book review- all rhodes lead here by mariana zapata
3.75/ Age gap (kinda????)/ single parent/ small town/ SLOOOOOOOOOOOW BURN/the teeny, tiniest bit of spice.
All Rhodes Lead Here follows Aurora as she starts over in a small town in Colorado. She moves into a garage apartment, owned by Rhodes, after his teenage son went behind his back and posted the apartment for rent. Rhodes, a grumpy game warden, was *not happy* about the arrangement, but eventually agrees to allow Aurora to stay.
Aurora has moved back to this town (she grew up there but had to move away) looking for connection to her mother, and closure regarding some traumatic childhood events. The book is heavily character driven, with the romance being more of a side plot to Aurora's story.
This was my first MZ book, and I had been warned that she was the queen of the slow burn. I'm thankful I went in with that expectation, because WHEW. Slow burn, this was. You get CRUMBS for most of the book. That's not usually my jam, but I found myself actually really enjoying it in this particular story. I think it worked for these characters, and only deepened the connection that I felt on the page. It kept me hooked, and I read most of the book in one night because I couldn't look away from their developing relationship.
As this was my first MZ book, I had no idea what to expect with their actual relationship, and the constant "fade to black" had me VERY worried. This is an incredibly character driven book, so you really just follow Aurora's life. Just when I was starting to get frustrated with the curtains closing whenever we started to really get a glimpse of the romance, MZ came through (thankfully).
It didn't quite make it to a 4 star because I found myself wanting more, but also less. I know that this is just how MZ writes, but I found myself wanting less everyday life, and more action (and more Rhodes, always more Rhodes). I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and had to force myself to put it down. I would highly recommend it, but I can't get past the little bit of letdown I feel.
If you enjoy character driven books that feel like real life, this is for you. It really does have it all - romance, emotion, depth, character development- and does it well. I am just a glutton for romance, and wanted to see so much more of Rhodes.