love on the rocks by alyssa jarrett — an ARC review
Sports romances are a tried and true fan favourite in the romance book community. From football to ice hockey, there is something about a character being not only invested in their love interest but also in their professional sporting career that just leaves you wanting more. But what if I was to tell you that there was a way to up the stakes? A way to make things a little more extreme?
Introducing…rock climbing romance.
Alyssa Jarrett’s Love on the Rocks tells the love story of workaholic Silicon Valley marketing executive Tania and off-grid world-famous rock climber Nolan. After Tania gets caught in some less-than-ideal weather during a company retreat in Yosemite, Nolan saves her life (quite literally) by keeping her safe — in the van he happens to live in — until daylight: a meet-cute fit for the romance book hall of fame. During that night, they exchange details of each other’s life, including how Nolan believes Tania should break free from her corporate chains and do something for herself for once, and as I’m sure you can imagine, this doesn’t go down well at first. But after a dramatic exit from the van and an awkward bathroom experience involving talk of frostbite, there is an undeniable chemistry present between them — a chemistry strong enough to convince Tania to take a well overdue six-week sabbatical in Yosemite with Nolan. Cue the romance.
The connection between Tania and Nolan is apparent from the get-go. The book is written from Tania’s perspective, giving us direct insight into her feelings towards Nolan, but the way Nolan acts makes his feelings equally as clear and mirrors the effect of a book with a dual perspective narrative — a credit to Alyssa Jarrett’s attention to detail. The communication between the two characters throughout is consistently strong and allows for the relationship to play out without the often frustrating miscommunication trope that is frequently relied on in opposite-attract romances. Additionally, the fact that Nolan and Tania are written as fully formed individuals, not just two halves of a couple, means that as a reader you can really understand why they act in the way they do, preventing any conflict from feeling unnecessary. I completely fell in love with their relationship as they were falling in love with each other.
It has to be said that my favourite aspect of Love on the Rocks is the anxiety representation. Tania has anxiety which is cleverly written into the story through the use of ‘hammy’, the anxious voice in her head. The depictions of how she is feeling throughout are not only thoughtfully and lovingly written, but also extremely validating — ‘It’s as if my mind is hosting a large dinner party during a concert on an airport runway, and I’m trying to keep track of a dozen different conversations.’ During the sabbatical, Nolan teaches Tania how to rock climb and the combination of seeing Tania work through her anxieties while seeing Nolan bursting with pride at her achievements is one of the many reasons why Love on the Rocks is such a heartwarming read. I imagine that Tania will be a character that means a lot to many readers.
Alyssa Jarrett marries a giggle-and-kick-your-feet romance with tough conversations surrounding mental health and grief, and the result is a book full of heart. Love on the Rocks is an utter joy to read. It is the most perfectly crafted opposites attract love story and the intentionally placed rock climbing references throughout give it a memorable edge without an information overload that removes you from the story. I now also know what free soloing is in case it ever comes up — a bonus!
It is books like this that remind me of why I love reading so much. I could not recommend Love on the Rocks more and I can’t wait to keep up to date with Alyssa Jarrett’s future releases; she has a forever fan in me.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Alyssa Jarrett for an advanced reader copy of Love on the Rocks — out on the 22nd of October 2024. I have put the link below to preorder/order it on Amazon; I’m sure we’ll see it climbing the charts very soon.
Please note: ensure to check the trigger warning before reading this book — it touches on some themes that may be hard to read about for some people. Look after yourself.