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Big & Beautiful #1
Chubby & Charming
Who needs men when you have cupcakes?
Life was good. I didn’t need anything. Especially not a sexy, funny, sweet stranger who wanted to go on a date.
My friends told me to give him a chance, but I knew he’d take one look at my curvy body and come up with a reason not to go out again. So, I gave him an out.
He didn’t take it.
The man was relentless. He liked my curves, and he wanted more than just phone calls. He wanted me.
How could I say no to that?
Life was good. I didn’t need anything. Especially not a sexy, funny, sweet stranger who wanted to go on a date.
My friends told me to give him a chance, but I knew he’d take one look at my curvy body and come up with a reason not to go out again. So, I gave him an out.
He didn’t take it.
The man was relentless. He liked my curves, and he wanted more than just phone calls. He wanted me.
How could I say no to that?
230 pages, ebook
First published November 29, 2015
1367 people are currently reading
954 people want to read
About the author
Mary E. Thompson
97 books363 followersUSA TODAY Bestselling Author Mary E Thompson spent most of her childhood wishing she had a few less curves. She hid in the pages of books because her favorite characters never cared what size her clothes were. Now, neither does Mary, and she writes stories that celebrate women like her. Real women who have curves, chase dreams, and find love, because we should all be happy, no matter our dress size.
Mary spends her non-writing time with her husband and two kids, watching too much TV, cheering for her hometown football team (Go Bills!), and hiding chocolate from her family.
Mary spends her non-writing time with her husband and two kids, watching too much TV, cheering for her hometown football team (Go Bills!), and hiding chocolate from her family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 266 reviews
July 1, 2016
I am very happy that this book was free, because I would have been extremely upset to have paid for it. I love reading romances, even the bad corny ones, its fun to laugh with friends over them. This one, however, exceeded the bad/good threshold and landed firmly in the "just bad" zone. Where to begin with it? There were so many problems. The spelling errors and corny dialogue aside, the characters themselves were just so unlikable and insufferable. I finished the book because it was short and I don't like to leave things unfinished, but god was it a struggle.
Mandy is so unlikable as a main character. She's deeply insecure and it shows in a big way. No matter how many times she reiterates that she's found a way to be happy with herself at her weight, literally everything she does contradicts that assertion. She's relentlessly bitter about "skinny bitches"as is every woman in this series it seems. I couldn't deal with all the times Mandy freaked out (majorly or otherwise) about some phantom behavior she perceived from Xander. Like damn we all have insecurities but Mandy took all that to a whole new level. With how she was acting it is only thanks to the fact that these are two fictional characters in a fantasy, that Xander didn't run screaming for the hills. What person wants to be with someone they have to fight tooth and nail to reassure at every little turn? The fact that she just about broke it off at every minuscule snag speaks of her lack of trust. I know that reading a romance requires a suspension of reality, and usually I'm down with that. Mandy, however, completely broke my tolerance.
I am particularly insulted by her character because she embodies every stereotype of the pathetic, delusional, sad, self-righteous, self-hating, thirsty ass fat girl. For once I would like to read a bbw romance that featured a main character whose self esteem could actually fill a thimble. Mandy is a depressing look into bbw romance. Honestly, Mary E. Thompson concocted the barest framework of your run of the mill Gary Stu. She basically received Xander written for her and inserted him into the sad sad world of Mandy and her sad friends. There was absolutely no sign of this "wonderful woman" that Xander kept yakking on about in Mandy. Aside from the barest requirements to pass as a decent human being, Mandy was just a ball of misplaced anger, suspicion, and shame. No matter how often or how sincerely Xander professed his attraction to her, she refused to believe it. And yet, she claimed to love him?
There are so many things wrong with this book, but let me just finish this rant with my last grievance. THE SEX! This is the novel form of a PWP, or at least that's what I have to think of it as to forgive the utter lack of plot. I figure, its a romance novel, the sex parts should at least be decent right? Now, I've read a LOT of PWP in my day, so its not like I have a particularly discerning taste in literature. That said, the sex in this book was like adding insult to injury. Not only do I have to sit here and listen to Sad Mandy whine endlessly about how she's fat and everyone thinks she's fat and woe is me boo hoo; I also have to read through the cringe-worthy sex scenes. Mandy and Xander also seemed to have impossible libidos and so once they got going, it was tortuous sex scene after tortuous sex scene. Almost none of them were worth even skimming through, a conclusion I came to AFTER reading through them.
TL;DR
The book was awful, 100% would NOT recommend. Unless you're into punishing yourself and wasting time.
