Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - Spoiler Alert

Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

203 reviews

courtney__bernard's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

4.0

This was such a cute, fast and spicy read! I really enjoyed that the characters had developed a friendship with each other before their official meet-cute. Marcus seemed to be a bundle of nervous energy at all times which, honestly same. The inclusion of fanfiction seemed genuine and like the author was part of the community and really understood what it is people love about ao3.

A very refreshing romance book where April stands up for herself and demands the love that she deserves not in spite of her size but because she is a wonderful person who deserves to be loved no matter what. The spicy scenes were also really good, not too graphic but gives you the descriptions you want to see or hear in my case.

The author handles family dynamics with class and doesn't fall into the trope that you must love your parents because they are your parents even when they hurt you. Boundaries are important in every aspect of your life and to see two characters navigate that relationship change is a wonderful change. Forgiving people for what they have done in the past is great but that does not mean you should allow them to continue hurting you, I loved to see healthy relationships outside the main relationship.

The audiobook narrator Isabelle Ruther is great, she was able to bring the characters to life and felt like they were real people. She also had a quick pace so I didn't have to do my typical 2x the speed, so really enjoyed that as well.

🌶️ Spice Meter 🌶️ : 4 out of 5 Peppers

Final Thoughts: Overall this was a cute, quick, fluffy read and I enjoyed myself and the scenes. A good amount of spice helped move the plot along and was not there just to be there.

TW: Body shaming, Fatphobia

Content Warnings

aesantiago's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

bookwyrm_roo's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

"Honestly, if she hadn't begun to like him so much, she would find his excessive handsomeness extremely aggravating."

What it's about:
April is a plus-sized geologist who spends her spare time cosplaying, reading and writing fanfiction for her favourite book series turned TV series, 'Gods of the Gates' (a thinly veiled 'Game of Thrones' reference).

Marcus is the hunky lead actor in 'Gods of the Gates' who to all the world appears to be a complete himbo. In his free time, he has taken to writing fanfiction to channel his frustrations with how the show-runners deviate from the source material and contradict characterisation.

When Marcus is tagged in a Twitter thread of April's cosplay get-up by a man body shaming her, Marcus comes to her public defence and invites her on a date in an attempt to prove to the trolls and haters that April is not unattractive. Here, Marcus discovers April's fanfic penname and realises that she is his anonymous fandom bestie and beta-reader. Of course, instead of confessing his secret fandom identity to her he conceals it but continues to date her, giving us one of the main conflicts of the novel.

Themes present in this story include:

Marcus feels stifled by his public persona but afraid to let the real him show
Body-shaming and body-positivity, April's past experiences dating as a fat woman and her insecurities and fatphobia within fandom
Toxic parenting and strained parent/child relations - Marcus' parents are snobby & pretentious, ashamed of his lack of academic achievement and dyslexia; April's father is embarrassed by her size and her mother constantly undermines April and body-shames her
Dual POV from both Marcus and April
Marcus concealing their previous connection from April while pursuing a relationship with her

"I'm not looking to be fixed. I want to be loved and liked and desired not because of my size, not despite my size, but because I'm ME. My character, my choices, my words."

What I thought:

My first time reading a book by Olivia Dade and I enjoyed it enough that I now have most of the other things she's written on my wishlist!
There were fanfic self-insert vibes, but I felt it was a well-written one and, perhaps due to being a lover of fanfic, I didn't mind it.
I related to April's insecurities regarding letting the nerdier aspects of her personality and interests show at work and other non-fandom places.
I was glad that Marcus was called out on how unfair and uneven his knowing April's online persona and their prior friendship and keeping this from her was, this wasn't glossed over and was treated as the massive betrayal and manipulation it absolutely is.
Enjoyed the supporting cast of characters, although I do agree with previous reviewers that an actor in a major franchise happily admitting he writes pegging fanfic about said franchise (Marcus' colleague who jumps into the fanfic scene after Marcus confides in him) requires some suspension of disbelief because it does seem very unlikely!
The Red Riding Hood role-play was seriously cringe and unsexy, glad that ended there!

"If those lines in the script contradicted seasons' worth of character development, not to mention the books that had inspired the series, he wouldn't dwell on that. Not now."

Content Warnings

tropicalpanda's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I thought this book was so cute. It’s still my favorite in the series thus far (as of writing this on 10/25/22). I think Marcus is just so likeable, and I couldn’t help but root for him at every single turn. I do wish that the book had less of a focus on the fatphobia April faced, but I also understand that that’s the reality of life for fat people, especially those that present feminine. Definitely recommend if you are a part of online fandom and fan fiction, or if you want a sweet romance with fat and disabled rep

Content Warnings

fbzcab's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

Content Warnings

sam_maree's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

A happy ending romance, a definite comfort read. Plus size women with confidence and shy handsome actor. Lovable and funny story and characters.

Content Warnings

reading_historical_romance's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

owlphabetical's review against another edition

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funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Content Warnings

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

2.75

Content Warnings

luckyonesoph's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.5

It was... okay. I let the tropes drag me into reading this - I'll give pretty much every celebrity/non-celebrity romance a chance - but I don't think I would have picked it up had I read reviews.

What I liked: How online/fandom relationships were treated as the real friendships and, the infusion of science into a romance (though this disappears about halfway through), how the effects paparazzi/social media were included but not overexaggerated, how learning disabilities are taken seriously, the smut.

What I'm 'meh' about: the alternating povs (I'm usually not a fan, but in this book, it's needed and it works), the inclusion of fanfiction from the book's universe (after the first few chapters, I skimmed/skipped most of it).

What I didn't like:

Marcus was too perfect. His flaws were not even real flaws.
The author clearly puts April on a pedestal and most of the novel is written as if nothing she does is wrong/misguided. I haven't figured out how to articulate it yet, but it's like she's allowed to be human and make mistakes or misunderstand or miscommunicate, but no one else is. I get that the author wanted to make this a fairytale story specifically for fat people - as she should! - but being oppressed doesn't suddenly make your moral code superior. That's the message I got at times. I loved April the most in non-romance scenes.
The heavy emphasis on child trauma dictating adult actions. Obviously it does, but it seemed like every interaction between Marcus and April was the product of their relationships with their respective shitty parents. Not every little gesture needs to have a backstory - it can just be personality.

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