Ep. 1: The Wall of Winnipeg and Me (A Review)

Goodreads synopsis:

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. What do you say to the man who is used to getting everything he wants?

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me is one of my Top 10 contemporary romance books. It has most of my favourite tropes! Boss-employee romance, forced proximity, marriage of convenience, grumpy love interest, nightmare scene... I mean SWOON much?!?!

I really can’t believe Mariana Zapata has me out here caring about another male character who doesn’t know how to express himself emotionally.

I found this book quite randomly one day as I was going through bookstagram. It was my first marriage of convenience book and BOY did I go gaga over it. So without further ado here is my take on this gorgeous story of Vanessa and Aiden.

"I was going to murder his ass" ~ Vanessa Mazur

Right off the bat, I was obsessed with her. She was relatable and snarky and terribly grumbly which just made me love her even more. But what really connected me to her was her slight anger issues. She was a real hot-head and rightfully so as we read about her family trauma and of course the terribleness of her boss- Aidan.

My first impression of Aiden was an unnecessarily grumpy manchild. He seemed to be unable to do basic everyday stuff and depended entirely on Vanessa. His treatment of Vanessa in the entire first half of the book made me so mad the first time over and I just couldn't fathom how she dealt with him for so long other than the main reason ofc:

But I gradually grew to understand his character. He was so used to being by himself and focusing on his career that he didn't really give anyone else a second thought. And even though nothing makes up for his asshole-ish behaviour he pulled a real Darcy and grew the heck up. He does mess up a bit in between but he always, ALWAYS owned up to it.

“I'm starting to understand that you can always make time for the things that matter.” ~ Aiden Graves

The two of them seemed incompatible at first. They were both extremely career-oriented and neither of them had the time or energy for a relationship, but that sorta worked out in the best way. The beauty of this relationship was the slow burn. They started off as barely acquaintances to a slow but beautiful friendship that turned into love. That slow pace really helped both of them understand the other and really learn to love and care for the other, not despite their quirks but because of them.

Ofc you can't have a book without its beautiful side characters and so honourable mentions go to Zac- Aidan's roommate-turned Vanessa's bestie and Diana her actual best friend who had issues of her own but was ALWAYS there for Van. Then we have the not-so-great side characters that include the dumbass agent, Trevor, Aidan's infuriating teammate Christian *pukes* and the absolute shit-fest of a sister Suzie and her husband.

I won't lie there were parts that had me skipping pages (smut) but that's more to do with personal choice than anything. To end this rave, the book is amazing, and if you love slow burn as much as I do you should definitely try this one out. I cannot tell you how many times I have read this book but the hangover is worth it. You cannot go wrong with Mariana Zapata and you DEFINITELY can't go wrong with Aiden and Vanessa.

Anyway Happy Reading... say hi to Leo for me ;)