MARIANA ZAPATA | A LIST OF HER BEST BOOKS
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Do you have favorite authors?
I have a couple. But there is only one who is called the Queen of Slow Burn – and that is Marian Zapata.
Thanks to Amazon I was able to find out when I actually ordered my first Mariana Zapata book. Five years ago, on June 15, 2015, I ordered Kulti, and Under Locke. And ever since she has been on my auto-buy list.
Nowadays, after reading them all, I like everyone else has favorites. Books I read again and again, as well as books I always recommend if someone asks for slow burn romance.
Who is Mariana Zapata?
If you haven’t heard of Mariana Zapata yet, let me introduce her to you. Mariana Zapata is an indie author, who self publishes with amazing success. Her books are highly anticipated and she is lauted as the QUEEN of slow burn. Which, shouldn’t be taken lightly. Because slow burn in her case actually means S L O W B U R N. I’m not kidding when I say that sometimes the first kiss might not happen until 90% of the book.
The interesting thing is that WE, all of us slow burners, don’t mind!! And the reason we don’t mind is because her stories are amazing. We love the wonderful characters, which are always well developed, genuine authentic. We love the fantastic backstories, and heartwarming love stories. And of course the chemistry between the characters, and the build up.
Mariana Zapata books are amazing because they are unique, different and give you ALL the feels. And most often they have anywhere between 500-700 pages. That’s a LOT of slow burn, and I actually wouldn’t mind if the books are even longer, that’s how good they are. I and all of her fans can’t get enough of them.
Also she wrote some amazing enemies to lovers romances, which is one of my favorite romance trope.
Sadly the author only writes a book every 8-10 month, that means pretty much one book a year. On the other hand her books are perfect re-read material. And I must have read Wait For It a handful times already.
So, if you are in the market for an indie romance author – check her out. And below I have listed my most favorite Mariana Zapata books, ranked by most favorite.
MARIANA ZAPATA BOOKS RANKED
MARIANA ZAPATA | BEST BOOKS
MY MOST FAVORITE MARIANA ZAPATA BOOKS




WAIT FOR IT – #1
RELATED: BOOKS THAT GET ME OUT OF A BOOK SLUMP
This is probably my most favorite book by her. It has everything I love in a great romance, cute and adorable kids, but also the biggest smarty pants, a strong and snarky heroine, a grumpy hot neighbor and wonderful supporting characters. The slow burn and fantastic character building added to the overall enjoyment of this book. REPEAT READ ALERT!!!
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MARIANA ZAPATA | A LIST OF HER BEST BOOKS
THE BEST THING – #2
The Best Thing was last year’s release, summer of 2019, and I adored it. I haven’t had a 5 star MZ book since Wait For It in 2016. ā Even though I love her writing, it doesn’t mean that her books are automatically 5 stars. But thanks to a baby, a fantastic heroine, a hero that was sweet, considerate, and shy (yeah don’t let that fool you) and one of the BEST grandpa’s ever, I was in love with grandpa Gus, I was in heaven.
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Unfortunately no photo – I haven’t bought the paperback yet, they are EXPENSIVE!!!!
On the other hand her ebooks are in KU!!
MARIANA ZAPATA | A LIST OF HER BEST BOOKS




THE WALL OF WINNIPEG AND ME – #3
RELATED – FAVORITE SPORTS ROMANCE
If you love sports romances, and you love football, you need to read this book. The Wall of Winnipeg (which is the heroine’s name for Aiden, since he is built like a wall and stems from Canada, is everything I love about a sports romance. Aiden is surly, broody and a meany to everyone, because all he wants to do is play football. And then there is Vanessa an “assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother” to the grumpy Wall of Winnipeg, one who does not appreciates her at all, until suddenly the tables are turned, and it’s Aiden who needs rescuing. I think that WoW is the author’s most popular work so far.
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MARIANA ZAPATA | A LIST OF HER BEST BOOKS
NEW BOOK ALERT




ALL RHODES LEAD HERE – #4
RELATED – SINGLE PARENT ROMANCES
I devoured her most recent book. A feel good novel, that left me happy and smiling. If you like the single parent trope, a sunshine/grump couple, a bit of music industry, the great outdoors, and wonderful female relationship, you’ll enjoy this book. Also it’s low on angst and drama. The hero gave me Dallas vibes from WAIT FOR IT. He was such a grump, but also so lovely at times. Gave me all the feels!!
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MARIANA ZAPATA | A LIST OF HER BEST BOOKS




KULTI – #5
RELATED – FAVORITE SPORTS ROMANCE
Another sports romance, this time soccer. Kulti was actually my first book by this author. It introduced to me to all things MZ and it will always have a soft spot in my heart – not only because dear Reiner Kulti is German – lol. But what I really loved about this book is that both, heroine and hero were professional soccer players. It’s unique, and compared to other sports romance, it really hit the ball out of the ballpark, or into the goal.
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Let me know if you have any questions about her books. I’m always here to help and to answer questions or steer you towards the right book.
Here are some of her other popular novels:
UNDER LOCKE (motorcycle club & tattoo shop)
DEAR AARON (unique format, emails, and text messages to a solider overseas)
FROM LUKOV WITH LOVE (ice skating)
LUNA AND THE LIE (boss/employee)
HANDS DOWN (connected to Winnipeg / friends to lovers) 2020
MARIANA ZAPATA | A LIST OF HER BEST BOOKS
I only read Kulti by her and it is one of my favourite romances ever
In that case, it’s time to pick up another one š
Mariana Zapata rocks. My favorites are Under Locke, Kulti, Wait For It, Wall of Winnipeg, and Luna and the Lie.
2 out of 4 not bad š
She is one of my faves, and I wish she would write faster, because the wait is just so long, but her books will always be highly anticipated.