From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata

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Title: From Lukov with Love
Author: Mariana Zapata
Published by: Indie
Release Date: May 1, 2018
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Callie Dalton, Teddy Hamilton
Length: 14 hours and 55 minutes
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Sports Romance
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2018 #LetsReadIndie Challenge, Lenoreo's 2018 HoHoHo Readathon, Lenoreo's 2018 New Release Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ iTunes
My rating:

Blurb:

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.

My Review:

4.5 stars — That’s it.  I think I’m just going to listen to Mariana Zapata’s books from now on, particularly if they’re narrated by Callie Dalton.  Dudes, that chick knows how to give good narration.  Like she takes a book that I would have enjoyed reading on my own, and turns it into a favourite.  She puts so much life and character into Jasmine, that I feel like she really exists and I’m listening to her tell me her story.  She was HILARIOUS.  And I found myself laughing and crying along with her.  And while that is totally due to Ms. Zapata’s words, I truly believe that Ms. Dalton takes them to the next level.

And initially I was wondering how Teddy Hamilton’s narration would come into play, because when there are two narrators, I assume there is dual POV.  But this one was all from Jasmine’s POV, and Mr. Hamilton just lent his voice to Ivan’s dialogue.  That was a first for me as an audiobook listener, I just haven’t come across it yet.  But there was enough back and forth dialogue between Jasmine and Ivan that it really made sense and enhanced my listening experience…especially because no one does dry delivery like Mr. Hamilton.

So on to the story.  As a The Cutting Edge enthusiast (trust me, I can quote word for word the entire ending of that movie), this book was MADE FOR ME.  And I almost lost it when Jasmine joked about doing the Pamchenko…GOLD.  I mean, no, it’s not a hockey player becoming a pairs figure skater story, but there was just this feel to it that reminded me.  It had the same enemies to lovers feel, the same epic slow burn (though with a better payoff in the ending).  It had the same heart.  It was just so fucking good.

I am not normally an enemies to lovers story fan.  There are always exceptions of course, and this is wholeheartedly an exception.  I think because the way they argued and called each other names made me laugh so many times, and in the end you could tell they both really respected one another as athletes.  And with the nature of Jasmine’s personality, I could see that a lot of her relationships would have a bit of a confrontational aspect to them.  So it was like Ivan was meeting her on her own terms.

Saying all that, I adored the way Jasmine’s relationship with Ivan slowly changed over the course of the book.  It was completely believable, and I loved how confused she was at every turn, but how she went with it anyways.

Jasmine and Ivan together were honestly romance gold.  I was invested.  I can’t even tell you how huge my smile must have been for most of the end of the book.  Meatball.  Fucking meatball.  Ivan had me swooning and swooning and swooning.

Because of the slow burn nature of the romance in this story, it wasn’t just a romance…it was a lot about Jasmine’s personal journey.  Her struggles with her own self-worth got to my heart every single time.  Especially in her relationship with her father.  I cried.  I really felt like her growth was believable.  I also loved the addition of Jasmine’s learning disability.  There were so many aspects where we could see how it affected her life, but how she persevered.

I LOVED the sports aspect to the story…it really gave you an appreciation for figure skating, and the amount of work that elite athletes put in every single day.  I can’t even imagine.

And OMG, I need to go back and reread Dear Aaron (or more likely listen to it), because I vaguely remember Ruby’s relationship with her family, but it was an absolute highlight to see the interactions of the Santos family in this one.  Like, an absolute delight.  I laughed and laughed and laughed.  You could tell how much they cared for one another.

So basically, all of the things that I’ve loved about the other books I’ve read by Mariana Zapata were strengths in this book as well — personal character growth, and a strong loving HILARIOUS family.  But I think this has been my favourite romance of hers thus far.  *swoon*