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

challenging dark emotional tense 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

4.0

What I love doing as a reader and reviewer is to find new authors. This year my priority was Mariana Zapata. I wanted to read her work because everyone I know raves about her online. I decided to go with The Wall of Winnipeg and Me as it had been on my TBR for the longest.  

This book follows Vanessa Mazur, and she knows she’s doing the right thing and that she shouldn’t feel bad for quitting. Being an assistant and housekeeper and fairy godmother to one of the biggest NFL players was always supposed to be temporary. She has plans and none of them include washing extra-large underwear which are longer than necessary. But when Aiden Graves shows up at her door wanting her to come back, she is surprised. For the last two years that Vanessa has worked for the man known as The Wall of Winnipeg he has never said good morning or how are you or even happy birthday and now he is asking for the ultimate favour, to be his wife? What do you say to the man who is used to getting everything he wants?  

So, I knew that Mariana Zapata is known for the slow-burn romance with a lot of tension. But HOLY HELL this was a long slow burn. I felt like I was losing my mind throughout this book, and you know what’s worst - I enjoyed it. The little actions that make Vanessa doubt her feelings and the way that they both slowly fall in love with each other, like Jesus H. Christ. I love how headstrong Vanessa is, especially after all she had been through - I just wanted to hug her from the get-go. Zach was adorable, I just wanted to hug him too. I would have loved for this standalone to turn into a series and let Zach find some happiness because the golden retriever deserves it. I liked how Mariana didn’t do a completely whiplash with Aiden’s character like you knew from the beginning that he was a complete tool and is a robot and that theme was the same the whole way through expect we learn how he became like that. 

I would have loved for this to have a dual POV, just for the bit after they’ve both confessed their feelings, I would have loved to see Aiden’s point of view during this and seeing how he battled his feelings and wanting to know his thoughts during certain parts of this book (Vanessa wearing Zach’s jersey to the first game). This book was a little bit repetitive at times and could have been cut by about 100 pages. 
 
I will be reading more of Mariana Zapata’s work in the future. 
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