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Spoiler Alert
by Olivia Dade
Strap in because this is going to be a bit of a lengthier review…
I want to start by saying the portrayal of April in this one made my little fat girl heart happy. April is fat (not a bad word) and hot and she knows it, but Dade still does such a good job at verbalizing the insecurities of moving through the world as a plus size woman.
I especially loved the conversations between April and her mom because she captures the emotions of having a mother who is fixated on your body perfectly. April’s mothers constant comments on her daughter’s weight and what she’s eating and if she’s exercising echo experiences I think a lot of us fat women have in our lives, especially when these comments are veiled as concern for our health. The conversations between April and her mother where she is finally able to establish boundaries about how her mom is allowed to talk about her body in front of her were heartbreaking but so cathartic to read. These boundaries being set are for every little kid who was put on weight watchers when they were far too young. I didn’t expect this kind of depth and awareness of non-dating issues out of a romance novel, but I’m so glad we got them.
Now to the actual romance part of this romance novel. Marcus was just…wow. The way he slowly let April in was really cool to see. I feel like in a romance of this nature (fat love interest), all of the insecurity and depth of character could be focused on the fat character, but the way that Dade extends this to Marcus’ character is one of the best parts of this book. We get to see Marcus struggle with his own insecurities that almost mirror April’s in a way (dyslexia/fatness, parental approval, etc.). Marcus and April are two very flawed people and watching how he struggles to let her see all the broken parts of him (just like she does the same) is really powerful. I also really enjoyed the dual POV style of writing because we get insight into exactly what he thinks about April and her body and his complete attraction without hesitation to her is HOT. This is a kind of love and devotion that everyone deserves, regardless of the way they look.
And at the core of all of this…fanfic. My favorite form of escapism. This part of the story also made me very happy because I think everyone who has ever read or written any kind of fanfic wants to believe the actors on a show they’re writing about care too. I think this situation is a big fantasy of anyone who spends extensive time on AO3 and I love it. That’s all. April and Marcus are now my OTP.
I want to start by saying the portrayal of April in this one made my little fat girl heart happy. April is fat (not a bad word) and hot and she knows it, but Dade still does such a good job at verbalizing the insecurities of moving through the world as a plus size woman.
I especially loved the conversations between April and her mom because she captures the emotions of having a mother who is fixated on your body perfectly. April’s mothers constant comments on her daughter’s weight and what she’s eating and if she’s exercising echo experiences I think a lot of us fat women have in our lives, especially when these comments are veiled as concern for our health. The conversations between April and her mother where she is finally able to establish boundaries about how her mom is allowed to talk about her body in front of her were heartbreaking but so cathartic to read. These boundaries being set are for every little kid who was put on weight watchers when they were far too young. I didn’t expect this kind of depth and awareness of non-dating issues out of a romance novel, but I’m so glad we got them.
Now to the actual romance part of this romance novel. Marcus was just…wow. The way he slowly let April in was really cool to see. I feel like in a romance of this nature (fat love interest), all of the insecurity and depth of character could be focused on the fat character, but the way that Dade extends this to Marcus’ character is one of the best parts of this book. We get to see Marcus struggle with his own insecurities that almost mirror April’s in a way (dyslexia/fatness, parental approval, etc.). Marcus and April are two very flawed people and watching how he struggles to let her see all the broken parts of him (just like she does the same) is really powerful. I also really enjoyed the dual POV style of writing because we get insight into exactly what he thinks about April and her body and his complete attraction without hesitation to her is HOT. This is a kind of love and devotion that everyone deserves, regardless of the way they look.
And at the core of all of this…fanfic. My favorite form of escapism. This part of the story also made me very happy because I think everyone who has ever read or written any kind of fanfic wants to believe the actors on a show they’re writing about care too. I think this situation is a big fantasy of anyone who spends extensive time on AO3 and I love it. That’s all. April and Marcus are now my OTP.