Kulti

This is a five star book for me but it won't be for everyone. This is an EXTEME slow burn, grumpy/sunshine, sports romance.

Sal is strong, confident, kind, and relatable in a way that many of Zapata's characters can be. Her inner monologue can read a little immature (lots of "everybody poops" thoughts) but she's still very likeable. Kulti passes grump and veers into asshole territory off and on but he doesn't always get away with it, and at the end of the day his heart is in the right place.

As someone who played soccer for a lot of years, I'm happy with the sports aspect of the story. It's present throughout and vital to the story while still leaving room for the romance to shine, and where the romance shines is in the collection of moments Zapata has given us. She really zeros in on the small, subtle ways people fall in love. You get everything, good or bad. Small and big. The building blocks of their relationship are all there waiting for you.

As someone who is a big fan of the "Mr. Darcy hand flex" this gave me the butterflies-in-my-stomach feeling I've chased since reading my first book romance.

This last reread was done with the new audiobook, and while initially skeptical both actors NAILED IT. I was particularly worried about Kulti's accent but I had zero complaints.

I'd recommend this to everybody. The banter is funny, the relationships between characters heartfelt, and watching things go from enemies to friends to lovers is satisfying. This is my favorite Mariana Zapata book.