The Wall of Winnipeg and Me: From the author of the sensational TikTok hit, FROM LUKOV WITH LOVE, and the queen of the slow-burn romance!

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By the way, the said phrase with that godawful bird is disgusting. No offence, my English speaking friends, but the equivalent phrase in my native language does sound slightly better (literal translation: dust oneself with ashes)].

Yet here I was, doing the things that drove me nuts and putting my dreams off for another day, and another day, and another day . . .

Possible Triggers: Yes other reader informed me that there was emotional and physical abuse by her family (it’s been ~5 years since I read so I don’t remember) I’ve had my issues with MZ’s books. She’s got a habit of writing female protagonists whose only flaw is how insecure they are about their strengths. Which, imo, is lazy writing. What are you afraid of? Do you think we won’t like your heroines if you give them real flaws? Also, even though the pace of the story is slow, it doesn't feel slow. Something about the way Zapata writes makes it seem like really big stuff is happeneing during really small moments - because it is. It's almost like you have to earn it in Zapata's books. And, like anything in life, the things you earn are the things you appreciate the most. And you seriously appreciate this love story by the time you get to end.

I swear, this dialogue was so good but I didn't like the scene at all! 😭 Like, that scene was so boring??? i liked how their relationship evolved, it was the slowest slowburn but i didn’t really mind it to be honest. i don’t know how mariana zapata did it, but i knew exactly what aiden thought the entire time without needing his pov. he was supportive and so protective oh my god i need aiden graves in my life 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨this was it! I WAS DONE WITH IT THAT SHE KEPT ON TALKING ABOUT HIS BODY IN EACH CHAPTER! So what If he eats a serving for 4 people? It's his money, his food!

AIDEN. Gotta love assholes. You see, I have a thing for the big jerks who redeem themselves by the end of the book, especially if they are the brooding, grumpy and uncommunicative types. Aiden is a perfect combination of all of the above.The Vanessa who was fifteen and older had felt a different emotion for so long: anger. Anger at my mom’s selfishness. Anger at her for not being able to clean her act up until years after we’d been taken away from her. Anger for being let down for so long, time and time again. So yeah, if you like very slow-burn romance, sexual tension, (almost) no sex, relationships between the boss and the assistant, tough on the outside but soft on the inside heroes, confident heroines, and golden retriever puppies, then you will (hopefully) like The Wall of Winnipeg and Me. And none of those physical traits helped me in any way. Hot guys weren’t going to make my dreams come true. That was why I hadn’t actually gone through with it and told Aiden “Sayonara, big boy” on the eighty different occasions my brain had told me to.

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Mariana Zapata and ALL her books. And when the audiobooks came out for each of her books, I totally fan-girled over Callie Dalton (the narrator from the original version). Callie Dalton could easily AND convincingly portray all the characters - Trevor, Zach, Vanessa, the neighbor lady and her kids, etc. I'd be so immersed in the story, I'd be oblivious to anything else. I was nervous. Quitting a well-paying job—a steady one, at least while Aiden had a career—was scary. But that excuse was getting older and older. Sadness level: Low/moderate. It has an unrequited love feel, so I did get a little teary at times for that -- but no tissues needed. The expression on his face was like he was torn between being okay with the idea and being completely against it.As a heroine, Vanessa was also very personable. She was easy to relate to and I connected with her right away. She was a strong heroine, while not coming across as aggressive or heartless. Her character was perfectly balanced and really rounded out Aiden's personality. I tried to love it, I swear I did, BUT this book was so painfully slow and it was a pure torture reading it! I gave it equal time as I give to other books, but IT TOOK ME approx 3 DAYS TO FINISH IT 💀and I think I'm in a slump! This book had the ability to piss me off so much and yet at the end, I couldn't care less about the cute scenes! 🙂 Overall Opinion: This was ok. I know I'm the minority here, but I didn't find their connection all that moving. I honestly felt like it was one sided through the whole story and I just didn't get the swooning feeling that I think I was supposed to feel when he finally confessed his love at the end. I didn't find him all that likeable either. I wouldn't say that she was a doormat (thank goodness), but she definitely needs to be nominated for sainthood with all the crap she dealt with. With all of that and the fact that it was super slow, I would call this a "just ok" 3 stars.