on February 29, 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Sports
Narrator: Callie Dalton
Length: 16 Hours
Pages: 673
Format: Audiobook
Vanessa Mazur knows she's doing the right thing. She shouldn't feel bad for quitting. Being an assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to the top defensive end in the National Football Organization was always supposed to be temporary. She has plans and none of them include washing extra-large underwear longer than necessary.
But when Aiden Graves shows up at her door wanting her to come back, she's beyond shocked.
For two years, the man known as The Wall of Winnipeg couldn't find it in him to tell her good morning or congratulate her on her birthday. Now? He's asking for the unthinkable.
What do you say to the man who is used to getting everything he wants?
This is the second book that I have grabbed up by Mariana Zapata and I have to say that I keep admiring this author because of the way she writes slow burn romances….they have become my favorites. I took a lot longer to pick this one up than I wanted to in the beginning, mostly because of the mixed reviews on Goodreads and so I wanted to wait until I was in the mood for this type of story and yeah after reading this one, I still have no idea why I waited so long to actually read this one here. *banging head against wall in shame* because really…..Zapata is a wonderful romance storyteller and I ADORED this book so much. Definitely has become one of my favorites of the year so far.
The premise of this story, may not work for everyone, but it totally worked for me in every way. Vanessa is in high debt to her student loans, and when she snatches up the assistant job to the infamous pro football player “The Wall of Winnipeg” she totally works it because it pays so well and she really needs the money. But after two years of working for Aiden Graves, she is done. She doesn’t feel appreciated, and she wants to build her own business in graphic design. And working for Aiden keeps her too busy and so she quits. But then later, Aiden shows up on her doorstep and proposes a marriage of convenience. At first Vanessa thinks he is joking with her….but he isn’t. He is Candadian and his visa will be up in a year and wants to not go back to Canada. So he wants to marry Vanessa for five years and in return for his “green card” he will pay off her student loans and buy her a house. At first Vanessa refuses, but then she shocks herself into agreeing into this crazy scheme….which could put her in prison if they fail. She just doesn’t understand why Aiden of all men, would want this when he could have any willing woman. But Aiden is private and only has a handful of friends and he doesn’t really like most women, they annoy him. But Aiden likes Vanessa, and he admires her and he enjoys her company but soon their marriage of convenience turns into something more than either of them expected.
Like football and art, like anything that anyone in the world has ever wanted, love was a dream. And just like a dream, there were no assurances behind it. It didn’t grow on its own. It didn’t blossom without food to feed it. It was the greatest in its subtleties. It was the strongest in its selflessness. And it could be forever with someone who wasn’t afraid to never give up on the possibilities it presents
I really had a blast with this book. I grabbed this up through the Audible Romance Package (and yeah I know I rave about this package, but honestly if you haven’t tried it….TRY IT! It has so many goodies). The narrator was brilliant and really brought these characters to life. Its a 16 hour audiobook, so it took me a few days to get through….but what a story this turned out to be. I do have a weakness for football player heroes, and so this book really appealed to me especially since the hero isn’t your average football hero in most romances. In fact, I ADORED his character so much because he is a bit different. He is famous, but he works his butt off for his success. He is one of the best defensive players in the sport. He is huge, has big muscles and works out for hours every day. And he is a vegan…never read a hero that was vegan but it was HOT! Seeing a hero that is so focused on his health was beyond sexy but boy does he eat a ton of food. The heroine is sassy, determined to be successful with her graphic designs, and is pretty creative. I loved how playful she is, and doesn’t take sass. Neither the hero or the heroine, have great families they have come from. They both have had families that have been abusive in the past, so they really have more in common than they realize at first. And yeah the humor is AWESOME…I love the way that talk with each other.
“What if everyone hates me and no one talks to me? What if someone throws something at me?” Aiden snorted, setting the shirt he’d been holding aside and picking up the next one on the pile. “What are they going to throw? Bookmarks?”
Like I mentioned before this is a slow burn romance….when I say slow burn…I mean SLOW. Their romance develops very slowly, but you can see them falling love and how much they care for each other. There are only a few sex scenes towards the end of course, since that is how it works with slow burn romances. But this totally worked for me, because it really made their story so much more real and comes alive with emotion more fully. And when the moment comes that they admit their feelings for each other….my heart just about falls apart with these two. Yeah “burst into tears” type of moment that sneaks up on you and the ending was so perfect and leaves you feeling high on happiness and smiles all around. I honestly’ don’t think I can recommend this book enough.
Home is where you are. I would go anywhere for you if you wanted me there.
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