Mandy is so unlikable as a main character. She's deeply insecure and it shows in a big way. No matter how many times she reiterates that she's found a way to be happy with herself at her weight, literally everything she does contradicts that assertion. She's relentlessly bitter about "skinny bitches"as is every woman in this series it seems. I couldn't deal with all the times Mandy freaked out (majorly or otherwise) about some phantom behavior she perceived from Xander. Like damn we all have insecurities but Mandy took all that to a whole new level. With how she was acting it is only thanks to the fact that these are two fictional characters in a fantasy, that Xander didn't run screaming for the hills. What person wants to be with someone they have to fight tooth and nail to reassure at every little turn? The fact that she just about broke it off at every minuscule snag speaks of her lack of trust. I know that reading a romance requires a suspension of reality, and usually I'm down with that. Mandy, however, completely broke my tolerance.
I am particularly insulted by her character because she embodies every stereotype of the pathetic, delusional, sad, self-righteous, self-hating, thirsty ass fat girl. For once I would like to read a bbw romance that featured a main character whose self esteem could actually fill a thimble. Mandy is a depressing look into bbw romance. Honestly, Mary E. Thompson concocted the barest framework of your run of the mill Gary Stu. She basically received Xander written for her and inserted him into the sad sad world of Mandy and her sad friends. There was absolutely no sign of this "wonderful woman" that Xander kept yakking on about in Mandy. Aside from the barest requirements to pass as a decent human being, Mandy was just a ball of misplaced anger, suspicion, and shame. No matter how often or how sincerely Xander professed his attraction to her, she refused to believe it. And yet, she claimed to love him?
There are so many things wrong with this book, but let me just finish this rant with my last grievance. THE SEX! This is the novel form of a PWP, or at least that's what I have to think of it as to forgive the utter lack of plot. I figure, its a romance novel, the sex parts should at least be decent right? Now, I've read a LOT of PWP in my day, so its not like I have a particularly discerning taste in literature. That said, the sex in this book was like adding insult to injury. Not only do I have to sit here and listen to Sad Mandy whine endlessly about how she's fat and everyone thinks she's fat and woe is me boo hoo; I also have to read through the cringe-worthy sex scenes. Mandy and Xander also seemed to have impossible libidos and so once they got going, it was tortuous sex scene after tortuous sex scene. Almost none of them were worth even skimming through, a conclusion I came to AFTER reading through them.
TL;DR
The book was awful, 100% would NOT recommend. Unless you're into punishing yourself and wasting time.
October 21, 2016
This was really a zero star book for me and I'm going to tell you why.
I love books about fat women doing their thing, living their lives, and getting the man (or woman) of their dreams. I live for this. This is my life, you feel? What I am not here for is fatphobia towards men, "casual" homophobia, and putting down other women to lift yourself higher. Not into it and this story is full of it.
Here's the deal: You cannot write a story about how fat bodies deserve love and respect and then have lines about how fat men are unattractive. You can't. That's a contradiction. Either all bodies are good or you're wrong. Sorry not sorry. So while I did like that the women complimented each other, their conversations about fat men were troubling. It's also troubling that each one of them complains about being lonely but then explicitly expresses the desire to only be with HAWT and built men.
Then there was the "casual" homophobia. One character states that she could never be with another woman. Ok, that's fine. But then the others chime in about how gross it is and one of them says the thought of touching another woman makes her want to vomit. Ok, that's not fine. You can have your sexual preference without degrading someone else... I wonder if the author is aware of that?
Then there was the line that completely fulfilled my hatred of this book. "You're better than all those skinny bitches."
Nope. Uh uh. Not happening. You do not get to degrade thin women to raise fat women up. I'm not better than someone because I'm fat. They're not better than me because they're skinny. Stop pitting women against each other. Stop writing male characters who only know how to compliment but comparing one woman to another. It's lazy writing and it's harmful to women. Other women are not our competition, ok?
There were a few other scenes that bothered me. Particularly a scene where the male MC buys pizza for the female MC and her friends... and then watches them eat. And then brings in cupcakes, popcorn, and raw cookie dough and watches them eat. Afterwards, he takes her upstairs and tells her how "turned on" he was all night. It skeeved me out because it was very fetish-y sounding and while whatever two consenting adults want to do, involving her friends who had not consented was too much for me to handle.
Excluding those things, I still probably wouldn't have given this over a 2 star review. The plot was thin, the dialogue was awkward and unbelievable, it needed heavy editing, and I was pretty bored during the whole shebang.
I love books about fat women doing their thing, living their lives, and getting the man (or woman) of their dreams. I live for this. This is my life, you feel? What I am not here for is fatphobia towards men, "casual" homophobia, and putting down other women to lift yourself higher. Not into it and this story is full of it.
Here's the deal: You cannot write a story about how fat bodies deserve love and respect and then have lines about how fat men are unattractive. You can't. That's a contradiction. Either all bodies are good or you're wrong. Sorry not sorry. So while I did like that the women complimented each other, their conversations about fat men were troubling. It's also troubling that each one of them complains about being lonely but then explicitly expresses the desire to only be with HAWT and built men.
