The Wall of Winnipeg and Me
Suffer in the flames of ultimate pleasure while reading the sports romance masterpiece.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
1. THE WALL OF WINNIPEG AND ME by Mariana Zapata
SYNOPSIS
Vanessa Mazur knows she's doing the right thing. She shouldn't feel bad for quitting. Being an assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to the top defensive end in the National Football Organization was always supposed to be temporary. She has plans and none of them include washing extra-large underwear longer than necessary.
But when Aiden Graves shows up at her door wanting her to come back, she's beyond shocked.
For two years, the man known as The Wall of Winnipeg couldn't find it in him to tell her good morning or congratulate her on her birthday. Now? He's asking for the unthinkable.
What do you say to the man who is used to getting everything he wants?
BOOK REVIEW
What no one tells you is that the road to accomplishing your goals isn’t a straight line; it looks more like a corn maze. You stopped, you went, you backed up, and took a few wrong turns along the way, but the important thing you had to remember was that there was an exit. Somewhere.
Mariana Zapata is a true genius when it comes to perfect character development and a well-thought-through plot, keeping the readers engaged and fully invested. Her writing style is captivating, every single one of her lines, her characters' snappy dialogues and hooking banter, and the humor that she incorporates. AMAZING!
The Wall of Winnipeg and Me is a hate-to-love story between the NFO best defensive player Aiden Graves (a vegetarian and no slacker) and his (ex)assistant Vanessa Mazur (simply a cute nerd and a creative soul). The latter didn't have a good relationship with the former despite two years of personal interaction (on a professional level, of course, but still). Aiden was never particularly interested in her or any other person around him, being fully focused on only one constant in his life, the game. Imagine my surprise when he proposed to her a marriage of convenience after Vanessa had quit her job…
I'm starting to understand that you can always make time for the things that matter.
There is nothing overly dramatic in the book, which amazes me every single time I think about it. How did Mariana Zapata manage to keep my attention all the time through such a long book (not even one chapter got me bored, by the way)? Both characters were so easy to love; they were so relatable. I admired their raw honesty with each other. I absolutely loved the process of them getting to know one another (insta-love is great but not so common in daily life), starting as almost complete strangers and then eventually becoming something so much greater. And at no point, their relationship felt forced. The romance simmered slowly while they carefully explored their bitter past/present, evolving around family issues, mostly. And the marriage? Their fake marriage was more real than most of the ‘real’ marriages out there, let me tell you. Being physical is important, but having a special connection is what defines a strong relationship in the long run!