caldreads 's review for:

Cross My Heart by Esha Patel

3.25

emotional hopeful 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

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I’ve read hockey and football and soccer and rugby, but I haven’t read lacrosse! And boy am I glad I added that to my “read” pile.

THOUGHTS 💭 
🥍 This was a really good sports romance read with teammates and line dancing and second chances and friendship.
🥍 There are complex feelings of duty to one’s family and multi-generational livelihood, dreams that feel unattainable, and a grudge that our FMC holds against our MMC (who seemingly “easily” left our FMC and his family behind).
🥍 I simply adore a fake dating trope. It’s always SO good and then when real feeling develop (or rekindle)? Perfection.
🥍 I loved that a quinceañera and a Holi celebration were woven into this story! Having a half Mexican / half South Asian FMC enriched the story.
🥍 There’s this push and pull between May and Colt; the book features a slow burn that was frustrating, but exceedingly satisfying once they decided to be together “for real.”
🥍 This book was a bit slower than some of the others I’ve read by this author, but I still really enjoyed it!

Thanks so much to Esha Patel and Avon Books UK for the ARC of this book!