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happyblkhippie's review against another edition
Ugggh! I really wanted to like this one! I was looking forward to rooting for a positive, uplifting story about a curvy Brown girl MC but this wasnt it sadly. So many things just didn't hit the mark for me. The writing, the pacing, the narrator ( I listened to the audiobook), the characters and character motivation, the dialogue between the characters, the message. It left a lot to be desired. So many things fell short for me. I got to around 33% (Ch. 10) before calling it quits.
Spoiler's below
The narrator and the writing just isn't it for me. The narrator over does the Joanie southern accent in a stereotypical way and the men's voices sound flat, dull, disinterested and don't have any difference to them.
I didn't like the writing style at all. It's like it's overly written in some areas and under written in others. The way some of the secondary characters were written seemed overly dramatiatized. Like the lady at the salon, Savvy's mom, and Joanie.
Savvy's character is written in a way that makes her seem really insecure even for someone who has body and self esteem issues. I get she's a people pleaser but something about it just doesn't seem authentic or maybe just not relatable to me. Joanie's character seems to takes center stage more than Savvy which isn't great. I also didn't love Savvy's motivation for improving her health was for a revenge body and a man iccckk! The inner dialogue writing of comparing herself to everyone else didn't seem authentic either.
The fact that Savvy ignored her sexist, asshole ex's comments multiple times and still wanted to appease and even considered taking him back??! The fact that she immediately assumed Stephen was homeless just because his clothes were a little disshelved and tattered screams privilege to me. Like why was that the first conclusion to jump to without ever asking questions? They saw each other plenty of times to establish that earlier. I understand that it's set in L.A. where homelessness is an unfortunately extremely common thing and was used as a plot point but it wasn't a good one. I just didn't connect with any of the characters. Yeah it's a no for me on many fronts.
Spoiler's below
I didn't like the writing style at all. It's like it's overly written in some areas and under written in others. The way some of the secondary characters were written seemed overly dramatiatized. Like the lady at the salon, Savvy's mom, and Joanie.
Savvy's character is written in a way that makes her seem really insecure even for someone who has body and self esteem issues. I get she's a people pleaser but something about it just doesn't seem authentic or maybe just not relatable to me. Joanie's character seems to takes center stage more than Savvy which isn't great. I also didn't love Savvy's motivation for improving her health was for a revenge body and a man iccckk! The inner dialogue writing of comparing herself to everyone else didn't seem authentic either.
The fact that Savvy ignored her sexist, asshole ex's comments multiple times and still wanted to appease and even considered taking him back??! The fact that she immediately assumed Stephen was homeless just because his clothes were a little disshelved and tattered screams privilege to me. Like why was that the first conclusion to jump to without ever asking questions? They saw each other plenty of times to establish that earlier. I understand that it's set in L.A. where homelessness is an unfortunately extremely common thing and was used as a plot point but it wasn't a good one. I just didn't connect with any of the characters. Yeah it's a no for me on many fronts.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Cursing
bookishmillennial's review
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
This felt a lot more like fiction with a coming-of-age story than a capital R romance, which is totally fine! I could see this as a movie on Hallmark!
I think Savvy’s journey felt authentic because it was messy and imperfect. I appreciated her own growth in finding her confidence and her voice especially.
I am very anti-diet culture and all about body neutrality, so while I understand society’s desire for everyone to “eat healthier,” I also would love to stop framing food as “good” or “bad”🥺
I loved Savvy’s relationships with all the side characters (besides her ex Jason) and felt the care between all of them 🤎
cw: fatphobia, toxic relationship, emotional abuse, side character is an ex-cop, sexism, misogyny
I think Savvy’s journey felt authentic because it was messy and imperfect. I appreciated her own growth in finding her confidence and her voice especially.
I am very anti-diet culture and all about body neutrality, so while I understand society’s desire for everyone to “eat healthier,” I also would love to stop framing food as “good” or “bad”🥺
I loved Savvy’s relationships with all the side characters (besides her ex Jason) and felt the care between all of them 🤎
cw: fatphobia, toxic relationship, emotional abuse, side character is an ex-cop, sexism, misogyny
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
kyrstin_p1989's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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
3.0
I felt like this book treated fatness as a problem to solve instead of fully allowing Savvy to embrace her figure, the only way she begins to love herself is by noticing how her body has changed from the beginning of her workout journey til the end. To me, body positivity is about loving the skin you’re in without having to change yourself and this book didn’t really espouse those ideals. I liked the romance aspects and the friends made me laugh out loud often so the book wasn’t a total wash.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Dysphoria, Misogyny, Sexism, Gaslighting, Body horror, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
theespressoedition's review against another edition
I have a feeling that this would've eventually gone in a really positive direction, but I struggle a LOT with reading about body shaming, negative body imagery, and verbal abuse. So, this was one that I had to give up at the 35% mark. I'm sure it's a great pick for others, but it just wasn't for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Fatphobia
daja's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Starting this book was such a treat! This book follows Savvy Sheldon, a plus size Black woman who is freshly out of a bad relationship. Because of this, she goes on a journey of improving her life romantically, health-wise and career-wise.
