A review by intensej
The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Vanessa "Van" Mazur has worked as a personal assistant for Aiden Graves, award winning defensive end for the National Football Organization, for two years. Aiden has never shown any interest in being friendly with Vanessa, and she is ready to move on and focus on her graphic design business. After he humiliates her and doesn't stand up for her, she quits on the spot. Aiden finds her after several weeks and asks her to come back to work for him. When Van learns that Aiden's work visa is about to expire, she jokingly suggests that he find someone to marry in order to obtain his green card. Aiden seizes on her idea and claims that he likes her as much as he likes anyone. Can Van set aside her crush on Aiden and keep to the rules of the business relationship they have established? 

I loved the premise of this book. Aiden was a really charming and realistic character. I liked seeing Val's loving relationship with Aiden's roommate, another professional football player, Zac. Zapata really drags things out in this book, and the slow burn was almost too much. I felt like there should have been more sex scenes in this book for how slow the relationship moved. I found the constant references to Van's abusive childhood to be too intense for a contemporary romance. I wish there was another book that followed Zac's story, but this appears to be a standalone. Fans of sports romance and marriage of convenience tropes will love this book. 

Content: mentions of child abuse, some swearing, some fighting, sex 
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