It’s summer and that’s usually the best time for romance. I found Let the Games Begin by Rufaro Faith Mazarura somewhere on a Dutch bookish platform, I can’t remember where exactly and on what medium. However, it sounded interesting, especially since the Olympics are held at the moment and this novel is set at the 2024 Olympics. Not in Paris however, but in Athens. Did this romance convince me?

Let the Games Begin by Rufaro Faith Mazarura
Published by Flatiron Books on July 9, 2024
Pages: 352
ISBN: 9781250354532
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Set against a sizzling-hot Greek summer filled with sunshine and souvlaki, Rufaro Faith Mazarura’s Let the Games Begin is a page-turning debut rom-com about two strangers at the top of their game.

Athens, 2024. Olivia Nkomo has always been ambitious, smart, and an overall go-getter. Now that she’s graduated from university, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to land her dream job at the Summer Games. The first step? Securing her new internship, which will put her in the center of all the action, where she hopes to run into some of her favorite athletes.

Ezekiel “Zeke” Moyo, the heartthrob star runner of Team Great Britain, is more than ready to claim his title as the fastest man in the world, following in the footsteps of the greatest athletes of all time. His future to the finish line is looking bright―despite his recent breakup with celebrated gymnast Valentina Ross-Rodriguez constantly making headlines.

When Olivia and Zeke collide―literally―on the first day of training, sparks fly. As the games grow closer, so do Olivia and Zeke. But the competition starts stirring up uncomfortable memories from Zeke’s past . . . and Olivia’s internship doesn’t turn out to be what she expected. Will they be able to overcome these hurdles and achieve their dreams? Or will it come at the cost of their budding romance?

When I heard about this book, I had no idea what to expect. I knew it’s about two different characters, but I couldn’t for the live of me guess how different they are. Also, I was expecting some spice here and there, but also to shine a light on the different sports and competitions during the event. This book partially met my expectations.

We follow Olivia and Ezekiel (Zeke). They both are from Zimbabwian heritage, their parents moved to the UK as imigrants. Both Olivia and Zeke are born and raised in Britain, but still feel deeply connected to their roots and culture. They both have ambitions, Olivia wants to reach the top in politics, Zeke wants to win a gold medal as a sprinter at these Olympics. This ambition is written well, even though Olivia annoyed me a lot. She forgets to live, her goal is everything and she is determined to meet it. However, she has no other plans, it’s her ambition or nothing. She seems blunt and rude for a good portion of the first quarter of the novel. Throughout the story, she actually learns to adapt and enjoy life as it comes. Because that her summer is not going according to plan is an understatement. Zeke on the other hand was more pleasant to read about. Of course he has a huge drive and focus, but he actually knows how to live and seem to have a warmer bond with his friends and family than Olivia. He endured a lot in life at his young age already and this still affects him. Furthermore, he has some growth to do regarding his relationships with other people, but he seems the most outgoing. However, I didn’t feel the chemistry between these love interests, it was too forced and didn’t feel natural. Nor could I connect to them.

Unfortunately, I struggled a bit with the writing style. The chapters are short, but the narration is third person and I prefer first person narration in character driven books or romance. Now, it feels like there’s a big distance between the characters and the reader which makes it difficult to get lost in the story. I managed to finish this book quickly though. Furthermore, Mazarura put some random POV of passers-by into the book and they didn’t make sense to me. This was not the main issue, the distant feeling was.

As this book is character driven, there’s not much of a plot. The plot is basically the Olympics. It’s an interesting setting as I’ve never read a novel set at such an prestigious event before. However, it was unable to intrigue me. This is mainly caused by the characters I don’t feel any connection too, but also by the romance developing so rapidly. Moreover, sports wasn’t a big part of this plot, at least not as big as I’d expected it to be. The ending was quite predictable, but that fits the genre accordingly.

Even though Let the Games Begin by Rufao Faith Mazarura fits this summer perfectly, it fell really flat for me. I didn’t feel any connection to the characters, they feel so distant to me. Furthermore, the chemistry was lacking and the plot was quite predictable. Although I finished this book quickly, it’s written in third person and I prefer first person with this type of novels. However, I’m sure other readers will have a much better time with this book than I did, so I still recommend it!