From the Bookshelf of Turning Pages At Midnight…

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me

Mariana Zapata

Start date: March 10, 2016

Finish date: March 31, 2016

Discussion: Buddy Reads

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What Members Thought

Mar 04, 2016 Anne OK rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2016-reads

I was overjoyed and thrilled to finally find this delightful surprise (thanks to Goodreads friends and their recommendations)! Finally, a perfectly balanced sports-themed romance with a substantive storyline and two dynamic protagonists, along with supportive back-up cast and some not-so-nice ones, as well.

In my opinion, the very best part of this book is that it’s character driven and has such a fabulous slow building romance between two absolutely charming and complete opposite individuals. Th ...more

33 likes · Like · see review

Mar 10, 2016 SamJ ★Needs a HEA★ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: theme-friends-to-lovers, theme-opposites-attract, 5-star-reads, theme-awful-parents-of-a-mc, read-2016, genre-contemporary-romance, better-than-5-star-reads, theme-enemies-to-lovers, theme-marriage-of-convenience, heroine-designer

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★Book Basics★

Genre : - Cont. Romance
Series : - Stand Alone
Love triangle? - (view spoiler)
Cheating? - (view spoiler)
HEA? - (view spoiler)
Would I read more by this author/or in this series? - Yes
Rating - 5

★Review★

So I have been on a bit of a Mariana Zapata binge lately.

Not everyone is going to enjoy the slow burn of her book ...more

27 likes · Like · see review

Apr 23, 2016 Sera rated it it was amazing

Shelves: marriage, sports, unputdownable-slump-bump, 6-star-books, go-to-author, funny, friends-gave-it-5-stars, slow-burn

Ahhhh this book! This is a long one, and it is incredibly slow burn romance which I thought might bore or frustrate me but nope it was so good I gobbled it right up and I didn't want it to end the whole time trying to pace myself. The heroine Vanessa OMG she was such a breath of fresh air, not typical in any way and this was me most of the time

And Aidan Graves

I love the strong silent types.
It was just...

This is my first 5 star read in a while and I am planning on making my way through this ...more

19 likes · Like · see review

Aug 26, 2017 Berta rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ku-reads

I. Loved. This. Book.

I am kicking myself for not reading it earlier.
Aiden was quite the big jerk at first and I warmed up to him when he came to Van' s place and showed a smidge of emotion, vulnerability. Of course he didn't beg for anything, he came up with a plan that would get them both what they wanted.

I can't get over how much I felt while reading, especially with it being written in first person. That's not my fave.... but the author did a freaking fabulous job at keeping me obsessed. T ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 03, 2016 Sara rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle, romance

Oh man, I have such conflicted feelings about this one. There was so much good here, but some true head scratchers. I alternated listening to this on audiobook and reading on kindle. I will preface by saying that I enjoyed the reading experience more than the listening experience, and I'll explain why below.

What I Liked:
- Character Development. This is a truly immersive reading experience where every single character is fleshed out to the max. Any personality changes and growth are believable an Oh man, I have such conflicted feelings about this one. There was so much good here, but some true head scratchers. I alternated listening to this on audiobook and reading on kindle. I will preface by saying that I enjoyed the reading experience more than the listening experience, and I'll explain why below.

What I Liked:
- Character Development. This is a truly immersive reading experience where every single character is fleshed out to the max. Any personality changes and growth are believable and explained with thoughtfulness.
- The Slow Burn. As many before me have commented, this is the epitome of a slow burn romance. The way it's written, you really see the nuance of how and why Vanessa and Aiden get together. The evolution of their relationship (and the pace) makes total sense within the context of this book.
- Aiden. He's probably one of my favorite heroes that I've encountered in a long time. I love that there is still a little toughness to him even when you can see that he's falling for Vanessa. He'll still call her out.

What I Didn't Like:
- The Slow Burn. I know I can't have it both ways, but it got a little ridiculous after a while. There's probably 100 pages that could have been cut and the tension would have been the same. While I appreciated the nuance, it got a little crazy - those two dancing around each other, which leads me too...
- Too Much Inner Dialogue. I really liked Vanessa, and appreciate how much we got to know her. But (and this was more evident in the audiobook), there was SO MUCH INNER MONOLOGUE. We heard her say that she was done being Aiden's assistant at least 3 times before actually doing anything about it. There was just a lot of time in the character's head that I felt took away from the story.
- The Chastity(?). So this is a bit spoilery, but one thing about this drove me nuts. (view spoiler)

Bottom Line:
If you looking for an extremely well-written, character driven, sprawling romance, this one will do it for you. Just be prepared to slog through it a bit.

3.75 stars ...more

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Aug 07, 2018 Shan ~A~ rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, artist, books-i-own, favorites, owned-kindle, kindle-unlimited, sports, millionaire-billionaire

Vanessa has been the assistant to Aiden for 2 years saving up money to start her own graphic design business. Now she is finally able to venture out on her own after spending all that time feeling unappreciated.

Not long after she does Aiden makes her a proposition that she can't refuse.

Along the way what had once been indifference evolves to friendship, but that rode is not easy when you are dealing with a person who is set in their ways (Aiden, if you didn't guess), but once he offers it he is ...more

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Oct 10, 2017 Danielle Thomas rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mariana-zapata

Great book. A slow burn romance. The bonds of friendship throughout this novel were fascinating. Well written, well plotted, fully fleshed out and unique characters.

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