Review: One to Watch

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Full disclosure:  I received an advanced copy of this book from Random House and The Dial Press via NetGalley in exchange for possibly writing a review.

It is well known I am not a big fan of romance novels.  I don't watch The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.  I'm not even really into fashion.  Yet, for some reason, I was drawn to read this book.  I think because the protagonist, Bea, sounded like someone I would be friends with.  Also, it isn't all that frequent to encounter a main character that is a size 20.  Finally! 

I think many women will relate to Bea.  As the book points out, the average woman in the US is a size 16 - 18.  They will relate to the trolls, the mixed messages from men, the pressure to be thin, the pressure to get married, and the guy who strings you along in private while he is with someone else in public.  Take out the fashion and the reality TV, and this could have been my story. 

I loved the way the story unfolded in a mix of blog posts, text messages, tweets, and such along with traditional narrative.  You also got the feeling like you were seeing behind the curtain of reality tv dating shows in same vein as UnReal. 

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