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readerpants's review against another edition
Ooof, I just... had a hard time with parts of this. I was excited that it was framed as a fat-pos romance set in the Philippines with an #ownvoices author... and while parts of it worked super well for me, others were not so great.
I liked:
-The setting and sense of place
-The role that her strong extended family played, with each family member fleshed out rather than being an afterthought
-how SUPER into her the dudes were, especially Max (and I read the bonus story from his POV, which made me really happy)
- her adorable fashion & shameless enjoyment of great clothes making her feel good
-Max
I had a hard time with the juxtaposition of "I love my body! I wouldn't want to change it!" and CONSTANT -- like, nearly every page -- loaded descriptors and negative body self-talk. In terms of show-don't-tell, the heroine spent an enormous amount of time verbally attacking her body, even more than the folks around her. I can't think of a single moment when she looked at her body and described it as soft, welcoming, warm, solid, pretty, any of the positive descriptors that the hero (who's obviously attracted to her) would have used, or that she would have used if she were describing her attraction to herself or another fat person. She *tells* us a lot that she likes her body, but I can't think of a single point where she *shows* it.
I think maybe all of this would have been easier to swallow if the narrative was told from the hero's POV... maybe through that filter or at that remove, it wouldn't feel like such a barrage of little attacks.
I'm not sure that this is necessarily a criticism of the book's quality or the author's skill, and I definitely hope she keeps writing and publishing because I look forward to reading more! It feels a lot like older queer books that are filled with homophobia, both internalized and external... maybe it's better than no rep at all, or maybe it isn't. Maybe a kid or an adult is in the right place to engage with that, especially recognizing and engaging with internalized homophobia, or maybe they're too vulnerable to engage with that right then. Maybe they don't even recognize it. But it's worth being cautious when recommending it, because a reader who's grappling with a lot of body-hatred may have a very different, painful experience reading the book than a reader who's at a different place.
I liked:
-The setting and sense of place
-The role that her strong extended family played, with each family member fleshed out rather than being an afterthought
-how SUPER into her the dudes were, especially Max (and I read the bonus story from his POV, which made me really happy)
- her adorable fashion & shameless enjoyment of great clothes making her feel good
-Max
I had a hard time with the juxtaposition of "I love my body! I wouldn't want to change it!" and CONSTANT -- like, nearly every page -- loaded descriptors and negative body self-talk. In terms of show-don't-tell, the heroine spent an enormous amount of time verbally attacking her body, even more than the folks around her. I can't think of a single moment when she looked at her body and described it as soft, welcoming, warm, solid, pretty, any of the positive descriptors that the hero (who's obviously attracted to her) would have used, or that she would have used if she were describing her attraction to herself or another fat person. She *tells* us a lot that she likes her body, but I can't think of a single point where she *shows* it.
I think maybe all of this would have been easier to swallow if the narrative was told from the hero's POV... maybe through that filter or at that remove, it wouldn't feel like such a barrage of little attacks.
I'm not sure that this is necessarily a criticism of the book's quality or the author's skill, and I definitely hope she keeps writing and publishing because I look forward to reading more! It feels a lot like older queer books that are filled with homophobia, both internalized and external... maybe it's better than no rep at all, or maybe it isn't. Maybe a kid or an adult is in the right place to engage with that, especially recognizing and engaging with internalized homophobia, or maybe they're too vulnerable to engage with that right then. Maybe they don't even recognize it. But it's worth being cautious when recommending it, because a reader who's grappling with a lot of body-hatred may have a very different, painful experience reading the book than a reader who's at a different place.
mindfullibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Cute story, and a unique-to-me setting. Too much self-deprecation for my taste and definitely could use a professional editor! I’m going to try another from this author, though ~ she has promise!
3vi333's review against another edition
3.0
this book was really sweet. a bunch of body positivity, interesting family dynamics and no white people. parts of it weren't amazingly written, and bits were slightly confusing/rushed and i didn't like how little build up there was for a lot of it. but the message of the book was really lovely
chandraleereads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
girlreading's review against another edition
4.0
3.75* This was so cute! I mean, who doesn't love a best friends to lovers romance featuring a fat girl who loves herself AND two utterly adorable dogs, (including one named Wookie!!!)
I did have a few issues with the way it was edited. There were a few sentences that didn't flow, with words in the wrong place etc. and I found the tense a little all over the place, with it switching back and forth from 1st to 3rd (sometimes even within a single sentence).
My feelings towards the fat representation in this flip flopped back and forth between loving it, to getting a little bogged down by the amount of fatphobia from the people in the main character's life.
However, all in all this was an incredibly fun and enjoyable read and I will never not be here for characters loving themselves and their body, even when those around them are telling them not to.
TW: Racial slur, fatphobia, body shaming, attempted forced purging.
I did have a few issues with the way it was edited. There were a few sentences that didn't flow, with words in the wrong place etc. and I found the tense a little all over the place, with it switching back and forth from 1st to 3rd (sometimes even within a single sentence).
My feelings towards the fat representation in this flip flopped back and forth between loving it, to getting a little bogged down by the amount of fatphobia from the people in the main character's life.
However, all in all this was an incredibly fun and enjoyable read and I will never not be here for characters loving themselves and their body, even when those around them are telling them not to.
TW: Racial slur, fatphobia, body shaming, attempted forced purging.
brandece1's review
4.0
I've read one other book but this author and loved it, so I was excited to finally get to If The Dress Fits and had such high hopes. I really enjoyed this book. From the start I was rooting not only for Martha, but also for her relationship with Max. Martha is a plus size queen IMO! I love how relatable she was, while she had complicated feelings about her body, she did not hate her body. She ate and drank as she wanted and never had an "I shouldn't have eaten that" moment and I loved to see it. I love how much Max loved Martha as she is. The premise of this book was fun, and I am always a sucker for a meddling family. This one was a fun, quick read, that did everything I love about romance. I am looking forward to reading more from this author in the future!
alice_hesse's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
aggystacked_'s review against another edition
funny
informative
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
kirstysbookishworld's review against another edition
3.0
Adorable story with a really nice look at just how good it feels to fall in love with your best friend. I love the fat rep, the cultural rep, the friends to lovers rep.
My only issue with this book was that the conflict at the end felt a little meh, I didn’t feel my heart breaking. But that didnt minimise my enjoyment at all
My only issue with this book was that the conflict at the end felt a little meh, I didn’t feel my heart breaking. But that didnt minimise my enjoyment at all