Review: I really wanted “From Lukov with Love” to be my favorite Mariana Zapata book, but the novel ended up being a bit of a let down for me. There were two aspects in particular that I found a bit off-putting: the body shaming that was present and the slow relationship development. 

 

I get that figure skating is very competitive, but I felt as though a lot of the comments made and certain scenes were extreme and unnecessary. For instance, Ivan calls Jasmine “meatball.” It is clear that the nickname bothers her because she lashes out every time she hears it. To make matters worse, he often jokes about her losing weight, which results in her not wanting to participate in a nude photoshoot with him in fear of him to make fun of her body. Her family even makes fun of her not losing weight until she was 16 in front of Ivan, which I found upsetting. 

 

With regards to the romance, it did not spark until the very end. Ivan does not confess his love for Jasmine until page 495 (there are 540 pages in total). Things happened way too slowly. I felt as though the novel was more about friendship, which I didn’t mind, because Ivan’s development from bully to friend was lovely. Once the two began to tolerate each other, I fell in love with their dynamic. Ivan’s personality meshes well with Jasmine’s tougher exterior. 

 

Ivan himself is just so sweet and protective. I love the little things he does to spend more time with Jasmine, like sitting in on family dinners and babysitting with her. When Jasmine fell ill, he made her soup. When Jasmine’s father expressed his disappointment with her lack of retirement plan, he came to her defense. When Jasmine injures herself, he drove her to physical therapy. My only wish is that more of these moments were included after the two officially declared their love for each other. 

 

I appreciated the representation in this novel. Jasmine identifies as half filipino and has a learning dis/ability. Though Jasmine struggles to read, she does not let that her get in the way of what she wants in life, which I think is such an important message for readers. 

 

While “From Lukov with Love” isn’t my favorite romance novel by Mariana Zapata, I am so glad that I finally had the chance to give it a read.