Let the Games Begin was one of my favorite reads this year and a book that will be staying with me for a long, long time. This is Rufaro Faith Mazarura's debut and I absolutely cannot wait to see what she does next!

this book was just so cute stop!!! I ate up the back in forth between Olivia and Zeke truly. I enjoyed seeing their journey throughout the Olympic Games and one thing about me I love a good sports romance! I really do think they were meant to be this was just amazing and I enjoyed all the culture in this book too! Thank you Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This was such a cute story! It was definitely an anticipated release for me this year with the summer olympic games taking place. Reading this while watching the games made for such a fun reading experience. This story was both light hearted and fun, but also incorporated more serious tones with both Zeke and Olivia facing various challenges in their personal lives. They both were experienced identity crises, trying to grapple with the versions of themselves they presented to the world and who they really are. Definitely relatable. I enjoyed the side characters (Aditi, Haruki & Valentina) just as much as Olivia & Zeke. They really rounded out the story and gave both characters more depth. Plus I really enjoyed seeing what their friends got into. At times the characters felt a bit young. I didn't know what to expect because the ages made me think it'd be more new adult, but it felt very YA, especially the closed door scenes. And the entire time reading I really wish the games were set in Paris rather than Athens. I wanted real life to mirrored a bit more, especially since there was mention of a few olympic athletes from the past who are real. That threw me off while reading; however, I do think that if I read this next year or in years to come, it wouldn't bother me as much, because I wouldn't be reading when the Paris games were taking place. This was a fun one, and I recommend to anyone who enjoys sports romance, YA and watching the olympics. It definitely made me wish I was a college student and could attempt to intern too, especially with the next summer games taking place in LA in 2028, where I live!

Such a cute book that was just in time for the Olympics! I don’t usually read sports romances but this was such a fresh take in my fave book genre.

I am unfortunately going to have to DNF this book. It was not what I was expecting. I could not get into the writing style and it felt a bit too young for me. I am really sorry that this didn’t work for me.

This was such a fun romance! And this was the absolute perfect week for me to listen to this book since the 2024 Paris Olympics just ended 2 days ago! This was the perfect book to nurse my Olympics hangover. I desperately need more romances set at the Olympics now! I'll be keeping an eye out to see what Rufaro writes next!

I'll give this a 3.5! This was a fun book to read while having the Olympics on in the background. It definitely hit more like a YA novel but still explored important themes relating to self-worth and the legacy you pave for yourself. Not super spicy either but I didn't feel like the book needed spice since it read so much like a YA romance. Looking forward to other stories Mazarura writes in the future.

I thoroughly enjoyed this delightful closed door sports romance. I read it at the start of the Olympics and it totally delivered on the excitement and the awe of the games. I wondered why the author chose Greece as the book's setting instead of Paris, which is where the Summer 2024 games takes place. The characters of Zeke and Olivia were highly relatable as a first generation immigrant who is constantly striving to achieve and meet parental expectations. I like how there relationship isn't solely based on physical attraction but a both shared common heritage. I loved Olivia's ambitious attitude and her unwillingness to shrink herself to make her more appealing to others. I also loved Zeke's charm but also his vulnerability to let him grieve his father's death. There was the perfect amount of banter and cute moments. This is a great start for the author and I'm looking forward to reading more books by them for the future. This will definitely go on my staff picks at the end of the year!

I enjoyed this romance, that center's around dual pov between Olivia and Zeke. Olivia has big dreams and is looking forward to the scholarship she got accepted to work for the Athens Olympics.

Zeke is competing with the UK running team and working hard towards getting gold, unsure if this could be his last Olympics.

There is some hiccups for Olivia regarding her internship and challenge's she's facing. Her dreams and goals aren't going as she planned them. But she's trying to find herself and make the most out of this summer.

Zeke and Olivia literally collide with each other and find themselves at odds. Do they eventually get closer and give things a chance?

I really enjoyed the friendships in this book and Aditi was my favorite. Haruki seems like such a sweet guy. I also liked to Valentina was supportive of Zeke pursuing Olivia, glad that things didn't turn ugly between the girls. I just wished there was more romantic scenes. I personally don't prefer romance with closed door scene's and some of the story felt like a slow burn. It felt more focused on plot than the romance at times. I would've liked an epilogue to see where things progressed between Olivia and Zeke. But I still enjoyed the story overall and was happy with the way the story ended and all the successes both characters gained.

DNF @ 66%. This book is cute, but I never really got invested in any of the characters. I’m in a reading slump right now so it very well could be a me problem, but it’s just not working for me.

When I start a book thinking it’s going to be your regular smegular cutesy fun summer romance, BUT THEN IT TURNS OUT TO BE SOOOO MUCH MORE! 👏🏾🥰

I read 50% of this book physically and it was so good that I ended up going to the beginning of the audio and listening to it all the way through and it was such an amazing way take in the masterpiece that was this book!

I just can’t stop thinking about all the characters and all the love shown in this book! It was feel good and cutesy but also had soo much meaning!!! On of those books you want to erase from your memory, just so you can have the reading experience again!

⭐️LET THE GAMES BEGIN, out JULY 9TH⭐️

4.5⭐️

Special thanks to @flatiron_books for the review eARC and the gifted physical copy and to @macmillan.audio for the gifted ALC!

#letthegamesbegin #rufarofaithmazarura #flatironbooks #macmillanaudio #MacAudio2024

The pacing of the book was a bit slow for me. I much prefer that to insta love, but the issue here is that I started to lose interest. I also did not think the characters had much chemistry.

I appreciated the diversity and the inclusion of hard topics in this book. However, my main complaint is that the writing style came across as juvenile to me, almost YA. I just prefer an adult romance that isn't closed door. I don't even need it to be super spicy, but as a reader I just prefer 1-2 scenes to be in my romance books.

Honestly I need this author to read more adult romance before writing her next one because this one was not good. I tried really hard with this one but it's so repetitive and she's clearly a young writer who is very youth obsessed. The cringey bits about the athletes reading spicy fanfic of themselves should've never made it onto the page. The Olympic setting was cool and I enjoyed the parts of that we had but the actual romance fell flat. It was extremely YA and they didn't have chemistry or good conversations.

Let the Games Begin by Rufaro Faith Mazarura was a delightful debut rom-com!
This book is top notch rom-com material and I loved every second of it.
This story does not disappoint.
These characters make for an amazing duo.
Their own challenges were just the right balance to their romance.
A sweet sports romance about the olympics.
I had so much fun reading this book. It was sweet, emotional, and exciting, and I loved Olivia and Zeke—my first book by Rufaro Faith Mazarura and a great debut. I’ll be reading more in the future!

Thank You NetGalley and Flatiron Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

✨ Review ✨ Let the Games Begin by Rufaro Faith Mazarura

Thanks to Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio, and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

It's an Olympics summer and you need this Olympics romance in your life this summer! The main characters are an all-star UK runner and an intern in the Olympic village, and they keep bumping into each other LITERALLY. As they come into conflict repeatedly, they also can't keep their eyes off each other. There was something super magnetic about this that couldn't keep my eyes off them either.

The book's set in 2024 but in a world where this year's Olympics happen in Athens. It provided a fun inside view into what life in the OIympic Village is life, and both the fun and hard work that athletes find there. I loved the cast of side characters including one of the best swimmers and one of the best gymnasts in the world, as well as the kinds of hijinks the group gets into over the course of the book.

I thought this was fun and perfect for the beach or a summer trip!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: f/m contemporary romance
Setting: UK + Athens
Pub Date: July 9, 2024

Read this if you like:
⭕️ sports romances
⭕️ the Olympics
⭕️ track, swimming, and gymnastics
⭕️ African diaspora characters

When I saw the WIP on Tiktok a few months back, I was super excited to read it. Once I started reading it though, my excitement waned. I wanted to love this book but I felt like a lot was going on that wasn't necessary and that took away from the romance. I also thought the FMC was very unlikeable, I just for the life of me couldn't understand why she has such a beef with the MMC over literally nothing/something that wasn't under his control. Overall I was disappointed.

Zeke Moyo is a Zimbabwe native competing in the Olympics for team Great Britain. He's allready nicknamed the Golden Boy, he's favored to win the gold medal in Athens in the 100m dash. Olivia Nkomo is a go-getter. Ambitious, hardworking, and has a PLAN. Excited for her internship with the summer games, Olivia departs for Athens, only to find out that her internship is not quite what she'd expected. Making the best of an unfortunate situation, Olivia volunteers in the Village, where she literally runs into Zeke. As the summer games progress, the two grow closer. But the competition brings back painful memories for Zeke, and Olivia has a tendency to run from her feelings. Can their relationship continue past the summer?


💭 Cute, clean romance, and add in some competition! Perfect summer read, and just in time for the Olympics. The Greek setting was fun and the chemistry and banter was top notch. Olivia and Zeke were confident, ambitious, hardworking individuals. It was unique to see how they tried to fit their plans for the future (world domination, obviously) together. Olivia struggled with the feelings of not being able to have both ambitious career goals and a relationship (or other things that felt superfluous), which I felt was relatable. Mental health/anxiety rep, super supportive family and friends, and fun insight into how the Olympic Village might be. If you're looking for a a fun twist on a sports romance, this would be a great fit!

Special thanks to the author, @macmillan.audio #MacAudio2024 for my advanced listening copy & @flatiron_books for my gifted copy‼️

We’re given a dual perspective from Zeke Moyo a young athlete competing in the Olympics and Olivia Nkomo a young woman whose dream to intern at the Olympics finally comes true. While Zeke’s goal is to win a gold medal this year and Olivia is hoping her internship will be everything she’s been dreaming it will be. Nothing turns out quite like the two expected when they arrive in Athens.

When the two cross paths for the first time there’s a little heated tension and Olivia already has her perception of who she thinks Zeke is. Then being forced to live within the same space of the Olympic Village eventually they’re lead back to each other.

I think both Olivia and Zeke were great characters and given their backstories it adds a layer of depth to the story which brought both characters to life for me. The writing in the book was really vivid a little overly descriptive at times but it makes you wonder what type of things really go on during the Olympics. I can’t say there was any real chemistry between Olivia and Zeke because they fell in love so quickly but I liked them together. They were both there for each other when the pressure to be perfect kicked in. So, I think the connection between them grew stronger because they were both in a vulnerable state.

Overall, many readers may find this one to be highly entertaining. Exploring themes of self-reflection, coping with loss, expectations of family, friendship dynamics, and finding happiness. It was my first time ever reading a sports romance novel and while I wasn’t completely blown away I wasn’t disappointed after reading it either. It’s also releasing just in time for the Olympics so many might find it enjoyable for that reason alone.

Rating: 3.5/5⭐️

Let the Games Begin centers on a romance set in Greece over the course of the summer between Olympic Commission intern Olivia and Olympian Zeke.

What a fun concept that got me excited for the games to start in a few weeks. This was a cute read. I really enjoyed the dual POV and the all the characters were truly lovely! This felt very much like a YA (and not because it’s closed door), which I wasn’t expecting given the age of the characters. It was also a little difficult to suspend my disbelief that the athletes were not more focused or stressed out. I found it hard to believe that there would be any partying /staying out super late in advance of the athletes’ events. But this is fiction and also I am sure the author researched a lot so maybe it’s more prevalent than I thought!

I really loved the cast of characters and the last couple chapters in particular.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to Flatiron & NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review