Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - One to Watch

I was so excited for this book. As someone who, though I’m not plus sized, struggled with body image and low self esteem my whole life, I was ecstatic at the idea of a badass plus sized women taking the reins to prove that bigger women are beautiful and deserving of love, too (just like any body type is!). What I got instead was a main character who was similarly full of self-hatred and constantly believing that no one could truly love her, despite constant evidence to the contrary.
Now, having been hurt in the past, I can totally understand Bea’s outlook and her journey to discovering self-love was in itself a beautiful theme. However, I don’t think this was how the book was advertised and it’s not something I was prepared for. I wanted, like I said, the unwavering confidence and body positivity to help inspire me in my own struggles. So I think part of the issue is just the book being different from my expectations and that influenced my enjoyment.
Plus, Bea was a bit insufferable at times. I get it was her journey to self love but each page being “he couldn’t possibly be attracted to someone like me” was so repetitive, boring, and annoying.
And I would have also loved more male body diversity in this. It felt a bit hateful to me that Bea’s first thought was “well a heavier man I could settle for” when all bodies are beautiful!!
I did love the creativity of adding in interviews, blogs, podcasts, and messages. It created a mixed media novel and if the novel was just told in these forms, that would’ve been super fun and I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more.
But as we have it, it was hard for me to get behind because it differed from my expectations and honestly, I didn’t like the MC. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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crystalisreading's review against another edition

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challenging emotional

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I don't watch enough reality TV to know if this plot was plausible or not. I questioned that a lot though. I know all marginalized groups are entitled to wish fulfillment romances, but it was hard to believe in at lot of this. also I didn't really like any of the major characters, and didn't really buy the primary romance. two minor couples were cute though, and fat rep is always good. I just wish i had found this more enjoyable than I did. I much preferred On the Plus Side by Jenny Howe, for a reality TV show fat romance

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ashleycmms's review

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adventurous challenging emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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crunchycrystals's review against another edition

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

4.25

had a lot of fun with it!!! thought the writing was pretty good and it was easy for me to guess what was going to happen but i'd say that's because the good writing made it clear to me what the vibe of the scene was or made it easy to understand character motivations. honestly wondering if i should watch reality tv now lol but it's never gonna be as good as this (plus all the conflict mostly comes from places outside of the normal bachelor villains so you dont need to see them that much after the first few episodes of the show). it made me want to keep reading and i haven't felt that in a while and i thought most of the main characters were pretty fun to read about

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lucyatoz's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London is a quirky take on reality tv shows where impossibly beautiful people vie to be the chosen one...but what if the person doing the choosing was a stylish plus sized fashion blogger, who has sworn off men altogether since their heart was broken?

This book pulled me in, I can tell you! It had just the right balance of romance with real life struggles, to tug at the heartstrings. I really felt for Bea as she navigates meeting 25 men on the reality show, Main Squeeze, narrowing them down to just her chosen 3, all the while wondering if the man of her dreams has dashed her chance at her own happily ever after.

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sarahthescrivnr's review against another edition

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funny inspiring lighthearted sad 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

4.0

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notsobinaryart's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

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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amandalorianxo's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

The plus sized representation and diversity among the contestants was great to see. But Bea was a little hard to root for when

we start the first chapter with her having intentional sex with an engaged man who then doesn’t even bother to respect her enough to either end his engagement or talk to Bea. The worst part? She is hung up on this man for the majority of the book! So infuriating

She also is deeply insecure. Now I’m all for showing realistic mental thoughts about how we feel about our bodies (we aren’t confident 100% of the time) but constantly projecting or acting as if a non plus sized man would never love her made it hard to not want to shake some sense into Bea. Especially when her family loves and supports her. I wanted to cry at how sweet and loving Stepdad and Bea are. Also why is the Black contestant young and directionless (a Walmart version of Barnett) & the Asian contestant a little too reserved ? The asexual rep was a nice surprise.

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