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.
Comment: I had recently read Dear Aaron by this author and a secondary character in that book was Jasmine, a younger sister of the then protagonist Ruby.
I was of course delighted there would be a book for Jasmine although the connection is simply the family one as what happens in this book takes place years after what happens in Dear Aaron. I was simply glad I would be able to see some characters again, even if for just a little bit of time.
In this enemies-to-lovers plot, the author tells the story of Jasmine Santos, a 26 year old who has dedicated her life to figure skating, something much more demanding, both physically and financially, than what people think. Jasmine has had a good career but never to the point of being brilliant, not when she was competing in singles, nor when she went to pairs.
Jasmine is now at a point where she is thinking of, or aware others think that, retiring and maybe dedicate herself to coaching. Only two things make her hold on, which are the eagerness to win or try to win something before that and, of course, to prove to Ivan Lukov, her sort of enemy, she is better than her numbers say.
Jasmine has been friends with Ivan's sister and despite the Lukov name and money and fame in figure skating, she isn't dazzled by Ivan's charms and they butt heads every time they meet. But now it seems Lukov has a proposition for Jasmine... will she accept it?
I actually liked this book much more than Dear Aaron. The dynamics between Jasmine and Ivan felt much more likable and interesting to follow than those of the other couple.
Once again, the story is told from the heroine's POV, and I liked following Jasmine's thoughts. I think the is a character that is easier for the readers to connect with because of her drive and personality.
A huge part of the story is very focused on Jasmine's evolution as a character so it isn't a surprise to notice how she goes from seemingly so angry and almost defeated to the much happier person in the end.
I've said before that my biggest issue with this author's work is how all her heroines always have the only POV of the book. It can be so reductive in how things are perceived because just one narrator might not have the best POV for specific scenes. I wished the hero could have air time too, even if the majority of the situations can be understood from what is on going and unseen on the page. Still, in this story I didn't miss it that much because of the amount of dialogue and group situations Jasmine was involved with. It did seem as if she had more interaction with others to balance her single voice.
The romance felt almost perfectly done for me. Yes, much needs to be read between the lines but I think the author managed to convey the important parts well.
I really liked how the relationship between Jasmine and Ivan evolved. They felt like enemies but of course it's more of a role they play to not seem weaker in front of the other but as things went forward and Jasmin especially had to deal with some emotional issues, it was truly cute to see Ivan help her. I think the author included more than enough scenes where they need to rely on one another and where Jasmine trusts him to help or just support her and that achieved a lot.
It can be complicated to explain why some things/stories work out better than others for each person. I feel this one worked out very well for me. The dynamics, the pace and the content seemed to be aligned good enough and I did cherish the time I spent reading this book, especially with such a cute epilogue that made me wish I could be pat of these character's lives.
This book is the first I grade the highest this year and of all the books by the author is now my favorite too. I do hope the ones I haven't read yet will be as positively surprising. It also helped the idea of figure skating is one I feel interested in. But most of all, I liked how the characters behaved, how they acted and reacted and I just feel glad they followed the path they did.
Grade: 9/10
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