Skate It Till You Make It, Rufaro Faith Mazarura (Review by Carli Monostra)
Rating: 4.0/5 Stars
Rufaro Mazarura writes about a variety of strong relationships in this sports-themed romance novel. Our main characters, Ari and Drew, meet by chance on a roof top at New Years Eve party where they decide to talk about all their red flags knowing that they won’t see each other again. I enjoyed that their relationship began with just as much honesty as there was chemistry. Of course, they wouldn’t have been as vulnerable if they knew they would see each other in the Olympic Village months later. Ari struggles to feel that she deserves the opportunities she is presented with despite working her whole life to become an Olympic medalist with her hockey team. Her time in the Olympic village is complicated by her toxic ex that looms around every turn. Ari is surprised to see Drew working as a photographer in the Olympic village and finds a safe haven as he agrees to be her fake boyfriend for the duration of the tournament.
Mazarura is talented at developing relationships among her characters. The interactions of Ari with her fellow teammates truly showed the complicated dynamics of friendship. I love that Ari and Drew are open and honest about their commitment fears. While they know their relationship is originally for show, they both know things could be real if they weren’t afraid to take the leap. Ari and Drew’s relationship is also so much more than general attraction. They both work together to address their flaws because they truly want to other to thrive. The miscommunication trope comes in with Drew hiding his relationship from his family and the identity of his sister. I usually don’t enjoy this trope, but I felt like it worked well in this storyline and was handled in a realistic manner. However, the pace of the book is a bit slow and repetitive so this partly took away from climax.
Overall, this is a wholesome, no-spice romcom where characters work to not be afraid and take chances. This will be a great read with the upcoming Winter Olympic games!
