The Wall of Winnipeg and Me: A Novel

Reviews

1. 

   Jeeves Reads Romance – August 13, 2024

   LOVED it
   I finally took the plunge, and this absolutely lives up to the hype – I ADORED it! This one’s for those readers who have the patience to follow little breadcrumbs scattered throughout the story, tiny moments of romance that slowly (SLOWLY) build into something truly beautiful. I loved that build in intimacy, the steps that this couple takes along the way. If you look at the contrasts between their relationship at the start of the book and where they end up by the final page, the emotional payoff is definitely there. It just felt so incredibly romantic, and my heart was bursting at the seams. We only get the heroine’s perspective, but I really felt like I knew (and loved) our hero by the end – he’s such an interesting character, and he certainly had me swooning once he got his head out of his… you know.The story follows Vanessa, a woman who can’t wait to quit her job. It’s not that she hates her boss, but she’s ready to dive into a career that she actually loves, and his moodiness has only gotten worse in the months since he suffered an injury. Aiden’s whole life is centered around his sports career, and Vanessa once admired his commitment. But now Vanessa sees how self-centered and selfish Aiden is, and that means she doesn’t feel bad about leaving. Surely he won’t even miss her. But that’s not quite how things go, and it’s not long before Vanessa is seeing her former boss in an entirely new light. As Aiden and Vanessa’s relationship evolves throughout the course of the following months, they grow closer than either would’ve anticipated.I don’t want to give away all of the great developments in this slow-burning romance if you’ve still got it on your TBR, just know that I LOVED how the story progressed. It’s got a few twists and turns that surprised me, and I’m so glad that I was able to avoid most spoilers. Aiden ended up being SUCH a great character, and the story was more fulfilling because of his evolution throughout. Vanessa evolves too, and I so appreciated that she finds her confidence along the way. There are some fantastic moments between them, and I’m grateful that their relationship was front and center throughout the entire story. Yes, sometimes the slow burn was painfully, torturously slow, but the romance is central to nearly every interaction. It’s all important. I can certainly see the influence of this story on many of the books I’ve loved in the years since it came out, so I’m really happy that I finally made the time to read this. I’m going to have to read more vintage Zapata now too, lol. If you’re a reader who loves quiet moments between characters, trying to puzzle out the hero’s inner thoughts/feelings, and watching a couple slowly make their way towards each other, then this is a powerhouse of a read.Audio note: Eh, the audio was fine. Audiobooks have come a long way since this was released, and it shows. The story is also told exclusively from Vanessa’s point of view, so we only get a single narrator. Callie Dalton is not one of my favorite narrators, but I’ve gotten used to her voice over time, so I didn’t have any trouble listening to her. Her voice is soft and somewhat relaxing, which is good for a book as long as this one. I wanted to soak up every moment of Aiden and Vanessa’s interactions, so I did not speed up the pace at all and I ended up switching to the text version whenever I really wanted to absorb something. That’s just how I read. So it took a full two days for me to read this, but it was well worth the time I spent with these characters. The overall vibe and slow-burning romance worked perfectly for an office setting, especially the first day. There is a little bit of steam, but it takes hundreds of pages to get there, lol. Yeah, not kidding. So the audiobook helped make the reading experience a little less cumbersome, and I was able to seamlessly transition to the ebook once I was fully immersed in the story.

2. 

   Malinda – August 13, 2024

   Really good slow-build romance 😀
   4-4.5 starsThis was a really good story. I liked Vanessa and Aiden and their story was very enjoyable. I will agree with previous reviewers, this is a very slow build romance….as in they don’t actually get together until the last 5% of the book.Vanessa was working as an assistant to Aiden but quits at the beginning of the story to start the career she went to college for, graphic design. She grew up with a neglectful alcoholic mother and never knew who her father was. Her older sisters were abusive at best and Vanessa grew up taking care of her younger brother until they all got taken by child services and she and her brother got put into the same foster home. Vanessa has kept in touch with her brother regularly and occasionally talks to her mother but she doesn’t have anything to do with her sisters if at all possible.Aiden is an extremely talented football player for a professional football team. He’s been playing since he was a kid and the game is his whole focus. Aiden grew up with abusive parents and only escaped it in his teens when his grandparents took over raising him. He’s rather hard to reach emotionally and doesn’t like many people. Most People annoy him so Aiden saying that someone doesn’t annoy him is actually high praise. Aiden doesn’t date…at all.Vanessa had been working as Aiden’s assistant for the last 2 years in order to save up money for her to quit and do her graphic design work full time. While she was working for him, she was also building her business so she’d have a customer base to help her out. Although Aiden is rather laconic, Vanessa has always cared about him and was a loyal employee so she had a bit of a hard time telling him she was quitting but some jerky behavior by Aiden’s agent (that she sees Aiden being part of) pushes her to quit. She doesn’t see Aiden for weeks when he shows up at her apartment, trying to get her to come back to work for him. She tells him no but he keeps coming back. Eventually, he comes up with a reason for her to fake a marriage with him (which doesn’t really play an important part in the story other than the reason for their marriage) and offers the right incentive for her to agree to this arrangement. Vanessa does agree but just to the marriage and not to working for him.Vanessa isn’t sure what to expect when she moves in with and then marries Aiden. He never gave much of an indication that he cared one way or the other about her when she worked for him and that makes it rather difficult for them to figure out how to handle each other. Aiden’s relationship issues show early in their arrangement and it causes some problems between Vanessa and Aiden. It takes some time but Aiden does come around and starts showing Vanessa she matters to him as well. They slowly become friends and find they have more common ground than they thought. There is a mutual attraction that builds between them but since the story is from Vanessa’s PoV, we don’t really know how much there is on Aiden’s side until later. Unfortunately, not wanting to ruin their friendship and make the arrangement more difficult causes Vanessa (and I guess Aiden as well) to keep her newly developing feelings to herself. It takes some time but Vanessa and Aiden are able to get past their issues and realize they’re meant for each other, ending the story with a well deserved HEA together.This was a really enjoyable story. I liked Vanessa as a heroine…she was smart and genuine and someone I think I’d really like in RL. Aiden was hard to understand, especially at first, but he ended up being much more likeable once he came out of his shell. I was a bit frustrated with how slow the relationship build of this story was. I liked it but I wish there had been more time of them together and happy in the book. Still, there was a very nice epilogue that shows them happily together a few years down the road so that helped. Overall, I found this story to be really good with likable characters. I’d recommend this story. :D* note – I listened to the audio version of this book and the narrator did a great job.

3. 

   Esther Ruth Nalubowa – August 13, 2024

   Mariana will never go wrong

4. 

   RFZ – August 13, 2024

   Lo compré para mi sobrina devoradora de libros y le gustó mucho.

5. 

   lubax – August 13, 2024

   Letto prima edizione italiana due volte e acquistato poi anche edizione in inglese una bella storia che fa stare bene il cuore