Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Subtle, compelling and sweet, The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata is about two people who get into a marriage of convenience after she quits being his assistant.
Summary: Vanessa Mazur has decided to quit her job as the assistant of the NFO's top defensive end, Aiden Graves. She finds herself disappointed that he doesn't seem to care about her departure. However, when he shows up at her door begging her to marry him for mutual benefit, she is left in a tight spot.
Tropes/Genres:
• enemies to lovers
• marriage of convenience
• grumpy x sunshine
• slow burn
• sports (football)
• contemporary rom-com
• set in Dallas, Texas
Review: This is a nice slow burn. The plot is simple, yet the writing style brings a soothing feeling that makes it grow on you. The main characters are likeable and have great cosy chemistry. I enjoyed the relaxed feeling reading this book.
Vanessa is a strong and likeable. Her emotions and thinking style feel realistic. She really feels like a real person to me. She respects Aiden's boundaries and lets him come out of his shell at his own pace. She's someone people would feel safe with. At the same time, she also doesn't hesitate to stand up for herself and what she thinks is right. She's fierce, amazing and relatable.
Aiden is a stoic grouch who struggles with expressing himself and says the wrong thing at times. However, there is no doubt that he cares deeply for Vanessa, especially as the story progresses. He and Vanessa have a type of chemistry akin to water – calm and soothing. They have their fair share of childhood trauma, and I love the way they support each other throughout.
The writing is simple but good. This book may be slow-paced, but it never felt slow. I enjoyed reading Vanessa's experiences and interactions with Aiden and others. Her friendship with Zac, who is Aiden's roommate, is awesome. The plot may be simple, but it feels realistic and enjoyable.
On a side note, I got a bit confused about the whole NFO thing (National Football Organization), but I suppose it's a fictionalised NFL. It's just funny because most authors just write NFL. There's also the part about the All Star Bowl, which made me chuckle. It's obviously the Super Bowl.
Overall, I recommend this book to romance readers who enjoy the concept of marriage of convenience in sports. The writing style shows their chemistry and the subtle love and care they have for each other. This may be a slow burn, but it definitely has the perfect pacing for a sweet romance.
Summary: Vanessa Mazur has decided to quit her job as the assistant of the NFO's top defensive end, Aiden Graves. She finds herself disappointed that he doesn't seem to care about her departure. However, when he shows up at her door begging her to marry him for mutual benefit, she is left in a tight spot.
Tropes/Genres:
• enemies to lovers
• marriage of convenience
• grumpy x sunshine
• slow burn
• sports (football)
• contemporary rom-com
• set in Dallas, Texas
Review: This is a nice slow burn. The plot is simple, yet the writing style brings a soothing feeling that makes it grow on you. The main characters are likeable and have great cosy chemistry. I enjoyed the relaxed feeling reading this book.
Vanessa is a strong and likeable. Her emotions and thinking style feel realistic. She really feels like a real person to me. She respects Aiden's boundaries and lets him come out of his shell at his own pace. She's someone people would feel safe with. At the same time, she also doesn't hesitate to stand up for herself and what she thinks is right. She's fierce, amazing and relatable.
Aiden is a stoic grouch who struggles with expressing himself and says the wrong thing at times. However, there is no doubt that he cares deeply for Vanessa, especially as the story progresses. He and Vanessa have a type of chemistry akin to water – calm and soothing. They have their fair share of childhood trauma, and I love the way they support each other throughout.
The writing is simple but good. This book may be slow-paced, but it never felt slow. I enjoyed reading Vanessa's experiences and interactions with Aiden and others. Her friendship with Zac, who is Aiden's roommate, is awesome. The plot may be simple, but it feels realistic and enjoyable.
On a side note, I got a bit confused about the whole NFO thing (National Football Organization), but I suppose it's a fictionalised NFL. It's just funny because most authors just write NFL. There's also the part about the All Star Bowl, which made me chuckle. It's obviously the Super Bowl.
Overall, I recommend this book to romance readers who enjoy the concept of marriage of convenience in sports. The writing style shows their chemistry and the subtle love and care they have for each other. This may be a slow burn, but it definitely has the perfect pacing for a sweet romance.
I really enjoyed this! I seemed to have this on my TBR list forever, but finally took the plunge, and ended up reading it in a day!
I loved Vanessa and Aiden, and some of the other side characters like Zac and Diana. And Leo! 😍
It was a real slow burner of a read, so don’t go in expecting wham, bam, thank you ma’am! In fact, things didn’t really kick off between our two characters until about the last quarter of the book. But despite that, I loved everything going on behind the scenes for them up to that point.
Overall I loved this book and I look forward to reading more from this author. I was a little put off by some typos, and also I didn’t like Vanessa’s family story, and how much she went on about it. But otherwise a solid read.
I loved Vanessa and Aiden, and some of the other side characters like Zac and Diana. And Leo! 😍
It was a real slow burner of a read, so don’t go in expecting wham, bam, thank you ma’am! In fact, things didn’t really kick off between our two characters until about the last quarter of the book. But despite that, I loved everything going on behind the scenes for them up to that point.
Overall I loved this book and I look forward to reading more from this author. I was a little put off by some typos, and also I didn’t like Vanessa’s family story, and how much she went on about it. But otherwise a solid read.
