Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

13 reviews

nyquillll's review against another edition

lighthearted slow-paced

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

0.5

This book was so hard to get through. I can't remember how I came across it exactly, but I was expecting it to be similar to other sports romance books I've read. This was completely different, but almost in a bad way. Or, I should say, the plot itself wasn't horrible, but the writing style was so not my jam. 

I got 6% into the book and realized it would be really really hard for me to read this book. My first impression was that it was full of long-winded, paragraphs of descriptions that were only sparingly sprinkled with dialogue. And a lot of the time, the long paragraphs weren't even on topic, they were tangential and seemed to run away from the starting point. I ended up skipping to around the 50% mark and then just deciding to majorly skim to see if at some point it would be worth it to force myself through it. It wasn't and it didn't happen. 

While I did finish the book, it was an uphill battle. The dialogue/descriptions didn't get better, and I also wasn't a huge fan of the tropes this book was trying to incorporate -

(possibly) golden retriever/black cat energy, stoic-man-who-never-expresses-how-he-truly-feels, will-they-won't-they, SLOW FUCKING BURN (this was torture), marriage of convenience (one of my firsts and might be a last too), touch-her-and-you-die (but it wasn't done convincingly)

. I also hated the fact that

they didn't even hug until the 90% mark or something?????? And then the author was like "Hey, let me add in a pretty graphic sex scene in the LAST moments of the book - THAT'LL make a gr8 love story." And no, it did not, for me. Also hated, hated, hated how she did have feelings for him and while theoretically we know he does too because it's a romance book, he literally behaved like a LOG around her - and he didn't even acknowledge her presence much before the whole arrangement.

ALSO ALSO ALSO DESPISED HOW SHE CONSTANTLY WAS COMMENTING ON HIS SIZE - "he's such a big guy," "he's massive," "he fills the whole room," etc. etc. (might not be completely accurate on phrasing, but you get the idea). 

I will say, I did appreciate the harder topics that were covered in this book, particularly toxic family dynamics, navigating family trauma, dealing with death of parents/parental figures, unlearning/deconstructing past coping mechanisms that are no longer serving you, allowing yourself to feel scared but to not get stuck in it - to let the fear flow through, how scary it can be to trust people to stay, finding the strength to cut people out of your life who don't deserve to be in it, and how scary it can be when life doesn't pan out how you planned it - but that doesn't mean it ends.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Grief, Addiction, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gaslighting

Some quotes I highlighted:

"'I'm not going anywhere without you.' He squeezed, his words ringing through my ears. 'You're not alone.'"

"'I like your smile. That's all.' The big guy shot me a sour look. 'You make me feel like a Grinch.'"

"'I'm putting on my shoes, Mrs. Graves!' Idiot."

"I wasn't going to say no to the other half of my paperwork getting into my bed when I'd rather not be by myself."

"Me: <--Forever Alone--> Aiden: "

"'For everything. For not noticing. For not caring. For not making you feel like you could tell me things.' His voice was hoarse and just a little ragged."

"It's a long story." "I have time for you."

"My friend. The keeper of my secrets. My moral support. My paperwork."

"Everyone telling me I looked great recently only made me really self-conscious about what they used to think of me before. Did I look like shit?"

"The guy who had lost his favorite thing in the world and had let me force him into training for a marathon."

"He made a light noise, a tender one. 'That's my girl.' His girl? 'I am?' I just outright asked him, hoping more than a little he wasn't just...that was stupid, Aiden wouldn't just say that. 'The only one,' he said it like there was no other choice in the world."

"'That's my girl. That's my fucking girl.' 'What are you doing here?' I practically bawled into him. 'I missed you.' 'You what?' His arms tightened around me. 'I missed you very much.'"

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maria8w4's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted sad tense slow-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? N/A

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Domestic abuse

mels_reading_log's review

emotional funny hopeful fast-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

3.5

This is a grumpy/sunshine, fake marriage, slow burn, sports romance novel. Both of the main characters have childhood trauma and trust issues to work through. I really enjoyed the transformation of Aiden, as he opened up and became more comfortable with Vanessa.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Addiction, Sexual content, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Car accident, Sexual harassment, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse

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

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

hecksbecks's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-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

I have never felt more seen as a reader. I know, I know, there are A-LOT of authors out there that are able to conjure a character that looks like us all and reminds us of ourselves. HOWEVER, Van was just this perfect little combination of every niche imaginable and I loved her. As always with these kitschy romance novels the ending felt rushed but in this case it was okay because we were teased with a slow burn the whole damn time. The characters mesh well with one another and the prose is easy to read, I’d recommend it to someone who was a fan of these kinds of books for sure. I also see myself reading more from Zapata in the near future. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Panic attacks/disorders

jennp28's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Quite liked this slow, slow burn marriage of convenience. 

One pet peeve: For claiming she had multiple Canadian friends answer all her questions, she really does not understand ‘Eh’ and how it is used in a sentence.  Drives me bananas when Canadians are written in a caricature like this. 

Leslie beamed. "We finished watching some footage, so I'll get out your hair to give you both some alone time tonight, eh?”
The tender, amused look that came over Aiden's face more than slightly irritated me. "Eh." Aye.
Then the fact that his Canadian had snuck up on him - when it only came up in the times he was really comfortable - made my little-girl immaturity that much worse.

And

Clowns? "Really?" I tried to imagine a tiny Aiden crying over men and women with overly painted faces and red noses, but I couldn't.
The big guy was still facing me. His expression clear and even, as he dipped his chin. "Eh."
God help me, he'd gone Canadian on me. I had to will my face not to react at the fact he'd gone with the one word he usually used only when he was super relaxed around other people. "I thought they were going to eat me."

That… is not how that is used. Ok. Rant over. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Child abuse

Minor: Alcoholism, Grief, Drug abuse, and Death

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

literally_mint's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Grief, Abandonment, and Medical trauma

Minor: Domestic abuse

hannibanani29's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Child abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Deportation, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Alcoholism

Minor: Drug use, Fatphobia, Murder, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Vomit, Violence, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, and Grief