was a bad bish.”
Luna is a strong and resilient survivor. She pulled herself and her three younger sisters out of a bad situation. She has a smile and good thoughts and words for everyone around her, but she is hiding scars and triggers from her past.
“You kill me, girl,” he murmured in the roughest voice I’d ever heard. “I swear to God, you’re a f**king puzzle I thought was all in the box, but every d*mn day I find a piece or two hidden all over the place.”
I adore Rip and his rough, gruff exterior! Just perfect for sweet Luna! The audiobook narration was awesome!
-5 Stars!!!-
This book is my favorite Slow Burn Romance novel I’ve read in years. From the beginning you fall head over heels in love with the main character and her kind and resilient spirit. The male lead is someone that grows on you and by the end of the book it is painful how long it has taken for him to wake up and realize what is right in front of his face. Completely believable and enjoyable. I will admit to reading this book at least 3 times so far.
To say I’ve become a huge Mariana Zapata fan this past week would be a massive understatement. I am not sure there’s been an author I’ve invested in who writes such slow burn, like the slowest burn ever, that I enjoy as much as I’m loving Zapata. Her story telling fully embraces you from beginning to end. Her character development is first rate. There’s a remarkable intimacy to her story telling that is truly unrivaled. I like the construction of her plots and the thoughtfulness present in her characters. She writes plain old awesome contemporary romance stand alone books that are landscapes for human nature of all varieties and portraits of realistic changes and developments in one’s life.
There’s an air of subtle mystery in her books too. She gives you bits and pieces so you know what’s going on and unravels those threads in a purely organic way that makes her story telling so enthralling. By the time the slow burn sparks come to a forceful head you’re so consumed in the characters and in their plights that the combustion is just a bonus to the effortless writing and brilliant reading. My only thought on this one that held me back from 5 stars was the often pandering from the heroine that made her a little more immature than what *I thought* her life circumstances called for and the repetitive naivety regarding a certain someone. Neither of which were overall negative at all just held me back a little. With that said, there is no one I wouldn’t recommend Luna and the Lie to or any of this author’s work, especially the one’s I’ve read. I’m excited to get into another Zapata book immediately.
Everything Mariana writes is incredibly well done. Her characters are so well-devloped.
As are all of Mariana books, this one was a slow slow burn that kept me reading and losing precious sleep. I really enjoyed the characters and the story.
4.5 Stars
There is a reason why Mariana Zapata is my favorite author. Her books are just so different than anything else I’ve ever read. Luna and the Lie was no exception!
The reason I dropped half a star is because I felt like it was the same exact story and plot of one of her other books, The Wall of Winnipeg and Me. But WoWaM is my favorite book EVER so this one worked for me!
Per usual, I really disliked the hero in the beginning. Ms. Zapata usually writes heroes who are super alpha, jerks in the beginning (with the exception of Dear Aaron). Rip was definitely that. I was actually quite worried that I’d still dislike him by the end of the book, but like usual, I ended up loving him!
Luna was a very interesting heroine. She has a VERY intense and rough background. I can see why some readers found her character to be whiny and annoying but I understood that she was protecting herself with most of her behavior. She had to validate herself over and over because of how crappily her father and family treated her as a child/teen. For that, she got a pass from me.
I will admit, there are two to three chapters toward the end, right before the last two chapters, that I found exceedingly repetitive. I wish Ms. Zapata had of shortened them and written just one chapter about how Luna left after Rip hurt her feelings. I didn’t need an outline of Rip’s behavior and Luna’s denial for nearly every day for a weeks worth of time. That could have been shortened and summed up much faster.
But for the very last chapter, it was so worth it!
There’s a lot of swearing in this book. Many uses of the f- word. I don’t know why Ms. Zapata feels the need to use it so often. There are uses of the sh- word, d- word and h- word as well. There’s one very detailed sex scene in the very last chapter.
(Side note: I wish she’d write more books with characters who were closer in age. Was it necessary for Rip to be 15 years older than Luna? I don’t think so.)
perfect grumpy/sunshine. slow burn excellence.
5 stars!!!
I dfned this book last year but I like to think that I wasn’t that smart then regarding books and types of books. I guess.
It was hard for me to come back and keep reading after spending days reading almost all Mariana’s books. I remember where I felt off but I didn’t know at what point in the book so I had to read everything again and it was kinda boring for me to do that because y’all know that in the first chapters we barely get something from them that is interesting lol
But i don’t regret going back because it always bug me that I didn’t finish this book back then so I needed do it now since I was reading MZ’s books.
Rip was a jerk and mean sometimes but I liked it. I like cold heros and as*holes too. I guess that’s why I read these kind of books. When you know they are a little bit harsh on the heroine but not bc they hated her but just because they were like that. Anyways. Luna was awesome, she was really a moon and I loved her relationship with her coworkers. I hated Thea, her sister, even if she wasn’t that bad. To me, she was an ungrateful bish so whatever. Lily (her other sister) was awesome and I’d have liked to see of her more!
I loved this book a lot. It made me feel thousands of feelings when Luna wasn’t being herself around Rip. Knowing that it was probably causing so much pain in Rip was bad enough lol (but he deserved it so yeah, I was team Luna there). I hate that Rip and Allen’s relationship didn’t get so much better but I guess it was logical since they didn’t see each other for 20 years and Rip was a whole new person to him. But of course, Allen and Luna’s relationship was awesome, having him as a father figure was the best thing and I absolutely imagine their wedding seeing Allen giving her away to Rip… which makes me feel emotional just thinking about it.
The last part of the epilogue was so beautiful and yet heartbroken. But just thinking about what Rip is willing to do for Luna warms my heart and I can’t just stop comparing the first chapter with the epilogue. They seem like two different people but they are same and even if the Rip from the beginning didn’t seen to like Luna so much, he absolutely did. And I loved him more for it.
Bravo!
There wasn’t enough time in the day to read this, work interrupted my happiness of being in this world.
I listened to the audiobook along with reading the book since it really enhances the story further.
Luna definitely has come from a rough upbringing, add struggles she is dealing with evils from her past along with current tension. Surprises and bad luck keeps coming for her. She constantly needs to remind herself positive reinforcement to help her from emotionally spiraling out of control. I don’t blame the girl one bit!
Many times in this book I felt heartbroken for Luna, other times I’m fist pumping the air on how bad ass she is. I had to remind myself she isn’t friend even when I want to search for her to tel her I’m here for her as a friend.
Rip is sharp around the edges but he too has a troublesome past. He uses the F word frequently but that’s who he is and how he expresses himself. He very quiet and to himself so in the beginning there is very light dialogue from him.
Rip is actually sweet and loving who needs someone who can be there for him and care.
The struggles they both go through separately and together are something else. Many times I was in suspense to see how it would all turn out. Mariana Zapata doesn’t disappoint with her slow burn and amazing HEA.
4.5
These two are the cutest. I mean seriously!! I want a few more epilogues just to stay in their life they’re so cute! Mariana knows how to write a slow burn romance. I absolutely adore falling in love with these characters a little at a time. Just from the little bits and pieces that we get from both Luna and Rip. It doesn’t always have to be grand gestures… it’s the getting the other coffee or making the other lunch or just sitting with one another even in silence.
Gosh I fell hard for Rip. I know he struggles with his feelings for Luna but I truly love that moment when you see that it all clicks in place for him. How he starts to give in to his feelings and figures out what and how he needs to do to move forward.
Then there is Luna who has to work through her own demons. I think between having some of her secrets out in the open and being able to share them with Rip, she’s able to get a weight off of her chest to move forward and have a good relationship.
I’m not sure I can rank all of MZ’s books, because I love them all so much; but this one would have to be a top contender. I definitely also recommend listening to this audio while reading…. it’s a duet style and Rip’s voice will leave you in a puddle of swoon on the floor!
U…my M
U.h
Y
Luna and the Lie is another great slow burn from Mariana Zapata. It’s a hefty read, and one that meanders in a few places, but overall is a perfect unfurling of a friendship-turned-romance over a period of time. Zapata is especially skilled at creating a narrative piece-by-piece, so you don’t feel like the protagonists are ever just thrown together without anything substantive as a foundation. What was especially impactful to me was how Luna had a positive outlook and a forgiving heart, but also didn’t allow herself to be steamrolled or emotionally abused. Zapata’s narrative choice to have it solely from Luna’s perspective also really works in this novel.
EventsVery good ending with realistic events.
EDITED:- I have read this book numerous times now and it is one of my all time favorite audio books. What I found whilst listening is I experience all the emotions I was missing on my first read and I fall in love with Rip all over again each time, even deeper. The narrator’s voice in this audio – – Gomez Pugh is perfection for Rip’s character. Callie Dalton of course is THE voice for any MZ novel.
I now rate this 4.5 s.
Here is the thing if you are going to read a Mariana Zapata book, it is a slow burn. There is next to no action in the bedroom, it’s all about the lead up. It takes a long time for the couple to reach their HEA. This is no secret, this is not something new to this author, it is her specialty. If this is not your style, that’s cool, move on to a book you are going to like better. Don’t read it, then diss the author because it’s not a characteristic you like in a book. And for the love of all things fair, don’t skim the book and get facts wrong in your review, it just makes you look stupid.
Ok now that’s off my chest, let’s get back to what’s important here. What’s this book about? We have a h that has a super perky façade but has deeper issues about abandonment and trust. She has moved on from a troubled upbringing to be in a happier place now. The H is the dark and brooding type. He too had a childhood incident that sent him spiraling for a number of years. Now he is part owner in Cooper’s Collision and Customs, where Luna is the head painter. Luna’s past is catching up on her, and she calls in a favor from her boss to be her bodyguard, not fiancé, let’s make that clear.
As much as I love a MZ novel, this one is not in my top 5. It was too drawn out without a smidge of an inkling that Ripley was interested in Luna. We need a little hope that it is going to get to some good stuff eventually. What we did get, I loved. I adored Luna. I got her to her very sole. She was mixed up, and had emotions all over the place. She was loyal to those that mattered and those that did wrong by her could eat her dust. Now Rip, he was a little harder to love, but I got there. Once you got his full background, you can understand his actions and emotions. And he did have them, they just took longer to appear. I was so delighted and contented with the epilogue, it felt natural and complete. If this is your first MZ book, know that I feel it’s down the list of favorites. If you are a fan already, then jump in because it is well worth the read.
I have become an amazing fan of this author! I have binged listened and read all this authors works in the recent past.
I have always attempted to give ‘star’ ratings on my completed reads, just as a tracking method for my titles that I have completed. I have unlimited packages for audio, kindle, and utilize the local/state library.
However, I do not check the ‘I recommend this book’ unless I am willing to reread a book and or a series.
[I read about 5-15 books a month through kindle, and I listen to about 15-30 books monthly]
I have a full life as a nurse, professor, wife, daughter [daughter in law], sister, and mother. I love to read and love a thousand other lives by turning the pages in countless books.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide a review. Happy reading 🙂
By now you all know Mariana Zapata is one of my favorite authors and definitely my most reread author, right? If you don’t, you probably haven’t been paying much attention. I’m not shy about it. I read Luna and the Lie for the first time immediately after it was released. In fact I dropped everything to devour it, as is customary when she releases a new book. I knew I would reread once it was released on audio, too. I loved it the first time, and possibly even more the second.
Mariana’s characters are always wonderful and complex. Luna and Rip are the latest in a long list of my favorites. I adored Luna. I also felt super protective of her, as I often do when characters I love are being mistreated. She had such a good heart and took such good care of those she loved. Why wouldn’t they want to do the same for her? Her family was the actual worst. The way they treated her made my heart ache more than once. But, she was strong enough to get through it. No doormat heroine here, friends.
Rip was a tough nut to crack, but I really ended up loving him before it was all said and done. I’ll admit I side-eyed him more than once, but he had his own issues he was dealing with. He was a big softie under that hard exterior. He and Luna were so damn good together. I loved the progression from kinda-friends/coworkers to friends to more. The pacing of their relationship was perfect and it gave me a chance to get to know both of them.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the awesomeness of the narrators in my review. If you’ve ever listened to any of Mariana’s books, you know Callie Dalton is amazing. Gomez Pugh is a new-to-me narrator and OMG I am in love. I can’t imagine a more perfect Rip. His gruff, gravelly voice was absolutely perfect. Luna and the Lie is the second (I think) of Mariana’s books to have duet narration. Y’all, it just makes the story come alive.
Luna and the Lie is every bit as wonderful as the rest of Mariana’s books. And I know I’ll listen to it over and over again just as I do the others. MZ rereads are my go-to when I’m in a book slump, a general funk or while I’m waiting for her next release. Her stories never get old. I find something new to love about them every single time I reread. And those slow burns? I basically live for them.
Favorite Quotes:
The heart is more resilient than anyone ever gave it credit for, and I liked to think mine was a bad bish.
You can’t make anyone love you or care about you. I knew that better than anyone.
“You gave me these pieces of you I know you haven’t given to anybody else, and they’re mine. You can’t take ’em back. I need them more than you do, you hear me?”
“You are my girl. Just you.”
I was a goner. I was such a goner that no one was ever going to find me again. Ever.
I love all of Zapata’s books and I couldn’t put this one down. The heroine works in an auto body shop and paints cars. !!! The hero is her broody boss. It’s AMAZING.