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funny
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Stalking
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Zapata recipe for romance and character writing comes through in this book as it does in the two others I've read by her: We get a slow start to the plot with a lot of time spent in the head of the main character. As we get to know the MC and her struggles better, the plot becomes more nuanced with getting to know the other characters better and seeing their interpersonal relationships develop and evolve, including the slowest of slow burn romances.
Zapata writes multidimensional characters and emotional scenes masterfully. Even though neither the MC Jasmine nor the frenemy partner Ivan seem truly likeable in the beginning (we see everything through Jasmine's harsh and possibly a little depressed pov), I couldn't help but admire how well the mental scope of the MC is described and to root for the skating pair's reeeeally slow slow burn relationship. As the pair actually gets to know each other, they start to thrive around each other and make their lives and outward expression better. Jasmine's pov narration gets lighter and happier, even though she still keeps her sharp edges.
Jasmine sometimes struggles to express herself through words (partly because that's her personality and partly because she has a learning disability; yay for representation!), but she shows her feelings and devotion through her actions the best that she can. Ivan seems to be very in tune with her, and knows how to keep their communication flowing, whether it means friendly bickering, loving encouragements, or stubbornly putting your foot down for the good of the other person and them together. He might be just a little too good to be true, but let's forgive that in a potential book boyfriend.
There are some dark topics addressed in this book. Jasmin has had to endure alone more unreasonable hardships of different levels during her figure skating career than she'd like to admit to anyone and almost more than she can cope with. At first, they are just hinted at, but slowly the truth unravels to the reader and even slower to the other characters. The dark hardships vary frombullying from other skaters and devious publicity stunts from the media to an asshole skating partner that ditches her for another partner after years without a word first, to finally, a stalker that sends her mail and private messages in social media with sexual harassment .
Zapata writes multidimensional characters and emotional scenes masterfully. Even though neither the MC Jasmine nor the frenemy partner Ivan seem truly likeable in the beginning (we see everything through Jasmine's harsh and possibly a little depressed pov), I couldn't help but admire how well the mental scope of the MC is described and to root for the skating pair's reeeeally slow slow burn relationship. As the pair actually gets to know each other, they start to thrive around each other and make their lives and outward expression better. Jasmine's pov narration gets lighter and happier, even though she still keeps her sharp edges.
Jasmine sometimes struggles to express herself through words (partly because that's her personality and partly because she has a learning disability; yay for representation!), but she shows her feelings and devotion through her actions the best that she can. Ivan seems to be very in tune with her, and knows how to keep their communication flowing, whether it means friendly bickering, loving encouragements, or stubbornly putting your foot down for the good of the other person and them together. He might be just a little too good to be true, but let's forgive that in a potential book boyfriend.
There are some dark topics addressed in this book. Jasmin has had to endure alone more unreasonable hardships of different levels during her figure skating career than she'd like to admit to anyone and almost more than she can cope with. At first, they are just hinted at, but slowly the truth unravels to the reader and even slower to the other characters. The dark hardships vary from
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Stalking, Abandonment, Sexual harassment
Minor: Violence, Pregnancy
adventurous
inspiring
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Sexual content, Medical content, Alcohol
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
Really my main complaint is that I wish there was more actual ice skating in this book! I was looking forward to reading a romance between pairs ice skaters literally to read about the physicality of the sport. I think we were told a lot 'we know each others bodies from practice' but I wanted to read more of that on page!!!!! just felt like a missed opportunity to not add more of this in.
Still though, this is a rivals(ish)/strong dislike/animosity to friends to lovers story in the classic slow burn MZ way [sorry I just refuse to call it enemies to lovers in this setting the stakes just are not that high!] Jasmine and Lukov have known each other a long time, she grew up best friends to his sister. But they were always teasing/at each other's throats mainly due to their prickly personalities. It's actually just grumpy x grumpy
It did really feel like along the way they became friends which I liked, and not just straight to in love. Lukov is of course just a star of a man really advocating for Jasmine, looking out for her, & caring for her truly which is definitely clear. They keep this quippy banter the whole time which is fun. I did overall enjoy the storyline and where things ended! Just needed more skating!!!!!!!!
Still though, this is a rivals(ish)/strong dislike/animosity to friends to lovers story in the classic slow burn MZ way [sorry I just refuse to call it enemies to lovers in this setting the stakes just are not that high!] Jasmine and Lukov have known each other a long time, she grew up best friends to his sister. But they were always teasing/at each other's throats mainly due to their prickly personalities. It's actually just grumpy x grumpy
It did really feel like along the way they became friends which I liked, and not just straight to in love. Lukov is of course just a star of a man really advocating for Jasmine, looking out for her, & caring for her truly which is definitely clear. They keep this quippy banter the whole time which is fun. I did overall enjoy the storyline and where things ended! Just needed more skating!!!!!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Stalking, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Car accident
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed the story overall but found a lot of things incredibly annoying.
