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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
Mariana Zapata is my queen. Her slow burns are just impeccable and this is no exception. She somehow managed to combine the enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, mmc taking care of fmc, and sports romance all in one. Time to reread Dear Aaron again
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
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:
No
I never want to see the word "poop" ever again.
Fav quote:
“My schnecke. My little snail, do you know that’s what it means? It’s a term of affection in my country. My love. My snail.”
Tropes:
-enemies to lovers
-forbidden
-age gap
-slowburn
-banter
Fav quote:
“My schnecke. My little snail, do you know that’s what it means? It’s a term of affection in my country. My love. My snail.”
Tropes:
-enemies to lovers
-forbidden
-age gap
-slowburn
-banter
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was my July pick for my Reading Outside My Subgenres in Romance challenge. Or whatever I'm calling it at this point. I chose it because a) everyone seems to like Mariana Zapata, b) it's a sports Romance so even if it's got subgenres I haven't tried before it still has a subgenre I do like, c) it's an age gap and forbidden Romance so it ticks off two different subgenres I don't normally read. In Kulti, we follow a woman, Salome Casillas, who has idolized international soccer star Reiner Kulti from childhood. Her life gets turned upside down when her past celebrity crush becomes the assistant coach of her professional soccer team. But this Kulti is different from the one who retired from professional soccer just two years ago--he's brutal and angry and relentless. This was definitely going to be the longest season of her life.
I'm actually going to start my review this time with negatives because I absolutely have to. I almost DNF'd this book multiple times. From around the 10% mark I started thinking about DNFing and kept thinking about doing so until around the 50% mark. Given how long this book is, that's a lot of pages to consider putting a book down. Especially given the fact that I just don't DNF books. I think the last time I did so was several years ago now. The start of the story is just so boring. I don't mean that it's boring from a relationship perspective. This is sold to us as a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers Romance novel so I was already prepared for that going in. It's just that the day to day life of a professional soccer player is incredibly boring when the romantic parter of the story isn't really interacting with them. They have a few negative moments before the romance gets dialed up, but for the most part you're just following Sal as she goes to practice and then works at her landscaping job with her business partner. I guess my complaint is that it's too slice of life? I think that's what I'm trying to say here. I also didn't really buy into the romance itself. There are so few breadcrumbs laid out for the reader before they're both just admitting that they love each other and are in it for the long haul. I know that this being a forbidden romance between a player and a coach means that the author couldn't have someone as good and honest as Sal crossing that line while still under contract for the soccer team. It's just that there's a way to convey that these characters are developing feelings for each other without anything physical happening. I just don't buy it by the end of the novel.
I think the author did a good job with the two sex scenes we got at the end of the novel. Usually I'm not a fan of sex scenes because things just get too graphic or there are kinks that are my ick. But this one felt like something I could handle reading while still showing a lot of passion. Also, I really enjoyed Kulti once he got the stick out of his ass and started showing Sal his emotions. But this literally happens in the last 10% of a 500 page novel. Before that I truly, truly disliked him. Sal's dad is also just hilarious. I loved the fact that he couldn't even speak to Kulti because he was fanboying so hard. He would literally tell Sal to tell Kulti something...even though they were sitting around the same dinner table. That spoke to me because when I fangirl I'm the same way. The soccer parts were good. We didn't actually see as much play as I was expecting but what we did see the author got right.
Overall, I don't think this book was for me. I wish there had been more longing and more emotions expressed in the first half of the novel. I'm willing to give Mariana Zapata another try in the future. Just not right now.
Couldn’t get past the blatant xenophobia and the “I’m-not-like-other-girls”
emotional
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
emotional
funny
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:
Complicated
4.5 stars
This book is actually pretty good. It had its funny moments. It’s a true slow burn, we didn’t get any romance until almost the end of the book with sal and kulti. The only issue I have with it is that sometimes in the book they would refer kulti as “the German” instead of saying his actual name. I know he’s German but to refer to him as one, as like a nickname or something, it doesn’t sit right with me. But besides that the book was good and I would rate it as a 5 star read.
This book is actually pretty good. It had its funny moments. It’s a true slow burn, we didn’t get any romance until almost the end of the book with sal and kulti. The only issue I have with it is that sometimes in the book they would refer kulti as “the German” instead of saying his actual name. I know he’s German but to refer to him as one, as like a nickname or something, it doesn’t sit right with me. But besides that the book was good and I would rate it as a 5 star read.