Books, Boots and Bakeries

I have a habit of blogging about series. It’s not intentional, but at this point, I have to ask myself—do I ever really read stand-alones? It’s a fair question, and one I should probably explore further, but today’s post isn’t about that existential crisis. It’s about From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata, which, yes, is a stand-alone. A rare breed in my reading habits, apparently.

I’ve read this book multiple times. It’s a comfort read, the kind of book I can sink into when nothing else is working for me. If you’ve read Mariana Zapata before, you know what you’re getting—prickly but endearing heroine, and a hero who gives as good as he gets. And ice skating. Lots of ice skating.

Jasmine Santos is a fighter. A bit of a disaster, but a fighter nonetheless. She’s been grinding away at her figure skating career for years, stubbornly holding on despite setbacks, bad partners, and the crushing weight of unmet expectations. Enter Ivan Lukov, her longtime nemesis-slash-sparring partner, who offers her a chance at a real shot. A partnership. An opportunity she can’t turn down, even if it means tolerating his smug, infuriating face every day.

Zapata’s romance takes its time, which isn’t my normal style—normally, the smuttier, the better. It’s not closed-door, but it does take forever. You have to be there for the romance, the build-up, the back-and-forth before it all finally pays off. And that’s what makes it so satisfying. By the end, you believe in them. In Jasmine and Ivan as a team, on and off the ice.

It’s not a perfect book—Zapata’s writing style isn’t for everyone, and her books tend to be longer than they strictly need to be. But for me, From Lukov with Love is the kind of book that wraps around you like a warm jacket. It’s got banter, tension, and that delicious moment when the realization hits—this isn’t just a partnership, it’s everything.

So maybe I do read stand-alones. Maybe I just need them to feel like they could be a series. Or maybe I just need Mariana Zapata’s brand of romance to keep me coming back, over and over again.