⭐️⭐️½

I didn't hesitate to request this book when I found out it was a romance featuring an Olympic athletes. I find the Olympics fascinating and I was excited to read this one about an Olympic runner.

Unfortunately, the execution of this book didn't work for me. The two main characters did not have any chemistry. It's hard to build that chemistry when there are barely any scenes of them together in the book. I get it, you want to feature the actual events and activities of the Olympics. But it left me wanting more from their interactions.

Also, that tweezing scene was just strange to me. I don't know if I would ever feel someone is sexy while I am tweezing their eyebrows.

I'm sad that this one fell short for me.

This was such a cute, quick read! While it felt formulaic at some moments, the relationship between Olivia & Zeke was adorable! I loved that the background for this is the Olympic Games. This made the story feel unique and refreshing. The writing felt a little bit one dimensional at moments, & a lot of the inner dialogue was repetitious. The characters were “adult” in age, but the dialogue and inner monologues of the characters felt much younger… I could see this crushing it as a YA book! Despite that, I had fun with this one.

this was the sweetest book i ever read.

Zeke and Olivia both finding themselves and overcoming their anxiety and doubts. Takes place in Athens at the Olympics

Now i cannot wait for the Olympics this year

Meet cute
HEA
Loss of a parent
Finding yourself

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC

A great debut novel from Rufaro Faith Mazarura! This is a book about Black love and I love this representation! Zeke is the fastest man in the world and is in Athens for the 2024 Olympics, where he is trying to win a gold medal . From the outside, he is calm and collected but he suffers from severe anxiety. Olivia has had a dream since she was a kid to work for the Olympic Games Committee and now she has earned an internship to Athens for the 2024 Olympics. When she arrives, she discovers that she has lost the position to another candidate who is healthy and has a connection. However, that doesn't stop her from making her dream come true and she works as volunteer, where she ends up meeting Zeke. When Zeke and Olivia meet, the sparks fly! They keep bumping into each other during the games, and while they have a connection, they both are focused on their own endeavors. They have to decide if it will be just for the summer, or if they are in for the long haul. I loved that both of the main characters were kids of Zimbabwe immigrants and they wanted to make their families proud. This was such a cute and fun read, with a lot of representation. It's a fantastic debut novel!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin, and Rufaro Faith Mazarua for an eARC of this book!

I’ve really loved and enjoyed it. I was intrigued from start to finish and the character development is great to witness. Plus, the romance was swoony enough as well.

i really enjoyed this book! i loved the characters and the writing style and the character development! i will definitely add this to the collection