Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - One to Watch

I started this one on audio but quickly switched over to the physical because it had a lot of mixed media type things in it: texting threads, podcast transcript, magazine articles, blog posts, etc. I liked all of that stuff but it was way easier to read than listen to!

I'll be the first to admit that I don't watch any of the Bachelor franchise and don't really get it, but I really enjoyed this book's take on it and seeing all of the behind the scenes stuff. The dates were fun and it never felt repetitive which I was worried about.

I truly loved the personal growth Bea had throughout the story. She was stubborn but let her loved ones in to guide her and was just a completely different person by the end of the journey.

There were so many side characters I loved. Sam was just adorable, Asher and his kids had my heart, and Bea's family was just hilarious but so supportive.

The ending was perfection and made me so happy. Overall I enjoyed this one much more than I thought I would and I'm glad I read it!

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imds's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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hannahgjenson's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective tense 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

I enjoyed this book! It really helped me out of my reading slump. I love to hate watch the Bachelor/ette and other dating shows, so I enjoyed reading about what a more diverse version would look like and how it would still be complicated (but is still absolutely necessary). I thought it was really fun, but there were also some heart wrenching moments that were hard to read. My two main issues were that some of the characters did a couple that seemed out of character/random and that most of the twists and the ending were easily predictable, but that could also be because I know how these type of shows work since I watch a lot of them. I also liked how it was uniquely written, as it was not only told through third person POV but also uses podcast transcripts, social media comments, magazine articles, and other devices to tell the story.

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izzyf16's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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jackiepreston's review against another edition

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emotional 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

3.75

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outtoexist's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

This. Was. Awful. I mean, really. First off, there is no reason a book about a fat chick being on the bachelorette needs to be more than 400 pages long. ESPECIALLY given that it is fade to black style - no spicy scenes here! Now for more specific complaints...

I feel like the main character calling out Gone With The Wind as her favorite romance novel is white bullshit bordering on a dog whistle. I mean, all I've ever heard about that book is how racist it is. Maybe that is generational, but this book is also SO heavy handed on gen Z phrases. You can't have it both ways.

In addition to the dog whistle, the race of individuals was exclusively mentioned when it mattered in a Diversity sense. This was partly due to the authors overarching difficulty describing ANYONE, at all. But it felt especially jarring when it came to people races not being mentioned at all until ideal moments for the white gaze.

I read 432 pages about a fat woman, and the whole book centered on her weight and her relationship with it, and I can not picture her. She was described as fat, obviously, but fat is not a body shape... She was described as wearing a belt for the "illusion of a waist" which gives a bit of an image... But beyond that? She was said to have dimpled thighs which MOST cis women do... And nothing else. I couldn't picture her body which was the MAIN POINT of the book!!

It was just overall not well written. It needed another pass from an editor. It was too long, WAY too long. There was a point where someone cut another person off, like interrupted them... In a chat room. Which is impossible, obviously.

For being a book about how fat women deserve to be on the bachelorette too (they do) she literally got dumped by EVERY MAN but one, who was the too-young puppy dog!

I've no clue how this book got so popular, it was painful to read and I walked away completely unsure of why I was supposed to care.

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jenny_librarian's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

It started all right, but halfway through it went down in giant flames that make me say only two things: romance is a waste of time, and men are absolute trash.

The number one reason I rated this so low is the arophobia. Listen, I understand that many romance novels will have some level of amatonormativity. It's fine, I prepare myself beforehand. I thought this one would be better, because I heard about the aroace rep (which isn't as much rep as it is one of the guys figuring out he's aroace and being kicked off the show that very week, despite being one of only two viable choices at that point...). It's not. The entire book is filled with little digs that will make any romantic person feel like absolute shit. And when I say filled, I mean it's almost on every single page!
And that's not counting the acephobia that is just as present. Bea herself, the very chapter after being completely fine with one of the guys coming out as aroace (probably because she didn't have feelings for him) freaks out and believes none of the guys love her because two of them refused -- with VERY VALID REASONS -- to spend the night. That part alone destroyed all the good the small bit of rep could have done.

As I said, it started well enough. Up to midpoint, I was ready to give this a 4 stars -- with heavy TW. But it turns out that every single man (except one) she kept past that midway point was absolutely awful.

Luc is such a stereotype that I feel bad for French people. He's also the only pansexual character... whom the author also made sleep with everyone. Again, what could have been good rep completely obliterated by shitty plot points.
Asher is jealous and was horrible to her every single time anything happened with another guy. Dude, you can't be possessive on a freaking romance TV reality show! Huge red flag
And let's not even talk about Ray.

The only guy she had chemistry and a truly good relationship with, she let go because... they never argue?

The straights are not okay.

It's a shame that it was such a shitshow because there was some really good commentary about fat women and the way society treats them. The main character was realistic and I was really rooting for her, up to the moment it just dissolved into garbage.

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charmainelim's review against another edition

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inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

Full review here: http://www.charmainelim.com/2021/02/01/january-2021-wrap-up/

My second read of the year and it’s a 4.5 star book?? I actually gave a romance book this rating wow.

While I still would never call myself a romance reader, I think think this book made me appreciate the genre more. Without a doubt, I can only pick up romances that have deeper plotlines than just “will they get together at the end?” because we all know they will. I like having something more substantial to the story, something that really shows me more of who the characters are beyond each others’ love interests.

I’m glad I picked this up.

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