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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
I had high hopes for this one, but it's so disappointing to read yet another romance novel with a plus size heroine who is focused on losing weight, "eating clean," etc. Supposedly the message was "love yourself just the way you are" but the whole character arc kind of negates the message. Also Spencer falls kind of flat - he's got all the dreaminess of a fantasy but apparently no wants, needs, hobbies, or friends of his own. Also the number of times she happens to run into her ex is truly absurd.
…So Savvy’s ex is a jerk and Savvy goes on this journey where she tries to revamp her life. There is also an allegedly homeless guy who Savvy starts to have feelings for.
Right from the start, I was like “hmm, I’ve definitely read this plot before.” Buttttt, I always like to hope that something is going to be different. Well, unfortunately, this wasn’t. It just kept getting more and more predictable and overall it ended up feeling quite mediocre. Still, it was still great to read another story about a woman who is learning to love herself. She also had really amazing friends!
Right from the start, I was like “hmm, I’ve definitely read this plot before.” Buttttt, I always like to hope that something is going to be different. Well, unfortunately, this wasn’t. It just kept getting more and more predictable and overall it ended up feeling quite mediocre. Still, it was still great to read another story about a woman who is learning to love herself. She also had really amazing friends!
emotional
funny
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
This book was fun as hell! The protagonist is an absolute delight. Also love the supporting characters. What a great message can’t wait to read more from the author.
emotional
reflective
medium-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
lighthearted
fast-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
Lighthearted and sweet - equal parts romance of falling in love with yourself and with someone else. There were just some issues for me:
1. Joan asks to be called Cotter but the narration continues to refer to her as Joan, without even an explanation of this (is Joan moving towards a non-binary identity & wants a more gender neutral name?) Savvy even introduces her at one point as "this is Joan, but she wants to be called Cotter." Uh yeah so just introduce her as Cotter?Why was this barely-a-subplot necessary?
2. Jason shows up EVERYWHERE. ALL.THE.TIME. It really stretched believability.
3. In Savvy's first yoga class, the instructor was really pushing her to get into a specific expression of a pose. No no no, especially not for a first time student. Then later, the yoga teacher gives lip service to making the practice your own & doing poses as works for your body - which IS proper yoga coaching but completely contradicts what she did to Savvy before.
4. Savvy said at the beginning of her "revenge body" plan that it wasn't scale focused, just getting strong and active. But later when bemoaning her not seeing changes in her body, Savvy refers to not seeing changes on the scale.
5. Have you seen a trend with "hockey romance" books? This could be a tennis romance. The in-depth descriptions of her tennis training felt like filler.
1. Joan asks to be called Cotter but the narration continues to refer to her as Joan, without even an explanation of this (is Joan moving towards a non-binary identity & wants a more gender neutral name?) Savvy even introduces her at one point as "this is Joan, but she wants to be called Cotter." Uh yeah so just introduce her as Cotter?Why was this barely-a-subplot necessary?
2. Jason shows up EVERYWHERE. ALL.THE.TIME. It really stretched believability.
3. In Savvy's first yoga class, the instructor was really pushing her to get into a specific expression of a pose. No no no, especially not for a first time student. Then later, the yoga teacher gives lip service to making the practice your own & doing poses as works for your body - which IS proper yoga coaching but completely contradicts what she did to Savvy before.
4. Savvy said at the beginning of her "revenge body" plan that it wasn't scale focused, just getting strong and active. But later when bemoaning her not seeing changes in her body, Savvy refers to not seeing changes on the scale.
5. Have you seen a trend with "hockey romance" books? This could be a tennis romance. The in-depth descriptions of her tennis training felt like filler.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming
This book was an easy read, but honestly...i struggled. The breakup speech, the obsession with the revenge body, the assumption a man is HOMELESS because he is in construction and a little dirty (honestly, I don't get this part of the storyline) and the way said man actively pursues the FMC after finding out she thought he was homeless - you know, after she's shouted she doesn't have money at him on the street and told him that using the local coffee shop as an office made a lot of sense because he can use the bathroom sinks to freshen up - blows my mind. Additionally I HATED the way the MMC called her Ms Sheldon. Are you for real?! No thank you.
Bright side: the female relationships in this book were heartwarming and enviable. Do relationships like this exist in real life?! Everyone deserves friendship like the one Savvy has with her girls. Additionally, all the description of food had my mouth watering.
I could def see this book being difficult for those with an eating disorder, body dysmorphia or otherwise struggle with their confidence/body image. The obsession to describe the FMC's body was a little strange. I get it, we all have some sort of inner dialogue surrounding our body but this was a hyper fixation and made me uncomfortable.
I was looking forward to read this but ended up disappointed. I didn’t know why the main character was ever with her ex for years. Then she embarks on a “health” (weight loss) journey. It’s a little too “my man left me so now I’m gonna work on myself and become the best me possible.” It seemed dated to me.
Savvy Sheldon Feels Good As Hell was a wonderful start to my year of reading. It’s full of wonderful food descriptions, self-growth, and healthy romance. At first, I was worried because a lot of the book was focused on losing weight for a “revenge body” but it got better as Savvy realized that a revenge body wasn’t what was going to make her happy. It was more that other people’s words had affected her in a way that made her feel like that was what she needed to do. In retrospect, I can see that that is a more realistic response and probably how I would respond as well, but it definitely made me weary in the beginning.
Though that depiction made me weary it opened the door for so much character growth. Savvy really starts to accidentally feel more confident as she becomes healthier and makes an active effort to love herself and find her passions. In the end, it was really nice to be able to see so much character growth from Savvy. I absolutely love how she began to follow her passion for cooking. And for no one but herself. So comforting!
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Though that depiction made me weary it opened the door for so much character growth. Savvy really starts to accidentally feel more confident as she becomes healthier and makes an active effort to love herself and find her passions. In the end, it was really nice to be able to see so much character growth from Savvy. I absolutely love how she began to follow her passion for cooking. And for no one but herself. So comforting!
Bookish Brews | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook
inspiring
medium-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
It was ok
This read more like a novel to me, nit so much a romance. There is sex and dating, but there is also a big lifestyle change for the heroine. There is a lot of career talk, family talk, multiple pages in a row of her working out. It just didn't feel like a romance.
This read more like a novel to me, nit so much a romance. There is sex and dating, but there is also a big lifestyle change for the heroine. There is a lot of career talk, family talk, multiple pages in a row of her working out. It just didn't feel like a romance.