The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata
(Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)on February 29, 2016
Format: eBook

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, 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?

I’ve been hearing a lot about Mariana Zapata and people have been telling me for a while now that I need to read Kulti by her, but for some reason I have been putting it off. Then over the last few days I found myself in the mood for some sports romance and found The Wall of Winnipeg and Me in my TBR pile, and so I started it right away.

I actually really liked this. I think what Zapata does well is create these complex and layered really well developed characters. Vanessa has never wanted to work for anyone, but she finds herself in a situation she never wanted… owing way too much money in student loans and no real job prospects, so when she’s offered the job of Personal Assistant to Aiden Graves she figures she can tough it out for a couple years, get herself some savings and then venture out on her own. What she doesn’t expect is to meet the most stoic man in the universe.

Aiden Graves isn’t your typical celebrity Football player. He keeps to himself, he doesn’t party, he doesn’t make friends and he says it like it is. He’s also known as The Wall of Winnipeg and bigger than you could imagine. His goals revolve around football and that’s it.

I think from the very get go you realize that Vanessa really isn’t sure what to fully make of Aiden. She likes him, but he isn’t friendly, she respects him, but he doesn’t really respect her… and when she finally decides it’s time to give her notice, he proves her right by not giving a damn.

But Aiden shows up at her door a month later telling her how much he needs her and making her an offer she can’t pass up … right?

Like I said, the best part of this story is the development of the characters. You’ll really find yourself connecting with Vanessa on some aspects of her life, and you’ll sympathize with her on others. Zac is Aiden’s roommate and the one person that Vanessa connected with over the years she worked for Aiden and I loved their relationship. I have a soft spot for books where a girl and a guy are bff’s. I think it’s probably because I’ve always had a lot of guy friends and it just really hits home for me. I will say that I found myself very interested in Zac’s story and hope that we might get a story for him in the future.

I think my one issue with this story was the immigration/green card issue. It’s essentially the catalyst to bring Aiden and Vanessa together, but it kind of got lost in the story. Initially it’s there because it makes him reach out to her, and other than a few meetings mentioned with a lawyer, it really isn’t a part of this story except for an aside at the very end of the story. I feel like that should have influenced a bit more of the full story, and I think if it had been there throughout, we would have seen a bit more of a faster pacing because they would have been forced to get to know each other a bit faster for legal reasons. This is truly a bit of a slow story and an even slower burn in the romance department. Don’t get me wrong, it works. I just felt like this could essentially have lost about 25% of the story and it still would have been really good.

If you’re a fan of sports romance… heavier on the character and relationship development and less romance (very little until after 80%) then you should definitely check this story out. I think you’re going to love getting to know the Wall of Winnipeg as much as I did.

About Mariana Zapata

Mariana Zapata began writing love stories soon after she learned how to spell. She probably shouldn’t admit that she started sneaking romance novels from her aunt’s bookshelves way before she was old enough to even understand what it meant when a man flipped up a woman’s skirt… don’t tell her mom. Luckily, she stuck to stories about princesses and princes for a while.
In her teens, she wrote boy band fanfiction (there’s still a website up somewhere on the internet with those masterpieces), and in her early twenties, she picked it back up again with Sookie Stackhouse and Twilight. Eventually, her significant other finally told her to do what she wanted to do and she began working on her original work. Her novels tend to include potty humor, bodily functions, and bad words.
Mariana lives in a small town called Pagosa Springs, Colorado with her husband/best friend, Chris Letchford, and their two well-beloved (and emotionally manipulative) Great Dane children, Dorian and Kaiser. When she’s not pretending to write, she’s reading sci-fi, fantasy, steampunk or historical romance novels. You can usually find her harassing her dogs, being a hermit at home or cracking jokes at the expense of her family members.

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