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A review by ollie_again
The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Alright, I was set up to love this book. I like slow burn romances and this book was hyped by so many people all over the Internet, that I was sure I was going to love it. Welp.
In general terms, the book didn't exactly do anything wrong. But minor annoyances piled up and by the end it was just a pretty standard read for me. No life changing reading experience I was hoping for.
I'll start with the biggest annoyance, which was how the main character and the whole female cast was handled. From the very beginning, Vanessa is exuding not-like-other-girl vibes. The first pointer is her being kind of an ugly duckling who undergoes a transformation (mainly in losing weight) into a beautiful swan. 'She's not the type of girl, the jocks would date' and so on and so forth. Her offhanded remarks about other women in a general sense pointed also in that direction: judgement of the wives/gf of other players even though she doesn't know them; slutty costumes are not imaginative like her Minion one (Jesus fuckin Christ); or her comparing herself to a prostitute because of her situation and grouping the word "prostitute" with asshole and not having any backbone.
All of that can be somehow brushed over, sure, but what sealed the deal for me was the rest of the female cast. All of them are absolutely out of their minds and bitchy at best. Even Vanessa's bff is not the best and ends upas a victim of domestic abuse, which was pretty much used as a plot point. And even Vanessa's concern about her friend when the first indication of the abuse comes up, falls flat. She is angry at her friend because she doesn't immediately tell her, what's going on, and brushes it off... I know you want to help her but being angry at her, what??? . Vanessa's bio-mother and sisters are crazy and the whole relationship didn't make sense at all, I was hoping to at least learn as to why her sister hated her so much.
One scene that stood out to me as pretty stupid was when Vanessa laughed at the fact, a fan grabbed Aiden's ass. Switch the genders and tell me how funny it is. It just made me cringe. Especially in contrast to Aiden going Hulk on other men, which yea, it was warranted, but I'm also not into the alpha (aka a-hole) men.
The first and only sex scene sank the rating even more. First sex without a condom? Nope. Him coming in her without a condom? Hell no. Him not even asking, and just saying "I want to come in you." *squirt squirt*. Hell to the No. If Aiden defied the jock-no-brain stereotype for the most part, he lost the brain as soon as his dick got hard.
Other than that, I was not happy about the fact, the story is told just from Vanessa’s POV, but I could live with that. It was all the other things that lowered my rating. I’m not giving up on this author, because this is just one book by her, but I have to lower my expectations for the next time I’ll try something by her.
In general terms, the book didn't exactly do anything wrong. But minor annoyances piled up and by the end it was just a pretty standard read for me. No life changing reading experience I was hoping for.
I'll start with the biggest annoyance, which was how the main character and the whole female cast was handled. From the very beginning, Vanessa is exuding not-like-other-girl vibes. The first pointer is her being kind of an ugly duckling who undergoes a transformation (mainly in losing weight) into a beautiful swan. 'She's not the type of girl, the jocks would date' and so on and so forth. Her offhanded remarks about other women in a general sense pointed also in that direction: judgement of the wives/gf of other players even though she doesn't know them; slutty costumes are not imaginative like her Minion one (Jesus fuckin Christ); or her comparing herself to a prostitute because of her situation and grouping the word "prostitute" with asshole and not having any backbone.
All of that can be somehow brushed over, sure, but what sealed the deal for me was the rest of the female cast. All of them are absolutely out of their minds and bitchy at best. Even Vanessa's bff is not the best and ends up
One scene that stood out to me as pretty stupid was when Vanessa laughed at the fact, a fan grabbed Aiden's ass. Switch the genders and tell me how funny it is. It just made me cringe. Especially in contrast to Aiden going Hulk on other men, which yea, it was warranted, but I'm also not into the alpha (aka a-hole) men.
The first and only sex scene sank the rating even more. First sex without a condom? Nope. Him coming in her without a condom? Hell no. Him not even asking, and just saying "I want to come in you." *squirt squirt*. Hell to the No. If Aiden defied the jock-no-brain stereotype for the most part, he lost the brain as soon as his dick got hard.
Other than that, I was not happy about the fact, the story is told just from Vanessa’s POV, but I could live with that. It was all the other things that lowered my rating. I’m not giving up on this author, because this is just one book by her, but I have to lower my expectations for the next time I’ll try something by her.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Minor: Drug abuse and Grief