I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute, fun book. I really enjoyed it a lot!

The lighthearted nature of the book cover and description was quite misleading. This book is NOT a fluff travel romance it seems to be in the description. It handles lots of grief. And there should be trigger warning attached as well for what she goes through at 17.

There is some romance to the story but it’s not quite romance that you feel more told and not quite a focus on it either (re: the grief).

Overall story was alright but the way it’s told left something to be desired. And if you read it expecting a romance and travel fun and all you will be disappointed.

I loved this book! It came at the perfect time as I have been planning a trip. Reading about Stevie's travels made me want to travel even more. I get her. I get wanting to travel all the time. But wait, there's more in store for Stevie - yes, finally someone to love...but maybe it's too complicated? Well, love can be complicated...

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I walked into this book expecting something entirely different than what I read... once we got to the teen pregnancy... I was out.

I did DNF this book, but was truly loving the destination wedding in Rome as it made for a gorgeous setting.

I truly enjoyed All Roads Lead to Rome and rated it five stars. This heartfelt and beautifully written story captures the ache of loss and the slow rediscovery of love and purpose. Stevie is a relatable and inspiring character whose journey across the world mirrors her emotional healing. Cristian adds warmth and quiet strength to her story, and their connection grows in a way that feels both natural and deeply moving. A hopeful and soul-stirring romance.

I really wanted to like this book. The description and title made me believe I would, but unfortunately, I gave up less than halfway through. It started out enjoyable enough, but I felt the focus on the characters past slowed down the pacing for me, and completely changed the tone. I’m sure others may enjoy exploring a characters traumatic past in depth, but this was not what I was looking for.

The FMC has arrested development which stymies an otherwise great story. At times this felt rushed as well. I am not sure if the author was trying to fit too much in a short number of pages or what happened. It was alright. Not great. Cute enough, forgettable.

All Roads Lead to Rome by Yamile Saied Mendez is a love story spanning multiple countries. Stevie has been trying to prove herself after tragedy left her mourning and lost when she was 17. She meets Christian at a wedding in Rome where they share a magical night, however life circumstances cause them to part ways as friends. I really wanted to like this book, but it was just a struggle for me. The large jumps in timeline and the story overall just did not have a good flow. The characters were not well developed and I just struggled to connect with them. I kept reading in hopes that it would get better, unfortunately I was just left disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Publishing, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
Warning: this book is heavier and more emotional than the cover appears! I wanted to give Stevie a hug the whole book. She went through unspeakable pain and just wanted to belong. I loved our MMC and I loved all the travel elements to this book.

I absolutely loved the YA Reese’s Book Club pick, FURIA, by Yamile Saied Méndez, and when I picked up her most recent release, ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME, I felt all of the amazing heart and wisdom and light that Yamile pours into her stories. And I absolutely loved it!✨

All Roads Lead to Rome is actually the third book in a Women’s Fiction Trilogy about three best friends: Nadia, Madi, and Stevie, who is the heroine of this book. The amazing thing about these books is that they can all be read as standalones, and they all feature women coming into their own in their 30’s, which I deeply resonated with!✨

Stevie’s journey is not an easy one…but the happy ending for her story is hard-won and so beautifully satisfying. Yamile also does such an amazing job of tackling hard topics in order to give a voice to those who battle them, and yet, in the midst of horrible pain, Stevie survives. She learns to breathe again.✨

There are so many beautiful layers to Stevie’s story, but I loved the magic she found while traveling, the love she had in feeding people, and her blossoming relationship with Cristian was so beautiful! I absolutely loved it!✨

Stevie meets Cristian in Rome on New Year's Day--at the wedding of her best friend and one-time lover. They both ditch the reception and spend a memorable evening exploring Rome, with Cristian as Stevie's guide. In a twist on the Trevi Fountain wishes, they pledge to marry each other at age 70 if they're both single.

As they return to their real lives, they keep in touch and Stevie keeps wondering if he could be the one. But he doesn't know her tragic secret and estranged from her mother, she wonders if anyone will ever love her. They spend a memorable week in Egypt but still are not really together.

