All Rhodes Lead Here by Marian Zapata [Review]

All Rhodes Lead Here by Marian Zapata
Format: paperback
Source: purchased
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Date read: February 19, 2024

Purchase Links: Paperback | Kindle

Mariana Zapata
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

The people we lose take a part of us with them…but they leave a part of themselves with us too.

Aurora De La Torre, or Ora to her friends, knows moving back to Pagosa Springs, Colorado, a place that was once home and is now full of bittersweet memories of her late mother, isn’t going to be easy. Starting your whole life over probably isn’t supposed to be.

But after breaking up with her longtime, famous musician boyfriend, hiding out in a small town in the mountains might be the perfect remedy for a broken heart. And checking out her landlord who lives across the driveway just might cure it, too.

Only Tobias Rhodes didn’t rent out the apartment to her, rather it was his teenage son, Amos. Fiercely protective of his family and distrusting of strangers, gruff and grumpy Rhodes initially keeps little miss sunshine Ora at a distance. But over days and weeks, long hikes and fireside chats, Aurora breaks down his walls and soon an unbreakable friendship blossoms into a once-in-a-lifetime love.

Thoughts on All Rhodes Lead Here: Oh MAN. Ora and Rhodes were...well, they were something. Something good. I mean, Rhodes was a straight up snarling, grumpy individual the first time they met and he didn't bother to hide that side of himself from Ora. It was the situation, as Ora later finds out, but she caught the brunt of his upset (to be fair, it was actually Amos who caught the brunt of it since he was the cause, so maybe it would be better to say she got caught in the fallout) and yet she somehow manages to convince him to let her stay in the apartment and things went from there.

And by that I mean that Rhodes continued to be snarly and standoff-ish until he wasn't. Through it all, Ora is kind and friendly and absolutely unable to stand aside a do nothing when someone needs her help. Which is the thing that finally puts a crack in Rhodes' stony demeanor.

While Rhodes defenses start to weaken, Ora works on figuring herself out. She's basically finding herself after a long-term secret relationship blew up and figuring out what she wants and how to be her after hiding parts of herself for so long takes time. Throw in a defining even from her past that is sort of guiding her on this journey and Ora has a lot going on.

A small town, a slooooow-burn romance, a teenage kid who is as sweet as he is shy, encounters with wildlife, day-hike mishaps, a man slow to give his trust, and a lady who keeps moving forward even when things are rough. MAN, I liked this one!