Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - The Fastest Way to Fall

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams

5 reviews

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Rating: 5/5 stars

Britta begins a writing project about a fitness app called FitMi—only to unexpectedly fall for her coach (and FitMi CEO) Wes.

Let me start off this review by saying I am a fat woman (and to be clear, “fat” is a descriptor and has nothing to do with my value—owning that the word fat describes me is not me being derogatory about myself in *any* way). And while I absolutely read and love romance novels about people of all sizes and body types, I have to be honest: reading a book where a beautiful and unapologetically fat woman who loves her body not only gets the true love and the HEA but gets it WITH THE HOT MUSCLY FIT GUY?????? This is the book I never knew I always needed and I loved it SO MUCH.

Wes was everything a book boyfriend should be—sweet, caring, supportive, and absolutely in awe of his brilliant beautiful woman without ever batting an eye at her body type. Britta was confident, brave, and owned her (extremely relatable) baggage surrounding her weight. Their story was adorable and swoony and slow-burn and perfect. Honestly I don’t think I have any complaints at all except that it’s over and I never want to stop reading about these two.

To Denise Williams: thank you, SO MUCH, for writing this one.

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: only one bed; he-falls-first; workplace-ish romance

CW: fatphobia/body shaming; addiction/overdose; some misogyny/sexism; eating disorders/body image struggles

Content Warnings

myyam's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

5.0

Content Warnings

bookshelflawyer's review against another edition

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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

3.75

This book had its ups and downs for me, but overall I found it to be delightful. Though there were moments where the cringe showed it’s face, it wasn’t hard to get through and I was glad that I stuck in and finished it.

Pros:

Funny main female character who finds a supportive main male to fall in love with
Interesting supporting characters
Realistic repercussions for actions
Easy read
Spicy scenes

Cons:

Romance a little rough to get behind at first because of the character dynamics
Leans heavy into the whole HAES thing
Ending felt a little rushed, especially getting up to the hill of the conflict

Now, onto discussing the book in a little more detail!

Nothing truly stuck out to me about the writing, for better or worse, but the characters were memorable - even the side characters. This book does seem to be the start in a standalone verse series, so it’s good that the side characters were lovable in this book. It makes the desire to keep up with the series in order to get to their books all the more present. Honestly, I would like to see more with Cord/Pearl and just Mason in general.

Britta and Wes are cute. There does seem to be a bit of instant love going on in the story, which isn’t one of my favorite tropes, but that was easy enough to push aside. The chemistry between them was believable, even with the insta-feeling portion. It was a little disconcerting initially how much Wes seemed willing to disregard his professionalism, being Briggs’s coach. Even knowing this is a romance book and that’s part of the plot, it was off putting at first. That was really the only objection I had to their relationship while reading the book. Maybe if Wes hadn’t been so quick to fall into flirting, it wouldn’t have felt so off, but this is a romance book, so I couldn’t expect too much. It wasn’t a discomfort that stayed necessarily, but let’s say I wasn’t necessarily on Wes’s side when stuff came out and it was an issue.

Britta as a character was fun. She’s funny and confident and she seems to really enjoy life even without a partner. Wes as a character also was perfectly fine. He has his shadows, which become more apparent in the book, and at times he reminds me of a kicked puppy, but he’s cute.

I would have to say one of the things I didn’t like about this book was how it leaned into HAES. Britta seemed to point out constantly when starting the challenge that she wasn’t trying to lose weight, but rather get healthy. Later, the weight loss is acknowledged and it’s fine, but it just felt like overkill to keep saying that. There’s also a moment where characters dislike a food being called a guilty pleasure (because no morality to food and stuff) and it just felt eye-roll inducing. The book seemingly tries hard to keep Britta as the fat character who wants to be fat but also be super active and do these things like a 10k and participate in a fitness program while assuring everyone that she wants to and will stay fat. Without that pushed so hard, I might have been a bit less exasperated.

Overall, the book had some good points and some less than good points. I still found it a worthwhile read and would recommend it to anyone looking for something fun and light.

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mandaraffe's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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

4.5

Content Warnings

thefatpaperback's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

4.5

I overall really enjoyed this book! The characters of Britta and Wes are great, and I loved seeing Britta grow into loving joyful movement. What keeps it from “perfect” 5 stars for me is the focus on Britta’s insecurities. The author writes in her Author’s Note at the beginning of the book (which I encourage you read) that she wanted to show the “choppy waters” of being a fat woman. And I love that, I think it’s great for a lot of readers. I just wanted to see Britta push back a bit at the anti-fatness she encounters, rather than have those moments feed insecurities. As a fat reader, I wanted Britta to get her cake, eat it, and not give a fuck. There’s also still some diet language in the book, as well as moralizing of food.

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