Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

26 reviews

cariam's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Confinement, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, and Child abuse

lindseyhall44's review

emotional 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

3.5

A good old Slow burn romance is my favorite trope, so I was so excited to pick this up, and it did not disappoint. I absolutely adored Vanessa and Aiden’s relationship. Trauma is heavily mentioned in the novel, so be sure to check trigger warnings before reading!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, and Addiction

frantically's review against another edition

emotional 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

3.0

Guys, I'm SO conflicted on this book!!

Was this book particularly good? No, not really. Was it absolutely addicting to listen to? Yes. Spent two days doing nothing else.

I love Aiden. What. A. Man. The quiet way he shows Van he loves her 😭😭 the way he stands up for her 😭😭 really had me sobbing ngl

Can't stand Van. She was so fun at first but then it just turned really pick-me and if there's one thing I HATE it's pick-me's.

Still, the relationship was so cute! Yes it was technically very slow burn but we all knew they were gonna end up together in the end and it made all the pre-relationship situations so much cuter for me.

Some other stuff I had issues with:
– Van's family gives major Cinderella vibes but not retelling vibes, Cinderella vibes straight out of the fairytale. Completely two-dimensional. Oh and why are they assholes? Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, of course
– Aiden is groped/sexually harassed in front of Van and she laughs about it for like ten minutes. Ew.
– Van gets into sports! Theoretically fun but she only does it after Aiden's manager says she's fat. And there's so much focus on her losing weight, it became a bit uncomfortable

So – why did I even like this? I don't know. I like Aiden. I like puppies. I like "I loved you from the start". The writing is good.

Will read more Zapata books, trying to find a book as great as Lukov was xoxo

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Car accident

juliaaaaaa's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.5

great trope but badly executed. look, i love a slow burn, but i was expecting more chemistry tension and build up, it didn't give me butterflies until the last chapter

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Car accident, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual harassment and Injury/Injury detail

lkahre's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Child abuse, Car accident, Addiction, and Alcohol

sauger's review against another edition

lighthearted relaxing 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? It's complicated

3.75

This book follows Vanessa, an assistant to the Wall of Winnipeg- AKA her stern, distant boss who plays on the defensive line of a professional football team. When Vanessa quits suddenly, her ex-boss shows up at her doorstep to ask her to come back, but not as his assistant- as his WIFE. 

I thought this book was cute, and when I say the burn is slow I mean it. The relationship progression feels natural and isn’t a sudden jolt. He starts off very distant and there were times I didn’t connect with him as the love interest, but Zapata does a good job of bridging that gap naturally. I found the FMC funny without being overly silly. I did think her backstory was unnecessary traumatic as it didn’t lend a huge role to her character or plot in my opinion. Not very spicy, one short scene, so if you’re here for that you’ll go hungry. Overall I enjoyed it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Car accident, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Addiction

Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse

Minor: Vomit

sebradley29's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Deportation, Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Bullying, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, and Cursing

folded_between_pages_of_books's review against another edition

funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Abandonment, Death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Drug use and Toxic relationship

fremzz's review against another edition

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

4.25

I was in fact kicking my feet giggling a few times reading this book, I rest my case. I don't have many to compare it to but this is my favourite marriage of convenience book by far.
Where this falls into my Mariana Zapata books ranking:
1.  From Lukov with love 
2. When Gracie met the grump
3. The wall of Winnipeg and me
4. Dear Aaron

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Drug use

Content warning clarifications (could be spoilery) (maybe I missed something): The moderate warning relates to a side character but it’s a plot point in the book. The minor warnings relate to the mc’s family members but they are not too descriptive/in the past

joey_paige's review against another edition

relaxing slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Violence, Addiction, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Deportation, Grief, and Sexual harassment