"The Wall of Winnipeg and Me" by Mariana Zapata is a captivating and heartwarming romance novel that takes readers on an emotional journey of self-discovery and unexpected love. Vanessa Mazur, the protagonist, knows she made the right decision by quitting her role as an assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to Aiden Graves, the top defensive end in the National Football Organization. Her job was always meant to be temporary, and she has her own plans and aspirations that don't involve catering to someone else's needs, especially not washing extra-large underwear.

But her world is turned upside down when Aiden Graves, also known as The Wall of Winnipeg, unexpectedly shows up at her door, seeking her to come back into his life. Vanessa is utterly shocked by this surprising turn of events. For two long years, Aiden had been distant and cold, never bothering to wish her good morning or acknowledge important moments like her birthday. Now, he's asking for the unthinkable - her return to his employ.

As Vanessa grapples with her feelings and confronts the complexities of her relationship with Aiden, the story unfolds with a perfect balance of tension and tender moments. Mariana Zapata masterfully crafts the slow-burn romance, allowing the characters' connection to evolve organically. The novel delves into themes of personal growth, communication, and the power of forgiveness.

Readers will find themselves immersed in the mesmerizing dynamics between Vanessa and Aiden, wondering what lies beneath the exterior of the seemingly stoic and unyielding football star. As Aiden begins to open up and let Vanessa into his world, their relationship takes on a new depth, filled with vulnerability and raw emotions.

"The Wall of Winnipeg and Me" is a beautifully written love story that explores the complexities of relationships and the significance of understanding each other's needs and desires. With compelling characters and a compelling narrative, Zapata's novel keeps readers engaged from start to finish. If you enjoy slow-burn romances with well-developed characters and a touching emotional journey, this book is an absolute must-read.

The absolute queen of slow burns!!! This was such a good and gripping read. Despite this being a long one, I flew through this one.

This author can never write anything bad. I read this book years ago and coming back to it made me SO HAPPY. The feelings. The slow burn. I ATE IT UP.

This is my first book from the author and it was a great read. This slow-burn romance was frustrating at times but also so worth it. Aiden was so raw and felt so realistic and human. Vanessa was strong and sassy and a great FMC. The personal assistant and boss dynamic/trope was so freaking delicious. They’re polar opposites but they work so well together it had me swooning. The marriage of convenience? Chef’s kiss. The character development that Aiden went through was emotional and inspiring. Sometimes the book felt a bit too long but all in all I was pleased with the pace

I loved every part of this book I have read it two times now and it was even better the second time. Mariana Zapata is the QUEEN of slow burn romance! Aiden and Vanessa are so cute and perfect for each other. I loved to see their relationship develop throughout the book and it only got better every new page. This book has Fake dateing and touch her and die vibes.

I received an arc via Netgalley, and am leaving an honest review about the book. I’m thankful to the publisher and the author for giving me this wonderful opportunity!

The premise of this book is very simple. We have a grumpy footballer in need of a wife to gain residency in America, and who else to ask to pretend to be his wife than his assistant? I’ve read this book two times, so receiving its copy before it republished made me incredibly happy! The Wall of Winnipeg and Me was my first book by Mariana Zapata, and it’s always had a soft spot in my heart.

I love the way Mariana Zapata showcases the budding relationship between the characters. Aiden goes from being a massive I-don’t-care grump to touch-my-wife-and-it’ll-be-the-last-time-you-touch-something, and it melted my heart. Him being there for Van is EVERYTHING to me, and Van learning to lean on him and gaining a family she didn’t really have… chefs kiss, truly. Also, when he got jealous when Vanessa wore Zac’s jersey instead of his… just perfect. Also, that extended epilogue? Stole my heart.

I did have parts that made it a bit bothersome to read, though. There is way too much information, too many details in places there shouldn’t be. It almost feels like it’s done to raise the word count, and half the time it feels bothersome. For example, instead of just saying “he looked at me,” it’s “the man who barely spared me a glance, who hardly bothered to care about anything other than himself, gave me a look.” (Not a direct quote, just an example I came up with on the spot!) Sometimes, having all that show and not tell is nice, but when it’s so repetitive in places you don’t even need it in, it can be bothersome.

Another thing that bothered me is when they go to watch a movie and Aiden agrees to take a picture with a female fan. She gropes him, and Van laughs at the situation. Never been my favorite moment because it was such a double standard—just as it’s not okay for women to be touched without their permission, it’s also not okay for men to be touched without their permission. Or anyone, really.

Anyway, this book is still a five for me! A wonderful comfort read, and I’m happy to have received a copy and a chance to review it!

Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Warnings: Domestic Violence, Parental Neglect
Tropes: Marriage of Convenience, Forced Proximity, I Hate Everyone But You, Sports Romance, Slow Burn, Grumpy/Sunshine

Only Maruaba Zapata could write a 600+ page book, make it the slowest of slow burns, and there’s still not enough for me. I loved Aiden and Vanessa…the pining, the tension. Literally, anytime Aiden said my wife or took care of Vanessa in a tiny way. The grumpy/sunshine vibe was on point.

If you haven't gotten on the MZ train yet, what are you doing???

This book is chefs kiss💗✨💞💖💕✨


Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

This was my first book by Mariana Zapata, but I’ve been wanting to read one for a while and I’ll definitely be reading more!

Vanessa Mazur has been working for two years as an assistant for Aiden “The Wall of Winnipeg” Graves and she’s had enough. After quitting her job, Aiden shows up at her door begging her to come back… and what he’s offering her is going to be hard to turn down.

Good one has a lot of things that I love about the romance genre! I will say, I got annoyed with Vanessa *constantly* calling Aiden Big Guy and commenting on his stature/size. But I’m not one for pet names so that is usually something I struggle with in books 🤷‍♀️

Read if you like —
💙 grumpy x sunshine
🏈 sports romance

It took me longer to read this than I wanted. I wish there would have been more romance — most of the book is just about their dynamic and some flirting here and there. It didn’t live up to the hype for me but I would recommend it to people who’ve had it on their TBRs!

Vanessa Mazur is over her job, she's done what has been asked for her for the last two years now. She wants a change, something that doesn't involve handsome, but infuriating, football players, and just when she thinks she's escaped her horrible job, her old boss comes knocking... with a proposal of sorts. One that she can hardly say no too...

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me is a slow burn romance that entertains right down to the last page! This friends to more read is certain to hit you right in the feels, make you swoon, and laugh here and there too! This pairing, albeit as different as they come, make it work somehow. They get on each other's nerves, drive each other wild with temptation, push each other's buttons every chance they get, and make each other better.. I had so much fun watching them fall for one another! Their story is truly a can't miss romance this summer!! Highly recommend!!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.

3.75

Mariana Zapata truly is the queen of slow burns, and this is definitely one slow, slow, burn. The "my wife" scene in this book was truly top tier and I adored the moments where Aiden was finally starting to show his love. My one "issue" was just that he was kind of extremely rude in the beginning and if I was Vanessa I would not have wanted to deal with that for any longer. However, I understand that it is a slow burn and she does get to know him better as the story goes on so it isn't a huge issue.

I loved it and am adding Mariana Zapata to my list of favorite authors. If you love romances with

slow burn
boss/employee
marriage of convenience
first person point of view (hers)
silent and stoic (him)
secretly in love

then you will love this book! It also features a great cast of found family, lovable friends, and even several villains that being just the right amount of drama and heartache. I love Vanessa and Aidan and I love their love story. All the stars!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

read if you love:
•marriage of convenience
•sports romance
•forced proximity
•the slowest burn 🔥

𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵, 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩. 𝘼 𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙠. 𝘼 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙖, 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙪𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙨𝙪𝙜𝙖𝙧.

phew, i can’t tell you how much i loved this book. aiden graves has turned me into a puddle and he’s definitely towards the top of the list for all time favorite book boyfriends. i loved how slowly he was unraveled. he literally starts out like a wall as his nickname suggests and i truly didn’t know how i was going to get to get to know him through only vanessa’s pov. but man, it was the best surprise to get to know aiden. he’s definitely a man of few words, but when he does speak?? gahh, it’s so impactful and meaningful. above all else, he’s a man of action and through his actions is how we got to know him and see him fall in love with vanessa.

“𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧.”

i absolutely loved vanessa, too. i felt like i was living her life by the end of this story - no complaints here. i loved her stubborn, headstrong personality and always sticking to her guns, but i also fell for her vulnerability. i’m so glad she let aiden see that. it helped them to open up to each other and bring them closer together. this was the best slow burn and i love how beautiful and meaningful their relationship was before they even kissed!! i also loved zac, diana, leo, the bonus epilogue and sooooo much more. i can’t recommend this enough!

thank you to avon books for the free book! my thoughts are my own!

*cue the slow clap for the queen of slowburns Mariana Zapata*

If you would have told Joee from a year ago that should would love a SLOW SLOW burn like this, I would haven't believed you. See past Joee didn't think she could possibly love a book where the couple doesn't get "together" until over 80% of the book. (I know right. Eye roll 🙄)! But then I read All Rhodes Lead Here and discovered the brilliant talent of MZ. My life has forever been changed! (Yes, thank you to my girl Ashley for pushing me )

Once again, she proves to build some of the most natural, intense, emotion packed connections. Her writing is like when you're eating really good french fries and you can't get enough!!!!! 600 pages may seem like alot but it will FLY by.

I absolutely love how grumpy her guys are. GRUMPY GUYS ARE MY FAV. (I mean I'm married to one. 😜) I'll be honest with ya, Aiden is an ass at the beginning. He made me so frustrated. But goodness did I adore his grumpy but innocentness. He doesn't talk much but when he shows his protective side, I DIE!!!!!! <b> "Overaries. Where were my Overaries?" </b>

Marriage of Convenience is one of my fav tropes and this was definitely one of the best ones I've read! I want to rave about this book so much more. But you just gotta read it. MZ's books should be like a dose of heart happy medicine.

What I loved:
•EVERYTHING
•Grumpy, quiet, football obsessed Aiden aka "big guy"
•Vanessa and her hardworking, keep fighting attitude 👏
•marriage of convenience trope
•ALLL the build of tension/chemistry
•protective vibes
•Vanessa's running journey (it inspired me)
•the fact that there wasn't any petty drama
•so many happy tears/ emotions and butterflies and goofy grins
•#teamgraves

*Side note: I'm not a sport romance fan but I can say this book has like not much sports in it minus the fact that Aiden is a football player. Kulti definitely felt more sportsy.

This book was long, and it took me a long time to get into it. The first 60% felt like all Vanessa did was describe Aiden's size over and over again. And again and again. It was impossible to miss that Aiden was a very large human being! It drove me a bit crazy.

Now I started to like the book quite a bit more a little over halfway through the story. Once Aiden starts to turn into a decent human being, I did enjoy the dynamics between Aiden and Vanessa and seeing their relationship grow.

But I felt like the book could have been so much shorter, and I would have enjoyed it so much more.

I have seen this book on #booktok touted as a slow burn. That it most definitely is. I don't think the characters even really like each other as another human beings until halfway through the book and the physical aspect of the relationship happens at 97%.

Unfortunately, this was not the book for me. Aiden is withholding and rude. He doesn't listen when Vanessa tells him no repeatedly. He shows up at her house like a stalker at least 3 times before he uses money to brow beat her into a marriage of convenience. Maybe he is supposed to be on the spectrum, but it's not handled well. He makes an effort to be less rude and the reader is supposed to swoon? There's not enough groveling in the world for him to have redeemed himself. Perhaps if the reader could be inside of Aiden's head that could have helped. The single POV is a tough read for me. The writing was juvenile. Vanessa went on paragraph long internal monologues that had no impact on the story and felt like filler. Throw in some Lifetime movie stuff about bad families and you've got yourself this book. Maybe someone's cup o' tea, but not mine.

I've become such a huge fan of Mariana Zapata's romances. I've loved each one I've read so far! They're amazing slow burns, and always feel like I'm watching a movie or a television show. The plots are meandering, but it just works. I love it. I love slowly getting to know the characters and then settling into their lives while they sloooowly work toward a romance.
The Wall of Winnipeg and Me is no exception. I loved Van and Aiden and seeing them together. Their personalities were so different, but they meshed so well, and I found myself rooting for them from the start. What really stood out to me about this book, though, were the side characters. We got to see Vanessa have great connections to other people that served well on their own but also did the work in helping to lay the groundwork of the romance. Really, it was just a fun book. I already want to read it again :)

Thank you to HarperCollins for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

full disclosure - this is the 7th time i've read this book. as soon as i saw it on netgalley, i couldn't resist. i love the new cover! loved the new content! love every single thing about this book and want everyone to read and love it as much as i do.

Vanessa was assistant to Aiden, a famous football player for years before she got frustrated and quit. But it wasn’t long before he realized he couldn’t live without her and asked her to come back. The twist? He doesn’t want her to be his assistant anymore, he wants her to be his wife to help him stay in the US.

This was the slowest of slow burns, which usually frustrated me but it worked here. The chemistry between Vanessa and Aiden was incredible and to see the way their relationship progress has the perfect amounts of tension and sweetness. THere was also a lot of emotion and depth to this book - both Aiden and Vanessa experienced different types of childhood trauma, and the way they used that trauma to help others and to motivate their success and even approach situations with empathy felt very special. This was my first book by Mariana Zapata, but it definitely will not be my last!

Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

This slow-burn is to DIE FOR. 1) Aiden Graves is the sexiest man alive. This is not up for debate, this is simply fact. 2) I should not be so GIDDY when they hug for the first time at 85% but I WAS SO DAMN GIDDY. The tension is delicious. Mariana Zapata is just so so so good at the slowest, most tender and tension filled burns with flawed, complex, and badass characters who get their walls broken down tiny piece by tiny piece. I just adore Aiden and Vanessa. I adore their love. I adore their life and their little team they created. It was magnificant.