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allingoodtime's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
While I greatly enjoyed this book and recommend it to those who enjoy a grumpy/sunshine (almost akin to enemies to lovers), fake relationship type of romance, I warn you that it takes a minute to get going. It seemed to take forever for Vanessa to actually quit her job, and then even longer for me to feel Aiden was earning the right for the two of them to have any sort of heat with each other.
Once the flames were sparked and I felt I knew Aiden better, I was all in on this book and their romance. Getting to know Aiden was the hard part since this is a single POV first-person story told from Vanessa’s POV. In the long run, that works. If the reader knows everything about Aiden this story may not have worked so well. But I won’t lie, it was often frustrating. Yet I kept going back for more.
If I was judging this book by the first half, I don’t know if I’d read more by this author or even recommend this book. The last half has me trying to figure out what to read next by the author and how quickly I can do so. I guess what I’m saying is, be patient. The story comes together in the end. Some of it may be too wordy, but it’s not all filler. When I look back at the story I remember the good more than the impatience I had in the beginning.
Something to add for those who are going to pick up the audiobook. This was the first time I listened to an audiobook with a first-person POV that had two narrators. It threw me off at first, but I loved it! The male narrator stepped in to do the voices for any dialogue done by male characters and I really wish more books would do this in their audio versions.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Abandonment
Minor: Domestic abuse
smartcookiesca's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Car accident, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Addiction and Drug abuse
Minor: Body shaming and Fatphobia
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
bookwormamy's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
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
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
lilly_springer's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse and Physical abuse
tiffany_reads_books's review against another edition
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Abandonment
ninebookishlives's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
noragoudie's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book was average. I enjoyed it enough and I like the idea of a long romance book that takes the time to flesh out the characters and their connection. However, this book had me cringing at every turn, and by the end I was convinced that if I read another description about Aiden’s “massive hulking frame” I would hurl. Also who calls their husband “big guy…”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Child abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse and Injury/Injury detail