Vanessa Mazur knows she’s doing the right thing. She shouldn’t feel bad for quitting. Being an assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to the top defensive end in the National Football Organization was always supposed to be temporary. She has plans and none of them include washing extra-large underwear longer than necessary.
But when Aiden Graves shows up at her door wanting her to come back, … back, she’s beyond shocked.
For two years, the man known as The Wall of Winnipeg couldn’t find it in him to tell her good morning or congratulate her on her birthday. Now? He’s asking for the unthinkable.
What do you say to the man who is used to getting everything he wants?
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I knew very little going into this book other than that it was a sports romance and that alone was enough to intrigue me. But this book is so much more than your average everyday sports romance. It’s a slow burn. Like major major slow burn so if you are looking for a book with lots of steam all the time this isn’t for you. But if you enjoy all the sweet touches and lingering looks and subtle feelings, then this is definitely for you. It brought me back to the days when I read YA novels and got butterflies from all the little moments between the hero and the heroine. If you can handle slow burn, this is definitely one of the sweetest romances I’ve read!
Also, Aiden, the hero, is different from the typical jock playboys that you often see in sports romances. He reminds me of the beast from Beauty and the Beast. He is a bit of a recluse and shows little to no emotion. He is very set in how he does things and uptight. But at times in the book, I can’t help but see him as this giant teddy bear who deep down has a heart of gold. He also spends his extra time doing puzzles which instantly made me like him! Ya girl is a sucker for a good puzzle and it seems like no one does them anymore!
Don’t even get me started on the spunky heroine who keeps everyone on their toes in this one! Vanessa is the sweetest and most patient person! She saw something in Aiden and looked past his grumpy ways when most people would have given up on him after one encounter. She really brings out the best in people and we saw that with not only Aiden but the supporting characters in this book too….well except the evil sisters but we won’t go into that.
I really enjoyed seeing how these two balanced each other out so well when they were together. They both came from rough families, but they helped each other overcome their pasts and realize what future they can have. Going into it, I thought this book was way too long, but now that I’ve finished it I can’t help but want more. I’m super excited to read Zac’s book next and hopefully see a bit more of this amazing couple!
Slow Burn but a great read.
The wall of Winnipeg and me ist der Originaltitel dieses Buches. Und wie eine Wand aus Muskeln wird Aiden auch beschrieben. Seine direkte, ehrliche und sozial eher ungewöhnliche Art und Vanessa s Weise damit umzugehen ist super schön und lustig zu lesen. Das Buch ist recht lange und es dauert lange bis die beiden wirklich zueinander finden. Aber ich habe jede Seite bis zum Schluss geliebt. Dass ein Buch dieser Länge nicht langweilig wird, ist nicht einfach zu bewerkstelligen. Aber Mariana Zapata ist meiner Meinung nach die Königin des slow burn. Ihr gelingt es immer, eine Spannung und Chemie zwischen den Protagonisten zu schaffen und über das ganze Buch zu erhalten.
Wer eine sich schnell entwickelnde Liebesgeschichte sucht, oder gerne viele erotische Szenen möchte, ist hier falsch. Wer aber eine schöne, lustige Story ohne zu viel Drama zu schätzen weiß, in der sich 2 absolut tolle Charaktere langsam und mit viel prickelnder Chemie näher kommen, ist bei Mariana Zapata und bei diesem Buch genau richtig.
THE BEST SLOW BURN ROMANCE I’VE EVER READ!!!!!
Fantastic read and listen. A slow burn but so worth the read. You’ll love to hate Aiden until he wins you over and oh he’ll so win you over! Their banter will make you laugh and swoon. Definitely a must read/listen. Narration by Callie Dalton is fantastic.
2nd read: 2020
1st read : 2016
Update 2020: When I discovered that Mariana Zapata’s new book (Hands down) would be about Zac, who was a secondary character in ‘The wall of Winnipeg and me’ I decided to do a reread. And just like the first time that I read it, I enjoyed it very much!
Review 2016:
I have read all of Mariana Zapata her books and I love them all! This last one is no exception! Mariana Zapata has a special way of telling a story. Her stories are slow burns (very slow burns!) but I just adore her stories and the slow way that the writer built a relationship between her main characters.
Vanessa Mazur hasn’t had an easy life. Her childhood was hard but she has always know what she wanted and she has worked hard for it. And now the time has finally come to make her dream come true. She only has to find the courage to tell her boss that she will quit her job. Why is that so hard?!?
It isn’t like her boss is her best friend or anything. He doesn’t say good morning or even talk to her much. And still she finds it very hard to ‘leave’ him.
When Vanessa started her job two years ago (for the National Football Organization) she didn’t know what to expect. She knew that she was going to work for a famous sportsman but she didn’t know who. But maybe that was good because ‘The wall of Winnipeg’ aka Aiden Graves is something special. He lives for his sports. He has no social life, he has almost no friends and doesn’t believe in having a relationship when you’re a professional sportsman. He’s just very anti-social if you ask the people around him.
But then one day Vanessa does it, she just quits her job and goes for it. But she never though that Aiden Graves would want her back! Vanessa is shocked and doesn’t know what to think about it. Why would the man that never acknowledge her hard work or even her as a person, now wants her back?? Why doesn’t he just hire a new assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother? Vanessa doesn’t know what to think about it and then Aiden makes her an offer she just can’t refuse. An offer that would mean that she has to go back and live with him for the next five years! Can she do it? Can she live together with a man that thinks that having any kind of relationship (friendship or otherwise) just isn’t worth the time or effort? Or did her leaving him make him think otherwise?
Can ‘The wall of Winnipeg’ really change? Or is it just a new contract between the two of them that will end after five years?
I loved his story very much!! The last 100 pages I was reading slower and slower because I just didn’t want this story to end. I really liked Aiden’s roommate Zac, he was a great character. He was really funny and a great friend to Vanessa.
Aiden Graves is a man of few words, you really have to look for little signs that he likes you and that’s something that I love about Mariana Zapata’s her books. You can never pinpoint the exact moment when they fell in love. The relationship grows so slowly that at the end there’s love but where it started ….. you just don’t know.
I can’t wait for Mariana Zapata her next book
Vanessa has been an assistant to football player Aiden Graves for a few years now. He’s moody, bossy and doesn’t talk much. Vanessa eventually reaches her breaking point and quits. She’s done. She doesn’t need to be around an undeserving boss anymore. And then….then Aiden is back in Vanessa’s space begging her to come back.
Going in to The Wall of Winnipeg and Me, I knew that it was going to be a slow burn. But wow was this book a slooooooow burn. I don’t mind a slow burn, but for some reason I just wasn’t connecting with Aiden and Vanessa as a couple in this book.
There was just so much other stuff going on in the book that I feel like it took away from the couple and the slowly developing romance between Aiden and Vanessa.
I realize that so many people (including a lot of my friends) loved The Wall of Winnipeg and Me, so it might have just been me or the mood that I was in. I did enjoy listening to the audiobook though!
I am a big fan of all Mariana Zapata novels but this one is definitely my favorite. It combines my go-to genres of sports romance and slow burn. The character and relationship building was on point. Coming from a sports background myself, both being a college athlete and working in professional sports, one of my biggest pet peeves is when sports romances include details or scenarios that just wouldn’t happen in real life. This book touches on some football details but definitely gets it right! I have reread this book multiple times as well as listened to the audio book. Highly recommend!!!
Truly one of my favorite books. I didn’t know how much I enjoyed slow burners until I discovered Marianna Zapata.
Slow build. One of my favorite book boyfriends.
4.5/5 Stars
This was such a great love story. I was totally sucked into this story from the start. I adored this book from beginning to end.
The characters in this story are so impressive. Zapata is able to craft their individual personalities flawlessly and expertly. The reader really gets a sense for the characters. Both of the main characters, Vanessa and Aiden, were complex and full of depth with excellent personal backstories. They also had wonderful character growth. I loved how easy it was to connect with the characters. They felt very real. The secondary characters were fleshed out well also. I adored Zac’s character and I loved the friendship that he had with Vanessa.
This is probably one of the slowest burn romances that I have ever read. Aiden and Vanessa have so much intense chemistry. You can absolutely feel it while you are reading. This story has a fake romance trope that the author really brings to life. The romantic tension between these two is off the charts.
The plot was really enjoyable. It was fairly realistic and had a great flow. I was so wrapped up in this story that it was hard to set it aside and step back into real life. The story was unpredictable, which I really appreciated. The story follows the common trope of a fake relationship/marriage of convenience, but it pulls it off well.
The only criticism that I have with this story has to do with the writing style. I felt that the narrative was a little too wordy. A lot of times it felt like the author was doing way more telling than showing. Other than that, the writing was concise and easy to read.
Overall, this was a story that surprised me in the best of ways. This is such a romantic story with such a slow burn. I absolutely recommend it! I definitely need to read more from this author!
I’ve read and listened to this book dozens of times. When I need to reset my brain it makes me happy all over again. Van’s smart mouth and tenacity or the Big Guy’s stoic indifference to everything until they each realize they’re the others “person” sooths my soul and restores my faith that there is true love.
This slow burn had me in it’s grip from page one to the end. I loved every second. Aiden is my new man. This is one of my favorite reads this year!
Vanessa is tired of taking care of other people’s shit. She realizes that it is her job to take care of other people’s shit – well one person’s shit. But Aiden Graves isn’t the easiest person to tend to, and she’s getting burnt out. She never thought she would end up being a personal assistant to a handsome pro football player, but here she is. Over the last 2 years, she has handled everything for this man. She can’t say that she doesn’t care for him, but she’s certain that he does not care for her. He barely speaks. And when he does, it’s to bark orders at her.
That’s why she has been saving up her paychecks. She isn’t appreciated here, and she wants to make a career doing graphic design. So she can finally put to use that degree she went into debt for. But, dammit, she has a good heart and she wants to make sure Aiden finds some else to fill her position before she leaves. A couple of stressful days and a rude comment later, she’s done. She tells Aiden she deserves better and storms off.
You can imagine Vanessa’s shock when she comes home to her apartment, two months later, to find Aiden waiting on her doorstep. He wants her back. She’s not interested. He leaves. But he comes back; this time with a proposition. One that she can’t turn down.
Now, Vanessa finds herself back with Aiden. The guarded, slightly jerky stud is warming up to her. But will she ever feel like this Team Graves is going to work?
For those of you that don’t know, Mariana and I are best friends. I decided this when I finished [book:Dear Aaron|35404657] a few months ago. No, I’m not crazy…
I can’t gush enough on how much I adored this book. Vanessa is a hoot. Her character had me entranced from the very first page. Her quirky personality and remarks made the entire book for me!
He was lucky I had a tiny, itty, bitty crush on him; otherwise he would have gotten the shank years ago.
My middle finger twitched, but I kept it under wraps and with its brothers and sisters.
As for Aiden, I just love the mysterious brooding type. I was, along with Vanessa, always wondering what was it that handsome head of his. It was enchanting to watch his character change and see him grow fond of Vanessa.
Just drop what you’re doing and read this book. RUN – DON’T WALK! 5 stars!
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Let me start with what I didn’t like about this book…I didn’t like there was no sequel to tell Zachary’s story…with that said. I am in absolute LOVE with this book…I love the foundation Mariana Zapata brings to each character and their story.
My very first book of Zapata’s and I freakin LOVED it!! Like hardcore. I am currently binging all that is Mariana!
This is a fun modern marriage of convenience story. The main character is a witty, hard-working single woman struggling to establish her own business and pay off her huge student loan debt. Her boss is a star football player, who is rude, ungrateful, and unaware of her efforts. Fed up with his behavior, she quits. Not only does he then want her back; he offers to pay off her massive student loan debt and buy her a house if only she will marry him so that he can get residency status in the US. (He’s Canadian.) She reluctantly agrees. It’s witty and emotional and warm, and the characters are likable. For all his ineptness with people, Aiden has several admirable qualities, and he never seems mean-spirited. I love Vanessa’s snarky asides; she’s tough and determined but has an inner softness. I was struck by how well Ms. Zapata gradually developed their relationship, not simply relying on physical attraction, and I liked the fact that Aiden retained his basic personality even while coming to realize and change some of his behavior. Even though he’s a football player, it doesn’t get bogged down in sports details; it’s more just a background business. So even if you don’t like football, I think it would still be an enjoyable read.
One of my go to books
I have become an amazing fan of this author! I have binged listened and read all this authors works in the recent past.
I have always attempted to give ‘star’ ratings on my completed reads, just as a tracking method for my titles that I have completed. I have unlimited packages for audio, kindle, and utilize the local/state library.
However, I do not check the ‘I recommend this book’ unless I am willing to reread a book and or a series.
[I read about 5-15 books a month through kindle, and I listen to about 15-30 books monthly]
I have a full life as a nurse, professor, wife, daughter [daughter in law], sister, and mother. I love to read and love a thousand other lives by turning the pages in countless books.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide a review. Happy reading 🙂
If you enjoy a slow burn…and I do mean a very slow burn, you will enjoy our Wall of Winnepeg. Yes, Aiden is a supremely handsome football player. He is massive (as his nickname lets you know). He is also….hard to find the right word to describe him…cold? quiet? one track mind? dedicated? dry? not quite personable? difficult? I suppose he is all these things…but as with anything and with anyone, there is way more to him than meets the eye. Vanessa has worked for him for years. Even SHE, who has seen everything including his underwear, doesn’t know the half of it. Circumstances (which I’ll be honest, kind of ticked me off…at first for reasons I won’t say since it gives away some of the storyline), throw them together. They get to know each other-slowly- …and soon, both will have to decide what they really want from life…and from each other.