Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - One to Watch

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

19 reviews

maggies's review

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

5.0

I have fond memories of watching The Bachelor/Bachelorette as a teen, and this book felt both comfortable and exciting for its obvious parallels to the reality series! I loved, loved, loved Bea and her suitors, her family and friends - the whole cast seemed full and real, and the villains were certainly villainous. A sweet, drama-filled love story was just what I needed *chef's kiss*

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cmcryst's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

5.0

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katsbooks's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

“No, Beatrice, it's the hardest thing in the world. To have been that hurt, to feel that afraid, and to know that the only way you can be really, fully happy is to risk going through it all again.”

I really enjoyed the fat representation in this book. It's literally the reason I picked it up and, on that front, it didn't disappoint. I felt like I connected with the main character in a lot of ways. As someone who also navigates the world in a plus-size body, I found it refreshing to see the insecurities and fears that I've represented in a main character. That being said, it could also make it a little hard to read for me. Throughout the book, there are a lot of fatphobic comments and narratives. They are used to show the hateful things the main character goes through but some of them were incredibly triggering for me. I almost DNF'd the whole thing at one point because I had enough of a reaction to one of the "articles'' that were included as a response to Bea's announcement as the next "Main Squeeze." So if you are sensitive to explicit and derogatory fatphobia, please don't read this. I wish I would have seen a more sincere trigger warning for it before I dove in. While I didn't love experiencing the fatphobia, I did really love every clapback to it. It was so satisfying to hear someone say everything I wish I could in moments like those. Overall, this was a fun, flirty read with good commentary on the fatphobia in the media and fashion industries. My rating has more to do with that I've never been a huge fan of any kind of "The Bachelor"-esque TV. While this book was definitely entertaining, I realized that what I think I don't like about these types of shows is how a person can go from one date to another while all these people are vying for their love. Everytime I imagine myself in that kind of situation, I can't help but feel... I don't know, second-hand guilt? I've never been one to date more than one person even casually so I don't love the whole set-up. That being said, no shade to anyone that does. I definitely get the draw. My dating preferences are mine alone, obviously. If you're looking for something on the lighter, romantic side, this is a decent choice.

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casey_sunshine's review

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funny inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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siob___'s review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

5.0

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bodiesinbooks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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courtneyfalling's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

Wow. This book was full of emotional ups and downs for me. A few notes:

The beginning chapters stretched on for so long. I wish we had fewer scenes of Bea pining over Ray and just received that backstory in condensed flashbacks. It felt like the author didn't trust readers to understand how Ray had hurt Bea or why he was capital-B Bad for her: we had to have it hammered in over and over.
Marin, as a gay best friend, reads like a straight woman attempting to write a gay best friend. There was one really cringe-y line about how Bea should "become" a lesbian after Ray breaks her heart that did not sit well with me at all.
There are also so many text message and email exchanges in the first few chapters. It made listening on audiobook really funky at times.
This book really started picking up for me at Bea's first night on the show, meeting all her contestants. But that first night... so much to unpack about that chapter. We absolutely could have had more body diversity among the contestants
especially with how awful the only plus-size contestant ends up being
with the book still criticizing the typical beauty standards of reality TV. It probably would've been better.
Also, plus-size reviewers have commented extensively on how this book handles/sometimes doesn't handle fatphobia, and those comments are really worth checking out. And especially in this scene of Bea's first night, I had so many frustrated feelings about how the book handles "diversity" over all. For a book with so much emphasis on body type and the cruelties of healthism, it has absolutely no awareness of disability or chronic illness. And there's a moment when Bea, on stage, considers how awful it feels to have all thin men presented to her, where she represents herself in a particularly victimized way... But this is an affluent, college-educated, nondisabled white woman who describes herself as medium-fat headlining a huge reality show. She minimizes the role of racial diversity in the cast as a whole and at no point in the book grapples with any of the privilege she has to be in these situations. This totally could've allowed for an examination of diversity within plus-size and fat communities, but... we never got it.
The first group date made me uncomfortable to witness and Lauren overall is not a particularly redeemable character, even if the book tries to make her one. Producers overstep Bea's boundaries constantly.
The one-on-one dates roped me into the "finding romance!" aspect of this book most. It is a little hard at first to keep the contestants clear, but I appreciated how quickly the cast narrowed down to the men that caught Bea's attention most.
Wyatt!!! I love Wyatt. So much.
Even if a little sappy, Wyatt's decision to come out to Bea then the general public and his family as aroace felt really well-represented and wholesome. I will fight anyone who says bad things about Wyatt.
Luke bothered me for huge portions of the plot and I have to say... not surprising how he ended up.
Also stuff to unpack here about the villainization of polyam people and the conflation of cheating/non-commitment with ethical nonmonogamy...
Jefferson sucks but I wish the one plus-size contestant of her season hadn't turned out to be so hateful himself. This is where it comes back to wishing more body diversity had existed among Bea's contestants... because then this wouldn't have been the only plus-size contestant turning out to have been an asshole all along.
I love the variety of emotions and backstories among some of the final men: Asher, Sam, and Wyatt all have such depth that made me care for them even through their flaws. And pretty big emotional and interpersonal issues are handled with genuine care.
I almost lost my damn mind when Ray showed back up on the show and started professing love for Bea. Really, fuck this guy and I wish I could read a version of this book with like 75% less Ray, maybe no Ray at all. Especially because it buys so heavily into the trope that you can't "move on" from an intense emotional relationship unless you realize the guy was a radiating red flag the whole time. No nuance, no sense of mutual incompatibility > individual monsterhood, no acceptance that "closure" isn't always the best option or an option... Anyway. Asher's response here also really bothered me and never got adequately dealt with. Asher absolutely didn't have to choose not to spend the night with Bea: he could've made clear in the dinner/interview portion that he didn't want to have sex to prove how emotionally serious he was to his kids, then still accepted the overnight to talk in private. I get why Bea didn't mention Ray's engagement on public TV: she didn't know if he was still engaged and I understand why she wouldn't want Ray's fiancee to find out like that. And Asher's rush to totally dismiss and insult her was awful and took all the trust I'd started to have in him and just blew it. We needed a much better apology scene, or maybe a drawn out return into Bea's life, than we got.
The end!!!! Okay.
I was really surprised at first, seeing Sam step out of the limo first. I truly did think she was about to end back up with Ray, with all her pining. But honestly, I'm glad we got this idea of being "picky" in love. And Sam becoming the next Bachelor and specifically asking for body diversity among his cast was so wholesome. I'm glad Sam found happiness, freedom, and a lasting relationship! I do think Bea was ultimately right about each of them serving as emotional growth for the other and I can envision a warm continued friendship.
The final reunion special was probably the funniest part of the book.
The kindergarten class teaching Jefferson about anti-bullying? Classic. Wyatt's mom offering public support? Beautiful.
As much as I liked Bea with Asher for so much of the book and do think this could've worked as an ending... I needed more. More of a real apology and reassurance Asher wouldn't whip out jealousy and self-sabotaging distance again. You don't magically get forgiven for all the harm you've caused because people have harmed you too.

I do want to reread this in the future and see what it's like knowing what's coming. It's definitely one of the more engaging romance books I've read in a while and I had so many feelings, good and bad and frustrated, while reading because I was so engaged.

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womanwill's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.25

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melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective 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

4.5

This was the perfect romance to wrap up the month for me! I loved all of the body positivity. It does my heart so much good to see a fat protagonist who is already confident and accepting of themselves, and doesn't have to start that journey from scratch. I love all of the supportive characters and the education about fatphobia within this book! Also loved the diversity among the cast of characters overall!

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