Jasmine's brother is called Jojo by the family but has a full name of Jonathan. The author really needed to choose ONE name for Jasmine to use when she thinks of her brother, using both in the same paragraph or even sentence after the first introduction was confusing and unnecessary.
When I think of a friend of family member with a nickname that is the name I use.
There were a few things like that, that got repeated over and over again that did not need the repetition at all.
Also two of Jasmine's siblings are throwaway characters with little to no reason for existing other than to say she is the youngest of five. The other two had more screentime but would have been nice if their characters were developed more.
The same goes for Ivan's sister, she is mention several times but isn't really relevant to the plot or character development other than she exists.
There were also a lot of spelling and formatting errors in my Indigo printed copy.
One very small and completely unneeded, and not well placed sex scene that just felt like an add in because "oh wait I wrote a romance they need to have sex don't they?".
People said it was a spicy romance...there is no spice.
The story itself kind of dragged, a lot of training montages with no real climatic greatness, and the ending, even with the epilogue, felt unsatisfying.
Timeline was a bit messy.
I was hoping for something a bit more like "Blades of Glory" or "The Cutting Edge".
Jasmine's brother is called Jojo by the family but has a full name of Jonathan. The author really needed to choose ONE name for Jasmine to use when she thinks of her brother, using both in the same paragraph or even sentence after the first introduction was confusing and unnecessary.
When I think of a friend of family member with a nickname that is the name I use.
There were a few things like that, that got repeated over and over again that did not need the repetition at all.
Also two of Jasmine's siblings are throwaway characters with little to no reason for existing other than to say she is the youngest of five. The other two had more screentime but would have been nice if their characters were developed more.
The same goes for Ivan's sister, she is mention several times but isn't really relevant to the plot or character development other than she exists.
There were also a lot of spelling and formatting errors in my Indigo printed copy.
One very small and completely unneeded, and not well placed sex scene that just felt like an add in because "oh wait I wrote a romance they need to have sex don't they?".
People said it was a spicy romance...there is no spice.
The story itself kind of dragged, a lot of training montages with no real climatic greatness, and the ending, even with the epilogue, felt unsatisfying.
Timeline was a bit messy.
I was hoping for something a bit more like "Blades of Glory" or "The Cutting Edge".
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Met liefde van Lukov is op de eerste plaats een slow burn. Niet alleen de relatie tussen de personages was traag, het boek opzich las ook traag voor mij. Ik heb er 10 dagen over gedaan terwijl ik een boek van dit formaat meestal in vijf dagen lees...
Dominant
Het begin vond ik leuk. Ik vond Jasmine ook een interessant personage. Maar ik vond Ivan dus helemaal niks. Hij was dominant (ik HAAT dominant) en oke hij had een lieve kant. Maar de relatie tussen de twee voelde voor mij wat hakkelig. Er was geen vloeiende groei. Ze namen abrupte sprongetjes vooruit en dat kwam mij wat vreemd over.
Geen romance
Met liefde van Lukov voelde voor mij absoluut niet als een romantisch verhaal. Het draaide voor mij echt om Jasmine die met haar struggles leert omgaan. Ze praat nogal negatief over zichzelf (niet qua lichaam, maar echt hoe ze is als persoon) en door het verhaal leert ze bepaalde dingen los te laten en krijgen anderen een plekje. Ze vindt rust op een bepaalde manier. En dat was mooi.
Gekibbel en verschuivende relaties
Mijn favoriete scènes waren die van conflict. Dan gebeurde er tenminste iets 😅. Het gekibbel in het begin tussen Jasmine en Ivan vond ik grappig. Maar op een gegeven moment voelde het vervelend en irritant. Vooral omdat Jasmine niet meer zoveel zei en Ivan haar uit de tent probeerde te lokken. Het werd flauw en ze vielen in de herhaling. Het voelde bij tijden geforceerd. Niet organisch en natuurlijk.
Toen de relatie van hatelijk naar vriendschappelijk begon te verschuiven, veranderde het gekibbel. Maar toen bleef er maar weinig over wat hun relatie voor mij interessant maakte. Ivan begon aardig te doen. Jasmine wist niet wat ze er mee aan moest. En Jasmine werd daardoor erg passief en vlak. Ook bleek later dat Ivan haar nooit heeft gehaat. En haar plaagde omdat hij haar leuk vond. Dat draagt weer bij aan het idee van 'meisjes-plagen-kusjes-vragen'. Een idee dat huiselijk geweld voedt...
