In “All Rhodes Lead Here,” Mariana Zapata gives her fans exactly what she wants in a slow burn romance – long hikes, fireside chats and an unbreakable friendship that blossoms into a once-in-a-lifetime love. Zapata, who built a self-publishing mini-empire before joining Avon Books in 2023, is known as the Queen of Slow Burn Romance for a reason. After starting as a fanfiction writer from her childhood home in Houston, she has since sent more than a dozen bestsellers into the world, including her breakout hit, “The Wall of Winnipeg and Me,” which, along with “Rhodes”, was recently rereleased to celebrate Zapata’s new chapter as a writer, romance lover and Slow Burn Queen.