From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata

 

"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."

Release Date: February 1st, 2018

Genre: Contemporary romance, sports romance, fiction

Rating:

Summary:

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. 

Review:

I definitely missed the From Lukov with Love train - but better late than never, as they say!

I absolutely adored this book! 5 out of 5 bunnies, easily! This is my second sports romance novel, and I am 110% HERE. FOR. IT. Specifically because it is an ice-skating sports romance. I have lazily loved figure skating since I checked out a book at my school library as a kid that was about Michelle Kwan. What a queen. So then to read Icebreaker first then From Lukov with Love, it really allowed me to get into the brain of a figure skater.

I am normally a proud member of the friends-to-lovers trope club BUT the rivals-to-lovers in this book had me SWOONING. This was such a slow burn, but it was completely worth it and made the most sense. Jasmine and Ivan had despised each other for years. It was going to take a lot of name calling, blood, sweat and tears to get these two to see eye-to-eye but it was worth the wait! The love for each other didn't happen overnight: it was gradual, painstakingly slow, and then one day, BOOM! Struck by lightning and there was no turning back.

Jasmine is ABSOLUTELY NESTA CODED. Come to think of it, Jasmine and Ivan are ABSOLUTELY NESTA AND CASSIAN CODED. There, I said it. I absolutely can see so many parallels between the characters and I'm a sucker for it. Jasmine was such a multi-dimensional, complex character. I loved her strength, tenacity, and passion. I hope to achieve all my goals in life while conjuring the determination of Jasmine Santos. Side note, Ivan with all of his rescue animals, SO PRECIOUS. Always get you a man who loves animals, green flags all around.

I am normally not a fan of epilogues, they tend to ruin things for me in the long-run...but this one was perfect and adorable. No complaints at all.

This was such an amazing read. Once again, better late than never. Pick up this stunning sports romance novel! You can thank me later!

Hugs & kisses! 

Quotes:

"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."

"But my mom had told me once that regret was worse than fear."

"I could have been the bigger person, but fuck it, I was five foot three and I wasn't built to be that person ever."

"Nothing and nobody would ever come between my dreams and me."

"When you want something bad enough, you can always make it happen."

"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."

"You're enough. You will always be enough. Hear me?"

"That's the girl I know. The one I partnered up with. The one I think is the best - and you better not ever ask me to repeat that because I won't."

"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," he finished. "Always. No matter what."

"This was my partner. This was more than my partner. He was my other half."