I really liked Dear Aaron. The characters weren't perfect, but they were perfect together, which was sweet. I love that half of the book was emails and IMs between Ruby and Aaron. I think that it was an interesting perspective, and it felt fresh to me, which helps when I'm feeling kinda book-slumpy.

I might even read From Lukov with Love again soon, in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Ruby and Aaron. ( )

Just as Ruby Santos is about to give up on her pairing with Aaron Hall, the man assigned to her by the Help a Soldier Foundation, he finally writes back to her. They continue communicating and getting to know one another for months before Aaron comes home on leave. Aaron invites her to spend time with him and his friends in Florida, but she is not sure about meeting a man who is essentially a stranger in a strange place but decides that she needs to take the chance.

The first half of Dear Aaron is structured as emails, letters, and messages between the protagonists. The last half is when they meet face to face. As well as these two characters work as friends, they just don't have any romantic chemistry. The conflicts are minimal and the plot is low angst. Aaron's perspective in never included in the book, so we really don't know what he is thinking or feeling unless he says something to someone else. Not much really ever happens in the story, making it move very slowly. Since this is by Mariana Zapata, I expected it to be slow burn, but actually, it is no burn. Overall, Dear Aaron is a cute story that feels like it goes nowhere. ( )

Weird. But good. Good in a weird way. It was weird that most of this story unfolded as a series of emails, then instant messages. But it kinda worked. It really helped that I listened to most of it as an audiobook. You really fall in love with the characters when you can hear them. Aaron was AMAZING. I loved his voice.

This story is basically about a girl named Ruby and a guy named Aaron who become pen pals. And that leads to love amazingly enough. The story was very annoying at first with the back and forth emails and IMs. But eventually you find yourself really getting immersed in their friendship. The closer they get, the more you feel like a fly on the wall, listening in to their conversation. Like I said, the audiobook is key for this story. It’s almost like watching a play.

Despite being annoyed by the email/IM format at the start, I actually enjoyed the story of how these two kids fall in love. Out of all the books I’ve read by this author, this is probably the slowest of slow burns. I mean, really, really slow burn. But in the end, it’s worth it. If you have patience, you’ll be rewarded. ( )

I really enjoyed this much more than I thought I was going to. Not real sure how much of the book was in the form of email etc., but I feel like at least half. That was the part I wasn't sure I was going to like but the author did a great job of revealing her protagonists strictly through these email exchanges. You really liked both of them. When they finally meet the story felt just as nice to me. You could tell the hero was pretty much all in and the heroine just had to see it.

Bring on the next one. ( )

I listened to this for a book club discussion. I'm not really into romance, but this sounded interesting.

It 'was' interesting. Very well written, very convincing, and somehow, I fell in love with both protagonists. I really had no idea how this would end, and for a while I was scared: after all, Aaron is deployed in a war zone.
I won't tell you if any of what I was afraid of came true. Suffice it to say that I loved how the story and the main characters developed, and how the story unfolded. I was drawn in right from the start and found myself listening every free minute I had.

The narrators did an awesome job. Having a female and a male narrator reading the emails of the respective protagonists worked out brilliantly. It made the whole story even more believable -- if that is possible. I can't comment on the accents because English is not my first language, but I had no problems to understand either of the narrators.

I can recommend this to anyone who loves a good story.

( )