Mariana Zapata

"If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one. After seventeen years--and countless broken bones and broken promises--she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close. But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she's spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything. Including Ivan Lukov"--Page 4 of cover.

From Lukov with Love

ivy 

I loved my family. And I loved figure skating. And I sucked at loving both. 

You are who you are in life, and you either live that time trying to bend yourself to make other people happy, or… you don’t.

I’m not going to give up what I love just because I might not have it forever.

The things that kept me up at night weren’t physical. Worrying about being a failure and a disappointment weren’t things you could just fix. They were just there. All the time. And if there was a way to work on them, I hadn’t learned how to yet.

I believe in you. In us. Regardless of what happens, you will always be the best partner I've ever had. You'll always be the hardest working person I've ever known. There will only ever be you. 

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. 

I love you so much I spend all day with you, and it still isn’t enough for me,” he kept going. I stopped breathing. “I love you so much, if I can’t skate with you, I don’t want to skate with anyone else.” Holy. Fuck. “I love you so fucking much, Jasmine, that if I broke my ankle during a program, I would get up and finish it for you, to get you what you’ve always wanted.

Amelia

-but we need to get over this, and we need to do it soon. You're hesitating because you don't trust me because of that idiot before me, so what do you want from me? Or what do you need from me so we can get there?"

Bia || Alpi 

barely caught on to the fact that the top drawer of it was open... barely caught on to the fact he was holding white sheets of paper that 

he shouldn't have seen and shouldn't have known existed

, when Ivan's head snapped up and I saw, I saw, his face was a color it shouldn't have been.

"What the hell is this?" he asked, shaking the papers in his hand, angrily, so angry, so fast, I really felt bad.

Only for a second. But it still happened.

The breath I hadn't realized I'd blown out of my lungs, came back in me before I managed to hiss out, "What the hell are you doing looking through my things?"

It was a sign of how angry he was that he didn't immediately have a comeback for me.

 was my fault. I knew he was nosey. I knew he was nosey because I was nosey. But 

 Those papers had been in there safely for years.

Ivan ignored my question, crushing the sheets in his hand so tightly, they formed partial balls. "Who. who...?" he stuttered, another sign of how furious he was. Ivan never stuttered. Never faltered. 

He gave the papers another shake. "Who did this?"

He shook his head holding the papers dropping until his fist bumped against his thigh, his head cocked to the side in anger. I’m so much anger, I could almost taste it. “Don’t ‘Ivan’ me. 

But they had never held my face before. At least not the way he did right then. Because his palms went to my cheeks and he cupped them.

His lips pressed to mine. Surged to mine. Covered them. Hard.

And then he kissed my upper lip between his while I was still trying to figure out 

His mouth went to my eyes suddenly, and he pressed his lips from one of my eyelids to the other, quick, fluttering, so light I could barely feel it. One brow bone and then the other. And I just sat there.

I sat there and I didn't move away or push him away or tell him no.

"Stop it, fucking stop it," he barked at me, his left hand coming down to cup my kneecap, stroking up my thigh.

His hand was shaking. Why was his hand shaking?

“Jasmine, for the love of God, quit trying to get up,” Ivan shouted at me, his hands going everywhere and nowhere, but I couldn't be sure because it felt like something was roaring in my ears, and the pain below my knee was getting worse, worse, worse.

"It's fine. Give me a minute," I blabbed, attempting to lift my bad leg only for him to hold it down, squeezing my thigh painfully.

"Stop it, Jasmine, fucking stop," he demanded, his hand above my knee. "

" my partner yelled somewhere, but I wasn't sure because I guess I had started staring at my leg...

I’d done something to my goddamn ankle.

I didn't even realize I'd opened my mouth until Ivan whispered hoarsely into my ear, "Don't cry. Don't you dare fucking cry right now. Do you hear me? You are not going to cry on the ice, in public. Hold it in. Hold it in. Not one tear, Jasmine. Not a single tear. Do you hear me?"

I sucked in a breath, my eyes going glassy and everything going blurry.

Why did I feel like I was about to throw up?

"Don't you dare do it" he hissed again, the arm around my shoulders tightening. “You don't want anyone to see you do this. Hold it, baby, just hold it...."

Love to me was honesty. Being real. Knowing someone's best and worst. Love was a push that said someone believed in you when you didn't.

Love was effort and time. And while I'd laid in bed the night before, it had jumped out to me that maybe that was why I had taken things so badly months ago when my mom had made it seem like I loved figure skating more than her. Because I knew it was like to not be important to someone.

At that moment, the doors behind him opened and I could hear my brother and James arguing, followed by my mom talking to my sister about how she shouldn’t keep things from her mother. The hypocrite.

“I’ll get going then,” my partner — my friend — said, slipping his hand out of mine gently and effortlessly. "I’ll see you tomorrow. Get some rest. Call if you need me.”

I nodded, this... something... pressed right at the center of my chest.

And before I could think about what I was doing, I went up to my tiptoes and kissed what I could reach — Ivan's chin.

He looked down at me with an expression I had never seen before.

 pleased me. So, I smacked his hip and said, “Drive careful, Satan."

He swallowed so loud I heard it. "I believe in you. In us. Regardless of what happens, you will always be the best partner I've ever had. You'll always be the hardest working person I've ever known. There will only ever be you." 

I sobbed into him. These fucking tears just purging themselves from me. His affection, his words, his belief were just... too much. They were too everything.

And I was so greedy, I needed them. I needed them like I needed to breathe.

"I’d give you every ribbon, trophy, medal, anything at my house or at the LC if it meant something," he told me. "Tl give you anything you want if you stop crying."

But I couldn't. AndI didn't. Not for every medal in the world could I stop. Not for any and every figure skating honor I'd been dreaming about for half my life, could I have stopped.

I just kept on crying. For my dad. For my mom. For my siblings. For myself.

For not feeling good enough. For not feeling enough. For doing what I wanted to do despite all the noes and the eye rolls and all the things I’d had to give up along the way. All the things I’d lost that might someday regret more than I already did.

But mostly, I cried because while I didn’t care what most people thought of me, I cared too much about the people whose opinion I did value.

My voice broke. Totally just snapped in half.

And that was when the first wave of tears hit my eyes, and I gasped to keep them inside of me. To fucking keep them in because I wasn’t going to do this. I wasn’t going to fucking do it, especially not over my dad's comments.

But your body doesn't always listen to what you tell it. I was well aware of that. But it still felt like a betrayal when it didn't hold in the tears I was trying to keep a rein on.

And Ivan's arms tightened even more, pulling me in the millimeter left until we were plastered together from thighs to hips to chest.

I made time for my family on Saturday nights, when Ivan usually joined me unless one of his "kids" was sick. And on those rare days when one of them didn't feel well, I'd drive out to see him on Sunday, and we'd hang out at his house and take them for a walk, or watch television on his big, comfortable couch. And twice, I'd brought Jessie and Benny along with me, and it had been just as fun, because Lacey might be a little sassy ass with a side-look that impressed the fuck out of me, but she loved kids.

Eu não tenho estruturas para esse tipo de cena, eu me derreto inteira 

He didn't look like he believed me, but he didn't say anything either as I walked toward him.

Instead, Ivan held out his hand, and I didn't think much of it as I slipped my hand into his and leaned into his side without thinking about it. I was used to it, I could tell myself. I was used to being right up against him. It felt more natural than it should have.

"You're feeling that bad again?" he asked gently, taking my weight without a complaint.

I shook my head against his shoulder. “Just tired."

His hand squeezed mine. "Want some more water?"

I swallowed and closed my eyes for a moment. "Everything."

There was no hesitation as Ivan asked. “Want a hug? You liked that before.”

Ivan was silent as he turned his body and wrapped those long, muscular arms around me, pulling me into his build so that my face went right for that space between his pectorals. My own sigh was instant. One of his hands went flat to my spine and started rubbing up and down the length of it before pausing at the highest point and then rubbing over one shoulder blade and then the other. Circle, circle, circle, easing the ache somehow like it was fucking magic.

“That feels nice,” I whispered, trying to get closer into him.

Something about being sick just made me want to be held. And especially when it was Ivan. He was big enough to really hold me, and he wasn’t squeamish or weird about affection or the contact. He was used to it too, I guess.

The only pictures he had up were either of him with his family, candids of his pets, and his family in general. I happened to be in two of them.

. I couldn't forgive myself if something happened to you because of me," he kept going, his voice rising. "I’ve known you since you were a little kid, helping my sister off the ice when she fell. You didn't treat her different because of her last narme like everyone else did. You didn't ask her about me. You and Karina just picked each other. I know the things you did for her, she told me. She told all of us about 

Jasmine Santos who isn't scared of anybody

who doesn't like unicorns because she likes Pegasus, because they can fly

 to be my partner for years, dumbass. When Karina had told me you were thinking about switching to pairs, I had thought you would say something to me, even in passing as a joke. I thought you would say you were going to kick my ass, and I had planned on talking to you over it. But you never did. The next thing I knew, you 

 a partner. Some dipshit that wasn’t half as good as you.”

“Do you remember that? Do you remember that I didn’t talk to you for six months after that?” He asked me, his entire focus on 

And I nodded because I did. I remember how he’d come back at me with a vengeance out of the blue, talking so much shit over those two years, I wasn’t sure how my ears didn’t bleed and how I managed not to key his car.

“You’ve been in my life for thirteen 

. How could you not think I don’t care about you? We fuck around with each other because we both like it. Because there’s nobody else we can fuck around with that can handle it.”

Something uneasy burned through my belly. "I get it, Ivan. Without me, you can't compete. Trust me, I get it. I know it. I'm not planning on screwing you over. I didn't mean to get sick and screw up starting our choreography. You know I'm sorry."

"You're my friend, Jasmine. Not just my fucking partner. Don't give me that bullshit." 

I reeled back at his tone and watched his face get 

"I want you to be safe because you matter to me. You think I bring my partners to my house? You think I let them into my life? You think I spend time with their families? I don't, and I never have. I learned my lesson when I was a teenager and my partner tried to blackmail my family by saving they paid for us to win our junior events. That’s why I do contracts now, to keep it professional. I don’t ever want to be as unhappy as I was after my first partner did those things to my family and me. But you…”

Tô carente e minha linguagem do amor é toque, the highway is looking perfect tonight, huh? 😭😭

I screwed my eyes closed and held my breath as the pain in my chest got so bad, I wasn't sure I could breathe if I tried. And I sniffed. This tiny little sniff I only barely heard.

"Come here," was the soft whisper right by my ear as the hands on my shoulders tightened.

The "No" out of my mouth sounded like two rocks sliding against each other.

"Let me give you a hug." His voice sounded even closer, his body warmer.

Shame burned me inside out, and I tried to take another step forward, but the hands on me didn't let me go anywhere.

I squeezed my eyes closed even more and said, before I could stop myself, "I don't want a fucking hug, Ivan. Okay?"

Why? Why did I do this to myself? Why did I do this to other people? All he was doing was trying to be nice and—

"Well, too fucking bad," Ivan replied a moment before the hands on my shoulders started to shift, to slide, going across my upper chest, right beneath my collarbones until his forearms were crossed over me in an X, and then Ivan was pulling me back — stumbling me back — until my upper back hit his chest, flesh to flesh.

And he hugged me. He hugged me so tight to him I couldn’t breathe, and I hated myself. I hated myself for being hypocrite. For not being nicer. For expecting the worst all the time. I hated myself for so many things, I wasn’t sure I could count them all and survive.

And the arms around me somehow got even thinner, until every bone in my spine was curved into every bone in his upper body. 

“You’re the best figure skater I’ve ever seen,” this man whispered directly into my ear, his hold the strongest thing I had ever felt in my life. “You are. The most athletic. The strongest. The toughest. The hardest working—“

"And I made it with almond-coconut milk. You don't need the extra dairy," he kept going, still holding that damned mug half an inch from my chest as I stood there.

Ivan had made me fucking hot chocolate. Without marshmallows according to him, but he wouldn't have known that I only treated myself to hot cocoa with marshmallows on very rare occasions.

—  couldn't handle. I just couldn't process it. It was like that moment when he and Lee had asked me to first partner up with him, like I was on drugs and didn't realize it.

Ivan Lukov, the greatest frenemy in my life after my siblings, had made me hot cocoa.

