All Rhodes Lead Here

I love this. I missed reading books where relationships are built like this. No insta love, I was wondering if this is a slow burn considering time passed without anything between the two main characters, but I was eating it! I think the most special about this is that there was no more room to look around and think– that they already knew and had decided that this was the endgame for them and whatever that came their way, they knew, was just another minuscule event that they would talk about before the end of the day. You get what I mean. Maybe I should start reading more books where characters are just old, no more running, no more sidestepping, and above all, know how to communicate. I'm tired of toxic men in books.

It was enjoyable. I liked the setting (mountains etc). Downside is that it was so incredibly long and filled with so much filler. I found the FMC to be quite hard to handle at times considering she was supposed to be 33. I feel like Tobias Rhodes changed personality wise drastically from beginning of book to end of book (which is not necessarily a bad thing). I liked all the side characters.

DNF - I'd had enough at about 90 % of the book. It is a guilty pleasure, this crazy slow and very light romance, it's like nice background chatter. It is also repetitive - those strong arms! - and everyone seems to eat only pizza at every meal, and every initiative is followed by the main characters: ‘Are you sure?'

But it sort of went on and on after it should have finished. And then she is going to spend all her money on shooting her moms ashes into space? Was that the plan?

At that point I switched the audiobook off. Too bizar.

Aurora De La Torre, pindah kembali ke Pagosa Spring, Colorado, dulunya dia pernah tinggal disini bersama ibunya. Tempat ini tentunya penuh dengan kenangan manis dan pahit akan mendiang ibunya.
Setelah menjalani putus hubungan yang sangat menyakitkan dengan pacar yang telah lama bersamanya, menyepi di kota kecil bisa jadi menyembuhkan lukanya. Dia menyewa garasi dari Tobias Rhodes, yang tinggal bersama anak lelakinya, Amos.
Namun setelah sampai disana, dia mengetahui yang memasang iklan bukanlah Rhodes, tapi anak remajanya, Amos. Awalnya Rhodes tidak menyetujui Aurora menempati garasinya, namun setelah Aurora membantu membawa Amos ke rumah sakit pada keadaan darurat, Rhodes mulai menerima kehadiran Aurora.
Buku kedua Mariana Zapata yang aku coba setelah tidak cocok dengan The Wall of Winnipeg and Me. Sudah kuputuskan tulisan MZ bukan seleraku. Selain terlalu slow burn, ada begitu banyak hal yang problematik dalam bukunya, contohnya, bagaimana dengan mudah tokoh utamanya melabeli nama2 kasar kepada orang lain.

1/13/2024 3rd time reading and still my favorite romance everr

Zapata is truly a queen of slow burn. And a master storyteller. Though it took me almost a month to finish this book (I was in a reading slump), I thoroughly enjoy it.

I love Aurora as the FMC. She's tough and resourceful. She ain't no weakling. And of course you gotta love Tobias Rhodes, the MMC. Who doesn't love an older man with silver hair? I like how mature their relationship is, how they are not rushing things until they are completely sure, how they actually communicate. Also there's Amos, Rhodes' son who is such a heartthrob.

There's one scene I LOVE so much in the book, where Rhodes and Amos ambushed Aurora at her friend's house, thinking that she is leaving the boys after some conflict arise. They asked her to “Come home with us.” Awwhh... drool-worthy stuff right there.

The plot is pretty simple, just your typical romance. But the way Zapata handled the story is chef's kiss. Love love it.

I loved this book ong

This book follows the story of Aurora, who is returning to her small town in the mountains after the divorce/ breakup of her 14-year relationship with a famous singer. Aurora lost her mother when she was young and sees her return to her hometown as a way to restart her life, reconnect with herself and finally get some closure regarding her mother situation.

What I liked about the book:
- Rhodes and Amos were great characters, and I enjoyed their relationship and how they supported Aurora throughout the book
- I liked the slow burn romance and to see Aurora and Rhodes love and trust develop and grow.
- Nice supporting characters

What I think it could have been done better:
- The book was way to long for the events happening.
- Amos family situation was bizarre, and I am not sure it added anything to the story.
- Although I do not dislike slow burns, I need to feel some payoff from it and, in this case, I did not feel it. We go straight from the beginning of the relationship for the conflict (less than 24 hours!) and from then to more drama.
- The conflict was absurd. I just could not understand any of the reactions around the issue: why Aurora didn't tell more details about her past, why would this be an issue for Rhodes, why would Amos feel she lied to him... it was an absolute nonsense. I am glad the author explained because I would not understand by myself.
- Aurora was quite immature, and I could not associate her attitudes with a 33-year-old woman. Additionally, how could someone be as stupid as to think the guy is calling her angel because he keeps forgetting her name?

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book and I am torn between 2 and 3 stars.

3.5/5

Cute but not memorable. The audiobook was not great either

MZ never misses.

Like, I don't even know. I am writing this as soon as I finished and I have such mixed emotions. I loved it so much and i wish it was longer. But it was also perfect.

Genuinely cried happy tears at the tent/driveway camping. IFKYK.

Rhodes and Amos are the sweetest and the best quiet grumpy guys ever.
Rhodes loves loudly with his actions and he just gives Aurora time to find herself and grow. A real man. We love.

Read this if you like:
Single dad
Age gap (it's only like 10 years but it counts??)
Small town
Grumpy sunshine
Slow burn

This was so heartwarming!! Another great book from Mariana

We need more men like Rhodes

I'm so sorry, but this book is just not for me. More of a contemporary fiction than romance and the romance wasn't as swoony for me as I see it is for others. This author has found her audience though and it's probably not going to be me.

The writing style itself was good and I liked the premise. It was just too slow overall, in every aspect, for me to fully enjoy.

4.5*

Most mature and healthiest relationship I have ever read about.

The small town feelings and autumn vibes were perfect and I really loved the atmosphere, it makes me want to go out hiking and camping and just spend time in the nature.
Let me tell you - the slowburn in this book is absolutely everything, there were so many good moments between Rhodes and Aurora and I enjoyed every single one of them.
There where some instances were Aurora seemed 10 years younger than she actually was, but it kind of made sense in regard of her past.
The only thing that I wasn't really a fan of was something that happened in the end, which has already been discussed and resolved before (same problem, different time) It was when her ex showed up, because we've already been through that with the his mother, wasn't necessary
Also the inner monologue sometimes got a bit repetitive and annoying, but this could be because I read the book in one day. 

Spoilers






I have read and enjoyed several of Mariana Zapata's books. She is really good at the slow burn. Wall of Winnepeg lived on my kindle for over a year and took up one of my valuable 10 spaces. I loved that book so much and reread it multiple times. However, this is probably one of my least favorite books of hers. The nickname of ‘buddy' was not endearing and did not make me like Rhodes more. I felt it was slightly condescending. Also, the sex scene is poorly written. What women says “Then you can come in me as deep as you want.” In my opinion that is a male fantasy and not something, a woman would say in the heat of the moment. I will gladly redownload the Wall of Winnepeg and remove this book from my kindle.

I really loved this book. Everything from the slow burn to the side characters was perfection. I especially loved that even though this was a slow burn, it wasn't quite as slow as what we are used to with MZ. It also gives off a Wait For It vibe so if you enjoyed that MZ book, you'll definitely want to read this one!