Then there was the "casual" homophobia. One character states that she could never be with another woman. Ok, that's fine. But then the others chime in about how gross it is and one of them says the thought of touching another woman makes her want to vomit. Ok, that's not fine. You can have your sexual preference without degrading someone else... I wonder if the author is aware of that?
Then there was the line that completely fulfilled my hatred of this book. "You're better than all those skinny bitches."
Nope. Uh uh. Not happening. You do not get to degrade thin women to raise fat women up. I'm not better than someone because I'm fat. They're not better than me because they're skinny. Stop pitting women against each other. Stop writing male characters who only know how to compliment but comparing one woman to another. It's lazy writing and it's harmful to women. Other women are not our competition, ok?
There were a few other scenes that bothered me. Particularly a scene where the male MC buys pizza for the female MC and her friends... and then watches them eat. And then brings in cupcakes, popcorn, and raw cookie dough and watches them eat. Afterwards, he takes her upstairs and tells her how "turned on" he was all night. It skeeved me out because it was very fetish-y sounding and while whatever two consenting adults want to do, involving her friends who had not consented was too much for me to handle.
Excluding those things, I still probably wouldn't have given this over a 2 star review. The plot was thin, the dialogue was awkward and unbelievable, it needed heavy editing, and I was pretty bored during the whole shebang.
April 6, 2016
So, I'm not totally without bias here.
This is a BBW that's not 35 pages.
This is a BBW that's not just a total fuck-fest.
This is a BBW that centers around body and self-esteem issues.
This is a BBW that has a full series of curvy friends.
Without reading a word, I'm already loving it. Full-length (or at least non-novella/novelette length), steamy with plot and good characterization and full of body angst is the recipe to make me happy and this book had it. This is exactly what I want to read in a BBW. The only thing this lacked that I would have liked is hero POV. This is told strictly from heroine POV and I would have loved to be inside of Xander's head. Because of the single POV, I felt like he wasn't as fleshed out as he could have been.
I may have liked it more than other readers, but I can clearly see some reasons why this might not be a hit for some.
A) Cheesy. Oh, so much Cheese. The hero says so many flowery and perfect things that it smacks of fairy tale time.
B) Cliches. The "skinny, jealous bitches" that the heroine overhears talking smack about her (*eye-roll*). And the dumb assumptions the heroine makes completely because of her low self-esteem that makes her push the hero away (For the record, I love this little plot device and don't find anything wrong with a little heart-twisting cliche).
C) Poor editing. Dude, it's Masturbating, not Masterbating. You Bear with me, not Bare with me. Etc., Etc.
But, I totally liked this and want to devour all of the books in the series.
This is a BBW that's not 35 pages.
This is a BBW that's not just a total fuck-fest.
This is a BBW that centers around body and self-esteem issues.
This is a BBW that has a full series of curvy friends.
Without reading a word, I'm already loving it. Full-length (or at least non-novella/novelette length), steamy with plot and good characterization and full of body angst is the recipe to make me happy and this book had it. This is exactly what I want to read in a BBW. The only thing this lacked that I would have liked is hero POV. This is told strictly from heroine POV and I would have loved to be inside of Xander's head. Because of the single POV, I felt like he wasn't as fleshed out as he could have been.
I may have liked it more than other readers, but I can clearly see some reasons why this might not be a hit for some.
A) Cheesy. Oh, so much Cheese. The hero says so many flowery and perfect things that it smacks of fairy tale time.
B) Cliches. The "skinny, jealous bitches" that the heroine overhears talking smack about her (*eye-roll*). And the dumb assumptions the heroine makes completely because of her low self-esteem that makes her push the hero away (For the record, I love this little plot device and don't find anything wrong with a little heart-twisting cliche).
C) Poor editing. Dude, it's Masturbating, not Masterbating. You Bear with me, not Bare with me. Etc., Etc.
But, I totally liked this and want to devour all of the books in the series.
January 6, 2021
The main character in this story is plus sized Mandy, who is a customer service representative for an insurance company.
She has a beautiful voice and is confident - because the people she is helping cannot see her. Although the story repeatedly indicates Mandy is just fine with her looks, she is much more comfortable when people cannot see - or judge - her. She is truly only comfortable with her very close and tight circle of friends, who are also on the curvy side.
On a day that is just like any other with a bullying co-worker at her every time she blinked, she answers the phone to hear a customer named Xander. Xander falls under the spell of her voice and calls back a few times, finally asking her out.
The rest of the book is about their first blind date, how she is incredibly rude to him, and how he refuses to give up as doesn't care about her size or weight - he truly cares about her. Xander is a hunk that all the girls have always fawned over, all of his life. To top it off, he's rich and charming.
