Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata

26 reviews

goldensisyphus's review

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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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snipinfool's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Aurora was stunned when the man she had been living and working with for fourteen years told her their relationship was over and that she needed to leave ASAP. She ended up in Pagosa Springs, CO. It was the last place Aurora lived with her mother before she went missing. She planned to stay a month to see whether Pagosa would be a good fit. Aurora rented a small apartment outside of town. When she arrived, she found that the owner’s son had placed the ad without his knowledge. He finally agreed to let her stay when she offered him triple the rate she agreed to pay. Aurora found a job working at an outdoor adventure store for her friend, Clara. Aurora planned to take some of the hikes her mother had taken when they lived here as part of her healing. 

Rhodes was angry his son, Amos, rented out the apartment. He agreed to let Aurora stay because she looked desperate for a place to live. Rhodes worked for the parks and wildlife department and sometimes had varied work hours. Aurora took Amos to the hospital for possible appendicitis because he was unable to reach his father. Rhodes was very grateful and his feelings toward Aurora being around changed. The three of them started doing more activities together. Months passed. Slowly, Rhodes and Aurora started to see each other as someone they wanted to keep in their lives for a long time.

Rhodes was definitely a man written by a woman. He had just about every positive characteristic one could hope for. He wasn’t perfect, but he put in the effort to try. His relationship with his son was unexpected and wonderful. Aurora was broken, but started to heal once she returned to Pagosa. Having her Clara and becoming friends with Rhodes and Amos helped her to get past old hurts and start anew. I loved reading how Aurora’s presence smoothed some of Rhodes' rough edges. Amos was a wonderful character. He added so much to the story. Clara and Yuki were the type of supportive friends we all need. I loved their story.

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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 5⭐️ 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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lilaknitsandreads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

5.0


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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

𝘐'𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵.

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 betrayal—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.

𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘴. 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴.

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! 

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬-𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘸𝘰-𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥-𝘢𝘯𝘥-𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘺𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥.

Read this if you love:
🥾found family
⛰️age gap
🥾slow burn
⛰️small town romance
🥾grumpy x sunshine
⛰️single dad

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what_karla_reads's review

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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

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niamhstorme's review against another edition

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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


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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 characters’ budding relationships. No instalove here!

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cathyo_113's review

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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


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meganpbennett's review

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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! 

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