bookishmillennial's review against another edition
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 against another edition
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
brttny_anne's review against another edition
I am trying to have a healthier relationship with food without shame or negativity. This did not have that this is diet culture porn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Emotional abuse
livetgjennomb_ker's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
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
3.0
Savvy Sheldon is unfortunately not my cup of tea.
Her lack of confidence and both the internalised and external fatphobia she faces is ridiculous; and as such she came across as grating as opposed to charming.
I liked her friends, though.
🌶️/5
Her lack of confidence and both the internalised and external fatphobia she faces is ridiculous; and as such she came across as grating as opposed to charming.
I liked her friends, though.
🌶️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Emotional abuse
fromtheshelf's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, and Fatphobia
raisinglebarre's review against another edition
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 against another edition
Diet culture, revenge body, jokes about unhoused people
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
aproudmc13's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Fatphobia
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Body shaming
bujoxbooked's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-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
4.5
I'm between 4 and 5 stars...I loved this book most definitely but I wouldn't say it knocked my socks off for life if that makes sense lol.
My theory for the book was that she was going to continue on her self love journey by quitting her job and becoming a chef while dating Spencer of course. I wasn't too far off track I see.
This genre/type of book is my go to and I love the romance mixed with figuring life out type of books! It was predictable, but I'm ok with that.
The premise of the book is about getting revenge was not needed as she should focus on bettering herself for herself. Typically with the goal of revenge, I would think the goal is to get the guy back (which I don't approve of as I was cussing Jason out as he was breaking up with her) but there was no mention of that idea even though he kept popping up everywhere she went (was that necessary?!?). I guess Jason popping up was a way that the author was monitoring her progress with how she felt about herself and in relation to Jason, but ehhh could've done without it.
Interesting job choice- just regular degular (insurance underwriter) and she had a variety of interests along with a GREAT support system!
I see other reviews are commenting on the poor choice of reinforcing fat shaming where people (mostly women) go to clean eating and working out as they believe they are a problem. Which is a valid point as the whole book was about getting revenge and getting smaller for Jason in a way. So... I might have to change my rating with this thought in mind. Initially, I didn't think of it that way as I just dealt with a similar experience of an ex expressing his dislikes about my body after the pandemic and I followed something similar to Savvy but to more so create a new routine for myself (which is the difference). So, I viewed it a bit differently from personal experience.
Con: Why was there soooo much detail about them playing tennis and how they hit the ball lol I don't care!! There could've been some steady mention of it to show that she was making progress with getting stronger, but otherwise just wasted pages lol
Pros:
Curvy woman of color who was the lead of the story not a sidekick
Woman of many interests that women of color may not typically do (cook, published cookbook author, yoga, tennis, etc.)
great support system for Savvy
Putting yourself before work/self love
My theory for the book was that she was going to continue on her self love journey by quitting her job and becoming a chef while dating Spencer of course. I wasn't too far off track I see.
This genre/type of book is my go to and I love the romance mixed with figuring life out type of books! It was predictable, but I'm ok with that.
The premise of the book is about getting revenge was not needed as she should focus on bettering herself for herself. Typically with the goal of revenge, I would think the goal is to get the guy back (which I don't approve of as I was cussing Jason out as he was breaking up with her) but there was no mention of that idea even though he kept popping up everywhere she went (was that necessary?!?). I guess Jason popping up was a way that the author was monitoring her progress with how she felt about herself and in relation to Jason, but ehhh could've done without it.
Interesting job choice- just regular degular (insurance underwriter) and she had a variety of interests along with a GREAT support system!
I see other reviews are commenting on the poor choice of reinforcing fat shaming where people (mostly women) go to clean eating and working out as they believe they are a problem. Which is a valid point as the whole book was about getting revenge and getting smaller for Jason in a way. So... I might have to change my rating with this thought in mind. Initially, I didn't think of it that way as I just dealt with a similar experience of an ex expressing his dislikes about my body after the pandemic and I followed something similar to Savvy but to more so create a new routine for myself (which is the difference). So, I viewed it a bit differently from personal experience.
Con: Why was there soooo much detail about them playing tennis and how they hit the ball lol I don't care!! There could've been some steady mention of it to show that she was making progress with getting stronger, but otherwise just wasted pages lol
Pros:
Curvy woman of color who was the lead of the story not a sidekick
Woman of many interests that women of color may not typically do (cook, published cookbook author, yoga, tennis, etc.)
great support system for Savvy
Putting yourself before work/self love
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia and Emotional abuse