The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata is an engaging, slow-burn, marriage of convenience romance. It's a sports story that doesn't dwell too much on sports, or require the reader to find sportsball interesting (thank goodness). It's also a book that takes work seriously. The effort hero Aiden has to put in to stay in shape for his job as a pro football player is given more attention than the effort heroine Vanessa has to put in to build her graphic design business, but there is at least an acknowledgment that building a business requires dedication.
At the beginning of the action Vanessa is quitting her job as Aiden's personal assistant (really chef, housekeeper, social media manager, and personal assistant) so she can focus on her graphic design work. Aiden tracks her down and begs her to stay, then asks her to be his green card wife. (He's Canadian. Also a huge football star who is filthy rich. He would not have any problem getting citizenship, or at least staying in the US. But that's a quibble.) They marry. And etc.
My main issue with the book is that I was worried about Vanessa for most of it. Aiden doesn't really speak. He's more of a grunter. This means that for the two years Vanessa worked for him he communicated with her minimally. After they marry he speaks more -- meaning once a week or so he will throw a sentence at her. This is enough to win her heart.
I was worried about Vanessa because the thing about people who don't communicate is that it is really easy to project onto them what you want them to be. What does she know about Aiden? Is he a smart guy who prefers his own thoughts to communicating with the outside world, or is he dumb as a rock and has no thoughts? Who knows? Is he shy? Morose? Snobby? Unhappy? Maybe intellectually disabled in some way (post-concussive syndrome, maybe)?
It turns out Aiden is smart, morose, and . . . I dunno, not really unhappy, just too focused on his career to ever talk to people, but that deep, deep, deep down inside he has a heart of gold and loves puppy dogs. To which I say: Vanessa got lucky that he's not a serial killer.
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