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A review by mimireadsromance
All Roads Lead to You by Jennifer Probst
3.0
All Roads Lead To You is book 3 of the Stay series. I had not read the other books in the series prior to this story, but it did not affect my ability to enjoy Harper and Aidan's story.
What worked for me:
-Open and respectful dialogue between the hero and heroine. I appreciated that the dark moment on their path to HEA wasn't overdramatized. The heroine took the time to recognize why the hero chose to omit information and also recognized that his actions up to that point proved he was a man of integrity. There was no extended "punishment" for his omission. Adulting done right! Bravo!
-Slow burn HEA with great chemistry. The hero was respectful and consent was sexy!
-Strong sibling ties. I enjoyed the banter and camaraderie of the group, as well as their ability to support one another in their dreams.
-The animals-cue all the happy sighs about cute animals that get their happy ending.
What didn't work for me:
-Animal Rescue & Horse Racing. But…I just said that worked. Allow me to clarify. I found the interactions with the animals entertaining (Loved Hei Hei, Capt. Hoof, and Phoenix), but they often took the focus off of the HUMAN relationship, i.e. the romance that was developing between Aidan and Harper. I found myself skimming some of those scenes and felt as though the romance suffered and became more tell vs show at the expense of the number of scenes spent on horse racing.
-There is a scene when the heroine attempts to manipulate a volunteer with the animal rescue that bothered me enough to make me stop reading, highlight the section, and place a note to myself. It seemed so opposite her character type. Later in the scene she was straightforward about what she needed to be done, completely negating the need for the manipulation that had occurred.
Overall thoughts:
There were moments during this book where I was all-in, but unfortunately I'd get pulled out of the HEA mindset when the focus shifted to horse racing. As a fan of the sport, I love a great story about a horse that's come from nothing and is storming the horse world, but I feel as though the subject matter sort of stole the show. I loved Aidan and honestly think of this book as more his and Phoenix's story than his and Harper's. Aidan had a great character arc and enjoyed following along as he began to recognize what it was that he truly wanted from life.
I give this book a solid three stars and plan to read the follow up with the first two books in the series.
I received a complimentary review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions about the book are my own.
What worked for me:
-Open and respectful dialogue between the hero and heroine. I appreciated that the dark moment on their path to HEA wasn't overdramatized. The heroine took the time to recognize why the hero chose to omit information and also recognized that his actions up to that point proved he was a man of integrity. There was no extended "punishment" for his omission. Adulting done right! Bravo!
-Slow burn HEA with great chemistry. The hero was respectful and consent was sexy!
-Strong sibling ties. I enjoyed the banter and camaraderie of the group, as well as their ability to support one another in their dreams.
-The animals-cue all the happy sighs about cute animals that get their happy ending.
What didn't work for me:
-Animal Rescue & Horse Racing. But…I just said that worked. Allow me to clarify. I found the interactions with the animals entertaining (Loved Hei Hei, Capt. Hoof, and Phoenix), but they often took the focus off of the HUMAN relationship, i.e. the romance that was developing between Aidan and Harper. I found myself skimming some of those scenes and felt as though the romance suffered and became more tell vs show at the expense of the number of scenes spent on horse racing.
-There is a scene when the heroine attempts to manipulate a volunteer with the animal rescue that bothered me enough to make me stop reading, highlight the section, and place a note to myself. It seemed so opposite her character type. Later in the scene she was straightforward about what she needed to be done, completely negating the need for the manipulation that had occurred.
Overall thoughts:
There were moments during this book where I was all-in, but unfortunately I'd get pulled out of the HEA mindset when the focus shifted to horse racing. As a fan of the sport, I love a great story about a horse that's come from nothing and is storming the horse world, but I feel as though the subject matter sort of stole the show. I loved Aidan and honestly think of this book as more his and Phoenix's story than his and Harper's. Aidan had a great character arc and enjoyed following along as he began to recognize what it was that he truly wanted from life.
I give this book a solid three stars and plan to read the follow up with the first two books in the series.
I received a complimentary review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions about the book are my own.