All Rhodes Lead Here

Wow just wow!! What a book.. I m in love with Rhodes, what a character Mariana has spun, every Aurora should have a man like him in her life.... Loved Yuki and Ams, Yuki should definitely have her own book..I love Mariana books,the way she makes u feel all the emotions of the characters like u r a part of them..her supporting characters are always as good as lead ones nd her epilogues are sooo thorough u can just imagine being a part of their happily ever after....Another out of the world book Mariana waiting for another one... P. S Wall of Winnipeg and me will always be my favourite 😍

The story starts from when Aurora De La Torre decides to relocate to Pagoda Springs in Colorado because the place carried memories of her mother and her childhood. Her mother loved hiking but supposedly disappeared when Aurora was 13 during a dangerous hiking trail. "I was thirty-three years old, and like a tree, I’d lost all of my leaves, so much of what had made me me; but just like a tree, my branches and my roots were still there." From there, Aurora was taken in by her uncle and Aunt and had a 14 year relationship with her ex boyfriend whom she wrote songs for. Their break up had caused Aurora to relocate and she chose to go back to her hometown in Colorado. "He was the DILF to end all DILFs" There she met Tristan Rhodes, an ex navy officer and his son Amo, a teenager who had went behind his father's back and rented their garage apartment to Aurora. At first, due to his son's misbehavior, Rhodes was angry and wary of the stranger that was supposedly going to live in their house with his teenage son but then they somehow convinced him to let Aurora stay. “Thank you! You won’t know I’m here!” Andddd he stopped walking. “I better not.” Rude. At first, the story was too slow paced for my liking, but then it picked up pace and I started loving it. I lost interest in the first 10 to 12% but I kept on reading and I don't regret my decision. “What?” I asked, trying to focus. “Telling your car to f- itself didn’t make it turn on?” Was he…joking? I blinked. “No, she doesn’t like being bullied,” I told him, deadpan. Aurora was downright hilarious and she had such a bubbly personality. I loved her energy, her determination to go on all the hikes her mother had mentioned in her journal and her way of looking at life despite losing her mother was a breath of fresh air. She was 33 years old but from her actions it felt like she was a lot younger. Despite being all fun, happy, sassy and bubbly she was such a softie. Honestly I didn't feel irritated when she cried, that made her look more adorable in my eyes. “Are you humming what I think you’re humming?” And me replying with “Yes.” “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” I had no shame. Rhodes was such an interesting character. In the beginning, I thought his character was bland but as the story progressed and as Aurora learnt a lot about his family and his protective, thoughtful and caring instincts for his son, he just melted my heart. The silver fox of a man was such an amazing father and his bossy side was just more swoon worthy. “Nobody in their right mind would let you walk away from them. Not once and no way in hll twice, angel.” The way he cared about Aurora, gradually understood her situation and made efforts to be nice to her, their relationship progressed a lot. As Aurora had decided to take a job in her old friend Clara's shop and she was oblivious about all the questions her customers asked her, she took the help of Rhodes and from that part the story seems to get a lot more interesting. “You’re fine. You’re totally fine, angel face. Nothing’s going to happen. I’m here, and Am is next door, and you’re not alone. Not anymore. It’s all right. Take a breather.” Rhodes's son Amo was also the highlight of the book. He seemed to be such a quite, sarcastic, sweet and talented boy. I would definitely want to read more about him and a lot of other side characters. (That pretty much happens to me when I read all of Mariana's books). The side characters intruge me a lot. Also, there was a Kulti reference in this book that made me want to give it a re-read lol! He slid me a look of total BS. “I’m not that good.” “I think you are, but I’m sure Reiner Kulti used to think he had room to improve.” “Who’s that?” It was my turn to slide him a look. “A famous soccer player." The characters development and story progression was as usual over the top. I love the way Mariana writes and the way she portrayes the emotions that all her characters go through is beautiful. “You’re mine. Just as much as Am is. Just as much as anybody will ever be.” Since I've lost both my grandfathers ( maternal & paternal) the story made me bawl my eyes out with quotes like these: "Grief was the final way we had to tell our loved ones that they’d impacted our lives. That we missed them so, so much.The people we lose take a part of us with them… but they leave a part of themselves with us too." Overall, the book was really good. I just felt like the drama during the last 96-98% was not really necessary, because it was Aurora's decision whether she wanted to disclose her past to the people close to her. That just bugged me a bit but the epilogue really lifted my mood. Aurora realising her worth and standing up to her ex and his vile mother and Rhodes being an amazing support that he is was really heartwarming.