I like how it shows that anyone can make their dreams come true and also have a family at the same time
I mean… I finished it… this book was 18hrs and could have easily been half that. SLOOOOWWWWW BBBBUUURRRNNN!!!! I didn’t dnf but by the end of it I was so ready for it to be over. I think I would have liked it a LOT more if it had just been shorter. I also felt like there were a lot of story lines that were interesting and would have been fun to flesh out more. It’s a marriage of conscience for a green card and I would have loved to see more of them dodging not getting in trouble because of it. Some more extreme cases of forced proximity… it was just all a bit surface level for me… left me a little bored.
What a delightful read.
This book is all things happy. Aiden and Vanessa find love and its such a beautiful journey. Absolutely in love with the book :)
This book is all things happy. Aiden and Vanessa find love and its such a beautiful journey. Absolutely in love with the book :)
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
slow-paced
3.75 STARS
This felt like a better version of Kulti and I have just confirmed that this was written after Kulti.
I don't know anyone who writes slow-burn the way Mariana does and I eat it up like no one's business. Vanessa has been working for Aiden for 3 years and now that she has saved up enough income to support herself for a year she wants to quit her job as a personal assistant. Aiden is an asshole with barely any friends who works hard in his sports career.
I love that Zapata always shows the behind-the-scenes that goes into sportsmanship. The amount of work people put into it. What an injury can do to the morale of the player and team. Aiden works for it and she shows it through Lana's eyes.
I liked Lana. She has had a rough childhood. She had an alcoholic mother, and abusive sisters and after being placed in a safe foster home she is drowning in debt. One thing she is not is a doormat. Once she hears her boss never defending her to his verbally abusive manager, she decides enough is enough and quits her job. Aiden tries to employ her again but understandably she is still mad because at the very least he should have discouraged Trevor from calling her names. She eventually forgives him after he grovels for some time and he asks her for her help in committing fraud. He offers to pay her debt if she agrees to marry him.
Their relationship grows over time. They become friends over time. It was not a linear progression but rather realistic. I love that she had goals of her own and worked hard to attain them. Aiden was so supportive. He grew to be a much better friend and a great husband. The way he calculates his risks is quite good and his willingness to learn was heartwarming.
The main issue I had with this is the stark similarity to Kulti and in my head, I could not stop comparing them. Like a more well-done version of it. Also, I understand that Aiden is huge but it was repeated so many times, it made me think of [b:The Spanish Love Deception|54189398|The Spanish Love Deception|Elena Armas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610900883l/54189398._SY75_.jpg|84555384]
This felt like a better version of Kulti and I have just confirmed that this was written after Kulti.
I don't know anyone who writes slow-burn the way Mariana does and I eat it up like no one's business. Vanessa has been working for Aiden for 3 years and now that she has saved up enough income to support herself for a year she wants to quit her job as a personal assistant. Aiden is an asshole with barely any friends who works hard in his sports career.
I love that Zapata always shows the behind-the-scenes that goes into sportsmanship. The amount of work people put into it. What an injury can do to the morale of the player and team. Aiden works for it and she shows it through Lana's eyes.
I liked Lana. She has had a rough childhood. She had an alcoholic mother, and abusive sisters and after being placed in a safe foster home she is drowning in debt. One thing she is not is a doormat. Once she hears her boss never defending her to his verbally abusive manager, she decides enough is enough and quits her job. Aiden tries to employ her again but understandably she is still mad because at the very least he should have discouraged Trevor from calling her names. She eventually forgives him after he grovels for some time and he asks her for her help in committing fraud. He offers to pay her debt if she agrees to marry him.
Their relationship grows over time. They become friends over time. It was not a linear progression but rather realistic. I love that she had goals of her own and worked hard to attain them. Aiden was so supportive. He grew to be a much better friend and a great husband. The way he calculates his risks is quite good
Spoiler
when he hit the other guy for being a douchebag to his wifeThe main issue I had with this is the stark similarity to Kulti and in my head, I could not stop comparing them. Like a more well-done version of it. Also, I understand that Aiden is huge but it was repeated so many times, it made me think of [b:The Spanish Love Deception|54189398|The Spanish Love Deception|Elena Armas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610900883l/54189398._SY75_.jpg|84555384]
Letting aside the lack of sex which made it be a little bit akward in the end when it finally happened it was a good book .He was a little bit confusing for not expresing his feelings almost at all but i mean it is how it is.
I liked his work ethic and his maturity while Vanessa seemed a little bit airhead for me .
It was a 5 star in the end for me even tho it had a lot of issues but it kept me glued to the screen and it was good wrote.
Happy I started my year with it, it deserves the hype !
I liked his work ethic and his maturity while Vanessa seemed a little bit airhead for me .
It was a 5 star in the end for me even tho it had a lot of issues but it kept me glued to the screen and it was good wrote.
Happy I started my year with it, it deserves the hype !
Kinda cute, kinda dumb. ich war schon die Prämisse von Anfang an etwas komisch.
Marriage of Convenience ist ein okay trope, aber dass sie seine Assistentin war und dieses Machtverhältnisse für zwei Jahre bestand und er sie dann gefragt hat, sie zu heiraten ist so komisch.
Die Entwicklung ihrer Beziehung war auch etwas merkwürdig und leider war das Buch auch zu lange und an manchen Stellen etwas langweilig und unlogisch, deswegen leider nur drei Sterne.
Die Charaktere sind ok und deren Backstories waren interessant
Die Entwicklung ihrer Beziehung war auch etwas merkwürdig und leider war das Buch auch zu lange und an manchen Stellen etwas langweilig und unlogisch, deswegen leider nur drei Sterne.
Die Charaktere sind ok und deren Backstories waren interessant