One to Watch

TEST

The pitch for this book was enough to make me one-click it immediately: a plus-sized fashionista becomes the next contestant on a fictional Bachelorette franchise. Done. I’m in. Thanks for playing, I’ll be reading this in one sitting.

And boy, did I. It’s frothy and fun and one hundred and forty-five percent the perfect book for a Saturday afternoon during These Times in which finding something to completely absorb my attention is a challenge. The plot, by the way, follows the premise – Bea Schumacher is a fashion influencer who also happens to be a witty writer and a plus-sized lady. When she takes her favorite show, Main Squeeze, to task on her blog for the lack of diversity in casting, the show’s new producer calls her bluff and casts her as the lead.

She agrees so she can help inspire other women and make little girls see that women who look like her deserve love and can be a princess and all the other tropes the show trips through on its way to a staged engagement. The show agrees to protect her, but–you knew this was coming–she and we learn quickly that they think having her first date be in a bathing suit on national television is safe and fun.

It’s painful a few times – some of the men they cast are jagwagons – but in a real way that affirmed the book was taking Bea and this plot seriously. We get gossip blogs, text message conversations, and other elements that make the book feel grounded in 2020 and yet delightfully fanciful. I’m approximately the same body size as Bea describes herself and I found so much of her internal commentary accurate to the point where I thought someone had been stealing my diary.

I inhaled this book and if any part of my review has piqued your interest, I think you will, too.

Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent bookstore

Visit our Amazon Storefront

Reviewed by Kristen Donnelly

Grade: A+

Sensuality: Kisses

Review Date: 01/08/20

Publication Date: 07/2020

Recent Comments …

  1. excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.

Voracious reader, with a preference for sassy romances and happily ever afters. In a relationship with coffee, seeing whiskey on the side.

guest

16 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
nblibgirl
nblibgirl
Guest
10/27/2020 8:01 pm

Finished this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m not TV watcher, much less a reality TV fan, but really enjoyed the world Stayman-London created for Bea. She did a fabulous job of creating credible characters throughout, and I found the combination of social media/TV/fashion details interesting. But mostly I just really liked spending time with Bea.

It is not a perfect book for me, however. The HEA is too rushed, for lack of a better description.

I was right there with the author the whole way with everything; and fully expected Bea and Asher to find their way to each other, somehow. But it happens in a single conversation, on literally the last 3-4 pages of the book. And Asher's excuse for not speaking to Bea for 6 weeks is exactly the same one Ray gave her . . . ? I guess I needed a little more substantive in the end.

Net: one of the best contemporary romances I’ve read in a long time.

AlwaysReading
AlwaysReading
Guest
09/27/2020 7:09 am

Loved this book! It was such a treat to read about a plus-size woman as the main character of a reality tv show – fingers crossed that this actually happens in the future! I also love her interactions with her best friend and the contestants vying for her attention. I would have liked the book to have spent more time on the central couple however, and I wish that the main character was more confident in herself and in her ability to find real love. The fat-shaming that occurs in this book can also be a little difficult to read.

Lisa Fernandes
Lisa Fernandes
Guest
08/03/2020 3:14 pm

I’d considered picking this one up but was put off a little bit by the blurb. Will pick it up at the library sometime soon!

Maggie Boyd
Maggie Boyd
Guest
Reply to  Lisa Fernandes
08/05/2020 7:34 am

I’ve got it on hold at the library.

KesterGayle
KesterGayle
Guest
08/02/2020 8:13 pm

About what size is the heroine? I’m really tired of ‘plus-sized’ heroines who are a size 14. That woman can still buy clothes in nearly every store in America; she may not be slim, but she’s hardly plus-size. As someone who has been a size 28 for decades, I look for heroines who are at least a size 20, who might need to shop at specialty stores, who may need seal-belt extenders, that sort of thing. I’d love a romance for that girl, where she gets the hottest, nicest guy in the room to fall in love with her because she’s amazing, and he thinks she’s beautiful inside and out. Any chance this heroine is in that category?

Kristen Donnelly
Kristen Donnelly
Guest
Reply to  KesterGayle
08/03/2020 8:40 am

If I remember correctly, she’s 18-22 and talks about that and how she still experiences size privilege. She definitely shops at specialty stores, but I can’t remember if she used an exact number and I’ve passed my copy onto a friend! I’m sorry I can’t provide more details on that!

KesterGayle
KesterGayle
Guest
Reply to  Kristen Donnelly
08/03/2020 8:43 am

Thanks! At least she’s not a size 14, which seems to be the upper limit in plus-size romance. It sounds good, I’ll probably take a chance on it.

Dabney Grinnan
Dabney Grinnan
Admin
Reply to  KesterGayle
08/03/2020 8:55 am

Sizing in the US is so damn random anyway. It’s nuts.

KitBee
KitBee
Guest
Reply to  KesterGayle
08/04/2020 2:41 pm

I specifically remember the heroine mentioning that she used a seatbelt extender on airplanes. So, definitely in the actual plus-sized category. I don’t think she ever mentions an actual size, but I (a US size 22/24) found her very relatable, if that helps!

nblibgirl
nblibgirl
Guest
Reply to  KesterGayle
10/27/2020 7:39 pm

Just finished reading this weekend and Bea describes herself as “medium-plus”. I’m not sure how that translates to sizes in stores . . .

CarolineAAR
CarolineAAR
Guest
Reply to  nblibgirl
12/09/2020 8:38 pm

At one point Bea specifically criticizes stores for carrying up to 14-16 and calling that “plus” when it is actually average, so she is definitely above that. I don’t think we get a specific number.

I just glommed this today and really enjoyed it. Thanks for the review!

Lynda X
Lynda X
Guest
08/01/2020 1:38 pm

$12.95 for the Kindle! Probably too rich for my purse!

EMILY WITTMANN
EMILY WITTMANN
Guest
08/01/2020 12:23 pm

Wow! A+?!?!
I’ve heard the audio is also excellent. Tempted to listen to it.

Elaine S
Elaine S
Guest
08/01/2020 7:22 am

Just wondered, Kristen, is there actually a romance in the storyline? Is there an HEA? I found your review very enticing except that I am not sure if the book is a romance or not as you don’t allude to one.

Kristen Donnelly
Kristen Donnelly
Guest
Reply to  Elaine S
08/01/2020 8:05 am

Yup! It’s got a lovely HEA and she finds love with a fella she never expected to find it with. Bit of an enemies to lovers vibe, but not fully.

Dabney Grinnan
Dabney Grinnan
Admin
Reply to  Elaine S
08/01/2020 8:32 am

In general, if it’s not a romance, the book type will reflect that. So, if this hadn’t had a romance, it would have been categorized as women’s fiction rather than contemporary romance.