SYNOPSIS

Mali landed a PR job for her favorite, local rugby team she’s supported with her pants since she was a kid. The team is rising the ranks professionally, now in a higher league, and she’s excited to help them continue to grow. On her first day, she happens to run into her favorite player, Zach, and they have a rocky interaction.

What could happen?

RECAP AND REVIEW

Thank you Love Notes PR and J.S. Jasper for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is out February 2nd, 2025. The link leads to J.S. Jasper’s (the author’s) page.

Spring Awakening is the first book in an interconnected standalone romance series. It is told in the third person from Mali and Zach’s perspective set in a fictional town in the UK.

Mali is bright, bubbly, and talkative. She knows a lot about the rugby team and its players, and despite the rocky start working for them, she quickly integrates herself as a part of it.

Zach is quiet and keeps to himself. He’s been burned in the past and his words are easily misinterpreted. He also recently did an interview that rubbed the team the wrong way.

Zach is always worrying about his family in the back of his mind. His older brother is in and out of jail, due to be released on parole soon, and his mom experiences memory loss, so Zach visits often to check in on her.

On top of that, Zach is soon to be evicted from his apartment. As he is looking for a place, he ends up on Mali’s doorstep, since she happens to be renting a room in her house.

The relationship between Zach and Mali is a slow burn. They go from strangers/colleagues to roommates to friends to lovers. Sometimes, slow burns are too slow for me, but the pacing in this one kept my attention and I actually loved watching them pine over each other for months without the other realizing.

It was so cute, and amusing, that Zach didn’t really know how to talk to her and I enjoyed seeing them navigate their attraction and feelings. Their families also blending (before they even got together) was also heartwarming.

Tropes include:

🏉 Sports Romance (Rugby)

🏉 Strangers to Friends to Lovers

🏉 PR x Player

🏉 Roommates

🏉 Reformed Player

OVERALL

Overall, I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars. These characters are going to stick with me for a while because they were both so oblivious to what the other was really thinking and feeling. They cared about each other, feelings aside, and it was fun reading how they showed up for each other.