Scan barcode
kerosenelit's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
It seems silly for a mere nickname to ruin a romance for me, but that’s essentially what happened here. The age gap between Aurora and Tobias isn’t huge by any means, ten years or so, but the constant use of “Buddy” was an odd choice considering. It gave me the ick. On top of that, the revealed reasoning why Tobias used that nickname in the first place for Aurora had me absolutely cackling—not in a good way.
I did enjoy the cozy small-town setting! And the relationship Aurora develops with Amos, Tobias's teenage son! Unfortunately, that’s all I liked. Aurora felt quite immature to me, and on more than one occasion her actions and internal thoughts had me internally screaming. I tend to love adventurous storylines, especially those involving hiking, but even that was lacking for me here.
I know this author is known as the queen of slow-burn romances, and this one in particular is super loved (just look at the average Goodreads rating!), but the excess of painfully mundane moments made this a chore to read. This is exactly why I tend to avoid romances over 500 pages.
(heat level: one open-door scene, explicit details)
I did enjoy the cozy small-town setting! And the relationship Aurora develops with Amos, Tobias's teenage son! Unfortunately, that’s all I liked. Aurora felt quite immature to me, and on more than one occasion her actions and internal thoughts had me internally screaming. I tend to love adventurous storylines, especially those involving hiking, but even that was lacking for me here.
I know this author is known as the queen of slow-burn romances, and this one in particular is super loved (just look at the average Goodreads rating!), but the excess of painfully mundane moments made this a chore to read. This is exactly why I tend to avoid romances over 500 pages.
(heat level: one open-door scene, explicit details)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
hereiskyra's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Something about the writing style of this book made it so easy to imagine and enjoy, even though I’ll admit, I didn’t feel like there was a ton of excitement or depth to most of the plot. But I absolutely fell in love with all the characters, not just the MMC and FMC.
I think this may have been one of the only time there was a teenager rather than a child and it made it that much better! He was such a great kid and his unique parental situation brought something interesting to the story.
I’m always a sucker for low conflict (or lack of miscommunications/third act breakup) and this one was pretty much that. The small conflict felt necessary for the whole of the story, to show just how much she was wanted and needed by these two that had welcomed her into their lives. And we all love to see an HEA several years down the road, it just itches a good spot in your brain. 🙂
Although the resolution to her mothers story wasn’t a happy one (and I did feel like I had a glimmer of hope the entire book), it was a relief that there was some peace given to Aurora (and to us readers) because who wants to live their life wondering?
Also, a single POV having the second narrator for the male character was fantastic!! I wish more authors would do this.
Spice Level: 🌶️
Tropes:
Slow Burn
Grumpy/Sunshine
Small Town
Single Dad
Although the resolution to her mothers story wasn’t a happy one (and I did feel like I had a glimmer of hope the entire book), it was a relief that there was some peace given to Aurora (and to us readers) because who wants to live their life wondering?
Also, a single POV having the second narrator for the male character was fantastic!! I wish more authors would do this.
Spice Level: 🌶️
Tropes:
Slow Burn
Grumpy/Sunshine
Small Town
Single Dad
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content
what_karla_reads'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? No
5.0
5/5 stars
1.5/5 spice
Tropes:
Strangers to friends to lovers
Slow burn
Trauma/healing
Protective hero
Grumpy/sunshine
Single dad
Single POV
The slowest of the slow burns but honestly I'm not mad about it. I really enjoyed the personal journey Aurora went through. I think that was more important that her finding love. Overall, I loved the grumpy/sunshine trope with this one. This was my first book with this author but I'm definitely interested in reading more.
Thank you to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.
Trigger/Content warnings:
Mentions emotional abuse, extortion, divorce, and death of parent. Sexual content
1.5/5 spice
Tropes:
Strangers to friends to lovers
Slow burn
Trauma/healing
Protective hero
Grumpy/sunshine
Single dad
Single POV
The slowest of the slow burns but honestly I'm not mad about it. I really enjoyed the personal journey Aurora went through. I think that was more important that her finding love. Overall, I loved the grumpy/sunshine trope with this one. This was my first book with this author but I'm definitely interested in reading more.
Thank you to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.
Trigger/Content warnings:
Mentions emotional abuse, extortion, divorce, and death of parent. Sexual content
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent and Emotional abuse
maireadingnook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
I loved this book the first time I read this, and I still do. I very much enjoyed this reread, especially because of the duet narration of the audiobook! The bonus scene was also very cute. 🥰
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
alfarmer's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
I had high hopes for this book and it delivered on all of them!! The story and characters are great and in typical Mariana Zapata fashion the grump and slow burn are perfect. Only down side is that the ending drags a bit, but it nicely closes up all plot points.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Death of parent
niamhstorme's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse
grace33's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
krystalframe's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
chelseazhao's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Mariana Zapata is really the Queen of Slowburn Romance, and I've missed reading her books.
I loved the characters that we got to follow in this book. Both Aurora and Rhodes felt like real people. And because of that, I still really enjoyed it even though the romance didn't feel as prevalent as I would have liked it. I did like that it felt realistic and you could see their feelings grow.
However, this felt more like a plain contemporary story or a character study for at least two-thirds of the book.
I did really like the exploration of grief and unconventional families.
But I think I just wish that I liked the conclusion more. It felt like it wrapped up too quickly.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I loved the characters that we got to follow in this book. Both Aurora and Rhodes felt like real people. And because of that, I still really enjoyed it even though the romance didn't feel as prevalent as I would have liked it. I did like that it felt realistic and you could see their feelings grow.
However, this felt more like a plain contemporary story or a character study for at least two-thirds of the book.
I did really like the exploration of grief and unconventional families.
But I think I just wish that I liked the conclusion more. It felt like it wrapped up too quickly.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Mental illness and Pregnancy