So...I technically read this book for the first time in March of 2025, gushed about it, then forgot to finish writing the review until...now. 🫣 It's definitely one of my favorite books from last year (maybe even the favorite). With the second book being released hopefully sometime this summer 😍, I was prompted to pick it up for a reread a few weeks ago.
Since I started writing this review almost a year back, I'll include some of my original notes and first impressions from then (fair warning, they are very gushy xD), as well as additional things from my second read-through.
Enjoy!
why I originally picked up this book
(circa March 2025)
I've been reading a TON of MM hockey romance lately, and it literally just occurred to me yesterday to look for an MM gymnastics romance. (I enjoyed watching the men's gymnastics in the 2024 Olympics; I also competed for a few years when I was younger.) I don't think there's quite as much material in this subgenre (at least based on what I'm feeling, though I could be terribly wrong), but I wanted to look for it all the same.
first impressions
(from March 2025...)
I absolutely adored this book! My only complaint is that - why the book end like that?? how dare it end like that? and I have to wait until freaking 2026 for the next book?? End me now ToT
characters
Sasha and Daniel are really the stuff dreams are made of.
- Daniel — the golden retriever, All-American boy
- Sasha — as serious as they come
- Kirill — Sasha's BFF with problems
- Matt — great side character that brings additional perspective to Danny's life
some thoughts
(from past and present...)
I think part of why I love this book so much is that it covers a lot of bases for me when it comes to my favorite romance themes. (There are some similarities to Shane and Ilya from Heated Rivalry, another of my favorite MM romances, as well; though Sasha and Danny are much sweeter.) The slow burn over a few seasons or years, with limited time to meet; the secrets (from the world, hopefully not each other) and clandestine meetings; knowing each is for the other and no one else; the gradual understanding and acceptance of each one's own unique identities.
On a side note, and I didn't realize this until someone else mentioned it (in a review I read earlier; I can't remember which one it is anymore) — I LOVE how the sport, gymnastics, is up front and center in this book. Oftentimes in a sports romance, the sport gets pushed to the side (totally fine if that's what you're looking for), but I tend to enjoy romances that come with a bit more than just the journey between the two main characters. (Though to be honest, I do dislike it when the characters are mentioned as playing X sport and then that's almost never mentioned again.)
Spoiler theory ahead hehe...
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I swear to you, Kirill has to be bisexual. The second person he hooked up with near the end of the book - that was a super sus situation. He never mentioned their gender and just let Sasha assume it was a woman.
Regarding what's going on between Kirill and Sasha, I think either 1) Kirill is worried about what would happen if people suspected Sasha was gay because he suspects Sasha is gay, or 2) he's actually in love with Sasha and isn't really sure how to handle that. If it's the second, because I hate love triangles and unrequited feelings, I swear I will riot if he doesn't get his own book/series/HEA 😭 (assuming he doesn't turn out to be an asshole...which is still very much on the table lol).