Mariana Zapata

Gracie Castro has spent so many years in hiding that when The Defender, famed member of The Trinity, falls from the sky injured and lands in her front yard, she understands that she must hide him, nurse him back to health, and keep his secret even though he is rude grump. However, there are other forces at work in her life, and Gracie knows that she must move on soon, even if The Defender isn't healed before her own life implodes.

When Gracie Met the Grump is a unique romance between a superhero and an average human. The source of The Defender's powers is revealed, utilizing a plot device that I'm not particularly fond of. Also, the novel is written in sections, with each one examining a new problem but not following a cohesive storyline, while each section reminds me of another novel or a movie. The first section is somewhat grounded in reality, but each subsequent section becomes less and less believable. In addition, the characters seem juvenile, even though they are dealing with huge issues, and the long awaited romance between them doesn't happen until that last couple of chapters in the book. Overall, When Gracie Met the Grump is a disappointing novel with very little substance and an overly long page count.… (more)

1st read: March 2021
2nd read: March 2022

I feel pretty much the same after my second read of this book. The first half was better than the second half and Jasmine's inner dialog was often long-winded and annoying. Ivan and the romance did grow on me a bit more this time around.
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I loved the first half of From Lukov with Love, but the second half was just okay for me.

The back and forth between the main characters was really fun to read. The ice-skating stuff was great, too.

I liked both main characters, but Jasmine was kind of annoying when she was dealing with her issues, and Ivan wasn't given enough character depth. Also, the transition from friends to love interests wasn't believable for me.… (more)

This review has a few spoilers. I tried to hide them, but who knows if I did it right.


This is a good book. Thank you Sofija for suggesting it. :)

I like the main character, Diana, and her nephews, Louie and Josh. Their relationships were really great. The author did a good job of capturing what kids are generally like.

The slow burn between Diana and Dallas was fun, but it lost a tiny bit of steam for me towards the end. The drama between the 2 of them seemed a bit forced at times. Dallas wanting nothing to do with Diana at the beginning, because he thought that she was hitting on him. He wants to stand by his commitments, which is great, but it seemed overly awkward. And Diana constantly talking about how she isn't hitting on Dallas, or how she doesn't want to take advantage of him, was a bit much. Overall, they're a cute couple.

I really didn't like the stuff with the fire. I don't think that it was alright for Diana to have a stressed 5 year old call 911, while she ran into a burning building. I'm glad that Ms. Pearl and the cat were alright, but Diana had two kids that needed her, kids who had already lost too much.… (more)