I pinched my lips together for a moment and tried to wrangle it all in, my anger, this fucking sadness, my disappointment. And I thought I'd done a decent job as I said, almost weak, definitely weird, "I didn't know you had your own room." I swallowed. "Must be nice."

Did that sound as fake as I thought it did or...?

His face didn't change at all. Neither did that tone I didn't know what to think of. "I don't bring people here."

The "huh" out of my mouth sounded about as flat as I felt.

He kept on stirring, his eyes going nowhere. “It's my quiet place."

That had me flicking my gaze at him, surprised by his comment.

"It used to be a conference room and a storage closet, but I had it renovated a few years ago, when some fans snuck into the facility and went into the changing room while I was showering.”

I've only read about two of Zapata's works before this one and had such a fun time. However, I do feel there is a constant misdirection within her characters and the background she gives them. 

Jasmine, for instance, felt almost three-dimensional but wasn't? I loved her internal conflicts with purpose, competitiveness, and fear of disappointing her loved ones— you would expect being born into a Mexican/Filipino family would have a lot to do with those topics but somehow relevant issues like these are blurred and never mentioned again in the novel. 

I know it's supposed to be a sporty/romance novel. But when you give your characters backgrounds like this and mentions of trauma I believe it's always important to provide them with time to discover that. 

Same with Ivan. Yes, he's grumpy, yes he loves animals, what else? 

Also, how come she mentions she has a best friend and they only interact TWICE from beginning to end? 

Anyway, I'm not an editor so who am I to judge? 

 trying to be endearing and I'm swinging bye. 

I've only read about two of Zapata's works before this one and had such a fun time. However, I do feel there is a constant misdirection within her characters and the background she gives them. 

It almost feels lazy. 

Jasmine, for instance, felt almost three-dimensional but wasn't? I loved her internal conflicts with purpose, competitiveness, and fear of disappointing her loved ones— you would expect being born into a Mexican/Filipino family would have a lot to do with those topics but somehow relevant issues like these are blurred and never mentioned again in the novel. 

I know it's supposed to be a sporty/romance novel. But when you give your characters backgrounds like this and mentions of trauma I believe it's always important to provide them with time to discover that. 

Same with Ivan. Yes, he's grumpy, yes he loves animals, what else? 

Also, how come she mentions she has a best friend and they only interact TWICE from beginning to end? eye twitch

Anyway, I'm not an editor so who am I to judge? 

psa: a man calls me meatball trying to be endearing and I'm swinging bye. 

Madii

a fantastic slow burn romance novel  

I laughed, I cried, I got angry and frustrated. I don't know if I've ever read any novel as well written as this. It's on a different level, I don't know if I'll ever forget it for the rest of my life.

big ab

i have mixed feelings about this, like i loved parts of it a lot. but also i have a real issue with grown women acting like they’re 16 years old, and she acted like she was 16 years old the entire time even though she was pushing 30… also like she did nothing? like this entire book was him loving her so much and taking care of her and whenever he did open up or admit anything vulnerable, she would skip over it? also omg she’s a really bad friend to that guy’s sister. like a very bad friend. awful tbh. and he was weirdly really upset AT HER for having a stalker????? like … what? AND THE STALKER THING WAS NEVER TOUCHED UPON AGAIN?!

Sarah

LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS BOOK! Had me in tears by the ends… IVAN is everything and JAS such a badass I love her, the endless bickering between them is to DIE for, Zapata just became my favorite author QUEEN OF SLOWBURN

Hanna Rybchynska

Selin Igten

madreadz⟢

“I’m okay with you having ten other people be your favourite. But you’re always going to be my favourite person,” he finished. “Always. No matter what.”


