The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Trigger warnings include physical and emotional parental abuse, child neglect and abandonment, and intimate partner abuse. You can also read my review of From Lukov with Love on my blog, here.

Once again, I had been putting off reading this book for a little over a year, but I am back and in the mood for a sports romance to add to my 2022 reads before the year comes to an end. I honestly did not know much about this book before I started it, besides the few excerpts I had seen on TikTok videos that kept reminding me that I needed to read this book.

To my very happy surprise, the main trope of The Wall of Winnipeg and Me had me absolutely thrilled. I love a grumpy and sunshine relationship, and with Vanessa and Aiden, we get to see Aiden as this total grump that slowly shows his soft side while Vanessa is always nice until she decides to stand up for herself and switches over to being more confrontational. I am an absolute sucker for fake-relationship or marriage-of-convenience books, and Zapata really knocked it out of the park with this one.

The way that Vanessa and Aiden defend each other from other people, especially when the other is not around, was so great to see because you could literally feel the tension on the pages. In the beginning of the book, Aiden barely speaks to anyone or Vanessa unless it's a head nod or three-word sentences, but then we get to see him give these long backstories about his past and speeches of him defending her to anyone that looks at Vanessa the wrong way.

Trevor and Christian are so incredibly annoying that every time that their names showed up on the page, I had to force myself to stop rolling my eyes into the back of my head. The only thing they brought to the story was a number of problems or arguments and insults that left me more agitated than before the popped up again. And do not even get me started on Vanessa's sister, Susie, and Vanessa's mother -- probably some of the most despicable characters I have ever come across, and I have read a lot of mafia romance books with some truly nasty characters.

This woman LOVES her food-themed nicknames, I simply cannot escape them in both of the books I have read by her so far. Meatball. Muffin. Dinner Roll. The list is never-ending. There are a ton of fun little moments between Vanessa and Aiden, and the friendship that Vanessa and Zac has really adds to the story, because you see the effortlessness of joking they have with each other compared to the build up that Vanessa and Aiden have to work toward to get to that level.

The modern day references were kept to a minimum in this book, and I was so grateful for it. Zapata used a decent amount of references in From Lukov with Love, and I was glad to see that this was much more toned down. I really did enjoy the dynamics between everyone in the book, and how Zapata was able to depict various types of relationships without dragging out certain aspects or turning them into major cliches.

If you are looking for a slow-burn, sports romance, this is definitely the book for you. Fans of The Deal by Elle Kennedy will graduate to Zapata's books and a more cohesive storyline following adults instead of college students. It is always so refreshing to see sports romance books following people in their twenties and thirties instead of being a nineteen-year-old hockey player in their first year of college.

You can add The Wall of Winnipeg and Me on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata Review

 

This is a spoiler-free review! A list of trigger warnings can be found here.

I finally caved in and read this book -- I have been putting it off for over two years, but it's approaching winter and after a recent re-watch of Spinning Out on Netflix, I figured now is the best time to dive into a figure skating romance. It is also so refreshing to find a romance book with adults in their twenties that is able to be developed and follow that slow-burn build up. People were absolutely not lying when they said this was a slow-burn, and don't be surprised if it takes literally hundreds of pages for anything to happen between the main characters.

Jasmine's family dynamic is very relaxed and they all get along with each other relatively well, and are involved in each other's lives. It was nice to see a supportive family behind her, especially with such a demanding sport taking up her time. I cannot stand her father and nothing that he says or does will ever make up for the way that he talks to her. Her best friend happens to be Ivan's sister, and I really enjoyed the way that she -- even briefly -- would be a voice of wisdom for the both of them.

Ivan sulks so much, I'm surprised he hasn't frozen in place. Meatball is hands down the worst nickname that I have ever heard and I genuinely wished that he cut that out at any time during the book. However, he does have some redeeming qualities that don't completely make him a nuisance, and his banter -- or straight-up arguing -- with Jasmine is entertaining to say the least. He definitely grew on me by the end of the book, and he showed a ton of character development that I was hoping he would gain.

Watching Jasmine and Ivan's skating relationship develop was very cute and satisfying. You see their obvious tension and clear frustration with each other in the beginning, but you also see how other people are rooting for them to be a great pair. Ivan inserts himself a lot into Jasmine's personal life, and I think it added a lot to their relationship and made Jasmine trust him a lot more than she originally did.

If you're a sucker for the she's-sick-and-he-takes-care-of-her trope, you are in for a treat. I was kicking my legs and giggling the entire time and loved every minute of it, especially because it lasts multiple chapters and is not just brushed over. Jasmine and Ivan have a ton of fun banter, but there are some points where I was not loving what Ivan would say to Jasmine. I understand that they had their little feud, but some of the things he said or made comments on felt like they were crossing a line.

Sometimes the writing was giving hardcore Wattpad vibes, dangerously on the side of me wanting to put the book down, especially when I realized that Jasmine was not a 19-year-old, but instead 26-years-old. It took me back on the way the narration was reading, but the writing improved after the first few chapters and you will fall in sync with the way that Jasmine thinks.

I wish that Zapata had included more chapters or at least discussion on certain aspects -- Jasmine's falling out and hatred towards Paul, and her issues with people on social media. A lot of the times that either of these were brought up, it felt brushed over and only talked about for a few pages before the discussion changed or we were in a new chapter.

I would recommend this book to people looking for a true slow burn where the romance does not come into play until you are deep into the book. It's a great combination of plot-driven work with a romance subplot.

You can add From Lukov with Love on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!