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

Title: The Wall of Winnipeg and Me

Author:Mariana Zapata

Pub. Date: February 28th 2016

Genre: Sports Romance

Run Time: 16 Hours

Format: Audiobook

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It’s safe to say I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of romance & I have ZERO regrets! Mariana Zapata is an author I’ve been hearing about for quite some time on Booktube & on Bookstagram. Some have dubbed her the Queen of Slow Burn. This being my first book by this author, I can’t really say if I agree but if the others are anything like The Wall of Winnipeg and Me then it’s a well earned title. This was slow burn to the max & I was HOOKED till the very last page! We start off with our MC Vanessa who is an assistant/cook/EVERYTHING to the popular football player Aiden Graves. She’s been working for him for two years & for those two years she’s pretty much felt invisible. Nevertheless, it paid the bills & helped her get back on track with debt reduction/savings. It was time to consider leaving the job now that she’d accomplished her goal. It was also time to focus more on her freelance graphic design gig. However, It was once she quit that Aiden had no other choice but to speak up. It was time for Aiden Graves to get his assistant back. The one he’d ignored on birthdays & every other morning. Of course there’s also a reason why he needs Vanessa back but that turns into so much more as the story unfolds and this is a spoiler free review 😉

This was my first Romance audiobook & I’ll admit I was a bit hesitant on quality. I was overjoyed when I realized that I was really getting into the story & MC Vanessa. 10/10 performance, in my opinion the narrator was the perfect fit for Vanessa. We don’t get a big cast of characters here which only allowed for A+ character development on behalf of our MC. I did wish we’d gotten a bit more of a fleshed out backstory on Aiden to start with as opposed to it being dished out at the very end. With Vanessa we get a female lead who has had a very toxic abusive relationship with her siblings & has pretty much distanced herself. She’s very much on her own making wiser money moves to get out of debt & working for Aiden was a means to an end. Still, it was hard not to be bothered by the fact that he made her feel invisible on a daily basis. We see her get back her power when Aiden goes looking for her with an offer. He’s in a difficult situation (it would be spoilery to mention the specifics) & he doesn’t trust very many people but Vanessa has never really been invisible to him no matter what appearances he gave off. Their interactions are limited until after she quits but Vanessa isn’t without a friend in the house. Zach who is Aiden’s roommate is by far a new favorite side character. He’s got this Southern charm & is all around a respectful fun loving guy who proves to be the friend Vanessa needed. I’d LOVE to read a story centered around Zach *a gal can dream* who made me smile whenever he walked into their fictional kitchen.

This is the type of story you pick up if you don’t mind the all powerful slow burn to the max. I definitely had moments where I just wanted these two to face their feelings for one another ASAP! but then again a part of me quite enjoyed having it drawn out #noshame Will I be picking up any other of Maria Zapata’s books? ABSOLUTELY! I already have Kulti & From Lukov with Love on deck…