I’m a sucker for such a good slow burn contemporary romance. Who would’ve thought I would be so invested in a sports, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, forced proximity novel? It would’ve been a solid 5 star read for me if it wasn’t for Jasmine’s inner monologue. I can’t believe the characters are supposed to 26/29 but they seem soooo immature in my head. I was so excited that there would be figure skating elements but so much potential could’ve been developed during their practices and competitions but it felt a little dragged out with their constant banters instead of feeling the tension between them. I absolutely love the character development throughout the book and their friendship is so precious! I liked their friendship > romance aspect overall. To be called “meatball” and be hugged by Ivan. Adore, adore this book! 🥹

Isabella 

This is, by far, my favorite Mariana Zapata book. I loved it so much. From the beginning until the end. It had me smiling and crying so much. I LOVEEEEEED everything about this book. I loved seeing the family dynamics; it was so sweet and fun. I love Ivan and Jasmine so much; I love their relationship. It was so nice to see the buildup of their relationship, and I'm glad their banter didn't die down. I loved seeing Jasmine grow, and seeing how Ivan shows his love toward Jasmine. It was everything. Beautiful, phenomenal. One of my favorite books ever. I love the rivals to lovers trope, so I knew I would eat this up, and it did not disappoint. I love it so much. No words can even explain it.

Ana Luiza

Acho que eu finalmente descobri meu tipo de romance preferido: slow-burn. E Mariana Zapata tem o maior slow-burn da história, parece que os protagonistas nunca vão sequer se beijar. Mas de alguma forma ela consegue fazer isso sem parecer forçado, ou chato, e sim natural. O relacionamento de Ivan e Jasmine cresceu da maneira mais linda possível, de forma que os dois se apoiam mais do que qualquer outra coisa.
Uma das coisas que eu mais amei nesse livro foi a família da Jasmine, leria mais uns 5 livros sobre eles.

Releitura: tirei uma estrela!! Não porque vi algum defeito, continuo achando o livro muito bom. Mas agora sou capaz de comparar com as outras histórias da autora, que são um pouco melhores. Foi meu primeiro livro dela, me fez apaixonar pelo slow-burn, que continua sendo meu estilo preferido de romance. Inclusive leio todos dela assim que lançam <3

Ena Kalkan

some parts of this book felt very, very redundant. i felt like i had re-read a certain line over and over again and i'm pretty sure that was one of the reasons why i felt like i couldn't really stay with the book. while i finished it, i didn't really end up liking it as much as i did when i started the book. the whole enemies-to-lovers slow burn is exactly the type of story i live for but this one wasn't it for me.

2.5 stars.

this book had me feeling some kind of way and Lukov certainly helped with that hee hee

sophie <3

Julia Moran 

3.5/5 
I mean lo disfrute pero no es world-shattering amazing idk...
De que esta entretenido y ya, te diviertes pero naaada del otro mundo.
Peeeero el final me saco lagrimitas debo de admitir jajaja. So nostalgic idk ahajdjskdhsolwpsdb

dulce yasmin 

nina 

honour

i loved this book far more than i ever thought i would. i loved jasmine’s family dynamic, i loved jasmine and i loved ivan. i only wish we’d seen more of karina because i’m positive she’s a bad bitch.

lexie

helloz universe, may i order a Ivan Lukov? Ivan lukov will be in my top 5 Fictional men. I loved this book. even though it's so slow bc it's a slow burn, it's entertaining and funny.

nuélle

[2.5/5]
it was kinda cute but the writing made me want to put my head through a wall, istg if I read ppl "blinking" at eachother ever again I'll kms

ep. bueno, me gustó y disfruté leerlo pero no me gustó tanto como pensé que me iba a gustar

Sooo good. Bit slow but that makes it more intens when something happens. Love it

Hanne de ceuster

annika

carolreadabook

Ivaaaaaaaaaaaan! This man means the world to me! argh, I fell again for a fictional man. 

My favorite scenes are all the times when Ivan defeats Jasmine's dreams, or when he shows his affection and friendship through actions for her, or when he simply takes care of her when she is sick. In others words, FLWL is one of my fav books due to Ivan.

Anyway, let me put some effort to convince you to read FLWL. If you love:
- grumpy girl;
- sports romance;
- slow burn;
- nemesis to friends to lovers;
- he falls first;
- partners in crime and everything, so this book is for you. Please, go read!

If didn't work, let me show you one of my fav quotes, which is:

  “There’s my Meatball,” he said in almost a whisper, his fingers loosening from around my wrist until they were slipping through mine, holding our hands together like we had done it a thousand times. Because we had. “We’re doing this, right? Together? I won’t make fun of you, but you can make fun of me a bit?”


