Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata

14 reviews

storyoflife's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I enjoyed this audiobook -my first in a very long time, wich I started because I wanted to complete my 2024  Storygraph challenge, so this was a surprise.

I wasn’t sure I still enjoyed audiobooks; if they could keep me interested and focused on listening and Im unsure why I started with the 17hrs long one, but I don’t regret it at all. The narrator’s voices are soothing (Rhodes voice especially so) and the pace wasn’t a problem (though I do read much faster alone).

Regarding the work itself: I liked and resonated with the lovable characters and felt neutral about the writing style (maybe a bit too humorous for me- especially the pee-comments got annoying?) furthermore I enjoyed the pace very much. 

The biggest shortcoming in my opinion would be that I missed some scenes or felt like they got cut short (the first meetings with THE FAMILY?! There are so many opportunities for insight into their character development and impact on each other I was so sure we were going to get an arc there and thus felt robbed -I still can’t believe we never actually got an interaction between all three of the parents??). 

And on opposite side of the spectrum some aspects of her life got highlighted a bit too much for my liking: her job, the peeing (I get that that’s an inside joke, but at some point I tired of it) and her grieving her mother after her remains had been found (don’t know why that bothered me so much, but I felt like that didn’t fit into the story- at least at that point- and I heard it at 2 times the speed).

I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t ground breaking and I don’t know if I’d confidently recommend it tbh. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Suicide, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

witcheep's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This is a wholesome read about finding your people and your place in the world. I love how the book depicts grief respectfully and shows how new interpersonal relationships – with not just romantic love but all kinds of love – build over time and give you happiness. The main characters Aurora, Rhodes, and his son Amos revolve around each others lives, slowly getting more involved with each other and forming beautiful, meaningful relationships together. The beginning of the book felt s little slow to me, but once I got invested in the main characters' lives, I loved seeing their mundane life changing and intertwining with the others'.

The forming relationships show how the characters get more comfortable with each other, which results into their communication getting from easily misinterpreting the other one to expressing themselves more clearly and being able to read the others' nonverbal communication easily. The result is that the main characters have good communication throughout the rest of the book: even when there are difficulties or disruptions to this, the main characters always follow through with a conversation about the situation.

The bonus epiloque has Aurora and Rhodes discussing the love languages of the important people in their lives while on a hike with Amos, and that shows the best aspects of this book: good, open communication and love that is shown in so many ways in the whole book.

The audiobook has one narrator from the pov of the main character Aurora, but there's another reader voice for the male characters – that works really well and gives those characters added depth, making you immerse yourself into the story more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Infidelity, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

marisabenn's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Love me a grumpy zaddy 🥰

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing and Grief

Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent

Minor: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

pgivan21's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A fun grumpy/sunshine, that also explores grief and the journey to find what you truly want in life. Zapata never fails to create such realistic characters with complex lives, and to build strong foundations for her main characters’ budding relationships. No instalove here!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Abandonment

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Gaslighting

dani794's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i hecking love slow burn
what a lovely read, aurora’s journey with healing her grief and having some days that are harder than others is great
rhodes such a dilf fr 😚

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Excrement

gabriella_'s review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This isn’t a contemporary romance book, but it is - it feels more like a book about life. About coming to the middle of your life, confronting grief, rediscovering who you are, but all with sprinkles of romance throughout. The most loving parts of the book were when the romance and grief intersect.

I have my critiques with this book, like how it felt like a queer plotline for straight people. The angst felt lackluster.

But I enjoyed this, the pros outweighed the cons.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

bookworm247's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death

ashleycmms's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny lighthearted tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Mental illness, Terminal illness, Medical content, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

selincck's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Chronic illness, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

shuelace's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Mental illness, Suicide, and Pregnancy