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A review by shaun_trinh
From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a cute lil sports slowburn. All vibes, little plot, just the main couple, end goal, random problems, and POOF, the story. But that's okay Mariana Zapata does it well. This was definetly one of her best written slowburns, the relationship build up felt really good and seemless, so seemless I almost didn't realize that very little was happening in the grand scheme of things.
I knew going in Mariana Zapata didn't really write actual plots, she's a character/relationship driven writer, but I thought with the goal of Jasmine and Ivan wanting to win competition and get to worlds, we'd actually see them lose and win some leading up to worlds, but we only saw them actually compete by around page 428...out of 485 pages. Don't get me wrong I really enjoyed the practicing and building up a genuine trust and relationship for skating in pairs between 2 people who dislike each other, I just thought we'd seem more actual competing as another way to accomplish that.
All the family scenes were cute, especially with Ivan, I liked the pet scenes, I thought Jasmine and Ivan were actually pretty funny with each other, and while it didn't make total sense for why Ivan waited so long, I really liked the twist of Ivan wanting to work with Jasmine all along and made up the lie about only needing a temporary replacement for his old partner. I was surprised by how genuinely nice and authentic their relationship turned out being as friends, skating partners, and more.
However, I do have greviances. First Jasmine would get so damn stubborn about random shit and it got on my nerves. Her character is supposed to be stubborn but that doesn't mean I can't be annoyed when she makes things needlessly diffcult. Secondly and most importantly, could we never let this woman win????? Every other 100 pages something happens to where they can't skate as a pair and its always linked to Jasmine. FIrst she gets so sick it's as if she's been infected by a zombie virus and can't move for like a week, and then because of her boozo father she makes a mistake and injuries her ankles/calf during practice. Both of which stopped them from participating from a competition might I add. Like yes, yes I get it let the man be swoon worthy and a green flag during her recovery but PLEASE LET THE GIRL GET A WIN SOMEWHERE BEFORE THE WORLDS COMPEITITION. At least mix it up and let Ivan fuck something up.
Oh also I know this is a romance, new adult book, but lets not be too laid back with the WORDING of some lines that I shall not repeat. .
Still liked this though.
I knew going in Mariana Zapata didn't really write actual plots, she's a character/relationship driven writer, but I thought with the goal of Jasmine and Ivan wanting to win competition and get to worlds, we'd actually see them lose and win some leading up to worlds, but we only saw them actually compete by around page 428...out of 485 pages. Don't get me wrong I really enjoyed the practicing and building up a genuine trust and relationship for skating in pairs between 2 people who dislike each other, I just thought we'd seem more actual competing as another way to accomplish that.
All the family scenes were cute, especially with Ivan, I liked the pet scenes, I thought Jasmine and Ivan were actually pretty funny with each other, and while it didn't make total sense for why Ivan waited so long, I really liked the twist of Ivan wanting to work with Jasmine all along and made up the lie about only needing a temporary replacement for his old partner. I was surprised by how genuinely nice and authentic their relationship turned out being as friends, skating partners, and more.
However, I do have greviances. First Jasmine would get so damn stubborn about random shit and it got on my nerves. Her character is supposed to be stubborn but that doesn't mean I can't be annoyed when she makes things needlessly diffcult. Secondly and most importantly, could we never let this woman win????? Every other 100 pages something happens to where they can't skate as a pair and its always linked to Jasmine. FIrst she gets so sick it's as if she's been infected by a zombie virus and can't move for like a week, and then because of her boozo father she makes a mistake and injuries her ankles/calf during practice. Both of which stopped them from participating from a competition might I add. Like yes, yes I get it let the man be swoon worthy and a green flag during her recovery but PLEASE LET THE GIRL GET A WIN SOMEWHERE BEFORE THE WORLDS COMPEITITION. At least mix it up and let Ivan fuck something up.
Oh also I know this is a romance, new adult book, but lets not be too laid back with the WORDING of some lines that I shall not repeat. .
Still liked this though.