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witcheep's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I love how Zapata writes a love story here: it progresses very slow, evolving from a neutral working relationship to friendship and finally love. This gives time and space to really get to know the characters, and to let them both get emotionally comfortable and build trust around each other in a pace that feels real. I much prefer this kind of approach to insta-love that seems to be very (maybe too?) prominent in the romance genre.
However, at the beginning of the book, the pace feels a little too slow and as a reader I was just impatiently waiting for a more emotional section in the story to start. The later phases make up for the slow beginning with all the struggles to come to terms with the impact the awakened emotions have on the characters.
Besides the romance, the book gives weight to different types of relationships as well: there are work relationships, meaningful friendships, and familial strain. That is great, since it balances the plot to make the lives of the main characters more well rounded.
Both the main characters have very dark back stories (they've experienced domestic violence and abandonment as children ), and that plays a role in who they are now; these experiences still have aftereffects. The dark pasts is something you'll want to keep in mind, if you don't want to read about certain subjects.
The past trauma feels quite dire, and it made me question if they both really needed that dark pasts; couldn't the issues have been addressed even if they affected the characters to a smaller degree? Now, I wondered if it was mostly just to create shock value to the characters.
The audiobook experience is great. I love when there are different narrators in the same chapters reading different characters' dialogue. It makes the listening experience feel more immersive and authentic compared to one narrator doing different voices. The narrators here work great for their roles!
However, at the beginning of the book, the pace feels a little too slow and as a reader I was just impatiently waiting for a more emotional section in the story to start. The later phases make up for the slow beginning with all the struggles to come to terms with the impact the awakened emotions have on the characters.
Besides the romance, the book gives weight to different types of relationships as well: there are work relationships, meaningful friendships, and familial strain. That is great, since it balances the plot to make the lives of the main characters more well rounded.
Both the main characters have very dark back stories (
The past trauma feels quite dire, and it made me question if they both really needed that dark pasts; couldn't the issues have been addressed even if they affected the characters to a smaller degree? Now, I wondered if it was mostly just to create shock value to the characters.
The audiobook experience is great. I love when there are different narrators in the same chapters reading different characters' dialogue. It makes the listening experience feel more immersive and authentic compared to one narrator doing different voices. The narrators here work great for their roles!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Alcohol
kkraatz's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This book merits a LOT of content warnings and it's not clear why. Taking a light and apparently thoughtless touch to topics like intimate partner abuse, child abuse, and socioeconomic disparities... I just wish there had been a more skillful way of creating historical narratives for these characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Fatphobia, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Animal cruelty
imkedogger's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was ok, really not more than that. I hated Aiden during the first 25 percent or so, and to be honest it didn't get better until the last ten percent. He was just such an asshole, and even though he sort of redeemed himself later on, I just can't let that slide. Vanessa, our female main character, was nice, but nothing more. Her family dynamic was really sad but for some reason I just didn't feel connected to the story. The writing style wasn't it for me either. There would be this whole build up to something that was gonna happen, and in the end we never really saw it. We know it happened, but we didn't get any of the details. That's probably just Mariana Zapatas writing style, but I'm not into it. It read pretty quickly though and I didn't mind the fact that it was really slowburn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual violence and Car accident
Minor: Death and Violence
doahdancer's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I've never seen myself as someone interested in sports themed romance, so loving this book has defied everything I prepared myself for going in.
Mariana Zapata has written an incredibly nuanced and introspective romance about two messy humans who find that, while they have incredibly different personalities, they understand each other's perspectives and experiences. Moment by moment, they put in the work necessary to build a solid foundation of friendship that later raises up a sweeping romance.
Sports are a mere backdrop in this story. The real focus is on communication and how learning and practicing skills your upbringing didn't teach you can be the ultimate gateway drug to happiness. Changing and growing doesn't happen right away and a love built on genuine personal growth burns slowly at first, but consumes all once it catches.
This book has left me shaken and so, so in love with a fictional couple. I'm not sure how I'll ever recover from the swelling of my heart growing three sizes.
Mariana Zapata has written an incredibly nuanced and introspective romance about two messy humans who find that, while they have incredibly different personalities, they understand each other's perspectives and experiences. Moment by moment, they put in the work necessary to build a solid foundation of friendship that later raises up a sweeping romance.
Sports are a mere backdrop in this story. The real focus is on communication and how learning and practicing skills your upbringing didn't teach you can be the ultimate gateway drug to happiness. Changing and growing doesn't happen right away and a love built on genuine personal growth burns slowly at first, but consumes all once it catches.
This book has left me shaken and so, so in love with a fictional couple. I'm not sure how I'll ever recover from the swelling of my heart growing three sizes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, and Abandonment
tiffany_reads_books's review against another edition
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Abandonment
idrilcelebrindal's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
This book was fine. Nothing special, and way too long. Main character had a lot of internalized misogyny that drove me crazy. When the love interest gets groped and she thinks it’s wildly funny it was so painful. Sexual assault/harassment isn’t okay just because it’s a man who is targeted.
The handling of FASD (fetal alcohol) was incredibly bad. It should’ve been left out entirely.
The handling of FASD (fetal alcohol) was incredibly bad. It should’ve been left out entirely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Abandonment
Moderate: Ableism, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug abuse and Death of parent
levesc17's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This book was extremely slow burn; to the the point where I wasn’t sure the male hero was good enough for the MC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
Minor: Grief
Hinyquillll's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.5
This book was so hard to get through. I can't remember how I came across it exactly, but I was expecting it to be similar to other sports romance books I've read. This was completely different, but almost in a bad way. Or, I should say, the plot itself wasn't horrible, but the writing style was so not my jam.
I got 6% into the book and realized it would be really really hard for me to read this book. My first impression was that it was full of long-winded, paragraphs of descriptions that were only sparingly sprinkled with dialogue. And a lot of the time, the long paragraphs weren't even on topic, they were tangential and seemed to run away from the starting point. I ended up skipping to around the 50% mark and then just deciding to majorly skim to see if at some point it would be worth it to force myself through it. It wasn't and it didn't happen.
While I did finish the book, it was an uphill battle. The dialogue/descriptions didn't get better, and I also wasn't a huge fan of the tropes this book was trying to incorporate - (possibly) golden retriever/black cat energy, stoic-man-who-never-expresses-how-he-truly-feels, will-they-won't-they, SLOW FUCKING BURN (this was torture), marriage of convenience (one of my firsts and might be a last too), touch-her-and-you-die (but it wasn't done convincingly) . I also hated the fact that they didn't even hug until the 90% mark or something?????? And then the author was like "Hey, let me add in a pretty graphic sex scene in the LAST moments of the book - THAT'LL make a gr8 love story." And no, it did not, for me. Also hated, hated, hated how she did have feelings for him and while theoretically we know he does too because it's a romance book, he literally behaved like a LOG around her - and he didn't even acknowledge her presence much before the whole arrangement. ALSO ALSO ALSO DESPISED HOW SHE CONSTANTLY WAS COMMENTING ON HIS SIZE - "he's such a big guy," "he's massive," "he fills the whole room," etc. etc. (might not be completely accurate on phrasing, but you get the idea).
I will say, I did appreciate the harder topics that were covered in this book, particularly toxic family dynamics, navigating family trauma, dealing with death of parents/parental figures, unlearning/deconstructing past coping mechanisms that are no longer serving you, allowing yourself to feel scared but to not get stuck in it - to let the fear flow through, how scary it can be to trust people to stay, finding the strength to cut people out of your life who don't deserve to be in it, and how scary it can be when life doesn't pan out how you planned it - but that doesn't mean it ends.
I got 6% into the book and realized it would be really really hard for me to read this book. My first impression was that it was full of long-winded, paragraphs of descriptions that were only sparingly sprinkled with dialogue. And a lot of the time, the long paragraphs weren't even on topic, they were tangential and seemed to run away from the starting point. I ended up skipping to around the 50% mark and then just deciding to majorly skim to see if at some point it would be worth it to force myself through it. It wasn't and it didn't happen.
While I did finish the book, it was an uphill battle. The dialogue/descriptions didn't get better, and I also wasn't a huge fan of the tropes this book was trying to incorporate -
I will say, I did appreciate the harder topics that were covered in this book, particularly toxic family dynamics, navigating family trauma, dealing with death of parents/parental figures, unlearning/deconstructing past coping mechanisms that are no longer serving you, allowing yourself to feel scared but to not get stuck in it - to let the fear flow through, how scary it can be to trust people to stay, finding the strength to cut people out of your life who don't deserve to be in it, and how scary it can be when life doesn't pan out how you planned it - but that doesn't mean it ends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gaslighting
Some quotes I highlighted:cristinaaa's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Abandonment
gaby_readsbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was the slowest of slow burn romance books and maybe too long but I could not put it down. The pining and the slow build of their friendship was so cute! I liv d how they were both so oblivious sometimes it was frustrating but also adorable. Really enjoyed this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Abandonment
Minor: Injury/Injury detail