This was my second experience reading an MZ book and I was beyond amazed. I love how Mariana Zapata writes her book, I love the slow burn, the sexual tension, the construction of the characters, and how we always get a happy ending.

The song I dedicated to them is I GUESS I'M IN LOVE because Jasmine suffers a lot in others hands, but when she is with Ivan he made all the fears of her disappear, at the same time she's so afraid of falling in love with Ivan and do not be reciprocated.

Easy and cute read! Not my favorite characters and the loved lacked in my opinion but nonetheless I was entertained!

Cherry

honya

OML THIS BOOK WAS JUST CHEFS KISS🤌 it was so hilarious (jojo especially) and it didn’t even feel like i was reading!!! my fav book atm

“I believe in you. In us. Regardless of what happens, you will always be the best partner I’ve ever had. You’ll always be the hardest working person I’ve ever known. There will only ever be you.”

My friend told me that if I liked Icebreaker that I would love From Lukov with Love and I was excited for this one. Unfortunately, it really disappointed me. This book was basically the complete opposite to Icebreaker, the only similarities being that both books are far too long and that there is ice skating involved. Starting off I found Jasmine a bit "not like other girls" right from the get go, the way she was speaking about the teenage girls in the changing room made me feel a bit uncomfortable and maybe I should've stopped reading at that point but I pushed on. The initial story line hooked me, it felt a bit predictable, but I could see myself genuinely enjoying the rivals to lovers pipeline, their fun bickering and then seeing them fall in love with each other as they got closer to each other. It started off on that foot but then it spiraled into a mess and really lost the plot.

There was so much opportunity already built into the story for there to be tension and passion between Jasmine and Ivan, the photoshoot for Anatomy, the ballet lessons, during their training and competitions as well as key plot points which could've been more substantial like Jasmine's injury and her issues with creepy people but Zapata seemed to miss these every time and focused more on Jasmine's family dramas and her inner insecurities instead. The photoshoot 

 managed to pull on my heart strings with her being insecure about the stalkers, the creepy men messaging her and their previous "banter" but even that completely missed the mark. Instead, it made me dislike Ivan... the things he said to her felt like gaslighting... he basically bullied her for years, and not even just sassy low level jabs, he was commenting on her weight and body over and over again and then told her "but I was just joking" as if jokes can't hurt or have some part of the truth hidden in them. There was a moment they were in bed together too, semi naked even and... nothing happened. It always fizzled. I get that Zapata is a slow burn queen but this was more like she was cock blocking her own characters 😂 In the end I just didn't really like either main character at all, Ivan was a bit of a red flag - from getting angry at her instead of comforting her, to bossing her around and forcing her to do things she'd repeatedly said no to, and Jasmine was just whiny and self-centered - and no amount of her recognizing that about herself could make up for it, because she never 

 improved aside from biting her tongue to stop herself swearing.

I also felt like the romance between the two just never happened, they were close friends by the end of the book but I never even got a hint of them falling for each other. I guessed that Ivan had always liked her from the beginning, but being inside Jasmine's inner monologue, she never even gave an inkling that she was actually attracted to him beyond aesthetically and their developing friendship. Then next thing she was proclaiming she loved him. I was also told this book was spicy... but there wasn't any intimacy until the last 5% of the book. I think this book actually would've benefited from leaving the spice out altogether and focused on their friendship rather than forcing them into a relationship. It made the ending and epilogue feel so rushed and clunky.

Zapata's writing was also quite strange. It felt like she was trying to reach a certain word count. The amount of times she mentioned people blinking was mind boggling, she also repeated words for emphasis like "slowly, slowly, slowly" which got a tad annoying, and kept using weird descriptors to explain who was speaking when it was totally unnecessary. Lines like this one:

“Not you, Mom,” Karina replied, calling my mom the same thing she always had: Mom.

Really highlight how odd the writing was, this could've really used a heavier hand in editing. It would've flowed so much better if it read as, '"Not you, Mom," Karina replied. Karina always referred to my mom as her own, since our family was basically her second family.' It also got very confusing when Jasmine's inner monologue would take over midway through dialogue - conversations that could've been 2-3 pages ended up dragging out to 10-20 pages instead. It got really painful after a while.

