Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata

45 reviews

booksinbed23's review

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

3.75

This book puts the slow in slow burn. Mariana Zapata has cemented herself for all things slow-burn and sometimes, that's exactly what you are in the mood for. What kept me reading despite the slow pace is the absolute dreamboat that is the MMC, Rhodes. It's so easy to imagine yourself as the FMC and go on this relaxing romance on the rocky mountains of Colorado (with some spice to boot).

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goldensisyphus's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative reflective 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

3.5

Was fully on board loving this book and all it's profound and healing moments UNTIL 85% in when the two MMCs judge our FMC for something that was completely 100% not her fault and then act like immature judgmental assholes and give her the silent treatment. It's totally emotionally abusive behavior. It's then washed over with lovebombing behavior and all supposedly ends well but that is a major red flag. Left a bad vibe.

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avery_hutchinson's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

4.75

This book had me literally annoyed when I had to put it down. The only reason that it is not 5โญ๏ธ is because of the third act conflict, as it felt like a mildly stupid argument which did get resolved in a cute way. Very good main characters with strong backstories and motives, and side characters were very lovable.

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bcope84's review against another edition

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

4.25


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spellbindingtomes's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing 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? Yes

4.0

๐˜'๐˜ฎ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ'๐˜ด ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜'๐˜ฎ ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต.

I couldn't put this book down! Honestly, it's hard to put down any MZ book once you start. Out of all her books, All Rhodes Lead Here focuses more on  the FMC's self-discovery after experiencing hurt and betrayalโ€”coming full circle to the place where she lost her mom. 

Aurora was such a ray of sunshine even when she's been through so much. I really resonated with her grief. I loved that she wanted to go on each of her mom's favorite hikes in Colorado as a way to honor her. Aurora's resilient, hilarious, and most of all, loveable.

๐˜š๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ด ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ฌ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ'๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ด ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ด. ๐˜ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ด, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ. ๐˜ˆ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ด.

The burn was slow per usual, but this time not just with the romance but with the found family aspect also. I loved Rhodes & Amos so much and seeing their friendship and love naturally grow for Aurora and vice versa was so touching and heartfelt. 

This was the first MZ book that left me wanting a little more out of the romance. I also thought the last few chapters had a lot of drama which is pretty unusual for her books. 

That being said, this was still an addictive and endearing read that will definitely tug at your heartstrings. 

Now if you excuse me, I will be busy looking at flights to Pagosa Springs! 

๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ฉ, ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ต. ๐˜ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ'๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ. ๐˜ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ'๐˜ต ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜จ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ-๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ด. ๐˜ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ด, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข ๐˜ต๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ-๐˜ฉ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ-๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ-๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜บ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ.

Read this if you love:
๐Ÿฅพfound family
โ›ฐ๏ธage gap
๐Ÿฅพslow burn
โ›ฐ๏ธsmall town romance
๐Ÿฅพgrumpy x sunshine
โ›ฐ๏ธsingle dad

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vanesst's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0


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grace33's review against another edition

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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


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takarakei's review against another edition

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emotional 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

2.75

Unfortunately I didn't realize going into this that it's a 600 page romance, or I would probably not have read it. No romance needs to be that long imo. MZ writes slow burn, but there's slow burn and then there's... whatever this is. The two main characters barely interacted or talked for like the first 30% of this book (which is like 200 pages). The first HALF of this book could have been severely edited down in terms of content because I was just reading too many mundane details that my brain was shutting down.

Which honestly sucks because the last 20% of this book is really good! Once you *actually* start to see the tiniest spark (aka they have conversations) between the main characters I enjoyed it. I really liked the development of the relationship between Aurora and Tobias' son Amos (tbh she has more interactions in the first half of the book with Amos than Tobias). There's a hard hitting part at the end regarding Aurora's grief over her mom that got me a bit misty.
I'm not sure that I needed her ex to come back begging for her, I felt that was extraneous.


Overall I'm not sure I really vibed with Aurora as a main character and she made some really dumb ass decisions in this book that irked me (hello hiking on your own when you are clearly not an experienced hiker and your mom disappeared while hiking??? please make it make sense). Also this is a self published book moving to traditional publication and the arc I read had some super repetitive parts and several typos that I hope are fixed before it's published...

I have some other books by this author on my list that I will read, but I'll be checking the page count before I do.

๐ŸŒถ๏ธ3/5 

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pgivan21's review against another edition

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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 charactersโ€™ budding relationships. No instalove here!

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karenreadsbooks's review

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hopeful slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes

3.5

 I enjoyed this book but not quite as much as I expected to. I liked the main characters and the situation that got the couple together. And I do love slow burn romance--but this one felt too slow in some places. Not the romance part but the pacing of the book. It felt more dragged out than it needed to be, which meant I didn't feel as close to the characters as I would like. 

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