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emmareadseverything's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
If you’re looking for a lighthearted romance where you’ll like absolutely zero of the characters, I’ve found the book for you!
In all honesty, I found Bea insufferable. She didn’t act like an adult and had a tendency to get hung up on the shittiest of men. I found this book so frustrating. I was rushing to finish it, not because I wanted to see what happened, but because I wanted it to be over.
Plus, it isn’t even steamy! What the hell.
I do appreciate the realistic dynamics surrounding body image. As frustrating as Bea was, she had a lot of realistic moments.
In all honesty, I found Bea insufferable. She didn’t act like an adult and had a tendency to get hung up on the shittiest of men. I found this book so frustrating. I was rushing to finish it, not because I wanted to see what happened, but because I wanted it to be over.
Plus, it isn’t even steamy! What the hell.
I do appreciate the realistic dynamics surrounding body image. As frustrating as Bea was, she had a lot of realistic moments.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Bullying
my_weird_bookish_heart's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, and Fatphobia
saramarinho's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I have some mixed feelings about this book.
Although it is entertaining, easy to read, with a very simple writing style and an interesting plot, I feel like it came short of its full potential.
Maybe I was expecting something different, I don't know, something more and it didn't deliver.
There were a few scenes that felt so rushed, moments that seemed to go by in a couple of phrases just to speed things up. Almost like ticking a list of things to do, or places to see.
But I also enjoyed a few aspects of the story. Bea is a loveable character, quite relatable, even though her insecurities by the end of the book get frustrating as you read her thoughts, because they don't seem to make any sense by then.
Marin is the best friend we all want to have. The romantic dates and all the clichés are a bit too much of exactly that, clichés... But at the same time they can be quite dreamy so I suppose it depends on your mood when you read it. 🙃
Some of the plot twists were quite surprising! But the ending was obvious and regardless of it we still root for how things end and get all giddy and excited.
Overall it's a nice read, a very light one and an easy book that at the same time conveys a strong, positive and important message about body image.
Although it is entertaining, easy to read, with a very simple writing style and an interesting plot, I feel like it came short of its full potential.
Maybe I was expecting something different, I don't know, something more and it didn't deliver.
There were a few scenes that felt so rushed, moments that seemed to go by in a couple of phrases just to speed things up. Almost like ticking a list of things to do, or places to see.
But I also enjoyed a few aspects of the story. Bea is a loveable character, quite relatable, even though her insecurities by the end of the book get frustrating as you read her thoughts, because they don't seem to make any sense by then.
Marin is the best friend we all want to have. The romantic dates and all the clichés are a bit too much of exactly that, clichés... But at the same time they can be quite dreamy so I suppose it depends on your mood when you read it. 🙃
Some of the plot twists were quite surprising! But the ending was obvious and regardless of it we still root for how things end and get all giddy and excited.
Overall it's a nice read, a very light one and an easy book that at the same time conveys a strong, positive and important message about body image.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Toxic friendship
cherryufos's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
It was okay. It started out pretty good; I love that the main character was plus-sized and I also enjoy the fun little article type of writing in some parts.
What put me off was I wasn’t the biggest fan of how Bea acted especially towards the middle and end of the book. I understand the difficulties of being plus size as I am myself. It can be hard to live in a society with judgement that some have for plus size bodies and I totally agreed with it in the beginning! But the issue got worst throughout the book, I felt it stayed negative and that no positive things were happening for the heroine. She wasn’t like the brave person she was in the beginning. Even the ending was lacking in my opinion. She eventually got with a man who was, in my opinion, kind of rude and had jealousy issues and not to mentioned he walked out on her. I felt she could do better.
All in all, I feel as though the negative tone of the book and how it never seemed to get better really dug up some of my own insecurities sometimes which I wasn’t a fan of. So if you deal with body issues, maybe be careful of reading this book.
It has its good parts in some aspects and it’s an easy read otherwise but I wouldn’t recommend.
What put me off was
All in all, I feel as though the negative tone of the book and how it never seemed to get better really dug up some of my own insecurities sometimes which I wasn’t a fan of. So if you deal with body issues, maybe be careful of reading this book.
It has its good parts in some aspects and it’s an easy read otherwise but I wouldn’t recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, and Fatphobia
readwithde's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Plus-sized fashion blogger becomes the next "bachelorette" for a reality dating series; what could go wrong?
When I first heard about One to Watch, I was both intrigued and scared: would it be inspiring or another fakeout for this plus-sized reader? I was so scared of it belittling the main issue for the sake of romance that I waited nearly a year to read it, but I'm so glad I gave it a chance.
It takes a special book for me to read it in 3 days or less, but I finished One to Watch in just over a day, less than 30 hrs. Everything was so real, so down to earth; nothing was whitewashed or covered up. Though I initially felt disconnected to Bea, I grew to love and understand her.
Her relationships with the guys was all secondary to me; the real story was the growth each character made in order to be more of themselves, to lean into their unique identity and own that, which is still a needed and relevant topic, even in this highly tolerant era.
