Hands Down

I don't know what to think about this book. I'm torn between 2-3 stars. I usually love everything Mariana Zapata writes. I was thrilled when I found out she was writing a book about Zac from WoW. But I'm disappointed. I wanted more for Big Texas.

One of the things I love most about Mariana Zapata is that she introduces you to the two main characters, shows you their likes and dislikes, introduces you to their family/friends, and gives you a real understanding of who those characters are. At the same time, she builds the relationship between them in such a way that you don't even realize you're reading 500 pages because it's so enjoyable. You can feel the tension seeping off the pages. Kulti and The Wall of Winnipeg are great examples of this. Zac was such a fun character in WoW that I was THRILLED to hear that he was finally getting his own book after so long. I am sorry to say that I was really disappointed. What happened to the Queen of Slow Burns?? There was no burn in this book, just a whole lot of slow.

WoW Zac and Hands Down Zac feel like two completely different characters. WoW Zac was fun-loving and charming. Hands Down Zac was boring and flat. He and Bianca are old friends who lost touch for 10 years. When she steps back into his life, he barely recognizes her. After a few awkward interactions, their friendship picks up right where they left off and in my opinion, it should have stayed that way. There was no spark between them. Maybe it was the number of times he referred to her as “kiddo” that killed any hint of romantic tension. But really, there wasn't any to begin with. When they finally professed their love for each other, it felt forced and unsatisfying.

I'm also starting to feel like all of MZ's heroines are the same. They have the same goofy, a little bit crass, tough girl on the outside but insecure on the inside, personalities. It isn't so obvious when the story is great but it was painfully obvious here. Overall, this was not the best from Mariana Zapata and it pains me to rate one of her books so low.