One to Watch
By: Katy Stayman-London
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Dial Press
Pages: 432
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Bea Schumacher is a devastatingly stylish plus-size fashion blogger who has amazing friends, a devoted family, legions of Insta followers--and a massively broken heart. Like the rest of America, Bea indulges in her weekly obsession: the hit reality show Main Squeeze. The fantasy dates! The kiss-off rejections! The surprising amount of guys named Chad! But Bea is sick and tired of the lack of body diversity on the show. Since when is being a size zero a prerequisite for getting engaged on television?
Just when Bea has sworn off dating altogether, she gets an intriguing call: Main Squeeze wants her to be its next star, surrounded by men vying for her affections. Bea agrees, on one condition--under no circumstances will she actually fall in love. She's in this to supercharge her career, subvert harmful anti-fat beauty standards, inspire women across America, and get a free hot air balloon ride. That's it.
But when the cameras start rolling, Bea realizes things are more complicated than she anticipated. She's in a whirlwind of sumptuous couture, Internet culture wars, sexy suitors, and an opportunity (or two, or five) to find messy, real-life love in the midst of a made-for-TV fairy tale.
First Impressions
The cover definitely draws the eye. And how can I resist a Bachelorette spoof? But honestly, this book came to me highly recommended by Stephanie. So, my first impression was one of my friends raving about this book, which says a lot.
What I thought
I could not put this book down it was so fun.
Bea is a famous plus-size fashion blogger and avid fan of bachelorette-esque Main Squeeze. One night when watching, she tweets about how this reality TV romance industry really only shows real love for unrealistically beautiful looking people. Her tweets go viral and she gets asked to become the next Main Squeeze. However, because of her past, Bea isn’t sure if she wants to find love. The story follows Bea as she learns about herself and grows through her journey with 25 eligible bachelors.
I haven’t had a book that I haven’t wanted to put down in a while. This was the type of book I thought about when the next time I would have to read it when I was doing other things. I’ve only watched a few seasons of The Bachelor/Bachelorette, but I loved all of the references and the premise of the entire book. This was like binge watching an entire season of bad reality TV but while simultaneously getting the inside scoop. Loved it.
Bea was a very enjoyable main character. I loved the balance of her fighting for body acceptance while also dealing with the fact that it isn’t easy. Her distrust of all of the guys made perfect sense, so it never felt over the top.
As with ever season of the Bachelorette I’ve watched, I didn’t think I was going to fall for any of the guys and of course, I fell for 4 of the top 5. Even the ones I knew weren’t a good match for her, I couldn’t help but loving them. I also loved Bea’s personal perspective was interspersed with transcripts from a Podcast, text messages from a group chat, message boards, and more. I loved getting the fan perspectives.
Honestly, I don’t want to say much more about this book because I want you to experience it all for yourself. I loved this book. I am shocked it’s a debut because the writing was wonderful. I can’t wait to read more by her and think you need to pick this book up now!