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kiarachelseamai's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
onlyjessica's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this book more than I did. I love the premise and the way the book was formatted was great.
happylilkt's review against another edition
3.0
This book has a chatty gossipy fashion vibe reminiscent of (perhaps the Poor Man's version of...?) Crazy Rich Asians, but instead of being set in the luxurious upper classes of Singapore it's set in trashy US reality television. The style of the book is not quite as funny (or as coarse) as Kwan's trilogy, but just as he skewers the wealthy and privileged, Stayman-London skewers the Western—specifically American—obsession with slender women, using reality TV to exploit others, and stigmatizing fat women. Instead of footnotes, Stayman-London ingenuously includes podcast transcripts, gossip blog posts, tweets, articles from US weekly and People—these were interspersed throughout and were awesome!
There is more profanity than I liked and a few bedroom scenes (though they aren't particularly graphic). I think what really held this back from being a 4 star read for me was that because Bea (the leading lady) is trying to connect with many men at the same time, the reader doesn't find any final relationship truly believable. But it was also *fascinating* to not really know who the happy ever after target was until pretty near the end! So the author achieved that, which deserves major kudos! (But ultimately still not as satisfying as feeling invested in the couple, amiright?) Also, the author felt a (quite admirable, I'm sure) need to address all kinds of social issues through side characters. I appreciate the sentiment but sometimes it felt too heavy-handed given that the premise of the book was already social justice issue.
Also, can I just say that for me it was borderline stressful shadowing the main character through a reality TV show (shocking, right?) I mean if you are the type to watch these shows with your friends then you will probably *love* it, but that's not really my style, so... also it was hard to relate to Bea sometimes (because who goes on those???). Mostly it reminded me how superficial and stressful dating can be.
In spite of my complaints, I did find this to be highly readable and overall an original and interesting rom-com. I think it would be a fun movie.
There is more profanity than I liked and a few bedroom scenes (though they aren't particularly graphic). I think what really held this back from being a 4 star read for me was that because Bea (the leading lady) is trying to connect with many men at the same time, the reader doesn't find any final relationship truly believable. But it was also *fascinating* to not really know who the happy ever after target was until pretty near the end! So the author achieved that, which deserves major kudos! (But ultimately still not as satisfying as feeling invested in the couple, amiright?) Also, the author felt a (quite admirable, I'm sure) need to address all kinds of social issues through side characters. I appreciate the sentiment but sometimes it felt too heavy-handed given that the premise of the book was already social justice issue.
Also, can I just say that for me it was borderline stressful shadowing the main character through a reality TV show (shocking, right?) I mean if you are the type to watch these shows with your friends then you will probably *love* it, but that's not really my style, so... also it was hard to relate to Bea sometimes (because who goes on those???). Mostly it reminded me how superficial and stressful dating can be.
In spite of my complaints, I did find this to be highly readable and overall an original and interesting rom-com. I think it would be a fun movie.
thatsssorachael's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, and Infidelity
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual content
lmkanne96's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book! I loved the idea of this book, but I felt like the characters all fell flat. The author worked too hard to make sure that she had a diverse cast of characters that it seemed as if she was checking the boxes… plus size character? ☑️ Asian character? ☑️ Black character? ☑️ Asexual character? Gender non-conforming character? ☑️☑️ that’s great but every character read the same for me…
Not only that, but I had a hard time rooting for the main character, Bea. At over 400 pages, this book could have dropped 50 of those pages if the author didn’t remind us the backstory of her insecurities every time she made a decision. I read the same explanation of thoughts at least 15 different times. State is once, maybe twice, and then assume your reader knows the information.
The last issue I had with this book is the hypocrisy of the main character… she’s body positive but cant believe that anyone would look beyond her body type when speaking with her. She even goes as far as being irritated when her possible matches on Main Squeeze all have similar body types. So they can’t judge you for your body but you can judge them for theirs? The worst example of hypocrisy is how she cannot bring herself to trust the men fighting for her attention when they’ve given her no reason not to trust them; however, she easily and repeatedly trusts Lauren, the executive producer, who consistently breaks her trust and does multiple things seemingly for the sake of hurting Bea.
As a fan of bad reality tv, I had high hopes that this book would embody the chaos of those shows, but it just gave me a whole list of unlikeable characters and a predictable ending.
Not only that, but I had a hard time rooting for the main character, Bea. At over 400 pages, this book could have dropped 50 of those pages if the author didn’t remind us the backstory of her insecurities every time she made a decision. I read the same explanation of thoughts at least 15 different times. State is once, maybe twice, and then assume your reader knows the information.
The last issue I had with this book is the hypocrisy of the main character… she’s body positive but cant believe that anyone would look beyond her body type when speaking with her. She even goes as far as being irritated when her possible matches on Main Squeeze all have similar body types. So they can’t judge you for your body but you can judge them for theirs? The worst example of hypocrisy is how she cannot bring herself to trust the men fighting for her attention when they’ve given her no reason not to trust them; however, she easily and repeatedly trusts Lauren, the executive producer, who consistently breaks her trust and does multiple things seemingly for the sake of hurting Bea.
As a fan of bad reality tv, I had high hopes that this book would embody the chaos of those shows, but it just gave me a whole list of unlikeable characters and a predictable ending.
ashs_books's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so refreshing and so much fun! I was so invested. I love The Bachelorette so this was right up my alley. I LOVE the body positivity theme. We need to see this representation on TV as well! I think this book is so important. It has made me think a lot about people’s perceptions and it’s important to realise that weight does not determine health. This message in the book is so important. I thought this was such an inspiring book! The only thing is that I would have liked to see more of how things ended (if you’ve read it, you’ll know what I mean)!
nedghie's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. Bea reminds me of me. And the voice actor did a fantastic job. Listening to the audiobook was such a treat
kim_s96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
roma_venka's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-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
4.0
mamakbear1116's review against another edition
3.0
Loved the premise, but felt it just fell flat and short of what it could have been. Some of the stuff was just down right cringey and I don't think it was supposed to be. Maybe because I didn't actually like Bea or any of the guys she had to choose from?