Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

81 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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veskumelooni's review against another edition

hopeful medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Car accident and Death

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

justanotherreaderofwords's review against another edition

emotional inspiring lighthearted 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

5.0

I loved how Aiden start to open up and show up for Vanessa. That did a lot for Vanessa's confidence! It also showed Vanessa how much Aiden cared about her that he would do anything for her. It was cute to see Zac and Vanessa's friendship grow. I loved that Vanessa knew Aiden so well through his characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident

Moderate: Addiction

shawniejo's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Car accident and Injury/Injury detail

dr_amy_k_west's review against another edition

lighthearted

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

3.0

This was an accidental read; not into sports-related romance, but it was on Libby's available now shelf. Wanted to like the characters more than I did. It was a longer read than expected and despite the issues I had with the story I still wanted to read to the end to see how the author was going to resolve the issues with character development, especially regarding the MMC. The first 1/3-1/2 of the book has Vanessa (FMC) engaging in what I see as overly apologetic and appeasing behaviors. As the book progresses you come to understand the back story behind her tendencies but there's little-to-no character growth around recognizing these tendencies or the motivations behind them. She lies repeatedly to those she cares about as well as to herself and there's no real acknowledgment or growth in terms of the consequences of her actions/inactions. She takes responsibility for things that aren't hers, blames herself, calls reasonable emotions and behaviors "nagging" or unreasonable, and apologizes for her anger all in the guise of "taking responsibility"; in reality, it's a lot of overcompensating for trauma. The MMC while showing emotional growth later on in the story still gets away with a lot of crappy behavior for much of the book. They don't get together until after she starts working out and loses weight and it's unclear for the majority of the book if the MMC liked her for who she was from the beginning until the book is almost over. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Child abuse, Cursing, Car accident, Bullying, and Classism

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Bullying, Cursing, and Torture

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Addiction

Minor: Car accident and Violence

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

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

khloereads86's review against another edition

funny lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Confinement, and Physical abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Addiction, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Car accident