I don't know why this book bothered me so much. Surely because I fell head over heels for instalove when I can't stand it? Definitely. Because the guy falls madly in love first, when that's totally against his MO? Maybe.
The protagonist was very naive. Indecisive. Even by my standards, and that's a lot. She didn't know what she wanted from life. She was in an endless whining. For any reason, she blocked our hero. And I'm not defending men, there's simply no need for defense. When he didn't do anything, she let herself be carried away by her paranoia. And I understand paranoia. And she jumped to the worst possible conclusions about the guy and bam. Block. I hate that. Where's the damn dialogue?!
Every time it was something. This wasn't the 3rd act. It was, I don't know. The 10. I don't even know what that's called.
One thing that bothered me a million times was a scene where they were about to hook up right after a gala night. I mean, everyone was well-dressed and all. And she's grateful she's not wearing one of those shapewear outfits, as if it were the end of the world to be. Oh my god, Jesus, I'm so angry. First, those outfits are awful, period. Second, I think every woman, especially a plus-size woman like our character and me, has at some point in her life experienced one of those monstrosities. Couldn't the author have treated the use of spandex more naturally, since it's super common to wear it for a big production like a gala night? It might seem like I'm defending the use of these shapewear garments, but as far as I'm concerned, it's your choice. You wear them if you want. The point is, she belittled those who wear them, and that hurt me because of another character, The Fastest Way to Fall - Denise Williams, who, by the way, dealt with the issue of shapewear much better 👍🏻👍🏻.
The book has minor issues like the character's relationship with her mother, the character's nephew who arrives unexpectedly and now it's his responsibility to take care of him, an ex-boyfriend who doesn't accept the end of the relationship, which is a real pain.
It has hockey and figure skating as background elements, but I didn't see any of those. And what about the endless sex? Oh my God, how boring. Seriously. I appreciate a well-written hot scene at the right moments, but my God. Sometimes it gets tedious. And I think in an attempt to "value her body," the only thing our guy here knew how to do was say that her butt was beautiful, to say the least.
Being a book about fat rep and body positivity, I felt like a lot was missing. I was very excited to get to know this author, and now I'm afraid her other books will be like this. Help me, God. I intend to give her the benefit of the doubt.