Toen de relatie van hatelijk naar vriendschappelijk begon te verschuiven, veranderde het gekibbel. Maar toen bleef er maar weinig over wat hun relatie voor mij interessant maakte. Ivan begon aardig te doen. Jasmine wist niet wat ze er mee aan moest. En Jasmine werd daardoor erg passief en vlak. Ook bleek later dat Ivan haar nooit heeft gehaat. En haar plaagde omdat hij haar leuk vond. Dat draagt weer bij aan het idee van 'meisjes-plagen-kusjes-vragen'. Een idee dat huiselijk geweld voedt...
Dyslexie
Jasmine heeft een leerstoornis. Het werd nooit bij naam genoemd maar de dingen die werden omschreven wijzen op dyslexie. De dyslexie representatie vond ik heel goed gedaan. Vooral de impact die het op haar zelfbeeld had en de relatie met haar vader.
School, falen, zelfbeeld
Veel mensen met een learning disability hebben het moeilijk op school. Op school wordt vooral gekeken naar je cijfers en prestaties. En als je daar niet goed in bent, voelt het al snel of je faalt. Als je dan ook nog opmerkingen van je vader hoort als
'Jasmine heeft geen leerstoornis. Ze moet gewoon beter haar best doen'
dan komt dat je zelfbeeld niet ten goede.
Ze was nergens echt goed in, alles op school kostte haar ontzettend veel moeite. Maar zodra ze op het ijs stond ging het vanzelf. Daar wist haar lichaam wat het moest doen. Het was zo natuurlijk als ademen. Daarom stortte ze zich volledig op het kunstschaatsen. Eindelijk iets wat ze goed kon, waardoor ze zich speciaal voelde. Levend. En als ze ergens haar tanden in zet laat ze niet meer los. Want ze is een doorzetter, een harde werker en absoluut geen opgever. Dat is waarschijnlijk deels hoe ze is als persoon, en deels hoe ze heeft moeten worden om het op school te redden...
Kracht ondermijnend
Ik vind het alleen wel jammer dat Ivan Lukov als een ridder op het witte paard voor haar moest opkomen tegen haar vader. Ze had zo veel groei doorgemaakt. Maar Ivan's speech had meer impact dan wat Jasmine zelf tegen haar vader zei. En daar baal ik van. Jasmines kracht werd ondermijnd zodat Ivan kon laten zien hoe goed hij haar kende en dat hij een geschikte partner voor haar zou zijn...
Spicy time
Omdat dit boek zo'n enorme slow burn is, krijgen we pas in het een na laatste hoofdstuk een spicy scène. En ik vond de scène verschrikkelijk...
Ivan was dominant en deed wat hij wilde zonder verbale consent. Ze zegt dat ze aan de pil is en dat is blijkbaar het signaal dat condooms niet nodig zijn? Maar er wordt niet gesproken over SOA's en hun status. Dat gecombineerd met het gebrek aan consent gaf me de bibbers. Vervolgens lees je dat het Jasmine pijn deed. En dat ze dat nooit zou zeggen. Wat voor veilige omgeving heb je dan? Als je niet tegen je partner kan zeggen dat het pijn doet. (En dit was geen kinky pijn, dit was pijn omdat het te snel ging). Haar lichaam was er duidelijk nog niet klaar voor. Ivan had daarbij compleet de leiding en deed met haar lijf wat HIJ wilde en had geen aandacht voor haar leek het.
Hoe het er stond vergroot weer de mythe dat het normaal is dat seks (in het begin) pijn doet. Seks hoort geen pijn te doen. Nooit. Tenzij je aan pain/pleasure spel doet maar dat is een ander verhaal.
Ook dringt hij aan op een tweede ronde. Jasmine zegt half grappend dat ze niet heeft aangegeven dat ze daar zin in heeft. En zijn antwoord is dat hij haar heeft laten klaarkomen. Als of dat een reden is om nog weer seks te hebben?!!
Ik ben echt geschokt door alle slechte dingen in deze seks scène. Ik denk niet dat ik ooit nog weer een Mariana Zapata boek zal lezen...
Ivan was dominant en deed wat hij wilde zonder verbale consent. Ze zegt dat ze aan de pil is en dat is blijkbaar het signaal dat condooms niet nodig zijn? Maar er wordt niet gesproken over SOA's en hun status. Dat gecombineerd met het gebrek aan consent gaf me de bibbers. Vervolgens lees je dat het Jasmine pijn deed. En dat ze dat nooit zou zeggen. Wat voor veilige omgeving heb je dan? Als je niet tegen je partner kan zeggen dat het pijn doet. (En dit was geen kinky pijn, dit was pijn omdat het te snel ging). Haar lichaam was er duidelijk nog niet klaar voor. Ivan had daarbij compleet de leiding en deed met haar lijf wat HIJ wilde en had geen aandacht voor haar leek het.
