A review by spellbindingtomes
From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata

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

5.0

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯.

This is by far my favorite work by Mariana Zapata and will be a top contender for my favorite romance of the year 💖

It took me awhile to get used to Jasmine's bluntness, but once I did I absolutely loved her! She's fiercely passionate, resilient, honest to a fault, and definitely a force to be reckoned with. She's incredibly hard on herself and this book really delves into all her insecurities but I was amazed to see how much her character developed by the end. 

IVAN. LUKOV. He's easily become one of my top MMCs. He's loyal, supportive and understands Jasmine inside & out. I love how we slowly got to know more about him alongside Jasmine and the things we did learn about him...😂

MZ is the queen of slow burn for a reason. This had the BEST progression from frenemies to reluctant skating partners to friends to best friends to lovers. 

Though Jas and Ivan were ice skating partners, I appreciated that MZ never resorted to their physical proximity being moments where she built the romantic tension. They were professionals which showed their unquestionable love & dedication to the sport. MZ instead relies heavily on their interactions off the ice to grow their friendship, which I couldn't get enough of! Their banter was hilarious & their interview in chapter 7 had me dying.

I finished this book immediately wanting to reread it. I could read about Jasmine & Ivan forever. I highly recommend this for fans of slow burn, ice skating, frenemies to lovers, and reverse grumpy/sunshine!

𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐’𝘮 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘕𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵.