The Wall of Winnipeg and Me
Author: Mariana Zapata
Standalone
Contemporary Romance
February 28, 2016

Is it just me, or do you feel like you’ve seen The Wall of Winnipeg and Me all over the blogosphere?  It seemed like anyone who reads romance was reviewing this book, and I had to jump on the bandwagon!  It has two things going for it, it’s romance and it’s sports!  I dislike sports.  I LOVE sports romance.

Another thing I noticed, all those reviews are glowing!  I’ve yet to see a bad review of this one, and I’m happy to report this one won’t be negative either.

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me was everything I love in my romance novels.  It was the perfect slow burn, but without too much unnecessary angst.  Aiden and Vanessa had obstacles.  Their relationship was rough in the beginning, but this wasn’t a story about redemption through groveling.  It was more about two characters who slowly gravitated to each other.  Aiden in particular.  He has a very singular mind, and the only thing he cared about was football.  He didn’t have friends.  He didn’t do romance.  He also had no interest in building either one of those connections.  He knew who he cared about, and that set number (3) was just fine with him.  It took him a while to open his eyes.  Vanessa saw Aiden, but what she saw was a man who didn’t care about her.  It wasn’t malicious.  She just wasn’t one of the three.  As Aiden’s eyes opened, so did Vanessa’s heart.  It was beautiful.

Actually, Aiden and Vanessa were extremely well matched and paired.  They had similar pasts, so they saw in each other a kindred spirit, but in every other way  were pretty opposite.  Luckily, they were opposite in every way that worked.

While Aiden was reserved, solitary, and private, Vanessa was quirky, spunky, and a bit nerdy.  She had a quick comeback for just about anything, and she’s the queen of giving others the sneaky middle finger.  I was surprised by how I was never actually annoyed with her, since I did feel she cried too much.  She made me laugh.  I loved Aiden, but I really loved how Van unknowing carved her way through his thick head and walls just by being herself.  That’s why I loved this book as much as I did.

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me did have some flaws.  First, it was too long.  There were some scenes and internal monologues that went on for pages and pages.  It could have been trimmed down without affecting the story at all.  I also thought the dramatics of the story were a little over done.  It wasn’t just Vanessa and Aiden who were struggling, it felt like the other side characters had major catastrophes too.  It detracted from the main couple of the story a little.

Finally, I had to go look and see if Big Texas had his own book.  I don’t see it out there.  Yet.  I swear, his story needs to be told!  Please and thank you, Ms Zapata.

Rating: