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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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:
Yes
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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:
Yes
Mariana Zapata is a bit of a hit or miss for me. And while this one wasn't my favourite, it was okay but the nicknames (Schnecke (snail) *cringe*, I know people use it but I don't like it) and food related nicknames at that (Bratwurst, German chocolate cake, Tac0) it was a No-No for me. Also the amount of times that Sal uses "poop" was too much. I mean there are whole lines that are just "poop, poop poop poop" and ...no. I'm not saying women can't swear but that was overused.
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-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
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
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
I have yet to give a Mariana Zapata book anything below infinite 5 stars. All hail the QUEEEEEEEN of slow burn.
i knew MZ wouldn’t let me down and she DELIVERED with this one!! i read ‘from lukov with love’ before this one and wondered if jasmine was loosely based on sal
i freaking loved this okay like read it within 48hrs and had me hooked from the very beginning
10/10
i freaking loved this okay like read it within 48hrs and had me hooked from the very beginning
10/10
My feelings on this one are a bit conflicted. I liked the story more or less, I liked the mcs. There is an age gap, but it's not absurd. I didn't love a lot of the fmcs inner monologue - I think she comes across as young and immature more often not.
That said, I do think if language doesn't bother you much (think....blah, crap, other childish sounding attempts not to swear, and literally saying poop and pee...so much), or if this was rewritten to be a little less jarring (and fixing just 🤏 of the soccer content), this goes to a 4-5 star read easy. MZ is the queen of slow burn romance, and on that front this doesn't disappoint. The tension, developing friendship, and the games the mcs play are very fun.
as a women's soccer fan, the bits about the players being underpaid are absolutely true- but this was published in 2015 which was a time when things had seemed well on the up swing- also with a lot of scandals in the last few years (from review time in 2025), the idea of a M/F coach/player relationship did get a bit icky for me even though it doesn't really feel that way to a reader without that baggage. And ignoring that nuanced aspect, a player doesn't think if themselves as scoring a point when they score a goal, and in the final part of the book Sal "gets two yellow cards" which if you've watched soccer more than a couple times or read any basic rules - is a red card and a suspension, but our fmc finishes the game. It's such a minor detail that is easy to get right and in a romance that does so well representing sport most of the time it was very jarring.
That said, I do think if language doesn't bother you much (think....blah, crap, other childish sounding attempts not to swear, and literally saying poop and pee...so much), or if this was rewritten to be a little less jarring (and fixing just 🤏 of the soccer content), this goes to a 4-5 star read easy. MZ is the queen of slow burn romance, and on that front this doesn't disappoint. The tension, developing friendship, and the games the mcs play are very fun.
emotional
funny
medium-paced