I can't even tell you the amount of times that I've read The Wall of Winnipeg and Me, with it being my third favorite by Mariana. I tried to hold off on reading the extra content, but I failed. Loved it, short and sweet, just sooo perfectly them.

HAPPY (re-release) PUB & huge congratulations to The Wall of Winnipeg and Me & @marianazapata! 🏈

I read this one a while back and I really enjoyed, but now you can get this book in your hands with a brand new cover!

Read if you love:
💍 Marriage of convenience
🏈 Football
💪🏼 Entrepreneurial women
🔥 Slooooooooow burn
🐶 Cute puppies
🙍🏼‍♂️ The BROODIEST of men
🏃🏻‍♀️ Running

If you're into non communicative man who play sport this book is for you. There is discussion of domestic violence and history of child abuse. It was an okay read a little to long for me. 2 .75 stars.


*********************I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley.************************

I have been having a really hard time finding books that I completely and totally love lately. I've been slumping hard...until I picked up The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata. I absolutely adored this slow burn, grumpy sunshine romance. I am dying to read more books like it! So if you have any recs that will give me all the feels, please let me know in the comments below. It can be a sports romance, like this one, but it doesn't have to be. Any spice level is fine! 

In The Wall of Winnipeg and Me, we meet our main characters Vanessa and Aiden. Aiden is a grumpy football player and Vanessa was his personal assistant...until she quit. She is off trying to pursue her dream of being a graphic designer, when Aiden comes knocking on her apartment door, begging her to come back. And he won't take no for an answer. I appreciated how determined he was. And when he makes her an offer she can't afford to refuse, they enter into a new kind of arrangement....a marriage of convenience.

It kind of reminded me of The Proposal, which is one of my favorite rom coms of all time, so I was extra excited. But most of all I fell hard for the grouchy but caring Aiden and the awesome Vanessa. These two are so wonderful together. 

If you are a fan of sports romances, the grumpy sunshine trope and marriages of convenience, then you need to read The Wall of Winnipeg and Me. This book made me fall in love.

Mariana Zapata has me all about slow-burn romances now. This book is looong but so worth the wait and I will say I am not the biggest sports romance person however this one got me.

Vanessa and Aiden had a apathy to friendship love dynamic that just kept me turning page after page. I wouldn't even know how to recommend another book like this one which is always fun for me as a library staff- I will say that I think there could be more depiction of female friendships in this story for me.

Overall loved it and cant wait to see what she does next!

DNF @ 59%
I was on the struggle bus with this one and ultimately decided to not continue. I was having an extremely hard time connecting with the romance.

<i>I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

DNF: 28%

This is clearly not the book for me and normally I wouldn't review something like that but this had the potential to be really great.

I'm a massive fan of a good slow burn romance. And I've read some sloooooow burns before that were done really well. But not this one. I read around 130 pages of this and kept wondering how they were going to get together because they seem indifferent (Aiden) or openly hostile and unforgiving (Vanessa).

Another drawback is how repetitive the writing is. There is no reason for the story to be 475 pages as it stands. Not only did it feel like events were being recapped from chapter to chapter but some of Vanessa's internal monologue would be 3 paragraphs all saying the same thing in slightly different ways. It bogged down an already slow pace.

But at the same time, it was hard to know how much time had passed. Like after Vanessa quits and it's suddenly been weeks since she told Aiden he'd need to find a replacement? That came out of nowhere.

I think this might have benefitted from having Aiden's PoV. In what I read, he does not come across is a good light at all. Yes, I get that we're reading Vanessa <i>impression</i> of him and that she's probably wrong but it would've been helpful to see bits of that. If not from Aiden's PoV then maybe he should've been portrayed a bit less like a wall.

Lastly, I feel misled by this cover in particular. Had I seen the cover for the version published in 2016, I doubt I would've picked it up. But this cover is cute and fun and makes it seem like a good time. I feel cheated!

This one didn't work for me.

I really enjoyed reading this contemporary fake relationship/marriage of convenience story between Aiden Graves, star football player, and Vanessa, his former assistant. Told in first-person from Vanessa’s perspective, it’s also a story about growth and pushing yourself past your boundaries. I don’t usually go for sports stories, but this one was great!