Stevie is a wonderful character who you will want as your best friend. Fabulously successful in her career with a cadre of close friends, she cannot solve the mystery of how to get along with her mother, And Cristian is just fabulous. This love story spans several years and will have you turning pages in hopes they find their happily ever after. But as wonderful as the book is, the early Rome setting is incidental. #AllRoadsLeadtoRome #NetGalley

Solid Dramatic Romance Marred By Mismatched Cover/ Description. I'd had an ARC of this book for a few months before publication, despite only finishing it on publication day due to both life and a rather insane pace of reading - it was my 81st completed book of the year and 11th of the month. At least through this point, even the next day, the cover of the book and the description of the book both hint at a lot more visual and visceral travel based romance than what is delivered here, to the level that I felt the star deduction was warranted for this mismatch - a mismatch that can be corrected at any time, perhaps as soon as even within the very time I'm writing this review. Thus, if the cover and description have been updated by the time you read this review and reflect more of what I'm about to tell you, heh, my reason for deducting a star is no longer there and I would consider it a five star read instead.

Now, as to what this book actually is... prepare for some very dusty rooms. While there is a lot more telling than showing here, due to the nature of how Mendez chooses to tell the story, and perhaps the events of the book - both good and bad - could have landed even harder with a more first person / showing narrative, the story still works quite well as is and I have no actual problem with it. Yes, some people won't prefer it, but others wouldn't prefer it if it *were* done in the first person/ showing kind of manner, so meh, your mileage will absolutely vary there.

Still, the story as presented is powerful, if one of those romance tales that spans several years. This is far from an insta-romance, yet I'm also not sure that I would classify it as slow burn. Instead, this is a tale of life molding two people - mostly one of them - to the point where they *finally* realize they are what each other always wanted... even if they had to go through so much pain and hardship (along with fun and adventure) to get there. Thus, it actually works as a more serious balance to so much of the more "bubblegum pop" types of romances that are out there and thus a solid tale to stay within the romance space yet get a different taste and texture from a story than may be your typical. (Or perhaps this is your typical and you *need* some bubblegum pop. While that isn't this review, find my other reviews wherever you see this one and you can likely find some recs for some of those too. :D)

This is one of those books where you need to be ready to read about life continually knocking our main character down... and sometimes she stays down perhaps longer than is healthy or wise. And that isn't the kind of book everyone can read at every stage of their lives, so you need to be prepared for that. It gets *deep* into the stages of grief and loss of different elements of our main character's life, and if that is too much for you... go grab some of that bubblegum. Heal up. Come to this one when you can handle this kind of tale. Because it *is* a good tale that deserves to be known,

Overall truly a strong tale that I perhaps have a quibble or two with the manner in which it is told and a more serious problem with how it is currently marketed at release time, neither of which actually seriously detracts from the power of the story itself.

Very much recommended.

Easily my new fav by Yamile Saied Mendez!! This was a strangers to friends to lovers slow burn that spans years, takes place across continents and sees two people going through extreme highs and lows as they fight their way back to one another in the ultimate feel-good ending. I loved how strong Stevie was, dealing with loss at a young age and an absentee mother as she chases after her dreams of being a personal chef all the while pining for the one man she met in Rome as a teenager. Highly recommended for fans of star crossed lovers romance stories. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

CW: teen pregnancy, infant loss (SIDS), depression, child with seizure condition

𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐓𝐨 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐞
𝐛𝐲 𝐘𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐌é𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐳
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟒𝐭𝐡

- - -

I had a hard time putting this book down. This is such a delightful, emotional read. I am writing this review with tears in my eyes. It's just such a soul-stirring book.

I really liked the meet-cute at a wedding in Rome. It was so adorable and dreamy. How the main characters even gave each other 'promise' rings and call each other 'fake fiancé'. It's really cute!

I screamed when the FMC suggested to be just friends. Why?! That man is a walking green flag! They are almost out of existence! But once you learn more about her past and the heartbreaks she had to endure, you completely understand her.

