ollie_again's review against another edition
2.75
One of the most prominent offenders is the body shaming. In this book it is constant from the beginning until the end. You hear about chubby Jasmine, fat Jasmine, cheat-day-every-day Jasmine, chunky Jasmine, Ivan's heaviest partner etc. And that is from Jasmine herself, *the love interest* Ivan, Jasmine’s family… basically everyone at some point talks shit about Jasmine’s body. Mostly veiled as jokes and if it happened couple of times, I could get over it, but it was all the time. I understand that talking about bodies in context of being professional athletes is realistic, but it was not just that. Example being that Jasmine has small boobs mentioned several times, her family laughing about her not hitting puberty with--at that point a guy who she did not like (and said so to her family)--, and my “favourite” was her start-sex-scene-thought:
“I’ve never been happier that from the moment Mom had given me permission to shave—right after I’d hit puberty and hair grown in everywhere—that she’d stressed how important it was to do it every day.”
Another thing that bothered me is the plot line involving stalking. Sexual harassment over internet which never gets resolved.
Spoiler
Ivan finds out, gets protective and pissed off at Jasmine about it for some reason too... aaaand it isn’t talked about again. Why include it at all if there is no proper follow up?“I’d never tell Ivan, but it hurts. At first.”
Like… why? Why would you not mention a discomfort to your sexual partner? It such a minor thing but it took me out of the scene completely. It could be written in million other ways without mentioning of *not-mentioning* it.
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Bullying, Sexual content, Stalking, and Misogyny
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Stalking
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
Minor: Car accident and Bullying
sam_maree's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail
meret00's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Bullying, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Stalking
yera's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying and Fatphobia
belleamahle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Bullying
vereadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ivan is so cute and sweet! I don't know why Jasmine thought he hated her. The guy is SO in love with her. Jasmine is pure fire and so stubborn. Also, she is super childish. I didn't believe she was 26 years old. I found her annoying, and I didn't like her constantly cursing. But I like her complexity. She felt more rounded than Ivan.
Jasmine has an incredible family. They support her no matter what.
Spoiler
It was strange that she didn't tell them about the harassment she was experiencing on her social media. Also, I didn't like how the author handled Jasmine's learning disability.I really like Jasmine and Ivan's dynamic as friends. I don't know if I was fully convincing about them being a romantic couple. Perhaps the slow burn was too slow for me. Although the sexual tension was there, it was so little that most of the time; I saw them as non-sexual partners.
Ivan chooses the most awkward time to say I love you. He could admit his feeling in another moment. That scene felt weird. Also, the last couple of pages wrap up everything so fast that I didn't have time to process it. It felt rushed.
I love ice skating! I was ready to see a savage competition and both characters killing themself training. I was expecting something like The Cutting edges or Spinning out. We got to see some of their training, and Jasmine told us the pros and cons of their ice skating. But I want more ice skating and less naked photoshoot or vomit! I mean, what was the point of the naked photoshoot?
Graphic: Body shaming, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Stalking
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Bullying and Car accident
jessabr's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Cursing, Abandonment, and Stalking
Minor: Bullying
jadinakruse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Minor: Bullying
ashleycmms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content and Abandonment
Minor: Ableism, Bullying, and Racism