Marina Vivancos

Rat Park

aleksandra

4.5/5

The book was real, raw, captivating and utterly beautiful. 

It was my first story from Marina Vivancos and it definitely won't be my last. If you plan to read it you must know that the romance is actually part of the book, and the main story focuses on the life of the main character Dominic. 

The book is not long actually, but the author perfectly managed to show the life of the protagonist from when he was seven years old to when he was already a grown man in his thirties. I think that each of us has such a character from the book, who if he had the opportunity to meet, we would never stop hugging him, knowing what he went through. Dominik falls into this category. Living with a mother who really shouldn't be called that, Dominik struggled to get through day after day. He went through a lot of stuff which kids his age shouldn't even know about. Foster care, drugs, overdose and prison. All mentioned in plural form. Those things happened throughout his childhood, until he was twenty two and older. 


  
    "He wanted to rip himself apart. Not just kill himself—but eradicate any evidence that he had ever existed."

"Everything was tinted in browns and beiges. People like Dominic didn’t deserve colour."
  


Things change when he meets officer Catalina Romero and her family. The found family trope is done perfectly in this book. Dominic never had people to take care of him or just ask how his day was. Add to that the addiction he still battles and his recent release from prison, which makes him even more lost in this world. Cat, and especially her son Flor, make Dominic feel like he might finally have a family.

Flor and Dominic first meet when Flor was only 16 and Dominic 25 I think, but don’t worry there is not "action" between them until Flor is 19. They bond during those years and form a beautiful friendships. 


  
    "Dominic had heard a million times that misery loves company, but with Flor, optimism was infectious. It was getting into his blood. Shaping him. Dominic didn’t think to stop it."
  


Flor has a big crush on Dominic since the first time they meet, I was giggling and kicking my feet when he was trying to hide it from Dom. He is the cutest human being, but at the same time he makes the first move and lets Dominic know that he cares about him every chance he gets.

I love their love story. Domnic has to go a long way to understand that he deserves the love of people who care about him, but when he finally realizes it, I was so happy for him that I couldn't stop smiling. 


  
    "Flor snorted. “I’m not perfect.” “You are to me,” Dominic confessed. The words simply came out, a flood of Flor. This was the deluge."
  


I love their cute and cozy moments.


  
    "We’ll tackle it together. Anything can happen, to you or to me. I just know…I just know that nothing could be worse than not being with you. I want you in my life.”"

“You really miss me, then?” Flor asked, voice too soft to come across as a joke. “Yeah, Flor. I really fucking miss you,” Dominic said, but it was okay. It was just a side effect of having Flor."
  


I cant wait to read more book from this author.

Aishling

I’m fine now but I feel like I’m gonna wake up in the middle of the night thinking about this book and start crying

Rat Park

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