Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - One to Watch

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

29 reviews

sunnyreads's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

I love the premise of this one, but I found the execution to be off. I don't know. It just seemed to go on forever, and I didn't really care for any of the guys she was dating. I did like that one of the men was asexual/aromantic. That was neat, and I loved the fat representation in the story, although the hate she gets online can be really graphic (rape threats). I just didn't fall for the love interest like I usually do in other romances, maybe because she didn't spend that much time with him since it was a dating show and she was dating a lot of men at the time?

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elisabethjoe's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.0

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100_pages_hr's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This book was recommended to me because I like contemporary marriage of convenience. I think the person that recommended it missed the mark - but I'm not sorry I read it.

It was rather nice to read a plus sized female lead. There are too many size 0 females on covers of books and in movies and television. However, the reality television scene is definitely not my favorite and made it hard for me to love the book.

If you like reality television and are looking for more diversity in fiction though this is a good book.

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kissievendor's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted reflective 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

5.0

Easy 5 stars!

I normally don't watch reality TV, but I was so hooked. The characters and the conversations felt so real.
Also, I normally don't like mixed medium (tweets and podcast in between), but in this story it made sense, and it was done in a creative way to convey conversation as well as the emotional context.

Anyway, very addicting, perfect for a buddy read!

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baexlee's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Overall this was an enjoyable read that felt like I could pick it up and put it down easily, the story flowed nicely and I had no problem wanting to come back for more. There were moments where I yelled out loud and moments where I was pissed, but part of the reason I can't give this a 4 or higher is that I had a hard time investing in Bea's story. If you asked me at 50% if I thought Bea would have a relationship at the end I would say no because she'd self-sabotage. The second half of the book was where all her growth really shined, however the beginning was difficult to get through, it's hard to root for a main character that doesn't even want to root for herself. I wanted to get to know so much more about Bea - what made her the kind of person she was, her hobbies outside of fashion, her childhood and background - but the plot centers so heavily around her romantic insecurities and her body-image that I had a hard time wanting to spend time in Bea's perspective in the early pages.

Strangely there was a moment where I felt very exposed by the author, I go into more details in the spoilers but let's just say I am more familiar with some of the date locations and got to vicariously live some of my own fantasies. The second half of this book felt like I was reading something else, the pace picked up dramatically and I began to invest in the romantic interests and their relationships with Bea. My thoughts on the ending are in the spoilers.

So I'm disappointed that I fell for Luc and he broke my heart. I'm surprised how it feels like he was still redeemed in the end because Bea accepted and forgave him? I had been rooting for Luc from the beginning. The date in Amboise was so unexpectedly pleasant for me, I had the opportunity to travel to both Chateau d'Amboise and Chateau de Chenonceau my senior year of high school and I dreamed of a magically ball where I met and handsome french man that swept me off my feet. Seeing that date realized in a novel was not something I ever expected, especially not almost 6 years after my trip to France. Then to have Luc betray Bea by doing exactly what he thought Bea was doing - which was confusing for me emotionally - I was heartbroken when I started to see the end come together. Anyway that aside, I was happy that Bea found her chosen family with Asher, it felt like a satisfying ending, and I certainly didn't expect that would be the means that we arrived to the end.

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brokenlightdances's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book does an excellent job of showing what it would be like to be the first fat woman on a reality dating show. So if you’re looking for that, excellent.
If you’re looking for an escapist rom com featuring a fat woman, this is not the book.
It’s certainly relatable, in terms of how Bea feels about her body, and it’s very emotional -I viscerally felt every instance of fatphobia and body shame so do with that what you will.
Somewhat emotionally fulfilling. And there are many many good funny moments. Enjoyable for the most part, even if it wasn’t what I was looking for.

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jbellomy's review against another edition

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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

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fayelle's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was definitely a fun book - romantic, funny, sappy, sad... but it felt like there was another book sending messages and making us aware of issues - and that was fabulous but the 2 didn't gel fabulously into one book. A great read I thought about a lot but also felt like it was trying so hard to be more - it accomplished that but not naturally, but kind of forced.

Still fun!

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samchase112's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This Bachelor-inspired romantic drama was a really interesting read, and a much-needed look into what it means to live as a fat woman in modern day. Stayman-London obviously did her research, for all aspects of her novel, and Bea was a fantastic, rootable character. My favorite part of the book was the social media reactions to what was going on in the show - honestly, it would have been so cool if that was the entire novel - because it made what was happening feel like a real production of the Bachelorette. The romance ended up sweet, but it was definitely rough going. I probably would not have picked this one up if I wasn't reading it for the Romancetheque Book Club, because I don't want all the drama, but I ended up enjoying it. While I didn't find myself itching to pick it up and find out what happened (the library due date got me to finish it so quickly) I was enjoyed myself and would definitely recommend this as a good, realistic-but-still-a-reality-show romance.

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