Lovers of gymnastics, The Olympics, or really any other sport or activity you grew up doing must read this book. I was no gymnast, but as a dancer and performer my whole life, I related to this book so much. It is so hard growing up with you eye on that one prize, whatever it may be, but for Avery making it to The Olympics and then losing it all in a moment.
Head Over Heels takes you on Avery’s journey from her hurt and depression, to hopefulness but anxiety, to fulfillment and a new kind of achievement! I think this book would have had a different effect on me if I had read it last year, but now it brings me hope.
Must Read for this summer, especially if you need a little dose of The Olympics! 4.5 Stars!
Thank you netgalley, the author and Atria books for my eArc!

A story of resilience, second chances, and the power of listening to those we love, HEAD OVER HEELS tackles Olympian scandal and the price of fame.

I really wanted to love this book but it turned out that i only liked it. The characters and how the story begins is so easy to follow but as the characters begin to travel more in the gymnastics story, it goes off the rails. It started to go down a gymnastics rabbit hole and I lost interest.

I had a little bit of a hard time with this - though it has more to do with me, I think.

I did actually connect with the heroine right off the bat, who's currently making a major life change to move back home after being dumped by her athletic star boyfriend. Her past is present on page, where we learn that she's an athlete herself (or was) before an injury that ended her career right before the olympics. Once back home, she is hired to help a younger gymnast who hopes to go to the olympics one day - along with the girl's coach, a former crush.

However, the first 20-30% seemed to focus more on the younger gymnast instead of the heroine herself. I found myself skimming several pages of gynmastic routines and whatnot to the point where the story fell flat for me with there being little tension, and I sat down the book.

I do think that perhaps I'll return to it one day, but maybe it isn't the right timing. The writing itself was wonderful and I can see a lot of people really loving this book, so please do give it a chance if you're deciding whether or not to try it!

// 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 / 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝗪 //⁣
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Thank you so much @atriabooks for my {gifted} copy of Head Over Heels by @hannahorens ... it was the perfect palette cleanser in between some very depressing and graphic novels I am currently reading. And if there are any women (or men!) out there who love gymnastics, this is a fantastic and fun read. My sister and I were HUGE fans of the women's gymnastic team growing up and absolutely loved watching them compete in the olympics. Reading this book brought back a lot of really good memories ... and I appreciated the attention to detail and authenticity Orenstein brought to the novel. This book earned its spot in July's @botm box and rightfully so ... I really enjoyed this!⁣
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This is definitely a book that you can finish in 1 day ... and while it is a romantic comedy, it has a lot of nice depth and good characters. It also touches on some of the "not so glamorous" aspects of the gymnastics world. I was grateful that the main gymnast, Hallie, wasn't written to be stereotypical though ... she was a strong young women who was very dedicated to the sport, but didn't let it completely consume her. She was respectful and intelligent and I really liked watching the friendship bloom between coaches and gymnast.⁣
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I would absolutely recommend this to my followers and friends. You'll zip through this engaging and fun story in no time. I am a huge fan of Hannah's writing and will always include her novels on my TBR list!

We should be anticipating the beginning of the summer Olympics right now, but because COVID has canceled everything this year, I settled for reading about gymnastics instead. Orenstein delivered a great story about the sport, the dedication required by its players and coaches, and really put me in the mood to watch Simone Biles fly effortlessly through the air. I appreciate this book for what it is – a light, easy, quick, and distracting read. I loved the part about the gymnastics and the Olympics, but the romance part of the book…not so much. Avery and Ryan just lacked the spark and reading the parts about their budding romance left me bored and unsatisfied.

(3.5 stars rounded up to 4)

Enjoyed this so much. Avery's character grew so much in this book and I love that so much. I really like the concept of this book, the whole gymnast thing. I didn't know any of the terms mentioned but I did watch some routines/performances on YouTube so that was fun. Avery and Ryan are so cute together, I really like that they started off as friends and it's so adorable to know that she had a huge crush on Ryan when they were younger.

I always enjoy Hannah Orenstein’s books and I’ve been a fan of hers since she worked for seventeen magazine. I don’t feel like this book was her best work. It was fun to read but I also had a hard time connecting or picturing what was happening with the characters. I’m proud of what she’s written because it does bring things to light that are relevant in today’s society with gymnastics and she does try to explain much of it. I just found that, not being a part of the gymnastics field myself, it was a bit confusing much of the time and there’s wasn’t enough romance in the book. It was missing something for me.

Head Over Heels follows the story of a gymnast who is down on her luck. After a breakup of a four -year relationship with her ex-NFL boyfriend she heads back to her hometown. Being back home is comforting but a struggle at the same time. She loves being around her family, but is also reminded of her past failures. She wasn’t able to make it to the Olympics due to an injury and because of it (over time) she’s lost interest in the sport.

Avery is reunited with her crush, Ryan, as they are working together as coaches to train Hallie (a gymnast) for the Olympics. They work well as a duo and have lots of fun. The attraction is clear between the two but also they don’t want their blooming romance to be distraction during coaching. They have conflicting feelings on how they should move forward with their relationship.

Not only does Avery get to bind with Ryan and develop relationship that is turning into love, but I also loved her connection with Hallie. She was in the same position and because of past with her coach Dimitri she wants to make sure she comforts Hallie and motivates her. They form a sisterly bond and Hallie can lean on her for support.

By Avery being a coach she is forced to face her past trauma and try to cope with it. The more we become connected to her story, we learn about her body confidence issues and self -doubt. Avery is struggling with depression and it’s a continual journey for her to move forwards. I liked her motivation of working to be better (mentally/physically) at her own pace and her drive to make the field of gymnastics a better place for upcoming gymnasts.

Orenstein gives an intimate look at the world of gymnastics. I am only familiar of some parts of the sport, but I appreciated that she takes the time to explain it in detail. There’s a lot of work and training procedures behind the scenes that I wasn’t aware of. The novel does delve into heavier topics such as sexual abuse in gymnastics. It difficult to read about, but spotlights awareness on a reoccurring problem within the field. She also brings up issues with racism, sexism, and coaching within the sport.

I was expecting this novel to be very lighthearted but it deals with a lot of heavy topics such emotionally abusive relationships. But the author manages to balance it out so that it is not too heavy. Overall I felt that this was interesting romance novel that deals with sports and mental health. I liked that it brought attention to more serious topics within the overall narrative.

TW: Depression, Emotional & Sexual Abuse

I can see how people who don’t follow gymnastics won’t like this book, but for me, as someone who came from this world, I have never felt more seen in a character. The anxiety, depression and constant mental health struggle that gymnasts go through is ridiculous but it’s such a delicate topic it had to be handled with care. I think Hannah did an excellent job.

Keep in mind, this is not a romance at its core. There is so much more going on in this story and it’s a conversation that needs to be had.

Technically speaking there were a few rules and things she got wrong about the technical part of gymnastics but if you didn’t know better, you wouldn’t notice.

CW: eating disorders, body shaming, emotional and sexual abuse, gaslighting

4 ⭐️ Avery, the main female character was an Elite gymnast and during trails for the olympics she got injured and couldn’t go, thus crashing her one and only dream. The book starts 7 years later as she pieces her life together and finds a new happy dream. If you like sports romances, you’ll enjoy this one for sure! Warning: This book will make you miss the Olympic Games 😥

What I loved ❤️: I love gymnastics, I did gymnastics when I was young, so it was awesome to get into this world of Elite gymnastics. I had no idea how crazy the inside of it was. Make sure you watch ATHLETE A on Netflix (I watched it the day I finished the book, wow!). ❤️ How much Avery grew from the beginning of the book til the end. How she was able to find a new happy ending that made her just as happy as the one she couldn’t get. ❤️ The scene at the local coffee shop was probably my favorite. I’m all about the rom in the com. ❤️ The vending machine full circle.

What I didn’t like 👎🏼: I wish there was more romance and more funny moments. But it was still an enjoyable read. There is romance, but I wanted more, so I could get all the feels. 😆

What I liked 👍🏼: There wasn’t a lot drama. That’s always a positive for me. 👍🏼 Low on steam. 👍🏼 This book touched subjects like sexual abuse and emotional abuse, going more in-depth in the latter, but it didn’t feel heavy or go too much into details. 👍🏼 The foundation and its mission. Seems like something Elite gymnastics really need.

Gems 💎: Talking about his ex: “We grew apart. And just because I’m grateful for how he was back then doesn’t mean I owe him forever.”
“I used to date this guy who . . .” she begins before cutting herself off. She shakes her head. “You know what? No. He’s not even worth the breath it would take to explain it.”
“But for whatever reason, things with Ryan feel different. I don’t worry about losing my spark around him.”
“The sushi dinner, sumo match, and Zen garden visit were amazing, but truthfully, we could’ve had just as much fun sitting in the supply closet at Summit.”

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for an ARC of this book.

I LOVED this book. I went into this not expecting a 5 star book. There is a love story in this along with a deeper story of the dark side of gymnastics. Both main characters were likable and realistic. I thought the conflict and the way the characters responded to it was realistic, more so than many other books I've read. I was drawn into every chapter in this story and couldn't put it down.

Thank you to the publisher for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 STARS

A phenomenal read from Hannah Orenstein!

Head Over Heels is the story of Avery, a former competitive gymnast who was injured during the Olympic trials and not only didn't get to go to the Olympics, but it also ended her gymnastics career. Avery's best friend Jasmine goes on to become an Olympic champion and then goes on to marry their emotionally abusive coach, Dimitri. Having lost everything, including her best friend, Avery packs up and heads to LA to start over. Seven years later, after a rough breakup with her long-time boyfriend, Avery is headed back to her hometown in Massachusetts to start over yet again.

Once home, Avery gets a phone call from a former US Olympic gymnast from the mens team, (and her former crush) Ryan. He is now a coach at the same gym that Avery once trained in with Jasmine and Dimitri, and he is desperate for Avery's help with his young Olympic bound gymnast Hallie. Even though Avery worries what memories it may bring up for her being in her old training gym, Avery agrees to help Ryan. Once working together, Avery realizes that her and Ryan have serious chemistry, but navigating that and working together becomes tricky once Jasmine and Dimitri come back into Avery's life.

Characters
I really enjoyed Avery and Ryan's character building. They truly read like they were real people, and I was completely sucked into their story. I also really enjoyed the side characters of Jasmine and Hallie. Each character had their own interesting story and troubles and it was very refreshing to see real life problems and situations in the story.

Plot
I absolutely love Gymnastics (though I myself am not a gymnast--I only did gymnastics as a girl for about 4-ish years) and watching the gymnastics in the Olympics is one of my favorite things. So this book sucked me in from the very beginning. I think that if you aren't familiar with gymnastics, it may be slightly harder to understand certain things happening in the story, but overall would still be a fantastic read. The emotional/sexual abusive storyline of this book was really interesting to read about, and I definitely felt that I learned a lot from it. That being said, I do put this in here as a TW for those that can't do these types of storylines, though there was not much detail in the sexual abuse side of things.

Content/triggers to note: Emotional/Verbal abuse, Sexual abuse (spoken of, but not detailed), One semi-detailed sex scene, and divorce.

Overall, I highly enjoyed this one. I felt that the one sex scene took me slightly out of the book, which is why I knocked off one star. I think that the detail didn't suit the story very well, and it came off a bit clunky. Other than that, I really loved it, and highly recommend to all contemporary romance fans. I also think that gymnast fans, even if romance isn't their genre, will really enjoy this as well. Orenstein gets a gold medal from me for this one. Much better than her last book "Love at First Like".

**Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Hannah Orenstein for the advanced eARC and paperback ARC in exchange only for my honest thoughts and review.**

Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein is a fun romance read that focuses on the world of competitive gymnastics. Avery and Ryan team up to coach future Olympian but they are also finding themselves falling for each other. This book makes for a great summer fun beach read that will leave you with a smile on your face. Read and enjoy!

If you enjoy contemporary romances and grew up loving gymnastics (in my case watching competitions during the Olympics, not so much being a gymnast myself), then you will find Head Over Heels both delightful and moving. Because despite the fun cover, it does touch on serious, very relevant topics in the gymnastics world. Avery Abrams was set to make the Olympic gymnastics team when a single performance derailed her entire career. Seven years later, she returns home to Massachusetts where a new coach (and former gymnastics peer) Ryan asks her to help him train a promising young Olympics hopeful. Between training and a shocking scandal that unfolds in the gymnastics world, it stirs up a lot of feelings for Avery. Nostalgia and memories of her old friend Jasmine but also the darker ones, like her emotionally abusive coach. The author did a thorough job of showing every side of gymnastics – the joys of nailing choreography and seeing high scores, the mental and physical toll training can take, the scandals, and going after your dreams 100% at such a young age. It was a behind-the-scenes look that made me respect the sport even more than I already do. And on the lighter side of things, there's the romance. Obviously sparks fly between Avery and Ryan and I was mostly here for it. (The boy makes some poor choices but I guess that's to be expected!)

Do I recommend? I do! This was my first Hannah Orenstein book and I'm looking forward to seeing more from her in this genre.

A very interesting, eye opening and lovable novel about Olympic level gymnasts. A story of a young woman, with her Olympic dream crushed over an injury, now a few years older, finding her purpose in life again through Olympic coaching. Touched on sexual abuse by a doctor, endless brutal competition, sweet love story, coaching techniques, friendships, and somehow balancing priorities. Thank you NetGalley for the e-reader for review, all opinions are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
Head Over Heels is about Avery, a former gymnast whose dreams of Olympic glory were shattered by an injury. After her football player boyfriend dumps her, she returns to her hometown and takes an assistant coaching job training a new Olympic hopeful. Her fellow coach, Ryan, is sweet and cute and they have a romantic subplot, but the story mainly focuses on Avery’s coming to terms with the psychological and emotional damage from years of gymnastics training with an abusive coach. She has to relearn how to trust her own intuition and appreciate her body.

I enjoyed this book! It was a fun read as part of our #BLCVIPBookClub. The narrative voice felt a little “young” to me, though the characters are in their twenties. I enjoyed the romance between Avery and Ryan, but I wouldn’t categorize this as a romantic comedy. It was more like contemporary women’s fiction with an element of romance. The focus is on Avery’s emotional journey. I LOVED the peek inside the world of competitive gymnastics—I have always been fascinated by the intensity of training these young girls go through.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria books for a free copy of Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein in exchange for an honest review. This published June 23, 2020

Oh my goodness, I enjoyed this book so very much. I love that it was based on gymnastics, and focused heavily on the sport. It reignited my love of gymnastics and have been watching lots of old Olympic footage in anticipation of the postponed Tokyo olympics. I loved how things took a positive turn in this book, how it shines a light on the darkness of the sport, and discusses useful ways to improve it.
I really enjoyed the characters and the writing was great! Definitely worth the read if you enjoy gymnastics!
Trigger Warning: discussion (not too detailed) about various abuses that have taken place in the gymnastics world, language, a sex scene, reference to disordered eating.

2.5 stars

Head Over Heels will teach you a lot about elite gymnastics: the book’s narrator, former Olympic hopeful Avery Abrams, engages in long passages of internal exposition, especially in the first few chapters, to explain the sport. Once that subsides, the book is a pretty average romance with some heavy ripped-from-the-headlines discussions of assault and abuse in the gymnastics world.

The book’s couple, Avery and Ryan, are two former elite athletes, “retired” by their late 20s and now starting new careers as coaches. Since the book is told from Avery’s perspective, Ryan never becomes a fully three-dimensional character: he seems like a nice guy, though somewhat surprisingly clueless about the pressure-cooker of women’s gymnastics. Avery is the one who has to grow up and get her life in order, which she accomplishes with impressive (if unrealistic) speed. The conflict that comes between them is a comparatively minor stumbling block, and mostly happens because Avery chooses to be weirdly circumspect when it comes to telling Ryan the full extent of the psychological abuse she suffered at the hands of her former coach, Dmitri.

Orenstein wrote this book well before the COVID-19 pandemic, so it takes place in a now-parallel universe where the Tokyo Olympics were held in July 2020. I haven’t read any other romances set in the gymnastics world and Head Over Heels piqued my curiosity just enough that I’d like to try another one. This book, to put it in gymnastics terms, performed a perfectly adequate routine with no major deductions, but lacked the flair to win a spot on the podiu

Avery Abrams trained her entire life to become an Olympic gymnast. And she would have made it, too, if she hadn’t been injured during her performance at World Championships. When her hopes come crashing down, she spirals, starts partying, and then spends the next seven years in an unfulfilling relationship. After her pro-athlete boyfriend breaks up with her, she’s forced to move back home and start figuring out how to make a life for herself again. When her former teammate, Ryan, asks her to help him coach an aspiring Olympian gymnast he’s been working with, Avery has mixed feelings. She still loves the sport, but she genuinely doubts if she has much to offer anymore. Eventually she agrees and then begins the process of redefining her relationship to gymnastics and her past.

MY THOUGHTS
I really loved this book. It’s light and easy to read, of course, which is fun. But it also has some more thoughtful moments sprinkled in there. I’m finding that I appreciate books centered around sports, mostly because the main characters are tough and determined, accustomed to pushing themselves through hardship with minimal whining, while still demonstrating a strong awareness of their bodies and limitations. Avery is relatable in her struggles, but she’s also smart, motivated, and sensible. I so appreciate how she doesn’t follow Ryan around like a puppy, and when he crosses the line in their work relationship, she has no problem putting up boundaries. These are the female characters I like to read about. There’s nothing more endearing to me than a kind woman with a backbone. Head Over Heels is a binge-worthy and uplifting read, and I will be looking for more books from author Hannah Orenstein.