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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
takarakei's review against another edition
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.
🌶️3/5
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.
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.
🌶️3/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content and Mental illness
Minor: Pregnancy
Aurora's ex and his mother are vile and the horrible things they did to her are brought up several times. Tobias' mother struggled with mental illness and as a result he had a rough childhood. There is one explicit spicy scene. Pregnancy happens as part of the HEA (not a surprise).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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
cathyo_113's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Suicide and Mental illness
Minor: Medical content and Pregnancy
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.0
I wanted to read this book because I enjoyed The Wall of Winnipeg and Me and wanted to read more of Mariana Zapata’s books. This book was such a slow burn and angsty and I wanted more.
This book is based on Aurora De La Torre and she is moving back to a place that was once home and she knows it’s not going to be easy especially after she lost her mum in this town. She is trying to restart her life and a small town in the mountains might be the perfect remedy for a broken heart. However, after a long drive she is looking forward to getting to her rental. There is just one problem – the landlord didn’t rent it out, his younger son did. The landlord is a grumpy, older but gorgeous man, but it looks like he won’t be getting along with Aurora anytime soon. He has given Aurora a month to find new accommodation. Will she be able to find accommodation before the month is out? Will she be able to find peace in this town that once broke her heart?
I knew going into this that this was going to be a slowburn. But I think this is the slowest burn I've ever read, the whole time I was screaming at my kindle going kiss her kiss him, just kiss already! I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the grumpy and protective man to reveal his feelings. The storyline started on a bit slow and was like where’s the plot but then there was just a chapter that the switch flipped, and I was intrigued. I wanted to know what the big deal her ex-husband was, i was like why is she keeping it a secret on how shitty her ex-husband is. Aurora was damaged but was still a shiny star and still so kind and I loved her, I want her and Yuki to adopt me. Yuki was amazing and I loved how kickass she was. But the main star of the show was Amos, that kid saved this book and got it from 3 stars to 4. He was so adorable and sweet and I just love him, there was times where I had to remember that he was a teenager because I just wanted to pinch his cheek and give him a hug.
I love Rhodes, don’t get me wrong – in a uniform, older, grumpy and overprotective – sign me up. I just wanted to get into his brain. I would have loved for this book to be dual POV. I think it would have made it a five star for read for me. I just felt like we were shut out when I wanted to know why he was stone walling Aurora. I wanted to get inside his brain, it was like a switch flipped and he went from grumpy to I want to touch you in a chapter. I want to know what changed, what stopped him.
I love Mariana Zapata and I can’t wait to read more of her work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Pregnancy
karenreadsbooks's review
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Grief and Toxic relationship
Minor: Pregnancy
heidie's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
This was everything I hoped it would be and more. It covers so many topics in incredible ways. From grief, to small town living and a complicated romance. It’s slow to begin but once it gets going you cannot put it down!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
meganpbennett's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
2.0
I started reading this on vacation and zoomed through the first half of so of the book. Once I got back from vacation, it felt as though the book dragged on. It was interesting, but a lot more emotional and darker than I was expecting. I found it very hard to read and very hard to stay interested in to finish.
Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the free eARC!
Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the free eARC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Grief, Pregnancy, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Death, and Death of parent
fremzz's review
4.75
I didn’t want this to end. Every time I start a new Mariana Zapata book I get scared that it will be the one where I get tired of her formula but It. Never. Happens.
And it CERTAINLY didn’t happen with this one.
Aurora and Rhodes are so cute together it makes me SICK because I might never have what they have and now it’s Mariana Zapata’s fault for setting my standards so high. Every little moment in this book had me kicking my feet I read a bunch of it at the beach because I just couldn’t stop and my friend probably thought something was going on because I couldn’t stop smiling and covering my mouth with my hand from cuteness overload. This was my first single parent book and it’s definitely not going to be my last because the way I absolutely ADORED the kid in this book and the dynamics with him it was amazing.
Taking .25 off because off a few small things, for example this quote: “but only you are even more beautiful without makeup on than with it.” It was too 2011 Disney channel original movie for me and that’s ok because the book was still amazing.
And it CERTAINLY didn’t happen with this one.
Aurora and Rhodes are so cute together it makes me SICK because I might never have what they have and now it’s Mariana Zapata’s fault for setting my standards so high. Every little moment in this book had me kicking my feet I read a bunch of it at the beach because I just couldn’t stop and my friend probably thought something was going on because I couldn’t stop smiling and covering my mouth with my hand from cuteness overload. This was my first single parent book and it’s definitely not going to be my last because the way I absolutely ADORED the kid in this book and the dynamics with him it was amazing.
Taking .25 off because off a few small things, for example this quote: “but only you are even more beautiful without makeup on than with it.” It was too 2011 Disney channel original movie for me and that’s ok because the book was still amazing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Death