Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - The Fastest Way to Fall

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

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laurenlimabean's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

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ariana_m's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring lighthearted slow-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

5.0

I loved this book so much! This book radiated comfort vibes. It's a romcom that also tackles very serious topics. I think it was balanced out well. I loved Wes and Britta so much. Their dynamic is so cute. The banter between the two of them was so nice. The slow burn between them was everything. It's a friends to lovers/forced proximity/workplace romance. I didn't even realize this book was friends to lovers until I was almost done lol. It wasn't boring at all. The overall plot of the story was really good too. I loved seeing other characters from previous books. I also loved how every single character's role had significance. In my opinion there weren't really any "side characters" because each character added and contributed to the plot. The literal only complaint I have is that I own the physical book and the font size was a bit too small lol. Overall I loved this book so much. This is can definitely fall into the category of comfort books. I don't know how to describe it but it felt like a comfort read. I highly recommend.

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kimib79's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad 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

4.0

I hate all the cussing, but I loved the premise. It made me cry twice. Nothing groundbreaking, but what I wanted at the time

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jennp28'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? Yes

5.0

Really enjoyed this one! Spicy slow burn romance with great, honest body positivity representation.

I really appreciated that

Wes doesn’t accompany her over the finish line at the end to “save” her - he just reminds her that she is strong enough on her own.

And I love the goal she accomplishes at the end!

Also enjoyed both the narrators in this dual-POV story.

Content Warnings

kayleigh_reads_romance's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

This book was everything I wanted to to be and more even more than I needed! I will forever read everything that Denise Williams writes (and especially listen if Teddy Hamilton narrates!) The fat representation was great and even the 'weight loss' app, which I was a bit worried about if I am honest, was more about loving your body as it is and being healthier than just the numbers on a scale.

The side characters were good. I did find Britta's friends to be a bit one note, there were too many of them and they weren't fleshed out enough, but I loved Cord and Pearl!

Favourite parts:
-Teddy Hamilton!!! I would listen to this man read an appliance manual, he is that good!
-The fat rep, as a curvy girl myself I love being about to relate to a character
-The author puts trigger warnings at the beginning of the book!!! All authors need to do this!

Thoughts:

-Love everything Denise Williams writes!
-Not a huge fan of the thrird act break up but it works
-MMC is an attentive listener but doesn't always stand up for FMC when it comes to her being fat shamed, especially by his ex-girlfriend
-New book about Cord and Pearl coming late 2023! I love her! She doesn't put up with bulls***

Content Warnings

sarah_thebooknerd's review against another edition

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funny hopeful 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? No

5.0

5 ⭐️
1.5 🌶️

This is a book I never realized I needed.

Fat rep: amazing! I loved that this book shows a fat FMC who isn’t interested in losing weight but wants to feel good in her body in terms of exercise and food.

The slow burn was amazing and the build to the relationship was incredible. Wes is top tier book boyfriend material. The way he loved Britta was everything. Britta is funny and was so relatable to me and I felt so seen with this book and where I am at with my body image and wanting to move my body and all the questions you get as a plus sized person about what your weight loss goals are when you do love your body vs just exercising like everyone else. This quote is perfect.

“Like, if you're fat, exercise has to be this big statement instead of something you do like everyone else."

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