I hv no words to explain the feeling for this slow burn love story. Best love story ever.

I recommend this book to everyone who's going through a bad phase and want to soar like a phoenix again. It has all the love, trust, care, bonding, happiness , everything. Rhodes and Aurora will cheer u up with their right attitude and love. Loved it so so much. Mariana Zapata gets better with every book I read and I don't even read them in order!!! Shez the best!!

This book needed to lose some chapters. I read about 50% of the book before I got tired of the slow pace. I ended up skipping to the end and just reading the last few chapters. Would not recommend unless you're a huge fan of the author.

This is the second book that has made me cry because of how happy I am with the characters, the plot... Everything. I love this book so so so much... This book is one of the best books ever. Thank you so much for writing it, Mariana Zapata! ♥️

The book is amazing quality

As usual, slow burn. Things get going after the 80% mark. Was a lovely read still though and could not put it down

I’ve read this book online and i loved it so much that i had to buy the book. But the book wasn’t in the best condition when I received it, it was okay and I wouldn’t return it

I've been aware of Zapata as an author for almost ten years now, but this was my first time reading one of her novels? And oh my god 😭 All Rhodes Lead Here was such a sweet and entertaining read. I loved loved loved the writing and how Zapata developed Aurora and Rhodes' characters. The premise was so interesting and I didn't expect the first twist regarding that and I loved how much depth it added to the novel right from the first chapter. Aurora herself was a great character and narrator, but I did find her a tiny bit too bubbly at times. Her personality did serve as an amazing contrast to Rhodes and his grumpiness, though, and it made me laugh quite a bit when she started babbling and/or during her moments of utter clumsiness. Everyone's backgrounds here were so interesting?? From Aurora's job to Rhodes' family life to what was happening with Clara to Yuki's entire presence. All characters were so well developed and rich and it was super fun reading about them all interact as Aurora struggled to find herself a new home. I did cry a bit during the final 25% of the book or so and wasn't expecting it at all. There were some really touching and heartbreaking scenes and it's a testament to Zapata's writing that I felt so strongly about what was going on that I teared up. The romance itself was so! good! I loved the slow burn of it and how Aurora and Rhodes always made sure to communicate with each other--even with Rhodes having to learn how to do that. The scene where they talked about their feelings and then the other scene when they finally got together were so so so lovely and some of my favorite parts of the book. This was just a really good read all around and it was such a pleasant surprise for me since I'd never read a Zapata book before. I'll definitely be checking out her backlog, because this was really wonderful and hooked me for an entire afternoon.

I absolutely loved this book. Ora made me laugh so many times and I loved her personality. She went through so much grief but always made the best of everything and had such a good heart. And Rhodes, such a great character. The grumpy guy, to when he first nicknamed her angel. Bah!!! Just so so good. One of the best grumpy-sunshines I’ve read for sure. So many times I teared up while reading this story and I genuinely enjoyed every character involved. Highly recommend.

Everyone women deserved a Tobias Rhodes than you for another amazing story, it’s kind of soul searching journey and learning to love yourself for all the good and bad in you

This book is Mariana Zapata at her absolute best! It's like she took everything she learned over the years and put it all into this story. Agh, it's so good! I loved it so much, I didn't want it to end, and it's been years since I felt that way about a book. I can only apologise for how gushy this review is about to get. “So this was what it was like to have your heart broken for good reasons.” Let me start with Aurora - now easily one of my favourite fmcs. Her pov was a true joy, and I loved every second of it. Her growth and journey felt special, and the way she cried whenever anyone did something nice for her 💝 she needs to be protected forever. There was so much to her character, and I loved getting to know her throughout the story as she worked through this new phase of her life. I loved her relationships with Clara and Yuki, and they were great characters too. Aurora felt relatable and had this exciting life that made for an excellent story. Whilst Aurora is a wonderful sunshine, Rhodes is the perfect grumpy. My heart could not take it when he ironed her clothes and folded her laundry - how did MZ make that so romantic? He gave her room to grow, and that's why he's perfect. The spice too? Perfection! Older kids are one of my favourite tropes in romance stories, and Amos (Rhodes's son) was excellent. He was that classic moody teen who opened up throughout the story and developed a beautiful protective bond with Aurora. I think Rhodes and Aurora moved at exactly the right pace, and by the end, their story felt so fleshed out. And, of course, MZ gave us an amazing epilogue! It makes sense that this is Mariana’s most recent release, and it just makes me all the more excited for whatever she puts out next! All the stars!