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.
Release Date: Jan 30, 2024
Heat Level: Sensual
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: Avon
Price: $11.99
Aurora De La Torre has moved back to home. She is renting out a small place from a grumpy neighbor, Tobias Rhodes. She has bonded with his son, Amos. She just can’t seem to penetrate through the walls he has built around himself. It is probably better that way since she needs to repair a broken heart and learn how to move forward.
Ms. Zapata is truly the Queen of the slow burn. I have not read an author who does this so well. While I tend to swing one way or the other in my taste when it comes to her books, I found myself swinging all the way to loving this. Maybe it was my mood. Maybe it was the way the hero was so well written. Either way, she knocks it right out of the park.
Let’s dive into Rhodes. Oh, my goodness. He is so grumpy and distant. He doesn’t want to interact with Aurora. He doesn’t want her there on his property. He is so resistant to even trying but she chisels away at his defenses. For the first time in a really long time, he is fine with allowing someone new into his life. The friendship develops and the romance moves very slow but when the readers get a chance to see how much Rhodes cares, you can believe that he clearly knows how to knock it out of the park.
While I clearly like Rhodes, Aurora is the typical sunshine heroine. She is the balance to his character. I love that the author uses her sweetness as a strength. She is not a pushover. She is a character who experienced heart break but she stands up for herself.
I did love this book because the author really took time to flesh out the characters and their issues. However, it is the same reason, I knocked off a half-star. They didn’t even kiss or anything until 80% of the book. The first half of the story there is little to no interaction with them. I found myself forgetting that I was reading a romance.
Overall, I’m a fan of the author. I loved this story and I would highly recommend it for fans who like watching a gruff male fall hard.
~ Samantha
Amazon | iBooks | B&N | Kobo | Google Play