I've reread Mariana Zapata's The Wall of Winnipeg and Me more times than I could count and I've laughed out loud every single time. This quirky romantic comedy tells the story of Vanessa, the ex-assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to Aiden, the top defensive end of the National Football Organization. For the two years that Vanessa worked for the man known as "The Wall of Winnipeg," he lived and breathed football, leaving no room for common decency or polite human interaction with Vanessa. Now? Now, he’s asking for the unthinkable and she can’t believe she’s actually considering his offer.
Zapata’s fans have crowned her the queen of slow burn romance for a good reason. I've never been able to get into stories that involve insta-love or love at first sight. I love that this author develops romantic relationships based on friendship first. At first, I couldn't help but hate the hero a little bit. He was rude, abrasive, and self-centered. As the story progresses, more and more layers of each character are revealed. I fell in love with Aiden right alongside Vanessa and didn't want their story to end. Zapata is truly talented when it comes to character development.