Mariana Zapata Read-a-thon: Wait for It starting March 27th

[Aiswrya]

What do you guys feel like reading next? I think I’m ready for another MZ. Wait for it maybe?

[Nikitha]

I'm in for Wait for It! I should be able to finish Enemies of the State by tomorrow latest

[Aiswrya]

Me too! Jennifer? Courtney? Jimmie? Wait for it starting Saturday? I think Jamie wanted to read too. I’ll drop her note based on what you guys decide!

[Courtney]

ooh, this is Van's friend Diana, right? I want to do this one! I might be a bit slow, though because I'll need to do it around my Amazing Race calls.

[Nikitha]

Yup it's Diana! It's okay, read at your own pace

[Aiswrya]

Seconded! I’ll be slow too :)

[Nikitha]

Aiswrya wrote: "I don’t remember how old Ethan is supposed to be. Do you remember? I think Jack is 42 or something"

I have no idea, I don't even know if he is older or younger than Jack. Older I think?

[Aiswrya]

No he’s younger! Because he says Scott is older, about Jack’s age

[Jennifer]

Waiting for you..... I mean Wait for It. Locked and loaded on my Overdrive.

Yes, let's read it. I have two BR's in April but I'm good anytime. Keeper is a half book and probably only take a day.

RH Buddy Reads - First in Series > Heart of the Hounded (Eden Academy #0) - Apr 3rd 2021

RH Buddy Reads - First in Series > Keeper of the Pages (Written Realms #1) - Apr 21st 2021

[Aiswrya]

Jennifer wrote: "Waiting for you..... I mean Wait for It. Locked and loaded on my Overdrive.

Yes, let's read it. I have two BR's in April but I'm good anytime. Keeper is a half book and probably only take a day.

..."
Haha awesome! This Saturday work for you?

[Aiswrya]

Chapter 27: not a fan of the summarized relationship overview. I would have loved to see them discover their relationship one day at a time. Sigh!

The next few chapters are super political and action packed. So I’m going to skim until after :)

[Nikitha]

Ch 27: I didn't like the summary either! It takes away he effect of the story.
It happens again somewhere, I'm not sure about about chapter but (view spoiler)[
when Ethan and Jack have their first fight about Jack going to Nairobi, the entire fight is just summarized and we only actually see the bit where Ethan is sobbing and Jack is comforting him. So I didn't really feel with Ethan at all :/ (view spoiler)[
I'm actually thought I would be super bored with the action and politics but it's not so bad. I'm only very mildly bored and that too only when it gets super political (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Nikitha]

Aiswrya wrote: "The next few chapters are super political and action packed. So I’m going to skim until after :)"

I actually thought I would be super bored with the action and politics but it hasn't been that bad. I'm only very mildly bored and only when it gets super political!

[Nikitha]

Ch 40: (view spoiler)[ I kind of knew about Jeff, I was always suspicious about him and a couple of chapters ago Ethan explicitly says that it can only be someone who has intimate knowledge of Ethan and Jack so it was obvious.

I think everybody should have a Scott Collard in their life. The guy is relentlessly loyal. He is such a good friend to Ethan, he gives it straight to Ethan when Ethan is head over heels for Jack, but recognizing that his friend is happy he supports him whole heartedly (even putting his own job at risk). Then to top it all of, he goes back into a death trap to rescue Ethan and then carries his extremely heavy body on his back for more than a day!! WOW
And it's mentioned somewhere that he sleeps on the floor in Ethan's room to check on him. ADORABLE!!

Faisal and Cooper- do they have their own book or novella? I'm curious about them. I love secondary romance story lines!
(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Aiswrya]

Finished! 5 stars again 😬 spoilers through the end of the book below
(view spoiler)[
Totally agree about Scott! He was so fiercely loyal to Ethan through everything, even when he was seething at him! Daniels was pretty great too. It broke my heart when he confessed to Ethan that he contemplated killing himself after Nairobi.

I didn’t really skim through the action scenes as much as I thought I would. It didn’t bore me as I thought it would. It was very London has fallen (love this movie!) I suspected Jeff too. Although, Stahl was a surprise. I half thought it was Inada because of he begs off the trip claiming personal reasons.

My other favorites in the book were Welby buying condoms for Jack 😂 this scene was epic! I also adored the scene in Iowa, when Jack visits Ethan and he’s so amusingly flirtatious 😍 “I think you should go big, big boy” 😂
(hide spoiler)]

[Nikitha]

Finished!
I definitely enjoyed the second half more than the first although it dragged again a little towards the end. Jack and Ethan were cute but I didn't feel any immense affection for them- they were pretty regular. Surprisingly it was the action and the plot that made this a fun read for me, not so much the romance.
That scene with Welby was hilarious, I laughed out loud many times and in the end when all the guys get together and play poker- it was really cute!
I think overall it was a 3.5 star read for me

[Nikitha]

Did anyone start Wait For It?

[Aiswrya]

Nikitha wrote: "Did anyone start Wait For It?"

