Mariana Zapata

“Trust me, I’ve wanted to punch you in the face a time or five.”

When the man you worshipped as a kid becomes your coach, it’s supposed to be the greatest thing in the world. Keywords: supposed to. 

It didn't take a week for 27-year-old Sal Casillas to wonder what she'd seen in the international soccer icon - why she'd ever had his posters on her wall or ever envisioned marrying him and having super-playing soccer babies.

Sal had long ago gotten over the worst non-break-up in the history of imaginary relationships with a man who hadn't known she'd existed. So she isn't prepared for this version of Reiner Kulti who shows up to her team's season: a quiet, reclusive shadow of the explosive, passionate man he'd once been.

Kulti

Gabriela Kondratyuk

Maria 

»Head in the game, Sal. Keep your head in the game. Worry about things when they happen instead of wasting your time anticipating.«

»people are going to judge you regardless of what you do, Sal. Don't listen to what they have to say because at the end of the day, you're the one that has to live with your choices and where they take you. No one else is going to live your life for you.«

big ab

listen, i love this author. i eat up every single one of her books. but please dear god, do not start with this book. it’s one of her cringiest books tbh, but if you like a self discovery thru sports and a true slow burn then you will like her books.

Minahil Fatima 

reiner kulti, the man that you are. i SWEAR.

3.5 rounded down to 3 stars

It took me a while to get into, especially with how rude Kulti was, but he eventually won me over with the way he would do anything for her and made up for being such a jerk early on. The writing made me cringe at times, (did she need to say "bah" so much..) but I really enjoyed Sal as a character. She handled things so well and was so emotionally mature and didn't fall into annoying tropes of being whiny and stupid like many fmcs I've read which was refreshing. Normally I don't think romance books need to be over 400 pages, but the slow burn in this one was very sweet and felt very realistic. I loved seeing how they went from disliking each other to being best friends who truly understood each other. I think overall if the writing was a bit better and less... juvenile? and some minor changes were made, this would've been a 4.5 star read for me instead of a 3.5 rounded up. But all in all, I enjoyed myself and read the whole thing in only two sittings which says a lot for someone with a short attention span.

abby

Sal should have given pat because she is way too strong and patient to keep up with Kulti.

Isabella 

I'm not a big fan of slow-burn, so when I realized this book was slow-burn, I was starting to lose interest. The romance started on the latter part of the book, but now that I realized it, I think it's for the better, given their circumstance. I enjoyed the build up of their friendship, but then again, I felt like the latter part was rushed. This is my first MZ book, so I don't know if this is how the author usually writes. Interestingly enough, I liked this book because of its slow-burn as well. It allowed their relationship to develop naturally which is something we don't often see in romance books. I have nothing against this book. I believed it gave what it wanted to give, but I guess, it's just not entirely my cup of tea. I liked this book, but I wouldn't consider it as one of my favorites.

Ana Luiza

Não existe ninguém que escreve romance como Mariana Zapata. Não sou a maior fã do gênero, mas sou apaixonada pelos livros dela. Tem anos que estou pra ler Kulti e fico feliz que finalmente peguei, é maravilhoso.
Sempre termino os livros dela querendo pegar outro kkkk

Arielis Valentin

This was perfection like always. I can confidently say I know I’m gonna have a perfect read if the author is Mariana Zapata 😭♥️

Wilma Lindmark

I had so high hopes for this one since I LOVED from Lukov with love and the wall of Winnipeg and me... but it didn't meet my expectations. I didn't feel any chemistry between them and the relationship between them felt strange. Because when I read slow burns I read it for the angst and tension which I didn't feel while reading this book. I don't like age gap either because when its 13 years between them I have to pretend that he is younger, but that's just on me.

However the book was well written but it felt like a big part of the book could have been left out, I like how the football parts were written and the balance between football and Sal's life but I missed the romance. But I really liked Sal's character and how she developed in the book. 

Would I recommend this? No, not really, if you want a slow burn there are so many other books and I think Mariana Zapata is very good at writing just slow burns but this one didn't hit the mark...

Michaella 

I read this one freaking day. This was so wholesome and cute. The best romance I've read in a hot minute!

mariana has made me come to love the slowburn trope, but in this sense. her writing style and pacing is a lot slower than regular romance slowburn. what i love about her slowburns like this is the little crumbs you start to get once the mcs get closer and their relationship develops, i start giggling and kicking my feet and all they did was finally make eye contact like 200 pages in lolol. jokes aside, this book was a masterpiece!!!! it was everything i want in a romance book. a bad bitch female mc who is a beast in her sport, who is kind and loyal and so so giving. then a grumpy male mc who doesn’t care for anyone except her!!! the way kulti expressed his love for sal without even needing to say a thing, his love language is definitely acts of service. i absolutely adored this book and am debating if i need the physical copy. one of my favorite reads of the year

Danyella Barajas

Faith Kitowski

so so so so so good. my brain was like short circuiting. this was my first mariana zapata book and it definitely isn’t my last. ahhh excuse me while i go add kulti to my list of book boyfriends cause that man… oh man

jupiter

Erin Campbell

melanie alvarez 

Allison Freedman

4/5 ⚽️



   “Nothing would happen. We would have a different adventure to go on. You are my best friend, my love, my playmate and my teammate. You’ll have a team with me wherever we are, with whatever we are playing.”
 

Alright Mariana Zapata takes the cake when it comes to slow burns. I mean this was excruciatingly slow in the best way.. I found myself glancing down at how much I had left on my kindle and seriously questioning if Sal and Rey would even kiss! Let alone hug! But man was it a joy to read. Once Rey opens up he is *chefs kiss*. A soccer super star babe. His love confession to Sal had me WEAK physically weak in the knees. Who knew a guy who barely said shit the first half of the book had the ability to sweep a girl off her feet. The banter and the writing were so well done, it was difficulty for me to put this down. Not only did I love the main characters, but also Sals dad was such a fun addition. I do wish we got more backstory regarding Eric and Rey’s encounter. The epilogue was the perfect touch to this book. It was short and sweet, but still so heartwarming. If you can stand a slow burn and I mean  schnecke  paced, definitely pick this up.

🧸

“Hey, you German bratwurst.” 

I just finished it and I have tears in my eyes I'm so sad it ended 😭💗💗

Sal is so funny omgg I love herrr the scene where she put rey in his place had me cheering and screaming at 3am. BEST SCENE EVER.

this is my 5th favorite book of mz. man this author really has me wrapped around her finger I'd read anything written by her and im not even complaining.

This was perfect. The slow burn was absolutely delicious and I read majority of this book in one day in order to finish it. I loved everything. I loved Sal and her personality and Reiner and his grumpiness. Honestly, I do not have a single fault with this book! It was indeed just perfect. I just wish I had annotated it, but at least I have an excuse to go back, reread and do exactly that.

Addie 🌻

menna

there were a few things that kind of didn't set well with me, not big things just few things here and there, but other than that I was reading this with a grin on my face and I couldn't have stopped smiling even if my life depended on it.

Kulti

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