I really enjoyed reading this gripping story and highly recommend this. Just grab a box of tissues!

This the final in what appears to be a series of 3 friends of Mendez's Romance Contemporary Novels. I prefer saying that than within the same story world because at the end of this book we get a wrap up of Nadia and Madi's lives which they are all told concurrently. I would recommend reading them in order of publishing.

This has to be my favorite one of all of her books. She has a way of writing the nuance of the Latinx story in such a myriad way that brings all the feelings. This book deals a lot with undealt trauma and depression so please read the content warnings; I don't want to give away any spoilers. But it was such an amazing book, it's one of those books that will live with me for a long time just like her other ones have. FURIA, still has a special place in my soul.

Stevie and Cristian their romance from the blurb seems fate driven. But it is actually so poetic and beautiful.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review as always, all words are my own.

This is not the rom com the cover and the blurb might lead you to believe it is. Sure, it's got the Stevie Cristian relationship and their banter but it's built on grief and family estrangement. Stevie's back story, the reason she's hopscotching around the world and pushing Cristian to the future spools out about half way through the novel. It gives her more depth but I think this would have worked better if the issues had been outlined earlier. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Over to others.

2.75 stars ⭐⭐💫

Stevie Choi's dreams were pulled out from under her as a teen, and she's been trying desperately to prove herself ever since. Amid complicated feelings at the Roman wedding of her best friend (with whom she is most certainly not in love), Stevie meets Cristian, a friend of a friend who she's been warned about. The two have instant chemistry, but neither is ready for a relationship, especially not a long-distance one. Stevie and Cristian go their separate ways having vowed to marry each other if they're still single when they're 70.

The book explores various timelines, with a long flashback to Stevie's time in high school, where we learn more about the tragedy her family has suffered, and setting the scene for her complicated relationship with her mother. Along the way, we see glimpses of Stevie and Cristian as they come in and out of each other's orbits throughout the years.

I enjoyed some aspects of this. Stevie and Cristian had great chemistry from the jump. The "will they, won't they" tension pulled at my heartstrings just the right amount. But despite Stevie's storied past and having to grow up fast, she came across as juvenile to me (though this may have been the writing style). The way she handled most of the relationships in her life lacked emotional maturity in a way I found frustrating, and which didn't seem to fit with the journey I expected Stevie to be on. Overall, this fell a bit flat for me, and felt notably different from the synopsis.

This is beautifully written and deeply emotional, but it’s not the light and breezy novel I expected from the cover. The flashbacks and family drama gave the book something of a New Adult feel, and I don’t like that kind of angst. I’m sure others will enjoy the book, but it’s not for me. DNF ~20%.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

It may be just another Wednesday, but picture it with an espresso and some cobblestone streets, and suddenly, it’s a Wednesday in Rome.

Stevie Choi had one slightly modest ambition: house, spouse, maybe a dog that doesn’t eat her shoes or homework. Instead, life drop-kicked her dream at seventeen and she became a globetrotting workaholic with a passport full of stamps, and an Instagram feed that screams "living my best life"—while quietly whispering "help."

Her romantic life? About as helpless. That is, until a frozen January in Rome when she meets Cristian, a charming stranger with the kindest smile. They’re perfect for each other … except for the whole ocean between them thing. So, naturally, they strike a totally reasonable deal: if they’re both still single at 70, they’ll get married.

However, as the years pass, continents and feelings shift. Stevie is faced with a terrifying choice: settle for safety, or risk everything for a guy she technically promised to marry after hip replacements.

To be honest, “All Roads Lead to Rome” is so much more than the love story it initially promises. While the romance sometimes is heartfelt and satisfying, the real weight of the novel lies in its exploration of grief, loss, and heartbreak. At times, it’s a bitter pill to swallow - emotionally taxing, and unafraid to linger in the ache of heartbreak. However, that depth actually is what gives the story its soul, it not being a typical romantic journey.

I always enjoy novels set in Italy as it's like travelling to your home country and seeing a different country.
This is cute, romantic novel with an interesting side about life changes choices
Liked it
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine