BOOK REVIEW: The Wall of Winnipeg & Me

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

To preface this review: I read this in one sitting from about 10pm to 2am so I may have missed some stuff and may have loved it more than if I had spaced it out.

Okay, this book was more of that slow burn goodness that Mariana Zapata is known for. The Goodreads summary is quite vague for a 600+ page book. To be honest I am happy I went in not knowing what major driver of the pilot was and was shocked when it was revealed.

But if you want a little more than that, This followed Vanessa who works for Aiden, a famous football player. They essentially have no relationship and don’t interact. She quits to start her own business, but Aiden comes back with an offer that would fix a lot of her problems, while simultaneously complicating her life. We all know she accepts because otherwise there would be no plot. If you like slow burn (and I mean slow) romances that have a bit of depth, I would recommend picking this up. Watching their relationship develop in tiny increments makes you swoon about every single moment in their relationship. I think they smiled at each other once and I grinned like a fool, don’t even get me started when REDACTED BC SPOILER.

This is also a sport romance which I have not read too many of, but I am learning I really like? I think the fantasy that all these good looking athletes are actually really great guys is something we all dream about. Hit me up with more sports romance recommendations guys, bonus points if it is about college basketball.

WHAT I LIKED:

The slow burn BUILDS. Before you realize it, you are shipping these characters so hard
Some of their interactions are so soft and cute
That Zac wasn’t an issue, he was Vanessa’s friend and never presented as a possible romantic interest. Also, bless Mariana Zapata for not making Aiden jealous of their friendship.
Even though this book is so long, it goes by pretty quickly, however I do think there was some stuff that was not necessary to the plot
How passionate Vanessa is about her business and her job. She is so confident in her skills, yet apprehensive about starting her own business, which felt so real
All the random movie/tv show references
The support the two of them show for each other in their personal and professional lives
THEY GO TO A COLLEGE BASKETBALL GAME TOGETHER. If you know me IRL, you know I am a hard core college basketball fan and this would be like my dream date
The Christmas gifts they exchange

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:

Vanessa’s family problems are never really solved or even dealt with in the end. Maybe I need to reread the epilogue to see if it is ever mentioned.
Vanessa and Diana’s friendship was central in the beginning and then just it sort of disappears for the rest of the book. MINOR SPOILER: Diana goes through something major and Vanessa realizes that she has not been present in her friend’s life, but then does not start making more of an effort (EDIT Diana has her own book WAIT FOR IT which is great too)
The whole boss/employee dynamic is not my fave because the start of their relationship is a power imbalance, which wigs me out a bit. Even though Vanessa does not let him treat her poorly because of this, I still felt it at times.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Despite the fact that I did have some issues with this book, I overall had such a fun time reading this novel, I mean I stayed up until 2am to finish it and was exhausted at work (worth it)
I am planning on continuing reading through all of Mariana Zapata’s books because the two I’ve read have been awesome

4/5

xoxo, Tree

P.S. Check out my other Mariana Zapata Review HERE (I love her books so much)

Goodreads Link: The Wall of Winnipeg & Me

(photo not mine, taken from Google Images)