Although it was a decent story, I felt the author was limited by the first-person narrative. I didn't believe that Aiden and Vanessa were truly in love - it seemed like she had more chemistry with the roommate than her "husband". Also, that he would do the bare minimum as far as relationships go, and it was considered significant because he didn't care about anything but football felt like a cop-out to me. When you are only seeing one side of a relationship the author needs to make it unequivocally clear that the other person is invested in the relationship, and I felt like this book fell a little short in this regard. Even at the end of the book they couldn't even have an honest conversation about themselves.

dnf 65%. I gave this book a week of my life, literally reading it every day and only made it to 65%. It’s too long. It’s about twice as long as the typical books I read and good god does it feel like it’s that long. I’ve read long books that have flown by, but nothing happens in this book. 65% and i think our main couple has had maybe one actual meaningful conversation. Vanessa has had more conversations and a more meaningful connection with Aiden’s roommate. Vanessa is darling, but Aiden is a wall (literally the title is perfect). He does not show emotion or interest in anything but himself. By 65% i should have something positive to say about him, but I don’t, in fact the thing I know most about him is that he’s large (the word “big” appears 337 times). There is no emotional connection at all between Aiden and Vanessa. She is clearly in lust with him, but in 65% i have seen zero indication he sees her as anything other than a tool to get his green card. This book is referred to as a slow burn, but there is no burn. No tension. Just Vanesa being vaguely horny while he essentially ignores her other than making her do chores. From looking at other reviews there is no heat until past the 95% mark. That is absurd. The book needs some serious editing to make it readable. There are so many repeated phrases that it just became boring. Again, if it wasn’t trying to be so long, it would have been a much better book. I’m don’t have the time currently to give this book more of my life. I may return to it in the future, but for now i am done.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've seen so many people talk about this book, so when the reissue was pitched to me by the publisher, I was intrigued.

I really liked Vanessa. She smart and driven, loyal and kind. Aiden is by far one of the most stoic MCs I've ever read and even after 600+ pages, I wasn't completely sure his slight warm up was going to be enough to turn to love. Zac is easily the best part of the story and I would have happily read more of him.

Plot wise, it's interesting. There's a lot a lot a lot of inner monologue and the slowest of slow burns and yet, I never felt bored. I was absolutely captivated by this relationship and how it progressed. Not gonna lie, I would have loved to see anything from Aiden's POV to really get a handle on his feelings instead of them being filtered through Vanessa.

Overall, this definitely didn't feel like a 600 page book and while I loved the bonus material (and the epilogue was so so good), I wanted just a bit more.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

One of my favorite Grumpy/Sunshine books ever!

There's so much to love about this book, from Zac (I can't wait to read his story), to Van's friends. I also want to fight Van's family and Aiden's manager, so that lit a fire under me throughout the story as well. This is on my list anytime I'm in a book slump!

**Forced Proximity
**Grumpy/Sunshine
**Marriage of Convenience
**Sports Romance

I've listened to both versions of the audiobook in the last 48 hours, so that should show how much I love this story! The newer version has dual narration and bonus content, so it's definitely worth a re-read if you've already devoured this book, otherwise enjoy it for the first time.

This is one of those books that I saw all over Booktok and Bookstagram and always meant to get around to reading. when I finally dove into THE WALL OF WINNIPEG AND ME and get the hype.

Vanessa and Aiden are a serious Enemies-to-Lovers Grumpy+Sunshine roller coaster and I was completely engaged from beginning to end. Vanessa is kind, giving, and strong, while also having flaws and being relatable. And Aiden is such an a**hole at the beginning of this book. Like, I didn't think it would be possible for this author to redeem him, but she did.

While I enjoyed THE WALL OF WINNIPEG AND ME, there were a few issues with it. I, personally, like an author to focus on 1-2 conflicts in a book. But this book has a myriad of conflicts and a few of them felt unnecessary. Injuries and past accidents and current creeps hitting on women and addiction and poverty and childhood abuse and a friend in a domestic abuse situation and foster care. It was a bit too much.

Those issues aside, it's clear why THE WALL OF WINNIPEG AND ME has resonated with readers. It's got a lot of heart, all the feels, and a great love story with a perfect HEA!

Thanks so much to the author and @netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC!
This cute book has had a little facelift, and on top of that it also has some bonus content! So if you've already read the original book, I recommend checking out this new release with extra chapters!
The book was really cute! I loved the story, the anticipation/build up was really nice. I do wish there had been a little more of those "special moments" where they were coming into their feelings but I did enjoy it still!
Vanessa was really awesome, I loved learning her backstory and all the things she had to go through to get as strong as she is today.
Aiden was the quintessential grump but I loved seeing the Wall's walls break down little by little. I love when a grumpy guy is still himself at the end but softens just for his lady/family.
My first read by this author and definitely not the last!

Book Review: The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata


The Wall of Winnipeg and Me is a seriously addictive slow burn romance (when I say slow burn I mean the slowest possible burn but in a good way)


This book follows Vanessa Mazur who has worked for pro football player, Aiden Graves for 2 years. Aiden is quiet, not appreciative of everything she does, and consistently drives Vanessa crazy. So, she decides to quit and follow her real passion.
But when he shows up at her door weeks after she quit with an absolutely shocking proposition, Vanessa has to rethink everything.


"| would have done just about anything for you back then, even when you got on my nerves. I might have just waited until the last minute to push you out of oncoming traffic, but I'd still push you out of the way."


I feel like I need to repeat this. This is a SLOW BURN romance. Like nothing happens until 94% slow but it’s totally worth it.
The pacing is great and there are such good side characters. I love Zac and Diana so much. I’ve already read Diana’s book and it’s amazing but now I really want to read Zac’s book now! I loved watching them become friends and so much more. This book was seriously perfect. Aiden is the strong and silent type. He's not close to anyone, but we get to see him slowly lets Vanessa in. All the little moments between them had me smiling.

When Aiden showed up to the convention to support Vanessa
The puppy!!!
Defending her to her family


““Touch my wife again and I’ll break every bone in your body.”
My wife. Not Vanessa. He’d gone with my wife.”


I just loved the last 20% of this book so much! The new paperback also has a bonus epilogue that is the cutest thing and you don’t want to miss it!!!

This was a reread and unsurprisingly I loved this book even more the second time. Mariana Zapata writes my comfort books.


Thank you to NetGalley for an e-arc of the is book. All thoughts are my own.

5/5 ⭐
2/5 🌶️
5/5 🎧

I think Tessa Bailey said it best on the new cover of Winni, "When I need a guaranteed five star, slow burn romance, I pick up Mariana Zapata every time." This woman has been crowned the Queen of Slow Burn and it's with good cause. I don't usually like slow burn, but the way Mariana weaves her tales, the spice doesn't matter. There's not even a lot of tension... You're just watching two enemies become such good friends they fall in love and then we get a little action in the last 5-10%. It's a beautiful romance with heartfelt moments and good laughs, culminating in epic love.

I listened for parts of it and the duet narration was fantastic. Emma Wilder and Stephen Dexter were both so perfect for these roles.

I really loved Aiden and Vanessa to pieces. Vanessa starts this story by letting us know she's going to quit because she can't stand the selfish, rude jerk that is The Wall of Winnipeg. But somehow, that jack jerk wiggles his way back into her life via a marriage of convenience and has us all falling in love with his stoic demeanor and surprisingly caring and unselfish nature towards Vanessa. Then we have Van and her heartbreaking family situation, but her strength and drive to succeed is amazing and I really loved her catty attitude. Her constant need to flip people off that made her mad had me cackling constantly.

This is one of those stories that made me wish Mariana did series, because I would unalive for Zac and Diana's stories. The side characters in Winni are all so good and I'd love to watch them find their happily ever afters too. I really loved how Zac was such a great friend to her, helping her navigate issues and championing her when she needed it. I was really happy we got a little glimpse of his life in the bonus scene.

I already want to dive into this one again.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. It was one of the first slow (slow slow slow) burn romances that I ever read and I just completely fell in love.

Vanessa is assistant to Aiden Graves, a star football player who doesn't care about anyone or anything if it isn't related to football. She's been working on building up her own graphic design company on the side and after one too many incidents of Aiden treating her poorly, she decides to quit and pursue her own business full-time. Not long after, Aiden shows up at her house asking her to come back. She refuses but he eventually wins - he'll pay off her student loans if she comes back as his (fake) wife to help him become an American citizen.

This is a really long book so you got to witness so many interactions between Vanessa and Aiden, from really mundane moments to really special ones. Vanessa's always had somewhat of a crush on Aiden, despite his attitude, but you get to witness interaction by interaction the way that Aiden transforms and each moment is sweeter than the last. There are a few caretaking scenes and vulnerable conversations that absolutely made me swoon like crazy. Everything you might have loved from the first edition is in this new version, plus an extra post-epilogue scene that's adorable.

I can't wait to have the new paperback copy because the cover color is my ABSOLUTE favorite color!

Congrats to Mariana Zapata for her rerelease of The Wall of Winnipeg and Me, thru Avon publishings.

I fell in love with this book back in 2018, and I can honestly say my love of this story and its characters has not dimmed since. Hearing that this book was gonna get a new revamp and be release thru a publisher, I was abit nervous that the heart of this book would get lost in translation but I am happy to say I was wrong. It was just amazing to be reintroduced to Aiden Graves. The story is funny, sweet, and just adorable. You are also going to want to punch someone because some of these characters need a quick karate chop to the throat. But I digress, if you read the book before, I would highly recommend you reread it again just to walk and smile down memory lane.

I want to thank the author and publisher for the ARC in exchanged for my honest review.
Congratulations again Mariana Zapata!!

And as always Happy Reading!!

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me is a very good slow burn romance. I really enjoyed the developing relationship between Aiden and Vanessa.

I will say I’m glad I realized this book was republishing an older book originally from 2016, as some of the stuff does feel from that time: Pretty much every woman who comes across Aiden tries to flirt with him, even in times when it would be really inappropriate and at one point Aiden is groped by a fan during a photo opportunity and it’s played for laughs.

I will be picking up other books by the author, as I think the romance was very good.

Gosh, it's been a minute since I've talked about one of my favourite authors and it's good to be back yelling about her. And if you haven't read this one, now is literally LITERALLY the perfect time!

I read this one a while ago now but I have some funny stories to share in this regard BECAUSE ngl I was neither here nor there the first time around. But then somehow I kept rereading bits over and over again and now I'm obsessed. So let's let get into my very much updated review like 3 years in the making lol

I have a couple of points, if you will, that I just so admire whenever I think about this book so welcome to my more structured review than usual or a presentation idk what I'm doing. Enough rambling Ruby *hides*

Alright, one of the things I love most about (and of) Mariana Zapata's books is the sports element. Me? Obsessed with figure skating? Could not imagine why haha. But our male main character Aiden is a big-shot American football player, which I didn't know a lot about anyways, so immensely enjoyed that part of this book. He has a couple of player friends (not really ifykyk) and it was really fun to hear about what they did. I feel underequipped to talk about this and suddenly can't remember anything about football and MZ does a much better job of keeping you invested in this sport than I did,,,

Speaking of writing, I've mentioned this before but I'm doing so again because UGH I LOVE MARIANA ZAPATA'S WRITING SO MUCH!!! I know a lot of people struggle because a) I mean these books are LONG but b) her past tense first-person narrative is sometimes seen as "whiny". I personally have never felt that, I've always connected to each of the main characters I think because of the writing. You become so immersed in their thoughts and emotions and connect to them so closely and it's great.

Another small thing I always notice but it's something I so admire about her writing is these very subtle romance moments in the writing. I never know how to explain it but MZ will briefly mention like the absence of a touch in the character's mind, but she's literally saying that the main character is literally getting a massage. No idea if that made sense but I guess you'll have to read to understand *wink wink*

Let's talk tropes for a second. This book is commonly known as the OG  marriage of convenience that beats all others. And she does. Sorry to have to tell you. You also need an enemies to lovers? You've come to the right place. The romantic tension is almost non-existent for a good half of this book. We'll get into it later but don't underestimate that slow in slow burn. But MZ handles these tropes with absolute grace and their dynamic developed with such ease. Did I mention I love her? *insert heart eyes*

Aiden is a tough cookie. Gosh, I hated him at the beginning. That slow burn took its time. But when we get the real Aiden, I died dead passed out on the floor! As soon as they FIT, I was head over heels for them and I want to cry in a hole,,,,

Moment of appreciation for Vanessa ladies and gentle-ones. God, she's the best. I wish I could say I relate to her but I definitely do not because I just want to be her. Not exaggerating. I want to have cool hair like her, be gutsy like her and if I'm even half as brave, then that'd be enough. Honestly maybe Zapata's best-written character? Neck and neck with Jasmine. But ugh Vanessa Mazur was EVERYTHING and I love her so so so so much xoxoxoxo

This is both my favourite and least favourite about this book: THE ANGST. Punch us in the gut why don't you? I think the biggest emphasis on slow-burn to ever exist and that's not an exaggeration. When I say slow, I mean SLOW. And it's wonderful. I eat it up every time and I can't read a romance if there isn't a slow burn which is why Mariana and I are soulmates.

And lemme tell you a secret about her particular brand of slow-burn: it's PERFECTION. MZ honestly has magic in her fingers and the ending always blows me into outerspace!!! You know why? Because by the time the big confession climax has appeared itself, there is absolutely no doubt between these two characters are going to be anything but together. And I've never read anything like it *cries in single*

VANESSA AND AIDEN SUPREMACY

If you haven't already, which is unlikely because it's Mariana Zapata, but if so, then you MUST read this masterpiece of a sports romance. Mariana Zapata is here to knock your socks off with her effortless writing that lures you into her world like no other, the unexpected romantic chemistry you never saw coming but fall head over heels in love with and characters that feel so real they become your friends. And of course, the obvious an enemies to lovers marriage of convenience between a football player and his ex-assistant <3<3<3

Okay this was excellent. Tropey and dramatic in the best ways. I love the fake-marriage trope anyway so this was perfect for me. The slow discovery of the other person, their past, their likes and dislikes! Aiden and Vanessa pulled me in right from the start. It was described as a slow burn and it really is in the best way.

I do think a chapter from Aiden's point of view would have been nice, just to get a little look into his thoughts and how he's feeling. It might have fleshed out the story a bit more. One of my favorite parts was the side characters. The friends and family (especially Zac) and coworkers that surrounded Vanessa and Aiden really completed the story. Sometimes romances can be very isolating to the main couple, and while the mains in this one get plenty of that, they're also surrounded by the right amount of other characters to help that.

I've been meaning to read Mariana Zapata for a long time and I'm immediately going through her back log after this!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.