Just downloaded the book. I’m hoping to read a couple chapters today. Not going to get much reading done this weekend!

[Nikitha]

Me either! I still have about 10% left of another book to finish. I'm not going to be able to read properly till Monday

[Meni_]

Hey everyone sorry I haven't written anything this week was crazy filled with assignments :( should I still read Enemies of the State or are you moving onto a different one I can start now? Again sorry 😞

[Jennifer]

Starting Wait for It tonight

[Nikitha]

Jimmie wrote: "Hey everyone sorry I haven't written anything this week was crazy filled with assignments :( should I still read Enemies of the State or are you moving onto a different one I can start now? Again s..."

Hey Jimmie, that's okay! You can still read Enemies of the State if you would like to and post your thoughts here or you can join us for the one we're reading now- Wait for It!
I suggest you join us now if you're interested in the book, but its totally upto you ☺

[Courtney]

Nikitha wrote: "Did anyone start Wait For It?"

I got one chapter done. Was a bit shocked that Diana (view spoiler)[ left the two kids alone in the house while she went into a stranger's house in the middle of the night. 😳 I would have left him inside his front door, and ran back home. (hide spoiler)]

[Aiswrya]

Chapter 2: so far nothing much has happened. Although, I must say, I already adore Lou. How cute is that kid! 😍

I don’t remember Dallas’ brother. Hopefully he doesn’t cause trouble further down the story.

PS: what sort of name is Dallas (no offense to the Dallases out in the world lol)? Sigh!

[Meni_]

Jennifer wrote: "Starting Wait for It tonight"

Ok ok thanks :)

[Meni_]

Nikitha wrote: "Jimmie wrote: "Hey everyone sorry I haven't written anything this week was crazy filled with assignments :( should I still read Enemies of the State or are you moving onto a different one I can sta..."

Awesome, I think I'll start "Wait for it" with all of you then. Seriously thank you all so much hehe. 🤗

[Courtney]

Aiswrya wrote: "Chapter 2: so far nothing much has happened. Although, I must say, I already adore Lou. How cute is that kid! 😍

I don’t remember Dallas’ brother. Hopefully he doesn’t cause trouble further down th..."

OMG, I love Lou!!!

[Jennifer]

Finished. This did not suit me, I am a mom. I felt forced to write a detailed journal of my life and then read it back to myself. I read books to be outside of my life. To get through I had skip major mom self monologue passages. So in essence skipped a lot of connecting with the MC though a substantial part of me is the MC.

Now to list off the MZ themes!
(view spoiler)[
- MC is brown and white! Doesn't see she is pretty or worthwhile (twist the love interest doesn't think he's pretty!). I love the Spanglish.
- Good Samaritan - this book was the best at explaining why (I love Batman)
- Family - family is important and her mom is my mom and guess what!? I know, now I KNOW. I know what it's like to be an adult with kids so you can just, you know - R E S P E C T me too! ha! all grown up with responsibilities will do that.
- Sports: ok not professional and I liked the kid version. I was an older tag around Louie as a kid - I get it.
Love Interest - a little older, a little damaged and the white knight
(hide spoiler)]

This book made me want to wrap myself in a Kulti blanket and pretend the fan mail bit at the end didn't exist and declare Kulti perfect.

So I rushed through the slow burn wishing we read Winnipeg first since that seems her BFF's book which happened before?

I want Jackson to get a book to pay his dues. God he's like my little sis.

[Nikitha]

Sorry you didn't enjoy it Jennifer :/ Hopefully the next one will be better for you!
I unfortunately haven't gotten past 2 chapters but hoping to pick up the pace this week. I love little Lou in this book, I'm so excited to read 💗

[Jennifer]

I like Lou. I love my 5 year old. Best part of this book made me extra hug my own. 5 year old little boys are so sweet, cute, honest and thoughtful and I wish they could be so forever.

[Nikitha]

Aww that's adorable <3

[Aiswrya]

Jennifer wrote: "Finished. This did not suit me, I am a mom. I felt forced to write a detailed journal of my life and then read it back to myself. I read books to be outside of my life. To get through I had skip ma..."

I agree with you! I’m not enjoying this book as much as I expected to. Am I just over this lady’s writing? Or did we start with the best book and everything else seems sub-standard?? At this point (in chapter 13 or so), I feel like I’m reading the book for Lou (this kid is precious!) and Josh more than Diana and Dallas. There’s no chemistry even. There’s no will they won’t they, which was very subtle but present throughout Kulti. While the jokes about Dallas misunderstanding Diana’s intentions toward him were funny the first ten times, it just got on my nerves after that.

Perhaps I’m just over the female drama and want myself a cozy romance with two men falling in love ❤️

[Aiswrya]

Jennifer wrote: "I like Lou. I love my 5 year old. Best part of this book made me extra hug my own. 5 year old little boys are so sweet, cute, honest and thoughtful and I wish they could be so forever."

Aww 🥰

[Aiswrya]

Jimmie wrote: "Nikitha wrote: "Jimmie wrote: "Hey everyone sorry I haven't written anything this week was crazy filled with assignments :( should I still read Enemies of the State or are you moving onto a differe..."

