One Moore Time

by Mariana Zapata

He might be the greatest swimmer of all time, but he doesn’t know his bank login.

Veronica Rubio can spot a hot mess a mile away.

Having to deal with one—much less work for one—isn’t exactly at the top of her list of things she wants to do.

So, when the trainwreck known as George Moore steamrolls into her life, she wants to run away… if only it weren’t for the commission check she could make off selling his house.

But when the man with more gold medals than anyone else in the world needs help, Veronica finds it’s a lot easier said than done to leave him to figure things out on his own.

Especially not when he’s so nice to her grandma.

And her brothers.

Helping him out a little would be the nice thing to do… wouldn’t it?

Genres: Romance, Sports, Sports Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Adult, Fiction

586 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2026

Reviews

[Fiza]

IT'S IN MY HANDS

[shre ♡]

SPORTS ROMANCE MARIANA ZAPATA!!! WE’RE SO BACKKKKKKKKK, EVERYBODY CHEERED 🎉🎉🎉

[Purrfect Novels]

Another slow burn from the queen of slow burns. See you all when they accidentally brush hands on page 347. 🥹

[julie ★ (new bio !)]

⌗‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ── 🏊🏻‍♂️ .ᐟ pre-read
⤿ start date:

A NEW BOOK BY MARIANA ZAPATA, QUEEN OF SPORT ROMANCE!
and it's swim.
I'M SO FUCKING SAT.

[aleksandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf 18%

I'm so so sorry, but it's just unreadable. The hero is literally the definition of a manCHILD—he can't do anything. How can I enjoy a romance book where the hero behaves as if it were his first day on earth? There's also NO chemistry between the two main characters, I know it’s a slow burn—and I love slow burns okay, but I just can’t this time.

[Antonella]

just preordered this baby... it is happening...we have a release date and blurb.... stay calm people... IT'S COMINGGGGGG!!!

[Mika Auguste]

just when you're ready to give up Mariana Zapata will come out with a new book...moral of the story is NEVER GIVE UP

[Corina]

A new release from a longtime favorite… and it sounds promising. Please don’t let me down. 😂

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was truly an MZ slow burn, and I loved it 🥹
I wasn’t too sure about George at first, but in true MZ fashion, I ended up fucking loving him. Ugh him and Veronica and abuela were so cute I just loved them. The way the family accepted him was just heart melting 🥹🥹🥹🥹
I will say, I was worried around the first 30% that I wasn't going to love this one like I usually do MZ books, but I'm so glad I was wrong. I also think the reason he was such a manchild in the beginning was to show how much he grows by the end of the book

[✨Rachael, Island Bookworm ✨]

Spoilers

I read every single review and I'm convinced arc reviewers got a different book to me because howwwwww?????????? 😂😂😂😂



Maybe I should've waited for non arc reviews because why is he giving useless incompetent manwhore 😩😭......Also as his realtor babe no I don't think you're actually supposed to do all of that 🙄

He showed up to the house with women in tow, he doesn't know what collections is, he can't remember her name, he doesn't know what an auto draft is..... His manager has been stealing his money and he just doesn't know ANYTHING...... He's a year younger than she is..... How old is that 5? Why is he so incompetent 😭😭😭😭😭😭

MZ you've gotta work some REAL magic on Georgie Porgie to turn him into any kind of worthy hero 🤞🏽

Also why is this a slow burn? What's stopping them from getting together? You *could* switch it up dear author 😭



George and Veronica I wish y'all the best but there are just too many books on my tbr to put myself through this rn.........DNF ✌🏽


ETA as per Alexandra's comment below it seems he hasn't been with anyone since meeting the h so there's that 👏🏽

[min ♡´･ᴗ･`♡ (semi hiatus) · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 9%. I love Mariana Zapata books. Lukov with Love is my favourite sports romance book EVER. But respectfully, what the fuck was this bullshit?!

George was a fucking rock and a half. To say his head was hollow is a massive understatement. I tried to push past 9% to find out why he was the way he was but I really just couldn’t take it anymore. The man cannot do ANYTHING. He doesn’t know what an overdraft is, what a collection is, he was too scared to call his utility and water companies and wanted Veronica to do it, he didn’t know what companies they even were and didn’t know what the fuck his credit score meant (and he didn’t know how to log into his credit score account). Listen… I know some of these rich men in books do be a little like this, but this was extreme. I was actually questioning whether he had a leaning disability but then that would be awful of Zapata to present him in such a way where he is the butt of the joke and Veronica’s insults. I think he is just stupid. Also he’s not just stupid, he’s poor bc his manager stole all his money. He’s incompetent, intellectually deficient AND poor. What about that screams “Oooo I want me readers to swoon over the guy”?! I have little patience for men these days irl, I don’t need to be reading about tapped men in my books too.

