A review by booksafety
All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata

5.0

Book safety, content warnings, and tropes & tags down below.

No one ever told you how hard it was to make friends as an adult. But it was hard. Real hard.

I didn’t really get into reviewing books until I started reading MM, so most of my reviews now will be after rereads or re-listens. I’ve read this book and listened to it a good few times by now. Mariana Zapata is my favorite M/F author, and I’ve adored everything I’ve read by her.

Sometimes, maybe even more often than just sometimes, you were better off alone. Sometimes you had to learn to be your own best friend. To put yourself first.

This book is just.. charming. Straight up charming. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. It really transports me to a small town in Colorado. Zapata is the Queen of slow burn, and she nails it every time. I do love spice, but the wait is so freaking worth it every time with this author. I’m also a massive fan of the ‘single dad’ trope, and the kid in this is such a great side character. He really brings something extra to the story.

“Nobody in their right mind would let you walk away from them. Not once and no way in hell twice, angel.”

Aurora, the FMC, is older than she seems. I have seen some people being a little annoyed with her slightly childish (I guess? Not really in my opinion) behavior, but I adore her. She’s sunshine through and through. I also know it’s done like this on purpose. Rhodes believes she’s way younger than she is for a good long while, which contributes to the slow burn. It’s also amazing how the FMC stays positive after being treated so poorly by her ex.

The man who had called me his wife in private and around loved ones. The man who had promised to really marry me one day when his career was just right and a relationship wouldn’t hurt his wittle fanbase. “You understand, don’t you, beautiful?” he’d reasoned time after time.

Mariana also usually writes character driven plots, and I still adore her books so freaking much, which is a good indicator for how good she is at writing. I never feel bored when reading her books, when I usually get bored with other books very fast if there’s nothing happening externally.

All Rhodes Lead Here has a unique plot, and I love it so much. And the cover is beautiful.

Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Single dad
Semi-famous FMC
Small town
Hometown
Slow burn
Grumpy/sunshine
Age gap
CW:

⚠️⚠️ Content warning ⚠️⚠️
Explicit sexual content
Grief
Mention of hiking accident
Manipulative ex mother in law
Brief mention of infertility (side character)

⚠️⚠️⚠️ Book safety ⚠️⚠️⚠️
Cheating: No
OM/OW drama: FMCs ex tries to get in touch, but no drama from it.
Third-act breakup: No
POV: 1st person, single POV
Genre: Contemporary romance, M/F