Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

49 reviews

meridith_bex's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-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


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bookobsessedmommy's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Trigger warning for fat phobia! So this book is about a fat girl who becomes "the batchelorette" on a reality TV show and tries to find love. I'm generally not a big fan of reality TV, but I wanted to give it a shot after liking the True Love Experiment so much. As a general rule of thumb, I avoid internet comments like the Plague, so when the commentary about the shows decision to cast her was so disgusting and vitriolic, I was sick to my stomach. I know this probably an accurate portrayal and I get that the author wants to shock us with the sad reality of how shitty we treat fat people as rule of thumb, but I nearly DNF'd the book. It almost felt like horror if that makes any sense. The most intense hatred directed towards Bea is in the beginning of the book, so once I got past that, I really enjoyed the story. I spent a ton of time yelling at Bea, but I enjoyed following the her journey and couldn't wait to see what happened next. Some of the twists and turns were predictable, others came completel out of left field, but I was still on the edge of my seat for the resolution. I like all the different types of media you get in the audiobook, going between text threads, emails, blogs, and podcasts. Really fun touch.
I loved seeing Ace/aro rep as well!
I would try another book by this author, but I'll be wary of trigger warnings.


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sefrahudman's review

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

This book was so good! It was funny and had me laughing out loud so many times. It pulled all the heart strings and made me miss when I used to watch the Bachelor. Only complaint was there was a bit more swearing than I wanted, but over super entertaining book!

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ginadapooh's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-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? Yes

4.0


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notsobinaryart's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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anwolf213's review

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25


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ohheyitskaitlin's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-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? Yes

4.0


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rileymc_queen's review

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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chl0e's review

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challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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katsbooks's review

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

“No, Beatrice, it's the hardest thing in the world. To have been that hurt, to feel that afraid, and to know that the only way you can be really, fully happy is to risk going through it all again.”

 I really enjoyed the fat representation in this book. It's literally the reason I picked it up and, on that front, it didn't disappoint. I felt like I connected with the main character in a lot of ways. As someone who also navigates the world in a plus-size body, I found it refreshing to see the insecurities and fears that I've represented in a main character. That being said, it could also make it a little hard to read for me. Throughout the book, there are a lot of fatphobic comments and narratives. They are used to show the hateful things the main character goes through but some of them were incredibly triggering for me. I almost DNF'd the whole thing at one point because I had enough of a reaction to one of the "articles'' that were included as a response to Bea's announcement as the next "Main Squeeze." So if you are sensitive to explicit and derogatory fatphobia, please don't read this. I wish I would have seen a more sincere trigger warning for it before I dove in. While I didn't love experiencing the fatphobia, I did really love every clapback to it. It was so satisfying to hear someone say everything I wish I could in moments like those. Overall, this was a fun, flirty read with good commentary on the fatphobia in the media and fashion industries. My rating has more to do with that I've never been a huge fan of any kind of "The Bachelor"-esque TV. While this book was definitely entertaining, I realized that what I think I don't like about these types of shows is how a person can go from one date to another while all these people are vying for their love. Everytime I imagine myself in that kind of situation, I can't help but feel... I don't know, second-hand guilt? I've never been one to date more than one person even casually so I don't love the whole set-up. That being said, no shade to anyone that does. I definitely get the draw. My dating preferences are mine alone, obviously. If you're looking for something on the lighter, romantic side, this is a decent choice. 

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