*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.
Title: Let The Games Begin
Author: Rufaro Faith Mazarura
Genre: Romance
Rating: ★★★★
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️ (Closed Door)
It’s the Athens 2024 Olympics and Zeke and Olivia are
there to win.
Zeke Moyo is the star athlete of Team GB. He’s in Athens
to claim the title of fastest man in the world.
Olivia Nkomo has landed a career-making internship, finally earning
her seat at the table.
Then Zeke and Olivia collide – literally – on the first
day of the games, and something unexpected begins.
But the competition is stirring up uncomfortable memories
from Zeke’s past. And Olivia’s dream job is turning into a nightmare.
Will love become a hurdle? Or could running beside the
right person change the whole game?
Let The Games
Begin is the debut romance novel from author Rufaro Faith Mazarura. Set against
the backdrop of the 2024 Olympic Games – but a fictional version set in Athens
rather than the Paris games we’ve just seen – this fun, flirty and fast-burn
romance is the perfect summer read for 2024.
Olivia was a
fiery, head-strong and determined FMC who I really want to be friends with. Zeke
was a charming and funny MMC who I fell in love with very quickly. I liked the
pairing of the two of them, especially the mild enemies-to-lovers plot and the fact
that Zeke fell first and harder. They had good chemistry, great banter and I loved
that they could both be their authentic selves with each other. The forced proximity chapters
where they (mild spoiler alert) get trapped in a lift together were some of my favourites in the book. I would however have liked to have seen more
interactions between the two of them to build their relationship further. They
didn’t really spend that much time together on-page and this made it hard at
times to fully root for their relationship.
Through Zeke’s character
we have anxiety and panic attack representation and it was honestly one of the
best portrayals of panic attacks in particular that I’ve ever read. As someone
who has experienced panic attacks and anxiety for over fifteen years, this is a
subject that is very close to me and it warms my heart when it’s represented
well in fiction. I particularly liked the exploration of the physical effects
of panic attacks; this was very powerful. Zeke also attends therapy throughout
the book and although he’s reluctant about it at first, he opens up to the idea
and the benefits of therapy over the course of the book. We love to see therapy
representation within fiction, especially therapy-positive representation so
this was a brilliant inclusion. It’s also really impactful to see mental health
difficulties affecting all people, even athletes at the top of their game.
There is also a great
cast of supporting characters. I loved both Aditi and Haruki who are Olivia and
Zeke’s best friends respectively. Olivia and Aditi had a brilliant strong
female friendship and were fiercely supportive of one another. Haruki was a
total sweetheart who was also a brilliant friend to Zeke. We also have some
good LGBTQIA+ rep through one of the characters. Whilst I won’t name them in
this review to avoid spoilers, I will say that they are one of the athletes competing
in the games. This was particularly impactful as it provided a commentary on
the fact that, although the Paris 2024 Olympics has reportedly set a record for
having the most athletes who are openly LGBTQIA+, we still have a long way to
go in truly opening up the world of professional sport to the queer community.
The book also explored the idea of privilege through the character of Lars, who
truly made me physically angry every time he appeared.
I would say that
this book does overall read as more of a YA novel than an adult romance.
Although both protagonists were in their mid-twenties, they generally read as
younger and I’d also say that the fact that this was a closed-door romance didn’t
help with this. But this didn’t impact on my overall enjoyment of the novel at
all, it’s just a note for any other potential readers.
Overall, Let The
Games Begin is a fun and flirty romance which is an easy-read, perfect for a
beach-read this summer. It’s a great debut from Rufaro Faith Mazarura and I can’t
wait to see what comes next from her.
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