Jasmine Santos živi za umjetničko klizanje. Nema te ozljede, slomljene kosti ni prekršenog obećanja koje će je zaustaviti na putu do sna. Zato, kad joj se pruži prilika trenirati i natjecati se s Ivanom Lukovom – osobom koju bi radije gurnula pod led nego provela s njim minutu – odlučuje preispitati svoje osjećaje. Jer snovi su ponekad važniji od ponosa…
Moram priznati – svidjela mi se, ali nije me oborila s nogu. Volim kako Zapata piše svoje ženske likove: snažne, tvrdoglave, odlučne. One ne odustaju dok ne dobiju ono što žele. A Jasmine je upravo takva i time me osvojila od prve stranice.
Ovo je slow burn romansa. I kad kažem slow, mislim stvarno sporo – njih dvoje se spoje tek na otprilike 500. stranici od ukupno 520. Ali znate što? Nije mi smetalo. Dapače, uživala sam u tom sporom građenju odnosa, u svakom trenutku koji ih je vodio prema ljubavi, u životu s njima. Samo bih voljela da sam ih osjetila malo više.
Priča se vrti oko umjetničkog klizanja – što mi je ogroman plus. Zapata zna kako temu učiniti zanimljivom, a dijalozi su joj prirodni i uvjerljivi. Ipak, falilo mi je malo više uzbuđenja, dinamike, nečega što bi me dodatno držalo prikovanom za stranice.
Možda sam očekivala previše nakon svih hvalospjeva koje sam pročitala, pa me nije baš u potpunosti osvojila. No unatoč tome – jedva čekam pročitati sve ostale njezine knjige.
[english]
“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.”
From Lukov with Love – Mariana Zapata
Jasmine Santos lives for figure skating. There is no injury, broken bone, or broken promise that will stop her on her way to her dream. So, when she is given the opportunity to train and compete with Ivan Lukov – a person she would rather push under the ice than spend a minute with – she decides to reevaluate her feelings. Because sometimes dreams are more important than pride…
I have to admit – I liked it, but it didn’t knock me off my feet. I love how Zapata writes her female characters: strong, stubborn, determined. They don’t give up until they get what they want. And Jasmine is exactly that, and that’s why she won me over from the first page.
This is a slow burn romance. And when I say slow, I mean really slow – the two of them finally connect around page 500 out of 520. But you know what? I didn’t mind it. In fact, I enjoyed that slow building of the relationship, every moment that led them towards love, living in their life. I just wish I “felt them” a little more.
The story revolves around figure skating – which is a huge plus for me. Zapata knows how to make the topic interesting, and her dialogues are natural and convincing. However, I was missing a little bit more excitement, dynamics, something that would keep me glued to the pages.
Maybe I expected too much after all the praise I read, so it didn’t quite win me over. But despite that – I can’t wait to read all of her other books.
