so, this by far is the most enjoyable Zapata I've read. I wish I had had an eBook version (but I refused to buy it so listened on Hoopla) because so much of the first 1/2 of this is skimmable. There is so much repetitive phrasing and scads of exposition that I, as a reader, just find distracting and not necessary. Listening to this is great if you have a million free hours or are on a long, uninterrupted road trip and need a long listen. BUT I could take a red pen and cut at least 1/3 of this and the story would not change.

That said, I did enjoy the romance between Aidan (The Wall/Big Guy) and Vanessa (Van/Vannie). The are definitely two idiots but I do enjoy a taciturn, exasperated man so getting the glimpses of Aidan as he marries and lives with Vanessa was a lot of fun. The puppy was really sweet, but lord jesus I could have used a few more horny moments. Something. Anything.

This is heavier in content too - Vanessa has a ton of childhood trauma, and her family is awful and still harming her emotionally and physically. Her best friend is also going through domestic abuse. YET Vanessa thinks it is hilarious when a fan grabs Aidan's ass during a selfie; gal, that's assault. Just the balance of all this felt a bit off to me. Also, for a green card marriage, this is akin to CLo's [b:Roomies|34466910|Roomies|Christina Lauren|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492478146l/34466910._SY75_.jpg|55586991] where a lot of white privilege is on display (Aidan is white, from Canada, and playing football).

All that said this story did sweep me away while I was commuting, it kept me on my toes a bit, i just don't find this book super romance-y in the way i like to read romance usually. glad i gave it a try, looking forward to discussing with my book club.