Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - One to Watch

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

51 reviews

micaelamariem's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

I was so excited for this book. As someone who, though I’m not plus sized, struggled with body image and low self esteem my whole life, I was ecstatic at the idea of a badass plus sized women taking the reins to prove that bigger women are beautiful and deserving of love, too (just like any body type is!). What I got instead was a main character who was similarly full of self-hatred and constantly believing that no one could truly love her, despite constant evidence to the contrary.
Now, having been hurt in the past, I can totally understand Bea’s outlook and her journey to discovering self-love was in itself a beautiful theme. However, I don’t think this was how the book was advertised and it’s not something I was prepared for. I wanted, like I said, the unwavering confidence and body positivity to help inspire me in my own struggles. So I think part of the issue is just the book being different from my expectations and that influenced my enjoyment.
Plus, Bea was a bit insufferable at times. I get it was her journey to self love but each page being “he couldn’t possibly be attracted to someone like me” was so repetitive, boring, and annoying.
And I would have also loved more male body diversity in this. It felt a bit hateful to me that Bea’s first thought was “well a heavier man I could settle for” when all bodies are beautiful!!
I did love the creativity of adding in interviews, blogs, podcasts, and messages. It created a mixed media novel and if the novel was just told in these forms, that would’ve been super fun and I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more.
But as we have it, it was hard for me to get behind because it differed from my expectations and honestly, I didn’t like the MC. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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leligavi's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

2.0

I was listening to a new book podcast and she recommended this book and I couldn't help myself. The Bachelorette is like a guilty pleasure. But to have it in book form is EVEN better!
I did enjoy this book. However, there were a lot of things I didn't love about this book.
I will say however, that one of the main criticisms of this book is not one I agree with. I don't think that Bea was overly insecure or untrusting. I feel like her feelings were totally realistic and I really could empathize with her. I mean, that would be a hard situation to be in when you're dating 25 different "Adonis" type men and being plus-sized and hearing EVERYONE'S thoughts about it. And then on top of that, having to parse through your insecurities and inner thoughts. I mean, I could only imagine.
I did see who she ended up with from the beginning, but I liked it nonetheless.

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meridith_bex's review against another edition

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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 against another edition

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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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