While Ruby’s immediate family cares for her, Aaron is the one who pushes her to leave these bad jobs behind and expect better for herself. She’s a bit of a Cinderella in the beginning – an underpaid seamstress who works for two of her aunts and gets constant criticism for taking time off when she has pneumonia. One of the first things that becomes apparent about Ruby through her letters is her tendency to underestimate herself. All I know is, in the beginning it was awkward, and by the midpoint when Ruby and Aaron are meeting in person it feels like they’ve always been together. Zapata does this so handily that I can’t even point to the moment they started to have chemistry strong enough to pull me in. Baby steps are the best thing for their relationship, and Ms.
Ruby and Aaron are total strangers at the beginning, without the ubiquitous presence of social media to give them a sense of each other. While this did drag at times, it also felt realistic. It takes a lot of time for them to get to know each other, and for the reader to get to know them in turn. In the past I’ve seen this style used to good effect, but Ruby and Aaron being strangers proved a hindrance here and their initial writings feel awkward and lack chemistry. No reader will be surprised to see the romance that began in letters realized in person.Īlthough I wasn’t expecting the story to move quickly given my experience with the author, the book felt slower than expected to start with, as the first half is told in an epistolary format.
When Aaron is finally stateside on leave, he convinces Ruby to come visit him, and although she’s uncertain, she agrees.
What begins in awkwardness, with stilted questions about favorite foods and animals blossoms into a real friendship, and eventually something more. The book is set in 2008 during the Iraq war, and the first half of the story is told through a mix of letters, emails, and IMs as Ruby Santos writes to Aaron Hall as part of the Help A Soldier project. While this is not my favorite of her novels, it’s a good story and a must-read for any Zapata fans. It’s the style used in every one of her books that I’ve read, and it is utilized in Dear Aaron. If you’re a fan of Mariana Zapata, by definition you must be a fan of slow-burn romances.
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