The beginning of the story started so strong from me, especially the first chapter. Savvy's ex had the audacity to say certain things to her and I was so here for her revenge glow-up (I know it wasn't the healthiest way to go about being on a diet, I was here for the potential scene of pettiness). However, that quickly lost its glamour. Savvy is pretty insecure about her weight and has low self-esteem. I knew this was going to be a focus for her character growth because it was a major motivation for her to get healthy. However, after a certain point, I started to get annoyed with Savvy's insecurity. Even 70% into the story, it felt like she was still super insecure and not really learning to love herself. She was doing all of these tennis lessons and yoga sessions but it didn't feel like her self-esteem was improving. Others had to point out to her that she was growing and becoming healthier. It wasn't until the very end that she really saw her own beauty. Also, the glow-up really only felt superficial. I didn't really see her do the internal work to improve her self-esteem. It was mainly the male love interest, her friends and her working out that made up her growth arc and I think that's why the entire character arc didn't work for me. Her entire glow-up wasn't the healthiest way to go about trying to get healthy either.
I didn't hate Savvy's character, though. I really loved that she loved how to cook. The food descriptions sounded so good! And I really liked how caring she was of other people. I also really enjoyed the friend groups of each of the love interests. They were so funny and I loved how supportive they were. Spencer, the love interest, wasn't really that interesting. He was a contractor who worked on her house and had a dog but honestly, I don't think he felt like a real person to me. To me, this is because most of the book felt more like a women's fiction novel than a romance. Most of the book focused on Savvy and her trying to grow. Like I mentioned before, a lot of that was her yoga sessions and tennis lessons. Those scenes felt very repetitive to me and I wish that it would have focused on building the romance between Savvy and Spencer. Spencer almost fell for her instantly and I couldn't really see why he liked her. I know he was attracted to her but there was nothing else I really got from it.
Overall, it was an okay read. It probably should have been marketed as a women's fiction novel. Also, if it engaged in more about Savvy's life outside of the fitness aspects, I probably would have enjoyed it more.
The beginning of the story started so strong from me, especially the first chapter. Savvy's ex had the audacity to say certain things to her and I was so here for her revenge glow-up (I know it wasn't the healthiest way to go about being on a diet, I was here for the potential scene of pettiness). However, that quickly lost its glamour. Savvy is pretty insecure about her weight and has low self-esteem. I knew this was going to be a focus for her character growth because it was a major motivation for her to get healthy. However, after a certain point, I started to get annoyed with Savvy's insecurity. Even 70% into the story, it felt like she was still super insecure and not really learning to love herself. She was doing all of these tennis lessons and yoga sessions but it didn't feel like her self-esteem was improving. Others had to point out to her that she was growing and becoming healthier. It wasn't until the very end that she really saw her own beauty. Also, the glow-up really only felt superficial. I didn't really see her do the internal work to improve her self-esteem. It was mainly the male love interest, her friends and her working out that made up her growth arc and I think that's why the entire character arc didn't work for me. Her entire glow-up wasn't the healthiest way to go about trying to get healthy either.
I didn't hate Savvy's character, though. I really loved that she loved how to cook. The food descriptions sounded so good! And I really liked how caring she was of other people. I also really enjoyed the friend groups of each of the love interests. They were so funny and I loved how supportive they were. Spencer, the love interest, wasn't really that interesting. He was a contractor who worked on her house and had a dog but honestly, I don't think he felt like a real person to me. To me, this is because most of the book felt more like a women's fiction novel than a romance. Most of the book focused on Savvy and her trying to grow. Like I mentioned before, a lot of that was her yoga sessions and tennis lessons. Those scenes felt very repetitive to me and I wish that it would have focused on building the romance between Savvy and Spencer. Spencer almost fell for her instantly and I couldn't really see why he liked her. I know he was attracted to her but there was nothing else I really got from it.
Overall, it was an okay read. It probably should have been marketed as a women's fiction novel. Also, if it engaged in more about Savvy's life outside of the fitness aspects, I probably would have enjoyed it more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Fatphobia, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual assault
kellyskubic's review
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Toxic relationship and Fire/Fire injury
shereadytoread's review
inspiring
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
3.5
This was a fun read but gets repetitive at times due to the fitness scenes. I think that could have been better spent on more romance based scenes or general character building.
I also thought there would be a bigger payoff with the ex who continues to appear but that is tossed aside at some point.
I really enjoyed the food aspects, as well as the family and friendship dynamics. Saavy herself I felt wasn’t the most striking MC and the larger friend group and family connections I found more interested than her specifically.
I also thought there would be a bigger payoff with the ex who continues to appear but that is tossed aside at some point.
I really enjoyed the food aspects, as well as the family and friendship dynamics. Saavy herself I felt wasn’t the most striking MC and the larger friend group and family connections I found more interested than her specifically.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Minor: Toxic relationship
kayleigh_reads_romance's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
raisinglebarre's review
funny
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? It's complicated
4.5
This was the perfect lighthearted read. I really appreciate how strong and healthy friendships was such a big part of this book. I cackled multiple times because it felt so relatable and there were many times I could see some of my friends doing and saying the same things. Even though it's a romance, this book is truly a testament to the importance of having great friends as an adult.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
eevacasey's review
Diet culture, revenge body, jokes about unhoused people
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, and Body shaming