kam_be's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Toxic relationship
Minor: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
amanda_reads13's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
ranjanireviewsreads's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This is the second Mariana Zapata book I've read and I really like her style. Honestly, Rhodes and Am stole my heart. I've always been a sucker for the strong and silent with a heart of gold type. And I like teens who are cool.
Tropes:
- Small town romance
- (kind of) Single parent MMC
- Divorced FMC
- Character study
Things I liked:
-- Though this novel is a romance, I liked that the main theme was in fact grief, love, and perseverance. It gave a depth to it that romance novels usually lack (despite being written and read mainly for the romance). I loved the description of grief losing someone changes you as a person. I've never experienced it myself and I can't imagine how painful it must be; Zapata does a wonderful job of writing about it.
-- I loved the community feeling of this book. Usually, the small-town romances I read leave me feeling a little underwhelmed when it comes to the presence and importance of supporting characters. But with All Rhodes lead here, I had no complaints. The main character is still very much Aurora and that is made very clear; but to see the impact kind people have on her is great and something I will be looking for in other books.
-- I loved the character journey Aurora took. There was no specific development per se; but I could just feel the loneliness in the beginning, the slight hope of companionship in the middle, and the love of family in the end. This is possibly my favourite thing to read about; someone lonely finding their forever family.
Things I didn't like:
-- Ngl, I cringed every time Rhodes said "Buddy" or "angel face"
I also felt a whole fucking zoo in my chest whenever he said "angel" or "sweetheart" so I guess that makes up for it? Either way, slightly cringe.
-- Rhodes was not the greatest in terms of character development. He was much less explored than Aurora - and while I fully believe this novel is much more a character study than a romance, it still would have been nice to see a little more of Rhodes that the rushed history-and-interests exposition we did get.
-- As a result of Rhodes less-than-ideal development, I wasn't quite on board with the romance. It was sweet and mature but I believe it could have been much better.
-- I am not totally on board with Zapata's writing. There was a lot of repetition of stuff that would have had more impact if it was mentioned only once. For example, when Aurora would think about her mother, I could feel her grief and anger and loneliness but I also got super frustrated because these thoughts would go on for paragraphs at a time. They would say the same thing, just in slightly different words. I skipped paragraphs and even pages (I used an epub so they weren't really long)
-- Continuing with the writing, I sensed a struggle to balance exposition, internal narration, and dialogue. Either the exposition was too long or the dialogue was. As a result, the narration really fell flat at places where it should have kept my attention.
Overall, I really did like reading All Rhodes Lead Here despite my slight frustration with the writing.
Would recommend to fans of romance, but more specifically, character driven stories that border on character studies.
Spice: 🌶.5
- One detailed scene, some mentions.
❗️❗️* SPOILER FOR The Wall of Winnipeg and Me AND All Rhodes Lead Here* ❗️❗️
-- I made a comment on the epilogue of The Wall of Winnipeg and Me, about how I didn't like the inclusion of kids. It felt cheap, like a ploy intended to appeal to readers who wanted that ending. However that is not the case here. Getting married, having kids was a very satisfying conclusion for Rhodes and Aurora.
Tropes:
- Small town romance
- (kind of) Single parent MMC
- Divorced FMC
- Character study
Things I liked:
-- Though this novel is a romance, I liked that the main theme was in fact grief, love, and perseverance. It gave a depth to it that romance novels usually lack (despite being written and read mainly for the romance). I loved the description of grief losing someone changes you as a person. I've never experienced it myself and I can't imagine how painful it must be; Zapata does a wonderful job of writing about it.
-- I loved the community feeling of this book. Usually, the small-town romances I read leave me feeling a little underwhelmed when it comes to the presence and importance of supporting characters. But with All Rhodes lead here, I had no complaints. The main character is still very much Aurora and that is made very clear; but to see the impact kind people have on her is great and something I will be looking for in other books.
-- I loved the character journey Aurora took. There was no specific development per se; but I could just feel the loneliness in the beginning, the slight hope of companionship in the middle, and the love of family in the end. This is possibly my favourite thing to read about; someone lonely finding their forever family.
Things I didn't like:
-- Ngl, I cringed every time Rhodes said "Buddy" or "angel face"
I also felt a whole fucking zoo in my chest whenever he said "angel" or "sweetheart" so I guess that makes up for it? Either way, slightly cringe.
-- Rhodes was not the greatest in terms of character development. He was much less explored than Aurora - and while I fully believe this novel is much more a character study than a romance, it still would have been nice to see a little more of Rhodes that the rushed history-and-interests exposition we did get.
-- As a result of Rhodes less-than-ideal development, I wasn't quite on board with the romance. It was sweet and mature but I believe it could have been much better.
-- I am not totally on board with Zapata's writing. There was a lot of repetition of stuff that would have had more impact if it was mentioned only once. For example, when Aurora would think about her mother, I could feel her grief and anger and loneliness but I also got super frustrated because these thoughts would go on for paragraphs at a time. They would say the same thing, just in slightly different words. I skipped paragraphs and even pages (I used an epub so they weren't really long)
-- Continuing with the writing, I sensed a struggle to balance exposition, internal narration, and dialogue. Either the exposition was too long or the dialogue was. As a result, the narration really fell flat at places where it should have kept my attention.
Overall, I really did like reading All Rhodes Lead Here despite my slight frustration with the writing.
Would recommend to fans of romance, but more specifically, character driven stories that border on character studies.
Spice: 🌶.5
- One detailed scene, some mentions.
❗️❗️* SPOILER FOR The Wall of Winnipeg and Me AND All Rhodes Lead Here* ❗️❗️
-- I made a comment on the epilogue of The Wall of Winnipeg and Me, about how I didn't like the inclusion of kids. It felt cheap, like a ploy intended to appeal to readers who wanted that ending. However that is not the case here. Getting married, having kids was a very satisfying conclusion for Rhodes and Aurora.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death and Pregnancy
Minor: Homophobia
TW/CW: -- Death of parent (mentioned often; off-page) -- Grief (severe) -- Allusion to suicide (minor) -- Sexual content (graphic) -- Pregnancy (minor-moderate) - high-risk pregnancy (35+)mrsboomreads's review against another edition
2.75
I have thoughts. (Mild spoilers)
I’ve been duped. This was billed as a romance novel and, not it! This is contemporary fiction with a itty bitty, teeny tiny side portion of excruciatingly slow romance. Manage those expectations!
What I loved:
• I enjoyed Aurora’s character arc. She grows up and stands up to her crappy ex and get out of the dead end, toxic, financially/emotionally relationship, then heals her heart and starts over in her hometown.
• Honoring her late mother’s memory by following her love of hiking was beautiful, and the descriptions of the scenery and hiking were 👌🏻
• The Ex drama was well done. Aurora was great at standing up for herself.
• The female friendships, old and new (“one is silver and the other gold” 🎵)
What irked me:
• Rhodes goes far beyond the grump in a sunshine/grump trope. Try grizzly.
• The pet names. Omg, please no more. I cringed every time through this progression from Rhodes calling Aurora “kiddo” to “Angel” to...”Buddy” 🥴 Make. It. Stop.
• The slooooooooooooooow burn. I understand building anticipation but, this was so drawn out that I almost did not care if they ever got together. And the pay off was meh. Far too little, far too late.
If this had a bit of an accelerated burn, dropped the nicknames, and was edited by about 150 pages? It could have had 5 star read potential.
I’ve been duped. This was billed as a romance novel and, not it! This is contemporary fiction with a itty bitty, teeny tiny side portion of excruciatingly slow romance. Manage those expectations!
What I loved:
• I enjoyed Aurora’s character arc. She grows up and stands up to her crappy ex and get out of the dead end, toxic, financially/emotionally relationship, then heals her heart and starts over in her hometown.
• Honoring her late mother’s memory by following her love of hiking was beautiful, and the descriptions of the scenery and hiking were 👌🏻
• The Ex drama was well done. Aurora was great at standing up for herself.
• The female friendships, old and new (“one is silver and the other gold” 🎵)
What irked me:
• Rhodes goes far beyond the grump in a sunshine/grump trope. Try grizzly.
• The pet names. Omg, please no more. I cringed every time through this progression from Rhodes calling Aurora “kiddo” to “Angel” to...”Buddy” 🥴 Make. It. Stop.
• The slooooooooooooooow burn. I understand building anticipation but, this was so drawn out that I almost did not care if they ever got together. And the pay off was meh. Far too little, far too late.
If this had a bit of an accelerated burn, dropped the nicknames, and was edited by about 150 pages? It could have had 5 star read potential.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Gaslighting
percervall's review
emotional
funny
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? Yes
3.5
It’s the mother of all slow burn. The main character doesn’t sound like a woman in her early 30s, more like a 25 year old. It is ✨steamy✨
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide, Pregnancy, and Mental illness
eddine's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
HUHU this book
the way tobias rhodes had me at the neck w everytime he calls aurora angel
also did not expect to bawl my eyes out from this book?????
the way tobias rhodes had me at the neck w everytime he calls aurora angel
also did not expect to bawl my eyes out from this book?????
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexism, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Gaslighting
bookswithvicky's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Lovely story. I really love Ora and Rhodes. Specially Rhodes he is the most perfect DILF.
In my opinion maybe this story could be shorter, too much inner talk that did not add much to the story to be honest and made it difficult to follow as well the timeline sometimes I got lost.
The time always passed on a blink of the eye I think there is another ways to say it.
I like slow burn romances but this one was the slowest that I read seriously.
In my opinion maybe this story could be shorter, too much inner talk that did not add much to the story to be honest and made it difficult to follow as well the timeline sometimes I got lost.
The time always passed on a blink of the eye I think there is another ways to say it.
I like slow burn romances but this one was the slowest that I read seriously.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Gaslighting
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