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nyquillll's review against another edition
- 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
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 -
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.
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:driedflowers22'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? Yes
3.5
It is a slow burn romance which is one of my favourite tropes to read - this didnโt disappoint.
I did struggle with the likeability of the MMC though - as the story progressed you start to understand why he is the way he is but Iโm not sure Iโll ever be 100% convinced ๐คทโโ๏ธ ๐ He was FR the grumpiest character hahah
Minor: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Abandonment
cristinaaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Abandonment and Domestic abuse
gaby_readsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Child abuse and Abandonment
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
hereiskyra's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Something about this book was just comforting. It felt a little like a warm, strong hug when youโre having a tough day. The kind of hug I would like to imagine Zac would give (who, by the way, is a big ole teddy bear and he deserves everything he wants in the world).
There is something magical about a book that has you intensely invested in the love of two characters who havenโt even kissed at 80%.
She is the queen of slow burn romance that doesnโt lose your interest along the way.
It feels like you follow the entire journey from start to finish with these two. I think itโs being with Vanessa and Aiden for so long in the day to day that makes it that much sweeter when they finally admit their feelings for one another. It isnโt a rushed timeline or a forced end goal because we need on page romance. Itโs worth the wait because it feels so genuine and honest to the characters and their individual development.
I love me some spice but this special Mariana Zapata brand of slow-burn is absolutely unmatched. You have so much time to get attached to the characters emotionally and their relationship has room to breathe that when they do finally have their moment, everything is that much better.
Vanโs family sucked. I hated all of them and Iโd like to think they all got cut off (except little bro, of course) because she deserves better and needs to protect her peace. But even though they are all terrible, I enjoyed the depth of her background and just how far sheโs come.
And I need a book about Big Texasssssss! Ugh. Just the sweetest.
I have no doubt this book will be on my list of favorites for a long time. Never thought Iโd say that about a romance novel with barley any romance in it but these two absolutely have my heart!
Tropes:
Marriage of Convenience
Grumpy x Sunshine
Football Romance
Spice:๐ถ๏ธ
Moderate: Sexual content, Abandonment, and Violence
dr_amy_k_west's review against another edition
- 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
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
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
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
spellbindingtomes's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Why are football romance stories so cute?! You know that feeling when you read the first few lines of a book and you just know you'll love it. That's how I feel every time I start a new Mariana Zapata book. And The Wall of Winnipeg and Me is no exception.
I loved Vanessa from Chapter 1. She's my favorite out of all of MZ's FMCs. I related to her so much. Aiden's character development was incredible. From being so closed off and dismissive towards Vanessa in the beginning, to taking her for granted, to finally realizing his faults, and showing up to support her was so endearing and heartwarming.
This was the first book that I thought did the marriage of convenience trope perfectly. The terms of this marriage between Vanessa and Aiden was totally believable and even after they got married, it took a long time for them to build a solid friendship and trust with each other.
๐๐ง ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต, ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ...๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ช๐จ๐จ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ. ๐๐บ ๐ง๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ด. ๐๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต. ๐๐บ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ.
I highly recommend the audiobook. Emma Wilder and Stephen Dexter did a fantastic job! They got me hooked immediately. Mariana Zapata's writing style is addictive and compelling. The burn is so slow that I HAD to keep reading until I was satisfied. And trust me, it was all worth it in the end.
๐๐ฆ'๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฉต
๐marriage of convenience
๐forced proximity
๐workplace romance
๐slooow burn
๐football romance
Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Bullying
Moderate: Alcoholism and Addiction
Minor: Death
Very heavy and graphic in child abuse coming from both MCs.lindseyhall44's review
- 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
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
- 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
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