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morgan_is_reading's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 ⭐ rounding up to 4.
This was a quick, enjoyable read. I really liked the depth of knowledge the author has about elite gymnastics, and this book did decent job of portraying how the abuse of athletes has been institutionally sanctioned through apathy and willful ignorance. The main character's struggle to find purpose and a new sense of belonging is relatable to those who have had to seriously alter course in life, and the romance was sweet, although the main male character didn't have a ton of depth and the dialogue was lackluster at times.
This was a quick, enjoyable read. I really liked the depth of knowledge the author has about elite gymnastics, and this book did decent job of portraying how the abuse of athletes has been institutionally sanctioned through apathy and willful ignorance. The main character's struggle to find purpose and a new sense of belonging is relatable to those who have had to seriously alter course in life, and the romance was sweet, although the main male character didn't have a ton of depth and the dialogue was lackluster at times.
malorisanthony's review against another edition
4.0
I LOVEDDDDDD this book! It was so excellently written. The steamy scene in the gym? You had me on the edge of my seat reading that. I have never read such a great book about anxiety and depression and how it feels. I also love anything to do with gymnastics and it was so well written the sports anxiety that happens to athletes and even former athletes that have had an injury. Trigger warning for people that had experienced Abuse, Sexual Assault, etc because it is a prominent theme with flashbacks and present tense in the book. Took points off for her having to deal with a boyfriend who didn't believe her to begin with. That pissed me off so much but such a great book and I loved getting to see her thrive and get better at the end of the book.
hrtaylor95's review against another edition
3.0
This is a perfect read if you are looking for something light, easy, and fun. That is by no means a denigration of the text-- it does what it does well, but if you are looking for an expose of competitive sports, this is not for you.
It is nostalgic and heartfelt. It talks about the mental health of athletes, and how to recover from a lifetime of thinking competitively. Not to mention there is an absolutely adorable love story.
It is nostalgic and heartfelt. It talks about the mental health of athletes, and how to recover from a lifetime of thinking competitively. Not to mention there is an absolutely adorable love story.
aliciareadsit's review against another edition
4.0
4 STARS
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A phenomenal read from Hannah Orenstein!
Head Over Heels is the story of Avery, a former competitive gymnast who was injured during the Olympic trials and not only didn't get to go to the Olympics, but it also ended her gymnastics career. Avery's best friend Jasmine goes on to become an Olympic champion and then goes on to marry their emotionally abusive coach, Dimitri. Having lost everything, including her best friend, Avery packs up and heads to LA to start over. Seven years later, after a rough breakup with her long-time boyfriend, Avery is headed back to her hometown in Massachusetts to start over yet again.
Once home, Avery gets a phone call from a former US Olympic gymnast from the mens team, (and her former crush) Ryan. He is now a coach at the same gym that Avery once trained in with Jasmine and Dimitri, and he is desperate for Avery's help with his young Olympic bound gymnast Hallie. Even though Avery worries what memories it may bring up for her being in her old training gym, Avery agrees to help Ryan. Once working together, Avery realizes that her and Ryan have serious chemistry, but navigating that and working together becomes tricky once Jasmine and Dimitri come back into Avery's life.
Characters
I really enjoyed Avery and Ryan's character building. They truly read like they were real people, and I was completely sucked into their story. I also really enjoyed the side characters of Jasmine and Hallie. Each character had their own interesting story and troubles and it was very refreshing to see real life problems and situations in the story.
Plot
I absolutely love Gymnastics (though I myself am not a gymnast--I only did gymnastics as a girl for about 4-ish years) and watching the gymnastics in the Olympics is one of my favorite things. So this book sucked me in from the very beginning. I think that if you aren't familiar with gymnastics, it may be slightly harder to understand certain things happening in the story, but overall would still be a fantastic read. The emotional/sexual abusive storyline of this book was really interesting to read about, and I definitely felt that I learned a lot from it. That being said, I do put this in here as a TW for those that can't do these types of storylines, though there was not much detail in the sexual abuse side of things.