The book showcased diversity in race (white, asian, french, black), sexuality (aro/ace, non-binary, bi, lesbian) and sex positivity, social dynamics (farmers, lawyers, coaches, bloggers, celebrities, teachers, doctors), and obviously size.
The story handles all of this with grace and sensitivity and reality, which you wouldn't expect from a romance/rom-com novel based on the premise of a Bachelor-esque reality show. This book challenged me and suprised me, and I hope to become a brave and accepting of my body and identity as Bea became with hers.
When I first heard about One to Watch, I was both intrigued and scared: would it be inspiring or another fakeout for this plus-sized reader? I was so scared of it belittling the main issue for the sake of romance that I waited nearly a year to read it, but I'm so glad I gave it a chance.
It takes a special book for me to read it in 3 days or less, but I finished One to Watch in just over a day, less than 30 hrs. Everything was so real, so down to earth; nothing was whitewashed or covered up. Though I initially felt disconnected to Bea, I grew to love and understand her.
Her relationships with the guys was all secondary to me; the real story was the growth each character made in order to be more of themselves, to lean into their unique identity and own that, which is still a needed and relevant topic, even in this highly tolerant era.
The book showcased diversity in race (white, asian, french, black), sexuality (aro/ace, non-binary, bi, lesbian) and sex positivity, social dynamics (farmers, lawyers, coaches, bloggers, celebrities, teachers, doctors), and obviously size.
The story handles all of this with grace and sensitivity and reality, which you wouldn't expect from a romance/rom-com novel based on the premise of a Bachelor-esque reality show. This book challenged me and suprised me, and I hope to become a brave and accepting of my body and identity as Bea became with hers.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Sexual content
lucyhargrave's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Body shaming and Bullying
Minor: Gaslighting, Infidelity, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
reads2cope's review against another edition
2.0
I found this book repetitive and dull except for when it was triggering (infidelity, intense bullying, online harassment, and more) or unbelievable (the main character hurting/shaming other women while being portrayed as a feminist icon, the way some minority characters were written, the whole Morocco trip, and many of the podcast or fake articles)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
expressivekim's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I had super high expectations for this book, and went into it wanting it to be a new favorite. However, I found it really hard to get into the love story when the main character spent most of the book lamenting on how men couldn't love her because of her size, feeling uncomfortable in her own body, and watching her be thrown into impossibly tone-deaf scenarios by a straight-sized character. I hated that the producer ended the book in a positive relationship with Bea. The sleeping around aside, it always felt like she was manipulative and it never was properly addressed .
I did really like Bea as a character. I thought she was funny and smart and relatable outside of the hatred she had for her fatness. I feel like as a fat person, I spend so much of my day having to navigate a fat-phobic world, and it was kind of triggering to read a book that so blatantly forced fat-phobia into your face. In those moments, the book went from a fun and relaxing read to something that required work and actively checking myself for negative thoughts. I personally would've rather seen an unapologetic plus size character and not had intensely triggering vitriol be thrown in. Although I respect the book that was written and can see why the author wanted to write it that way, in the very least the book description could've provided a warning about how intense the anti-fat rhetoric is for a lot of the book, both for the main character internally and for the wider plot.
Overall, the book was well written and it has a lot of cute moments. It holds up as a rom-com, and I did like how it ended. I think the intentions were good in the "learning to love yourself" and "being fat isn't bad" pieces of the plot, but ultimately it just wasn't what I was hoping to find when I picked this up. This would be better suited to someone straight sized trying to understand what it's like to live in a fat body, or a fat person who is just starting their journey into acceptance and self-love. For a person who had put in the work to love themselves and push back against fatphobia - this won't be a fun, lighthearted read.
I did really like Bea as a character. I thought she was funny and smart and relatable outside of the hatred she had for her fatness. I feel like as a fat person, I spend so much of my day having to navigate a fat-phobic world, and it was kind of triggering to read a book that so blatantly forced fat-phobia into your face. In those moments, the book went from a fun and relaxing read to something that required work and actively checking myself for negative thoughts. I personally would've rather seen an unapologetic plus size character and not had intensely triggering vitriol be thrown in. Although I respect the book that was written and can see why the author wanted to write it that way, in the very least the book description could've provided a warning about how intense the anti-fat rhetoric is for a lot of the book, both for the main character internally and for the wider plot.
Overall, the book was well written and it has a lot of cute moments. It holds up as a rom-com, and I did like how it ended. I think the intentions were good in the "learning to love yourself" and "being fat isn't bad" pieces of the plot, but ultimately it just wasn't what I was hoping to find when I picked this up. This would be better suited to someone straight sized trying to understand what it's like to live in a fat body, or a fat person who is just starting their journey into acceptance and self-love. For a person who had put in the work to love themselves and push back against fatphobia - this won't be a fun, lighthearted read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
housefullofbooks_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Bullying
oliviabriscoe's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Misogyny, Body shaming, Bullying, and Fatphobia