alisonchannita's review against another edition
3.0
It was cute, I guess. Intentional or not, a critique on The Bachelor franchise. All for more body diversity on reality tv, but Bea may not have been the character to lead that cause just because she annoyed me at times lol.
Can confirm rom-coms are not my genre.
Can confirm rom-coms are not my genre.
turningpageswithjules's review against another edition
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
3.0
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
3.0
Finished reading: December 21st 2020
“I'm afraid that you're looking for your next chapter, and I'm looking for the whole rest of the book.”
Spoiler
I've been looking forward to read this one... Both because I've been in the mood for contemporary romance lately and because of the promise of a plus-size main character and a body positivity angle. I confess I'm not a fan of the kind of reality TV shows as described in the blurb, but I was hoping it would give One To Watch an interesting angle... As a whole, I ended up having mixed thoughts about this story though. I still like the idea behind this story, and I also liked the inclusion of text messages, emails, podcasts etc in between the chapters. BUT. I really struggled with the way this was supposed to be a body positivity celebrating book, but ended up being yet another cliche of a plus-size woman. I wasn't able to relate to the main character at all, and instead of finding a strong woman who accepts her body and isn't afraid to show the world, we have another insecure and cliche stereotype who doesn't just whine a lot and seems incredibly immature for her age, but also lets those horrible men walk all over her and constantly doubts herself and thinks nobody could actually love her. UGH. So SO frustrating! On top of this, the whole 'diversity' angle felt mostly like ticking boxes instead of adding more dept. Lesbian best friend? Check. Black character who you don't even realize is black until you pick up the TWO only mentions in the whole book? Check? Asian character with cliche behavior? Check. Asexual character without dept? Check. Gender nonconforming character that could have had potential but was once again used as a prop instead of a real dept character? Check. Honestly, this was just such a disappointment for me, and then I'm not even talking about the horrible and cliche way most men behaved. I mean, a cheating and womanizing French man? The whole bullying? The unwanted advice to help lose weight? There were just so many things that left me with a bad taste in my mouth that I was unable to enjoy the rest of the story to its fullest. The ending was quite predictable too, and while this was a fast read, in the end I didn't exactly have the experience I thought I would have with One To Watch. It definitely smells of missed potential!
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
dfb's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-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
4.0
tah_rah's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
kamalie4's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
stillsarahjane's review against another edition
4.0
As a fat girl some of this hit far too close to home but as a Bach fan this is exactly what I want!
faizoo's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
book_vorfreude's review against another edition
4.0
4 ⭐️
TW: bullying, fat shaming, mentions of suicide, sex, cheating
This was such a great quick romance to read, and such an amazing commentary on how society views and treats people who are considered plus sized. I have never seen the bachelor I don't think we have an equivalent here in Portugal but I loved everything about the concept of this book and how it was executed. The tv show format with news clips and other bits where a really fun way to read this book.
Bea was an amazing character with so much growth, personal and otherwise. There were a few chapters that were slower but overall it was definitely not a slow book. We follow Bea as she meets these men and confront their perspectives of her, and shows the world that your body type definitely doesn't define if you are or not worthy of love. We are all worthy we are all beautiful and unique. And a good ending, I always love a good ending.
Direct quote from another review: "I appreciate that the story became more than just reality show shenanigans and also tapped into the protagonist’s own emotional journey with self-love and acceptance. The addition of blog posts, magazine articles, tweets, etc. really reflected our culture and how we treat (and often politicize) plus size people, almost to a painfully accurate degree."
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3424788514?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
TW: bullying, fat shaming, mentions of suicide, sex, cheating
This was such a great quick romance to read, and such an amazing commentary on how society views and treats people who are considered plus sized. I have never seen the bachelor I don't think we have an equivalent here in Portugal but I loved everything about the concept of this book and how it was executed. The tv show format with news clips and other bits where a really fun way to read this book.
Bea was an amazing character with so much growth, personal and otherwise. There were a few chapters that were slower but overall it was definitely not a slow book. We follow Bea as she meets these men and confront their perspectives of her, and shows the world that your body type definitely doesn't define if you are or not worthy of love. We are all worthy we are all beautiful and unique. And a good ending, I always love a good ending.
Direct quote from another review: "I appreciate that the story became more than just reality show shenanigans and also tapped into the protagonist’s own emotional journey with self-love and acceptance. The addition of blog posts, magazine articles, tweets, etc. really reflected our culture and how we treat (and often politicize) plus size people, almost to a painfully accurate degree."
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3424788514?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1