How are you liking it so far, Jimmie? Any thoughts on the MCs?

[Jennifer]

I didnt understand the reaction to the tamagotchi painted tool box. anyone else?

I'm looking for buddies to read Maddox Brothers series. I only read Beautiful Disaster series. anyone interested this summer? Can a mod make it a post if folks are interested?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

[Courtney]

Yeah, I'm having a hard time getting into this one. I do really appreciate how well the author wrote Lou (because there is seriously a problem in romances where they make five-year olds talk like Elmer Fudd to make them sound cute and it drives me bonkers!), but that's really the only character I'm super invested in.

Dallas feels so bleh compared to Aiden and Ivan, too. I don't know why he's just not working for me.

I kind of feel like I'm really pushing myself to get through this. I think I'd rather just go through Winnipeg again because I know the payoff is so good 🤣🤣🤣

[Aiswrya]

Finished 3 stars. Like I said before, neither MCs was particularly interesting. Almost felt like Lou and Josh were the MCs sigh!

[Aiswrya]

Courtney wrote: "Yeah, I'm having a hard time getting into this one. I do really appreciate how well the author wrote Lou (because there is seriously a problem in romances where they make five-year olds talk like E..."

Yeah, I know what you mean! Dallas was unimpressive compared to Aiden and Rey. Ivan wasn’t as awesome as Rey was lol

[Courtney]

Aiswrya wrote: "Yeah, I know what you mean! Dallas was unimpressive compared to Aiden and Rey. Ivan wasn’t as awesome as Rey was lol"

I don't know...I think Ivan's little animal sanctuary puts him near the top for me 🤣🤣🤣. That scene when he pulls up with the dogs in the van is still one of my favs!

[Jennifer]

aww, come on guys. no love for the guy next door lol? average Joe no good? I swear I saw this "missing avg Joe's in books" as a complaint on another post because books always have the "hottest" guy. I liked how beauty transforms for her.

[Courtney]

🤣🤣 To be fair, I'm not even halfway done yet, so maybe Dallas gets better. I think I was kind of turned off to the guy right away because he was still wearing his wedding ring.

[Aiswrya]

Courtney wrote: "🤣🤣 To be fair, I'm not even halfway done yet, so maybe Dallas gets better. I think I was kind of turned off to the guy right away because he was still wearing his wedding ring."

Well, he was still married. So he should get points for wearing the ring until his divorce was final :P Funny, this makes me think of Adam Sandler's Just go with it lol. Anyone watch it?

[Aiswrya]

Jennifer wrote: "aww, come on guys. no love for the guy next door lol? average Joe no good? I swear I saw this "missing avg Joe's in books" as a complaint on another post because books always have the "hottest" guy..."

RL, the average Joe >>>>> any hot celeb
Fiction, any hottie >>>>>>>> the average joe
LOL!

[Aiswrya]

Jennifer wrote: "I didnt understand the reaction to the tamagotchi painted tool box. anyone else?

I'm looking for buddies to read Maddox Brothers series. I only read Beautiful Disaster series. anyone interested th..."

Not really my cup of tea :( But there is another thread where you can look for buddy readers, if no one here wants to read it: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Courtney]

Aiswrya wrote: "Well, he was still married. So he should get points for wearing the ring until his divorce was final :P..."

That's a good point. I didn't really think of it like that. Hmm, maybe I like him a little more now 🤣. Although still feels a little weird to have a dude married to someone else as the love interest 🤣

[Nikitha]

I think you all jinxed the book for me 😂
I can't get into it at all- I don't even have a problem with anyone at the moment but I just can't get myself to read ughh
Only in Ch 4 :( I'm going to give it another couple of days otherwise, I'll read it later sometime if I feel like it

[Courtney]

Yeah, I stopped at Chapter 5. I think it might be one of those ones where I picked up a chapter here and there between other things. It's just not sucking me in. There's just nothing that I feel like I need to know. At least with Lukov I was dying to figure out why they hated each other so much, even if I ended up thinking it was a bit ridiculous 🤣.

[Jennifer]

30-40% was kinda boring in the beginning. If you can skip and hop the internal aunt-as-a-mom-a-logue it becomes more interesting.

[Aiswrya]

I think we should read an un-put-downable book next! Suggestions?

[Courtney]

A Kingdom of Dreams definitely qualifies, but I don't think I could handle reading it again. The heroine just hurts me to read. I just wanted to smack her on the head whenever she made a bad decision. And I can't forgive her for (view spoiler)[ the horse!!!!😭 (hide spoiler)]

I wouldn't mind getting back into the MacKenzie and McBrides again. The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie was fantastic the first time I read it. I wonder if it'll hold up on a second reading 🤔.

I also love the Highland Guard series. I think I've read The Chief three or four times already 🤣. Unfortunately, book 3 and 4 were let downs, and I pretend The Arrow doesn't exist, but if you can make it through to The Striker, man that book is soooo good.