Overall, this book was a real let down and I am honestly a bit surprised it is as loved as it is. I have seen so many raving, hyped up reviews of this and I actually feel like I might've read a different book... I gave three stars because I could see some potential, but I think this entire story needed a lot of work and it just wasn't for me in the end.

Genevieve 

“I believe in you. In us. Regardless of what happens, you will always be the best partner I’ve ever had. You’ll always be the hardest working person I’ve ever known. There will only ever be you.”

3.25 ⭐'s

My friend told me that if I liked Icebreaker that I would love From Lukov with Love and I was excited for this one. Unfortunately, it really disappointed me. This book was basically the complete opposite to Icebreaker, the only similarities being that both books are far too long and that there is ice skating involved. Starting off I found Jasmine a bit "not like other girls" right from the get go, the way she was speaking about the teenage girls in the changing room made me feel a bit uncomfortable and maybe I should've stopped reading at that point but I pushed on. The initial story line hooked me, it felt a bit predictable, but I could see myself genuinely enjoying the rivals to lovers pipeline, their fun bickering and then seeing them fall in love with each other as they got closer to each other. It started off on that foot but then it spiraled into a mess and really lost the plot.

There was so much opportunity already built into the story for there to be tension and passion between Jasmine and Ivan, the photoshoot for Anatomy, the ballet lessons, during their training and competitions as well as key plot points which could've been more substantial like Jasmine's injury and her issues with creepy people but Zapata seemed to miss these every time and focused more on Jasmine's family dramas and her inner insecurities instead. The photoshoot almost managed to pull on my heart strings with her being insecure about the stalkers, the creepy men messaging her and their previous "banter" but even that completely missed the mark. Instead, it made me dislike Ivan... the things he said to her felt like gaslighting... he basically bullied her for years, and not even just sassy low level jabs, he was commenting on her weight and body over and over again and then told her "but I was just joking" as if jokes can't hurt or have some part of the truth hidden in them. There was a moment they were in bed together too, semi naked even and... nothing happened. It always fizzled. I get that Zapata is a slow burn queen but this was more like she was cock blocking her own characters 😂 In the end I just didn't really like either main character at all, Ivan was a bit of a red flag - from getting angry at her instead of comforting her, to bossing her around and forcing her to do things she'd repeatedly said no to, and Jasmine was just whiny and self-centered - and no amount of her recognizing that about herself could make up for it, because she never really improved aside from biting her tongue to stop herself swearing.

I also felt like the romance between the two just never happened, they were close friends by the end of the book but I never even got a hint of them falling for each other. I guessed that Ivan had always liked her from the beginning, but being inside Jasmine's inner monologue, she never even gave an inkling that she was actually attracted to him beyond aesthetically and their developing friendship. Then next thing she was proclaiming she loved him. I was also told this book was spicy... but there wasn't any intimacy until the last 5% of the book. I think this book actually would've benefited from leaving the spice out altogether and focused on their friendship rather than forcing them into a relationship. It made the ending and epilogue feel so rushed and clunky.

Zapata's writing was also quite strange. It felt like she was trying to reach a certain word count. The amount of times she mentioned people blinking was mind boggling, she also repeated words for emphasis like "slowly, slowly, slowly" which got a tad annoying, and kept using weird descriptors to explain who was speaking when it was totally unnecessary. Lines like this one:
“Not you, Mom,” Karina replied, calling my mom the same thing she always had: Mom.
Really highlight how odd the writing was, this could've really used a heavier hand in editing. It would've flowed so much better if it read as, '"Not you, Mom," Karina replied. Karina always referred to my mom as her own, since our family was basically her second family.' It also got very confusing when Jasmine's inner monologue would take over midway through dialogue - conversations that could've been 2-3 pages ended up dragging out to 10-20 pages instead. It got really painful after a while.

Overall, this book was a real let down and I am honestly a bit surprised it is as loved as it is. I have seen so many raving, hyped up reviews of this and I actually feel like I might've read a different book... I gave three stars because I could see some potential, but I think this entire story needed a lot of work and it just wasn't for me in the end.

From Lukov with Love

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