A review by kidisitor
Gym or Chocolate? by Stuart Reardon

5.0

This is a light-hearted, fast paced, humorous romance story. It also has a bully aspect, and sticking it to them. Use that negative and turn it into a positive. :) She is larger than life... not just her size, but her personality as well. After a bully of a girl made fun of her for winning a gym membership, she jokingly said she was going to run a marathon. (Which of course, everyone laughed at.) Just to prove them all wrong, she was determined to go through with it after all. Enter Mr. Personal Trainer. He dreaded training her as he felt it a waste of time if her heart wasn't in it. But she proved him wrong too. Both characters are great in their own way. She loves herself, including her body, and doesn't let people dictate how she should feel. She is loud and proud. She is always positive and doesn't let her eating habits change to fit societies expectations. He is a broody miserable buggar. (Where she is loud, he is quiet.) After an injury killed his professional athletic career, his dreams and happiness diminished completely... including his marriage. Fitness and his gym were his life now and he wasn't going to let anything (or anyone) destroy that, which is why he was reluctant to train her in the first place. Their banter was fabulous and she didn't let him get away with his bad attitude. Not to mention lots of physical comedic accidents (mostly at his expense.) There are a few other outside influences that cause havoc on the two of them, and threaten everything they've worked for. As I mentioned, this is a fast paced story. It is easy to read. Alternates between POVs. It's not exactly a clean read, but the sexual content is minimal... more talked about than actual action. It's an all round fun read with a good moral boost.

*I volunteered to review an ARC of this book.