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A review by reyca
One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London
2.0
I was on a waitlist for this book for months, and I had high hopes for it.
Well. It was somewhat realistic, I suppose. The protagonist is “medium fat,” so maybe around size 20-22. Not even that large in real life, but definitely considered too fat to be famous. The mean comments by internet strangers were a given, and necessary for the plot, but ouch. The reactions by the contestants in “The Bachelor” copycat show were awful, but I can’t say that’s unrealistic. So I definitely believed the whole life of the protagonist.
What I really hated though was the relationship with Asher, the dude she ended up with. He joined the show because his 9-year-old son filled out his application. His singular trauma was watching his ex-wife mack on another dude in front of him. So he joins a show where multiple men compete for one woman? They have A Moment, and she’s supposed to immediately cut off any chances with the other contestants. She doesn’t, so he has a tantrum. What a dick.
Jefferson may have been a little too true to life, and he made Bea question absolutely everything about herself and her relationships. Again, not unrealistic, but ugh. I just wanted a happy ending for a fat main character.
Most contemporary female fiction that includes romance contain skinny main characters. I can enjoy those, but I was really looking forward to a story with a fat protagonist that is happy with her life and herself and finds someone to be happy with her. I needed that kind of hope. This was not that book.
Well. It was somewhat realistic, I suppose. The protagonist is “medium fat,” so maybe around size 20-22. Not even that large in real life, but definitely considered too fat to be famous. The mean comments by internet strangers were a given, and necessary for the plot, but ouch. The reactions by the contestants in “The Bachelor” copycat show were awful, but I can’t say that’s unrealistic. So I definitely believed the whole life of the protagonist.
What I really hated though was the relationship with Asher, the dude she ended up with. He joined the show because his 9-year-old son filled out his application. His singular trauma was watching his ex-wife mack on another dude in front of him. So he joins a show where multiple men compete for one woman? They have A Moment, and she’s supposed to immediately cut off any chances with the other contestants. She doesn’t, so he has a tantrum. What a dick.
Jefferson may have been a little too true to life, and he made Bea question absolutely everything about herself and her relationships. Again, not unrealistic, but ugh. I just wanted a happy ending for a fat main character.
Most contemporary female fiction that includes romance contain skinny main characters. I can enjoy those, but I was really looking forward to a story with a fat protagonist that is happy with her life and herself and finds someone to be happy with her. I needed that kind of hope. This was not that book.