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jbellomy's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Grief
ajparmentier's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a great reality tv romance. I was absolutely gripped it had the drama but the main character's emotional journey was also very satisfying. I do have a few caveats. A good portion of this book is written in internet articles, podcast transcripts, and text and chat logs. Not up to 50%, but enough that if you don't like that sort of thing this book might be frustrating. There is so much fatphobia in this book. Not from the author, but because the author realistically depicts how the world would react to a fat contestant on a dating show. This is really intense early on in the book, but tapers out and only comes up occasionally later on in the book.
With such a large cast of bachelors, some amount of short-handing was bound to happen. I did find myself able to get invested in Bea's relationships with the bachelors that were around for longer, but it did feel like the men of color didn't have much of a cultural identity. I'm not a part of those groups so take that analysis with a grain of salt. As to other representation I can speak for,the bisexual is depicted as promiscuous and the asexual as a blushing virgin. I'm not too impressed with either of those, even though I did enjoy the characters.
I thought this was pretty good fat rep. This is not the story of a woman fully confident at the beginning, but I felt the book made a good choice in focusing on how Bea felt insecure, rather than describing how Bea felt physically about her body. So many stories dwell on the protagonist thinking about all her "rolls of fat." Bea did feel uncomfortable sometimes, but there was less of the self hatred if you know what I mean. Also, Bea is a fashion blogger and she got to wear so many beautiful outfits that made her feel beautiful and powerful! If you want a story about a fat girl who is fully confident from the beginning with all sorts of boys being her prince charming, however, this isn't that kind of story. And it's not really escapist. It has ahappy ending.
But yeah it was a really cathartic and engaging read. I got to indulge in a story intimately familiar with reality dating shows and internet fandom about them, while also not having to watch any of those shows (because they make me super anxious and I can't deal with the artifice). Juicy juicy drama, even though parts of the book were super hard to read.
With such a large cast of bachelors, some amount of short-handing was bound to happen. I did find myself able to get invested in Bea's relationships with the bachelors that were around for longer, but it did feel like the men of color didn't have much of a cultural identity. I'm not a part of those groups so take that analysis with a grain of salt. As to other representation I can speak for,
I thought this was pretty good fat rep. This is not the story of a woman fully confident at the beginning, but I felt the book made a good choice in focusing on how Bea felt insecure, rather than describing how Bea felt physically about her body. So many stories dwell on the protagonist thinking about all her "rolls of fat." Bea did feel uncomfortable sometimes, but there was less of the self hatred if you know what I mean. Also, Bea is a fashion blogger and she got to wear so many beautiful outfits that made her feel beautiful and powerful! If you want a story about a fat girl who is fully confident from the beginning with all sorts of boys being her prince charming, however, this isn't that kind of story. And it's not really escapist. It has a
But yeah it was a really cathartic and engaging read. I got to indulge in a story intimately familiar with reality dating shows and internet fandom about them, while also not having to watch any of those shows (because they make me super anxious and I can't deal with the artifice). Juicy juicy drama, even though parts of the book were super hard to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Bullying
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual content
mayah's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was so much fun and was super addicting. I loved how the author used blog posts, twitter, podcasts, online chats, etc to help tell the story. I made the TV element of the feel very real and added this extra element to the conversation around fatphobia and body positivity. I did not know what to expect going into this book, but I was super impressed. I devoured most of this book in a day and loved every minute of the experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Sexism
Fatphobia is presented frequently as a component of the story, but always challenged by the main character, as well as other characters in the story.
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