Veronica was essentially mothering him from the first page we meet her. It was kind of disturbing if I’m gonna be very honest (was this book to pander to those with mummy kinks?!). She was also irritating. She is his REALTOR, why on earth was she moving like his PR crisis agent? Acting like she was responsible for all his inability to have life skills, solving them will not get the house sold hun. I know Zapata’s whole FMC spiel is that they sometimes are little grumps who have an attitude, but Veronica’s internal monologue was just mean and misery. Calling your siblings ‘dumbasses’ as a serious nickname and not playful terms of endearment is weird.

I am so sorely disappointed in Zapata’s last 2 releases. She used to be queen of slow burn. What has happened????

(If George’s slowness is down to smth deeper and sadder than him just being a spoilt man, then I do apologise for the brutality of my review. But this is stuff you should establish to your readers early on!)

[Cassandra]

nobody move!!!!!!!! it's a mariana zapata drop

[Abby · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually love this author’s books so I was really excited when this book finally came out. However I had to DNF @ 26%. I just couldn’t take how utterly incompetent at everything the MMC was and I kept trying to give it more chances but I’m done.

[zaraa]

oh ..it’s been truly SO long since mz gave us a top tier sports romance.. we are SOOO up 😭 (pls do not disappoint) also, why does fmc's name sound so familar like i can't remember..

[Olga 🌺 · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 10%

I did not peg Mariana Zapata for someone who writes about "fuckboys" (the MFC's words not mine). Although, I guess Zapata has become another one in the string of authors to apparently have to go through a certain checklist before her books could be approved to be published 🤔🙄🤷‍♀️.

To say I am disappointed is actually a huge Understatement !

First off, he's a useless, entitled, incompetent and unapologetic athlete. He's like a manchild who doesn't know how to contact water and electricity utilities. He doesn't know how to handle a stolen credit card and doesn't even know he was being mugged by his manager and now he's literally broke. The MFC had to mother him and do everything for him because he just didn't know how to handle anything. Only thing he's good at is apparently winning medals and featuring in Scandal tabloids as the playboy that he is. Oh yayyy another one of those! 🙄

First time the MFC sees him he's with 3 women that he just me on the plane and was bringing them home with him. OK whatever Zapata!

Second, what's with Zapata and her extremely short MFCs. He's like a 6' 5" and she's literally so short that the first time he saw her, even though she was wearing a tight skirt, a blouse and heels, he thought she was a kid! 😫😫😫😫 Her brothers call her Shorty and she calls them dumbasses as a term of endearment. 🥴

Third, it's over 650 pages. I mean I know MZ's books are long but to endure so many pages of a slow burn and yeah reading about a manwhore, well, it's not in my favourite things to do.

This is just so absurd!

[Em (semi-hiatus) · Rating 0.25 out of 5]

It’s just words, words, words and not even good words.

[alana ☁️]

I've never added something to my TBR as fast as I did this

[Sofia · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

I will always say that MZ is the slow burn queen but this was too long and little to no burn until the end. I enjoyed it nonetheless because I really like the charisma and personality she gives the characters and I really enjoyed being among the Rubio family but the romance felt a little lacking, my girl didn’t tease us enough during the slow and long build up. Once we got the the point of them actually getting together I enjoyed it.

[priscilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

if from with lukov and wait for it had a baby

[Kate Laycoax · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why yes, I would read anything Mariana Zapata writes. There is something about slow burns that she just really knows how to do, and she is truly the queen when it comes to a slow burn romance. This was no exception!

Was George Moore completely incompetent in the beginning, causing me to ask myself why I was even invested in him and HOW I could possibly come to love him by the end? Yes, absolutely. But did I fall for this man by the end? I sure did.

Look, I have seen the negative comments about how truly inept, incompetent, and absolutely unaware he was, and he definitely was. BUT I think that was the point! He has had everything handed to him his entire life, with everyone taking care of everything for him. All he had to do was be the golden boy and SWIM. Just swim. And because of that, he gets screwed over by his own family and manager, and it's only when he hits rock bottom that he has to figure everything out on his own. He has to LEARN to become independent, self-reliant, and never quit. Never quit was basically his catchphrase by the end, and I think some people might be missing the point of his journey! He starts off one way and becomes the man he was always supposed to be, but only after losing pretty much everything. I actually loved this and how Mariana Zapata wrote his growth. I could see it happen in increments, in baby steps, and then in one eye opening moment that smacks him upside the head and makes him realize what is actually important in life.

One of the best parts of his journey was his relationship with Veronica's family, especially Abuela and Veronica's brothers. George didn't have a great family of his own and no longer spoke to them, so having Veronica's family there for him was just beautiful. I loved how much he adored them and how much they adored him. My precious G Baby, or Jorge as the family called him, was so sweet! God, the family dynamics were so beautiful, and I loved it so much. The way they folded him into their family was just gorgeous and such a wonderful take on the found family trope.

I LOVED Veronica and George together, and I loved how much they both grew and became the people they needed to be, together. I would have happily read pages and pages more of this, even though it was already 650+ pages. Truly a beautiful book, and Mariana Zapata never misses! I am so happy I got to read this, and that I get to live in a time where I can read her books.

Favorite quote:

“I hope…” He cleared his throat, and I fought the urge to peer up at his face. I wanted to give him a moment. He only needed two. “If there’s a heaven, I hope she finds them up there— your family— like I found you all.”

[Hana · Rating 1.25 out of 5]

𝑺𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒔, 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒖𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈: 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒔.
𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒐 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅. 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒊 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒇𝒐𝒓 600 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒔, 𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒔. 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 "𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒈𝒖𝒚𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆! 𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒊 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒗𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔!!" 𝑰 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆. 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆. 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇. 600 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔.
𝒏𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆
𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒆

Okay, on a serious note, this was ass. It felt like he was one of her younger brothers the entire time. Some of the moments were sweet like the siblings and the grandma and Moore becoming part of Veronica's family. But like he also could've easily been another little brother to her, there wasn't any chemistry until around 80% when he noticed her ass and said jesus christ. He would ask her questions like a 6 year old and she would answer like she was talking to 6 year old and somehow between all that they fell in love?
This book tried so hard to make me feel something but i really just couldn't. It was also boring. And shes short guys an itty bitty little croissant. Lest you forget that.
600 pages of whatever the fuck and the most exciting thing that happens is her looking at his... credit score?

[Aleksandra [semi hiatus]]

I’m putting this one on hold rn, I’m feeling slumpy and nothing keeps my interest 😭😭😭😭

[Holly's Bookshelf · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I absolutely love MZ. She's my all time favorite author and I love her slow burn. But I feel like something was fundamentally missing with this. Lets get started with Moore. I like his character development but I feel like it was all overnight. He went from this cocky, playboy, everything does everything for me to a quiet, naive, and funny dude. This man talked to you for MONTH and he NEVER remembered your name. I wish we got to talk about his past because while it was in the past....my dude you literally brought 3 girls home with you the first day you actually met Veronica in person. And the whole manager thing. Why was this not fleshed out more. It was put on the back burner soo much it mightve well been a shit she scraped off his shoe. I'm not sure what happened. While I enjoyed it it just didn't have the same feel has her earlier books.

Also George is SO not a sexy character name.

[Kara · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 50%
There is nothing romantic about an MMC who has weaponised incompetence and an FMC who gets absolutely walked all over.

Does this man not know what Google is????
Why is he treating the FMC like a walking encyclopaedia?

And why the fuck do I need to read for 300 pages about how to apply for a loan? Or credit scores? Or how to make an appointment with an optometrist??
I already know how to do all that!!! Because I’m not incompetent! And the internet is free!!!!!!!

And don’t even get me started on the MMC not recognising the FMC for the first 30%.

Nothing gets me going more than when the male love interest mistakes the female love interest for A LITERAL CHILD .

“I thought you were a kid,” Mr. Moore said in a voice that sounded suspicious, like he wasn’t sure I was being honest about who I was.

She’s short and quirky and looks 12 years old! Hot damn!!!

[Ken Terp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top tier! If you’re a Mariana Zapata fan, this will not disappoint. It is her style to the T. If you are new to MZ, this will give you a great glimpse into her types of romance.

The queen of the slow burn! 🔥

Overall amazing. I loved the whole relationship, the setting, characters and plot. Few notes really… minor inconsistencies and a few unrealistic moments, but nothing worth bringing down the rating. Also proof that if the romance hits, the page count doesn’t fucking matter. I could have read another 600 pages and not gotten bored.

Enjoyment (5) 5
Feelings (1) .75
Plot (1) .75
Setting (1) 1
Respectability/writing (1) 1
Characters (1) 1

Total rating: 9.5

[Crin · Rating 5 out of 5]

MZ is the only author I will drop everything else to read, start reading at midnight on release day, and read till I cannot physically keep my eyes open any longer (6am). I loved this book & as always it was worth the wait!

[Anka · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just *LOVE* reading about teenagers in their 30s 😭

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Mariana. I laughed a lot and fell in love with all of these characters.

[Reader · Rating 1.5 out of 5]

Dnf at 50%

I love Zapata’s books usually (you can tell since I read and reviewed this the day it came out)
I am half way through and sadly I am disappointed.

The dude’s entire personality is like being totally irresponsible. He’s not like sexy at all he just can’t do basic tasks?

I swear I was literally wondering if there’s a plot twist that he got some kind of injury in his past that made him have a bad memory and have difficulty managing things. I saw another review say something similar but that is the first thing that popped into my mind independently when I was reading too.

That sounds odd or mean but some parts of his character were that bizarre.

1. He literally never checked his bank account ever like didn’t even know how to log in to his bank account. He didn’t know how credit works? Like he didn’t know that you need good credit to get a mortgage.

2. He couldn’t remember the protagonists name after being told a million times? Even on the phone like save a contact for her number?? But also even in person seeing her every day?

3. He somehow lost $15 million and didn’t notice? And then was left with nothing.

Their relationship is like mother-son or siblings basically.

I just finished a scene where they just all threw up continually in a boat for some reason??

[maddison · Rating 5 out of 5]

thank you queen mz for another perfect sports romance 🤍 veronicamoore you mean EVERYTHING to me!