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kwthor's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Cancer, Body shaming, Cursing, and Sexual content
beklovesbooks's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
This rom-com was really fun. Representation matters, and I appreciated how the main character was fat, but portrayed as having a healthy relationship with food, healthy self-image, healthy friendships. Her size came up a lot in practical matters, and occasionally cruelly or stupidly from family and acquaintances and trolls- but it did not seem to matter to her love interest or some attractive friends. So rare.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Grief
Minor: Cancer, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Cursing, Death, and Car accident
thaliareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
5.0
This was such a fun take on Cinderella, and I loved the subtle changes. In particular, I liked that while the "stepmother" didn't quite completely understand Cindy and therefore wasn't always as supportive in the ways Cindy could have used, she was still trying her best to have a good relationship with her new daughter. I also loved how supportive Cindy's stepsisters were, and the really positive relationship the three girls had. The dating show setting was perfect for this story and it was so much fun! Highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Death
With a plus sized FMC and a reality TV dating show setting, unfortunately, discussions and judgment about body size and body image. Sexual content is only moderately detailed.annniina98's review against another edition
3.0
The dead parents and fat main character tropes felt a bit forced at points and the end felt a bit rushed, but otherwise a solid romantic novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Body shaming
Moderate: Death of parent and Sexual content
Minor: Car accident and Cancer
annahamburger's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Alcohol, Fatphobia, and Abandonment
Moderate: Car accident, Cancer, and Body shaming
Minor: Biphobia, Bullying, Infidelity, Violence, Cursing, and Sexual content
sophializbee's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, Death of parent, Grief, and Death
Minor: Blood, Sexual content, Alcohol, Car accident, Bullying, Cancer, Mental illness, Terminal illness, and Body shaming
the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
This was a really cute read with a really likeable protagonist. My only real complaint is the ending. It came totally out of nowhere, didn't really match Cindy's character and was a really big dick move. Was there no other outcome besides humiliating your love interest on national television for basically no reason? Why would you just assume none of it was real when he strongly implied it was? It doesn't make sense to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death of parent, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Bullying and Grief
Minor: Cancer, Car accident, and Sexual content
roget's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Cindy was quite likeable. This reads more like a story about her getting back into her creative process as an artist and less like a romance, honestly. There are things about that that I like, but it felt like we needed more from Henry. We never find out what really drew him to Cindy or vice versa. It just seems weird, given the genre.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
ishouldbereading's review
emotional
lighthearted
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? No
3.75
I expected SO much from this book, I was so sure this will be a 5 star read. However, this book disappointed me greatly.
First off, they had so little chemistry I almost couldn't believe they should be in love. They had their moments, you could say, but it wasn't something to root for. But to be fair, Henry had zero chemistry with all the girls. Next up, Henry altogether. He was so flatly written, I still don't know who he is. He had no character traits and so many things about him didn't make sense. Especially his decision making, mainly in the end, made no sense.
Now the body positivity part. I really REALLY liked that nobody really cared about her being plus-sized (except Addison, I still want to know what she said) and she seemed confident in her body. I loved the part when she made her own dress and her comments in the show about being plus-sized. I especially loved that Henry didn't make the cheesy comments in most body-positivity books/movies and just seemed to not even realize it. But I feel like we didn't get that big of a respond from public. Yes, the audience loved her, but I wanted to know more. I know they didn't have phones in most of the book but they could add a little more audience reaction, tweets and just women appreciating her.
Now my probably biggest issue with this book: It felt like a copy of Selection. Most of the characters and plot was the same as in Selection. And let me tell you, I liked Selection more, it was better written. The participants were the same and yeah, it makes sense that they were similiar since they're both based on The Bachelor but these similiarities felt too similiar. Addison was a total copy of Celeste, Sarah Claire was Kriss, Anne was Marlee and so on and so on.
But the best part about this book was the retelling. The little details like her having blue dress and those shoes, midnight and all those cute references. It was such a good retelling and I loved that her stepmom wasn't evil. It felt natural and it's my favourite retelling so far.
First off, they had so little chemistry I almost couldn't believe they should be in love. They had their moments, you could say, but it wasn't something to root for. But to be fair, Henry had zero chemistry with all the girls. Next up, Henry altogether. He was so flatly written, I still don't know who he is. He had no character traits and so many things about him didn't make sense. Especially his decision making, mainly in the end, made no sense.
Now the body positivity part. I really REALLY liked that nobody really cared about her being plus-sized (except Addison, I still want to know what she said) and she seemed confident in her body. I loved the part when she made her own dress and her comments in the show about being plus-sized. I especially loved that Henry didn't make the cheesy comments in most body-positivity books/movies and just seemed to not even realize it. But I feel like we didn't get that big of a respond from public. Yes, the audience loved her, but I wanted to know more. I know they didn't have phones in most of the book but they could add a little more audience reaction, tweets and just women appreciating her.
Now my probably biggest issue with this book: It felt like a copy of Selection. Most of the characters and plot was the same as in Selection. And let me tell you, I liked Selection more, it was better written. The participants were the same and yeah, it makes sense that they were similiar since they're both based on The Bachelor but these similiarities felt too similiar. Addison was a total copy of Celeste, Sarah Claire was Kriss, Anne was Marlee and so on and so on.
But the best part about this book was the retelling. The little details like her having blue dress and those shoes, midnight and all those cute references. It was such a good retelling and I loved that her stepmom wasn't evil. It felt natural and it's my favourite retelling so far.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Car accident, and Sexual content