From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata
If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one.
After seventeen years—and countless broken bones and broken promises—she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close.
But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she’s spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything.
Including Ivan Lukov.
Caroline's Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#TopRead2018
This author! She amazes me every time I read one of her books. They are always slow-burn romances featuring real people with real-life issues. They are beautifully unhurried and a great study of human nature in all its forms.
"There wasn't anything wrong with me. I stood up for myself. I stood up for other people."
Jasmine Santos has dedicated her whole life to her sport. She's missed out on education, a social life, friendships beyond her close-knit family and the figure-skating world, and romantic relationships. Once a promising, rising star, something has been holding her back. Now, at 26, people seem to have already written her off, and her reputation is not quite stellar.
"The brother to one of my only friends. The man who had not once said a kind word to me in over ten years. That's how I knew him."
Ivan Lukov is figure skating personified. He can do no wrong. He's the golden boy of the ice. He's also a major thorn in Jasmine's side. One comment to him, when she was a teen, set the course of their acquaintance. Everybody knows that they can't stand one another. Then her number one frenemy and his coach approach her with an unthinkable opportunity that will give her a shot at winning a coveted gold medal, and revive her flagging career.
This book was EVERYTHING!
"You. Matter. To. Me. You."
Like so many of this author's female characters, Jasmine is a strong, determined, no-nonsense woman. She doesn't sugarcoat anything. She might be blunt, but I loved her integrity and her work ethic. Like any elite athlete, she had her fair share of doubts, especially about all the things she's sacrificed in the name of her sport. I loved how she soldiered on with her first love in the face of disappointment and bad press; her refusal to justify her actions to anybody. Underneath her tough facade, she was a loving person who thought the world of those closest to her, and she had a propensity to stand up for the underdog.
"Regardless of what happens, you will always be the best partner I've ever had. You'll always be the hardest working person I've ever known. There will only ever be you."
I like to think of Ivan as a typical MZ hero. As her books are usually told from the female POV, we have to pick up clues to how the hero really feels, and what he thinks about the heroine and certain situations. Ivan was a match made in heaven for Jasmine. He was talented, commanding, and stubborn. He gave as good as he got and I loved that he enjoyed her snark- revelled in it, even. He was so fawned over as a superstar that I'm sure he loved that she spoke to him so irreverently! LOL. I loved that he knew just how to treat her in any given situation. It was so clear how well he knew her and that he really cared about her and respected her as a person, as well as an athlete. He was pretty damn swoony!
This book was humorous because Jasmine is such a hardass! However, it also really tugged at my heartstrings - from quite early on, in fact. I was constantly wiping my eyes because I empathised with her struggles. She's such a tough cookie on the outside but, underneath, she had a big forgiving heart, and was just as vulnerable as the next person, with her doubts, her insecurities, and her anxieties.
This was a fantastic, compelling read, with ice-hot chemistry between the two main characters.
I loved EVERY. SINGLE. WORD.
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