Content/triggers to note: Emotional/Verbal abuse, Sexual abuse (spoken of, but not detailed), One semi-detailed sex scene, and divorce.
Overall, I highly enjoyed this one. I felt that the one sex scene took me slightly out of the book, which is why I knocked off one star. I think that the detail didn't suit the story very well, and it came off a bit clunky. Other than that, I really loved it, and highly recommend to all contemporary romance fans. I also think that gymnast fans, even if romance isn't their genre, will really enjoy this as well. Orenstein gets a gold medal from me for this one. Much better than her last book "Love at First Like".
**Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Hannah Orenstein for the advanced eARC and paperback ARC in exchange only for my honest thoughts and review.**
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A phenomenal read from Hannah Orenstein!
Head Over Heels is the story of Avery, a former competitive gymnast who was injured during the Olympic trials and not only didn't get to go to the Olympics, but it also ended her gymnastics career. Avery's best friend Jasmine goes on to become an Olympic champion and then goes on to marry their emotionally abusive coach, Dimitri. Having lost everything, including her best friend, Avery packs up and heads to LA to start over. Seven years later, after a rough breakup with her long-time boyfriend, Avery is headed back to her hometown in Massachusetts to start over yet again.
Once home, Avery gets a phone call from a former US Olympic gymnast from the mens team, (and her former crush) Ryan. He is now a coach at the same gym that Avery once trained in with Jasmine and Dimitri, and he is desperate for Avery's help with his young Olympic bound gymnast Hallie. Even though Avery worries what memories it may bring up for her being in her old training gym, Avery agrees to help Ryan. Once working together, Avery realizes that her and Ryan have serious chemistry, but navigating that and working together becomes tricky once Jasmine and Dimitri come back into Avery's life.
Characters
I really enjoyed Avery and Ryan's character building. They truly read like they were real people, and I was completely sucked into their story. I also really enjoyed the side characters of Jasmine and Hallie. Each character had their own interesting story and troubles and it was very refreshing to see real life problems and situations in the story.
Plot
I absolutely love Gymnastics (though I myself am not a gymnast--I only did gymnastics as a girl for about 4-ish years) and watching the gymnastics in the Olympics is one of my favorite things. So this book sucked me in from the very beginning. I think that if you aren't familiar with gymnastics, it may be slightly harder to understand certain things happening in the story, but overall would still be a fantastic read. The emotional/sexual abusive storyline of this book was really interesting to read about, and I definitely felt that I learned a lot from it. That being said, I do put this in here as a TW for those that can't do these types of storylines, though there was not much detail in the sexual abuse side of things.
Content/triggers to note: Emotional/Verbal abuse, Sexual abuse (spoken of, but not detailed), One semi-detailed sex scene, and divorce.
Overall, I highly enjoyed this one. I felt that the one sex scene took me slightly out of the book, which is why I knocked off one star. I think that the detail didn't suit the story very well, and it came off a bit clunky. Other than that, I really loved it, and highly recommend to all contemporary romance fans. I also think that gymnast fans, even if romance isn't their genre, will really enjoy this as well. Orenstein gets a gold medal from me for this one. Much better than her last book "Love at First Like".
**Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Hannah Orenstein for the advanced eARC and paperback ARC in exchange only for my honest thoughts and review.**
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sweet_t_writes's review against another edition
4.0
Gymnastics is a sport that, as the main character points out, only receives recognition once every four years and then peters out of the public eye. The author of was able to talk about the flash of the sport as well as the overwhelming mental and physical toll it takes on its athletes.
Plus, the romance was incredibly adorable and realistic. A childhood crush who grew up to be hot and thoughtful? Swoon.
Plus, the romance was incredibly adorable and realistic. A childhood crush who grew up to be hot and thoughtful? Swoon.
hollynichole88's review against another edition
3.0
This was a cute story, and I loved the gymnastics theme. However, I feel the plot was very predictable. I knew what would happen before it did which made for a quick read, but just not great.
daniellearider's review against another edition
4.0
Both charming and sweet and also deftly handed some intense topics. I liked this one!