Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

23 reviews

witcheep's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I love how Zapata writes a love story here: it progresses very slow, evolving from a neutral working relationship to friendship and finally love. This gives time and space to really get to know the characters, and to let them both get emotionally comfortable and build trust around each other in a pace that feels real. I much prefer this kind of approach to insta-love that seems to be very (maybe too?) prominent in the romance genre.

However, at the beginning of the book, the pace feels a little too slow and as a reader I was just impatiently waiting for a more emotional section in the story to start. The later phases make up for the slow beginning with all the struggles to come to terms with the impact the awakened emotions have on the characters.

Besides the romance, the book gives weight to different types of relationships as well: there are work relationships, meaningful friendships, and familial strain. That is great, since it balances the plot to make the lives of the main characters more well rounded.

Both the main characters have very dark back stories (
they've experienced domestic violence and abandonment as children
), and that plays a role in who they are now; these experiences still have aftereffects. The dark pasts is something you'll want to keep in mind, if you don't want to read about certain subjects.

The past trauma feels quite dire, and it made me question if they both really needed that dark pasts; couldn't the issues have been addressed even if they affected the characters to a smaller degree? Now, I wondered if it was mostly just to create shock value to the characters.

The audiobook experience is great. I love when there are different narrators in the same chapters reading different characters' dialogue. It makes the listening experience feel more immersive and authentic compared to one narrator doing different voices. The narrators here work great for their roles!

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dr_amy_k_west's review against another edition

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lighthearted
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was an accidental read; not into sports-related romance, but it was on Libby's available now shelf. Wanted to like the characters more than I did. It was a longer read than expected and despite the issues I had with the story I still wanted to read to the end to see how the author was going to resolve the issues with character development, especially regarding the MMC. The first 1/3-1/2 of the book has Vanessa (FMC) engaging in what I see as overly apologetic and appeasing behaviors. As the book progresses you come to understand the back story behind her tendencies but there's little-to-no character growth around recognizing these tendencies or the motivations behind them. She lies repeatedly to those she cares about as well as to herself and there's no real acknowledgment or growth in terms of the consequences of her actions/inactions. She takes responsibility for things that aren't hers, blames herself, calls reasonable emotions and behaviors "nagging" or unreasonable, and apologizes for her anger all in the guise of "taking responsibility"; in reality, it's a lot of overcompensating for trauma. The MMC while showing emotional growth later on in the story still gets away with a lot of crappy behavior for much of the book. They don't get together until after she starts working out and loses weight and it's unclear for the majority of the book if the MMC liked her for who she was from the beginning until the book is almost over. 

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garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25


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khloereads86's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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sebradley29's review against another edition

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4.0


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hapalyn's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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kirstenpod_'s review

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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abicaro17's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If I could marry this book I would. Its just that good. 

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__romancereader__'s review against another edition

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funny mysterious relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I enjoyed this book after reading All Rhodes Lead Here and now this one i truly do love this author’s book her books or at least these two that I’ve read so far have good men he don’t have bad communication skills when talking to there partner especially during arguments they try to talk it out these books are slow burn the wall of Winnipeg and me is more of a slow burn then All Rhodes Lead Here i love these books there long and there so amazing i loved how Aiden cared for Vanessa’s well being and really just her they were such a good couple and i loved how when she quit the job he came to her home multiple times after that to beg her back and I enjoyed even more how there wasn’t some heartbreaking dramatic as can be break up in this book and especially the ending i was very satisfied about there complete 😉family😉 in the epilogue this will most definitely not be my last read from the author Mariana Zapata overall i rated this book a five stars⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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hannibanani29's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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