Hoe het er stond vergroot weer de mythe dat het normaal is dat seks (in het begin) pijn doet. Seks hoort geen pijn te doen. Nooit. Tenzij je aan pain/pleasure spel doet maar dat is een ander verhaal.
Ook dringt hij aan op een tweede ronde. Jasmine zegt half grappend dat ze niet heeft aangegeven dat ze daar zin in heeft. En zijn antwoord is dat hij haar heeft laten klaarkomen. Als of dat een reden is om nog weer seks te hebben?!!
Ik ben echt geschokt door alle slechte dingen in deze seks scène. Ik denk niet dat ik ooit nog weer een Mariana Zapata boek zal lezen...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Cursing, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Sexual content, Medical content
Minor: Vomit, Car accident
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Because I'm okay with you having ten other people be your favorite. But you're always going to be my favorite person.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love
This story resonated with me. Now, did I ever think a sports rom-com would rank high on my romance favorites? No, absolutely not. Did Jas with her determination and no filter attitude blend so well with Ivan's grumpy warm heart (dude has a rescue pet pig!) and strike right at my heart? D*mn right it did.
Tags: slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers, sports, rom-com
*Re-read with audiobook
Bonus Quote**
“Love to me was honesty. Being real. Knowing someone's best and worst. Love was a push that said someone believed in you when you didn't.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love
This story resonated with me. Now, did I ever think a sports rom-com would rank high on my romance favorites? No, absolutely not. Did Jas with her determination and no filter attitude blend so well with Ivan's grumpy warm heart (dude has a rescue pet pig!) and strike right at my heart? D*mn right it did.
Tags: slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers, sports, rom-com
*Re-read with audiobook
Bonus Quote**
“Love to me was honesty. Being real. Knowing someone's best and worst. Love was a push that said someone believed in you when you didn't.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a slow-burn rivals-to-lovers story with an open-door scene toward the end, but what truly captivated me was the focus on competitive skating. With zero knowledge of the sport, I was fascinated by the behind-the-scenes look at their intense training routines.
The story centers on themes of perseverance, personal growth, and family. Honestly, it could have been just as compelling without the romance.
I rated it 3 stars mainly because the excessive use of certain words was making my reading experience frustrating—"blink" appears 191 times, and the f-word is used 330 times! Moreover, the main characters often act and speak like spoiled teenagers, which detracted from their development for me.
Despite these issues, the insights into the world of competitive skating kept me engaged.
The story centers on themes of perseverance, personal growth, and family. Honestly, it could have been just as compelling without the romance.
I rated it 3 stars mainly because the excessive use of certain words was making my reading experience frustrating—"blink" appears 191 times, and the f-word is used 330 times! Moreover, the main characters often act and speak like spoiled teenagers, which detracted from their development for me.
Despite these issues, the insights into the world of competitive skating kept me engaged.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexual content, Stalking, Sexual harassment
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“Because I'm okay with you having ten other people be your favorite. But you're always going to be my favorite person.”
This was on my top 24 TBRs in 2024 and I'm so glad I tackled it already because I would hate myself if I were not to read this ever. Basing from the reels I've been seeing in Bookstagram, I know for sure I would love to get my hands on a copy of this book. So when I saw it available on my usual online seller (that had to wait months to arrive), I immediately bought it. I'm not sure why I didn't reach for it as soon as it had arrived last November - I need to slap the old me for that. This month though, I was in a big mood reader so I wasn't trusting my TBR jar to make the choice. It took a few hours for me to decide and finally reached out for From Lukov With Love. Best decision this April so far too.
I love stories that revolves in any sport on ice. I'm not sure what it is about but there's always something graceful about people on ice. What I did not expect was a story about pair figure skaters. I was also unaware that this was an enemies-to-lovers? Anna, why don't you ever read the synopsis at the back of the book? It's there for a reason. But I always love going in blindly when it comes to books. I trust people so much in the net that I don't even bother reading what it was about. I wasn't even disappointed at all. I love it as soon as I hit more than 10% of the book. I always love banters in books but this level of banters between the main characters are on a different level. I was laughing out loud on several occasions and just kept on wishing for these two to get together. I knew Mariana is known her slow burn stories but girl, I did not expect this kind of slow burn. I was shookedt. I kept waiting and waiting and waiting and more waiting for them to get together but bro...it took
Of course, it wasn't just a romance book. To be honest, it's more of a family story type of book because it literally focused on Jasmine and her relationship with her family. I can't get over her relationship with her dad because I relate so much to it. Jasmine felt not loved because of her career path and it' just simply because their family ain't the affectionate ones and have different love language that can't easily be understood. Ugh. I wanted to hug Jasmine so much. It's a good thing Ivan was there to do it for us readers.
10/10 will recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual content, Medical trauma, Stalking
Minor: Racism, Toxic relationship
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Car accident