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fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love a good fluffy book. I love a somewhat unrealistic plot line/point in the way I love Hallmark Christmas movies. I love plus size women embracing their bodies, their sexuality, and being worshipped by their significant others. I thought this book would be a slam dunk, but alas, it was not.
The first half of this story was amazing. Getting to meet the large Kingston family and Trixie & her chickens, was so much fun and set up a fantastic cast of characters for the rest of the story. I loved the friction between Chris wanting to share his feelings for Trixie happening at the same time she needs to fake date him. The flirting, banter, and tension between the two was everything. And the quirky bits about the rooster, Trixie's hidden hamper in the closet, and Kingston family game nights were fun.
The second half of this story, though, was almost unreadable. I had to turn the speed faster on my audiobook, otherwise I would have DNF'd. There are ranty spoilers ahead. I've numbered them to break up my rants by scene (6 in total)
1. This fan club about her mom that included all of Trixie's exes was beyond bizarre, especially when it's revealed that it's all taking place through YouTube.
2. The confrontation at the picnic was terrible.
3. I cannot for the life of me understand the entire locker room scene. From Chris' weirdly aggressive reaction to finding out Trixie's a virgin to him initiating her first time against a bunch of lockers, it was so out of place with the characters we had gotten to know. Chris loves Trixie, obviously, and is incredibly attracted towards her, but why the heck would he not want a better experience for Trixie? And on top of that, he just found out about this disgusting misogynistic "fan club" and thought, huh, I should take her virginity right where everyone can hear and possibly see, as if that's not feeding into the thought that getting Trixie to sleep with someone was the ultimate "prize". If he's that possessive of her, he would never want this moment to be shared. And if Trixie didn't like that their first kiss was shared with so many people when it should have been private, why would she randomly agree that semi-public sex (especially her first time) is fine. Also if she's been bullied about her mom being a p*rnstar, and she still had open wounds from that with her exes, there's absolutely no way she would be comfortable "performing" with an audience, even if they are behind closed doors. This didn't feel at all empowering. It felt absolutely ridiculous.
4. What happened with the award Trixie won? Her creepy boss was gross and misogynistic about it, then Trixie fought back (which is a scene I loved), but then it's just never discussed again. Why was he never reported? Even the end with him fired for using her computer for inappropriate things felt unsatisfying. He was horrible to Trixie, discriminated against her, and sexually harassed her. Then he fires her and she decides she wants a different career, so we're all supposed to be like well it's fine about the reward and the harassment and the discrimination because she doesn't want to work there anymore. Ridiculous.
5. Do not even get me STARTED on this press conference. Holy hell. What was that???? It wasn't ridiculous in a lol that wouldn't happen in real life but I kind of love it. It was ridiculous in a way that gave me the ick x 100000, and once again made no sense with the character personalities we had at the beginning of the book. They have a whole family meeting and then decide to just go in front of the press and be like yeah we're not ashamed, also I'm going to propose in front of you vultures after imploring you to not care about the sex tape, but instead embrace it, even though I've already acknowledged there's actually 0 chance they do that.
6. Speaking of the tape, what sex tape of a celeb just gets permanently removed from the internet? Literally none. The fact it was up for like an hour and then all traces of it went away? Please.
Overall, I'm just incredibly disappointed by this book. I really do not enjoy rating fat rep in romance low, but I really can't justify anything higher. This was my first Amy Award book and at this point, I'm not sure I could give another one a chance.
If you're looking for good plus size romance rep with quirky characters, I highly recommend the Spoiler Alert series by Olivia Dade and the Brown Sisters trilogy by Talia Hibbert. All 4-5 star reads. You won't be disappointed.
The first half of this story was amazing. Getting to meet the large Kingston family and Trixie & her chickens, was so much fun and set up a fantastic cast of characters for the rest of the story. I loved the friction between Chris wanting to share his feelings for Trixie happening at the same time she needs to fake date him. The flirting, banter, and tension between the two was everything. And the quirky bits about the rooster, Trixie's hidden hamper in the closet, and Kingston family game nights were fun.
The second half of this story, though, was almost unreadable. I had to turn the speed faster on my audiobook, otherwise I would have DNF'd. There are ranty spoilers ahead. I've numbered them to break up my rants by scene (6 in total)
1. This fan club about her mom that included all of Trixie's exes was beyond bizarre, especially when it's revealed that it's all taking place through YouTube.
2. The confrontation at the picnic was terrible.
3. I cannot for the life of me understand the entire locker room scene. From Chris' weirdly aggressive reaction to finding out Trixie's a virgin to him initiating her first time against a bunch of lockers, it was so out of place with the characters we had gotten to know. Chris loves Trixie, obviously, and is incredibly attracted towards her, but why the heck would he not want a better experience for Trixie? And on top of that, he just found out about this disgusting misogynistic "fan club" and thought, huh, I should take her virginity right where everyone can hear and possibly see, as if that's not feeding into the thought that getting Trixie to sleep with someone was the ultimate "prize". If he's that possessive of her, he would never want this moment to be shared. And if Trixie didn't like that their first kiss was shared with so many people when it should have been private, why would she randomly agree that semi-public sex (especially her first time) is fine. Also if she's been bullied about her mom being a p*rnstar, and she still had open wounds from that with her exes, there's absolutely no way she would be comfortable "performing" with an audience, even if they are behind closed doors. This didn't feel at all empowering. It felt absolutely ridiculous.
4. What happened with the award Trixie won? Her creepy boss was gross and misogynistic about it, then Trixie fought back (which is a scene I loved), but then it's just never discussed again. Why was he never reported? Even the end with him fired for using her computer for inappropriate things felt unsatisfying. He was horrible to Trixie, discriminated against her, and sexually harassed her. Then he fires her and she decides she wants a different career, so we're all supposed to be like well it's fine about the reward and the harassment and the discrimination because she doesn't want to work there anymore. Ridiculous.
5. Do not even get me STARTED on this press conference. Holy hell. What was that???? It wasn't ridiculous in a lol that wouldn't happen in real life but I kind of love it. It was ridiculous in a way that gave me the ick x 100000, and once again made no sense with the character personalities we had at the beginning of the book. They have a whole family meeting and then decide to just go in front of the press and be like yeah we're not ashamed, also I'm going to propose in front of you vultures after imploring you to not care about the sex tape, but instead embrace it, even though I've already acknowledged there's actually 0 chance they do that.
6. Speaking of the tape, what sex tape of a celeb just gets permanently removed from the internet? Literally none. The fact it was up for like an hour and then all traces of it went away? Please.
Overall, I'm just incredibly disappointed by this book. I really do not enjoy rating fat rep in romance low, but I really can't justify anything higher. This was my first Amy Award book and at this point, I'm not sure I could give another one a chance.
If you're looking for good plus size romance rep with quirky characters, I highly recommend the Spoiler Alert series by Olivia Dade and the Brown Sisters trilogy by Talia Hibbert. All 4-5 star reads. You won't be disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment
Minor: Eating disorder
Sweet and spicy with a message. And it made me laugh multiple times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia
Moderate: Eating disorder, Death of parent
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Sexual assault
The sexual assault in the novel involves the main characters having revenge p*rn posted of them online. There is no sexual assault between the two main love interests.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Death of parent, Sexual harassment
Minor: Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, Sexual content
Moderate: Stalking, Death of parent, Sexual harassment
Minor: Eating disorder, Alcohol
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm giving it not five stars as it's one of the most amazing books I've ever read, but rather for what it was it deserves five stars. It's precisely what you might expect, sweet wholesomeness, character growth and a bit of cheeky humor. And precisely what I needed to read with the world the way it is right now. Both main characters have insecurities and flaws, there's miscommunication they need to work past and some beautifully healing moments both for the characters and for a reader who's ever had any sort of weight issue, fat or not. The author does give a trigger warning for where in the book this happens so people for whom it might be too much can skip without missing too much of the plot. The cast of supporting characters is also pretty diverse in personality and pursuits, including a really lovely sapphic couple. I will say I wish there were BIPOC characters included. Eager to read more by this author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Sexual harassment
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is one of those books I took far too long to write my review so I don’t have a lot of particulars to talk about, but I still have plenty of impressions I am left with a month later. Also, since this was an audiobook read I don’t have notes and/or highlights of passages and may not remember all of the content warnings I wanted to give.
This story takes place in a world of “romance reasons” and needs a healthy dose of suspended disbelief. That’s not a bad thing, just something to know going in if you’re into a bit more realism with your sports romances. Not only does Chris play football for the local professional football team, but so do a couple of his brothers. All on the same team living on the same street, with more brothers down the line who also play. His dad is a famous college football coach who also lives on the same street with his siblings who are still in high school and college. It’s a great setup for the romance reasons I mentioned before, but not believable even in the slightest.
When it comes to Chris and Trixie, I enjoyed their relationship. Chris has always had a thing for Trixie (and she for him) but she never saw herself as the star-quarterback arm candy type due to her internalized fatphobia and the bullying she received growing up. There was also a misunderstanding which led Chris to believe he would never exit the friend zone with Trixie. So there’s a lot of skirting around their real attraction as they set off on a fake relationship that quickly turns way too real.
Although this book wasn’t deep, it was a great first in the series to set the tone for the rest of the brothers (and sister) to find their HEAs. The chemistry between Chris and Trixie was good, the banter with the brothers was excellent, and the couple found an HEA that worked for them both. It did its job of making me curious to continue to the next book. Some of the antics were over the top, like it was trying too hard to earn the romantic comedy classification, but I’ll take that over the thousands of books labeled romcom that have nary a smile to be had.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia
Moderate: Misogyny, Stalking, Sexual harassment
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“The C*ck Down the Block” 🐓 I wanted something light-hearted but still spicy and the reviews said this series was a must. One the names of the books are hilarious! (There is a cock - it’s a rooster, get your mind out of the gutter but then dive back in.) The Cocky Kingsmen series by @amyawardbooks is very spicy, feel-good love stories what I call smutty “hallmark” stories. Love that the MMC was obsessed and in love with our curvy, plus size heroine forever (wish he would have told her sooner but wouldn’t be angst without the years of longing). There’s great humor in this series, and the unique upbringing of our FMC in this book really highlights that women should be allowed to be sexy, enjoy what makes them happy without being degraded or objectified.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia
Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder
The FMC was bullied in high school and has to go back to her 10 year high school reunion. The bully is still at it, but the FMC is confident in herself now!
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Honestly I had to give this 5 stars for getting me to like a childhood friends to lovers book. Bea is a librarian who has a chicken named Luke and a best friend named Chris. Chris is a NFL football player who has been in love with Bea since they were twelve. After asking her out at graduation and getting rejected he has kept it friendly but when Bea needs a fake date to her high school reunion, this could be his chance to get her to fall for him. This is a hilarious banter filled romance about taking chances, being upfront and honest, and appreciating what you have!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria