Reviews with content warning for Fatphobia - From Lukov with Love

I loved this story but minus one star for the ending seeming very rushed and the main skating event only getting a page??? AND the author’s confusing refusal to use a character’s name multiple times in a paragraph. It’s so odd. Examples:

“I took a step onto the ice and glided off just a couple feet away to give IVAN room to do the same. He followed after me, stopping just two feet away from me as the announcer called out our names. That was when I looked over my shoulder at THE MAN IN THE BROWN AND GOLD COSTUME that my sister had created, and found him already looking at me, with a smirk aimed right at me.”

““She was pinching me under the table,” BEN let me know, like that would surprise me. It didn’t. That was my mom right there. My defender forever and ever. “Sorry about that, Jas,” MY MOM’S FOURTH HUSBAND murmured.”

““Where’s Ben at, MOM?” “He’s out with his friends,” THE REDHEADED WOMAN WHO HAD GIVEN BIRTH TO ME, explained quickly before raising her gaze and aiming her fork in my direction.”

There were points where it truly confused me because I couldn’t even tell the author was talking about the same character. “The man” is used 30 times in the book and “the woman” 37 times, most often for characters that are already very well established. It’s confusing.

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79lulu12's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-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

4.75

Content Warnings

ollie_again's review against another edition

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2.75

I really wanted to love this book. And I was almost sure I would despite the fact the first book I read by Mariana Zapata wasn’t a hit for me. But I wanted to give her another chance, and ice-skating romance with enemies-to-lovers trope sounds right up my alley. Zapata is known as the queen of slow burn and I truly love slow burn romances, so me not liking her books did not sit right with me. So, I tried again.

And the slow burn itself would be perfect *but* things which bothered me in The Wall of Winnipeg and Me bothered me here. Mainly the bits of internalized misogyny here and there, not like other girl vibes in certain parts, sex scene which put me off, why bother with a condom and some more.

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.”

Thanks Jasmine’s mom, because body hair is gross! Right? Even more stupid is Jasmine’s mom has earlier a whole monologue about all bodies being beautiful.

Another thing that bothered me is the plot line involving stalking. Sexual harassment over internet which never gets resolved.

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?

Why include it at all if you do not give it proper attention.

And my last point is about the aforementioned sex scene. I would be perfectly content to there not be one, but there is. The line:

“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.

To not just pick on the negatives, the book is very readable. Some scenes were pretty cute, and I really liked the ice-skating parts of it. Even though I was annoyed with every character at some point, I think they all made sense and were not flat. I enjoyed that Jasmine’s relationship with her family was complex and not as easy.

It is annoying that I could not enjoy the book more, and I probably would love it if I read it when I was 16. But back then I was not aware of misogynistic language (and more problems) in certain romance novels (I am sure if I reread some of the books I read back then, I would be horrified). I would probably eat everything in this book up, thought it is reasonable to shit on yourself over small boobs etc. Unfortunately, I read the book at 26 and this stuff grates on me.

After giving two chances and a half (DNFd Under Locke pretty much 20p in) and reading article about the transphobic language Zapata employs in her other book, I can safely say I won’t be rushing to pick another book by her. Never say never, but at this point I’d say Zapata is not for me.

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britt33's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

I wanted to read this book because I’m always wanting to discover new authors, my goal this year was specific to reading a book by Mariana Zapata. The first book I had read of hers was The Wall of Winnipeg and Me and I really enjoyed it, and it made me want to read more of her work. I enjoyed this book, but it took me a while to get into and think it’s slightly overhyped on Booktok.

This book is based around Jasmine Santos, and she has had a rough couple of years within the sports she loves – figure skating. She has been figure skating for seventeen years and she’s had countless broken bones and broken promises. But once the offer of a lifetime comes from the arrogant idiot, she’s spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in front of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything including Ivan Lukov.

I liked the storyline of someone who felt like they haven’t achieved their dreams after practicing so damn long for it and the overthinking of should she retire and coach or fight for her dreams? I like that they both came from supportive family (besides Jasmine’s daddy issues). I liked that there wasn’t a third act breakup, but I think there couldn’t be a third act breakup considering it was the slowest burn I've ever read, and they didn’t kiss or confess their feelings until Chapter 15/16. I liked Jasmine’s family (bar her dad) and how they are all supportive and help her whether it’s ice baths, her costumes, giving her money or lifts to competitions. I wanted to hug her when she was saying what she said to her dad at the family dinner, and I related a bit too much to what she said expect that I can’t skate for shit.

This book was all over TikTok as enemies-to-lovers and that they hated each other, and it wasn’t the case at all. It was best friend’s brother and friends-to-lovers with a lot of banter. I would have loved this to have been Dual POV especially once Lukov admits that he gave some fake excuse for why he needed to skate with Jasmine. I would have killed for that POV of him just being obsessed with her because her POV is I’m questioning these feelings why would I like this guy? This book felt so long than even though it was a slow burn I was hoping for some romance in between them sleeping together and the ending but there isn’t, it goes they slept together, do a competition, epilogue 10 years later with children running around. I would have loved them being romantic and happy together considering they spent most of the book wanting to kill each other.

I enjoyed this book and the storyline but it was missing something overall. Hopefully the next book I read by Mariana Zapata will blow me away.

Content Warnings

kirstenpod_'s review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-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

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