It gets a little tiring in places reading over and over about her continually wondering how he could care about a girl who looks like her when he's so gorgeous, which goes against all the other times she is preaching how comfortable she is with herself.
Once she realizes Xander may be the real thing, the book turns to a few (very much the same) lovemaking descriptions.
I liked Mandy but she drove me crazy. I'd love to see a book with a curvy woman who really is ok with herself and who doesn't think she can't have a true love because of her weight standing in the way. In that sense, the book is quite predictable.
She has a beautiful voice and is confident - because the people she is helping cannot see her. Although the story repeatedly indicates Mandy is just fine with her looks, she is much more comfortable when people cannot see - or judge - her. She is truly only comfortable with her very close and tight circle of friends, who are also on the curvy side.
On a day that is just like any other with a bullying co-worker at her every time she blinked, she answers the phone to hear a customer named Xander. Xander falls under the spell of her voice and calls back a few times, finally asking her out.
The rest of the book is about their first blind date, how she is incredibly rude to him, and how he refuses to give up as doesn't care about her size or weight - he truly cares about her. Xander is a hunk that all the girls have always fawned over, all of his life. To top it off, he's rich and charming.
It gets a little tiring in places reading over and over about her continually wondering how he could care about a girl who looks like her when he's so gorgeous, which goes against all the other times she is preaching how comfortable she is with herself.
Once she realizes Xander may be the real thing, the book turns to a few (very much the same) lovemaking descriptions.
I liked Mandy but she drove me crazy. I'd love to see a book with a curvy woman who really is ok with herself and who doesn't think she can't have a true love because of her weight standing in the way. In that sense, the book is quite predictable.
Read
October 29, 2021DNF
Nope, Could not get past page 2.
Nope, Could not get past page 2.
December 5, 2021
Oof. This was a painful book to partially read. I DNF’d at 30%. There was serious fat-shaming going on here, right from the start. It felt like the character was written from the perspective of how a not-fat person imagines a fat person must feel about themselves and how they must eat. It felt like the author had to assure the audience that she understood that even though the heroine was fat, we all must understand how awful that is because look at how profoundly pathetic Mandy is.
She’s deeply insecure and bitter, and it leads to her making judgements and assumptions that she has no actual reason to make if she wasn’t being so defensive and bitter. She doesn’t need a relationship, she needs a therapist to help her learn self-compassion and self-esteem. She doesn’t need your standard hot cinnamon roll hero to make her feel better. She needs to work her own baggage out.
The entire idea of needing a man (hot man) to validate your worth is gross in and of itself. However, our darling heroine also states that she wouldn’t date a fat guy either (a throwaway statement, but one that bothered me greatly). She fully buys into valuing people by their appearance only, yet she’s bitter and angry when it happens to her. This sort of hypocrisy on the part of the character gets to the heart of what bothered me so much about this book.
At its core, it validates the idea of the pathetic, worthless fat person. Since it is a romance novel, I assume there is an HEA. The hot guy validates her and assures her of his worth. And she may feel better! But in the end, she’s still a fat lady whose validation only comes from the hot guy she’s banging, not from any true sense of self worth. The worthless fat lady still lives on inside, dependent on someone else to find her attractive.
She’s deeply insecure and bitter, and it leads to her making judgements and assumptions that she has no actual reason to make if she wasn’t being so defensive and bitter. She doesn’t need a relationship, she needs a therapist to help her learn self-compassion and self-esteem. She doesn’t need your standard hot cinnamon roll hero to make her feel better. She needs to work her own baggage out.
The entire idea of needing a man (hot man) to validate your worth is gross in and of itself. However, our darling heroine also states that she wouldn’t date a fat guy either (a throwaway statement, but one that bothered me greatly). She fully buys into valuing people by their appearance only, yet she’s bitter and angry when it happens to her. This sort of hypocrisy on the part of the character gets to the heart of what bothered me so much about this book.
At its core, it validates the idea of the pathetic, worthless fat person. Since it is a romance novel, I assume there is an HEA. The hot guy validates her and assures her of his worth. And she may feel better! But in the end, she’s still a fat lady whose validation only comes from the hot guy she’s banging, not from any true sense of self worth. The worthless fat lady still lives on inside, dependent on someone else to find her attractive.
July 1, 2020
Bah for me but.....
The lead H in this book is so frustrating. She talks a good game but doesn’t have the follow through. She never just sit backs and think maybe I am overreacting, maybe I should speak my mind in that moment, maybe I should ask what is you problem with me. Let at anything if she would have done any of these things she wouldn’t have the pain she had.
As for Xander he was like a puppy with a new toy and thought because he loved his friends would too. He didn’t think past his like for her which lead him to take her places where as$hole thrived. He just didn’t think
Also I didn’t feel their connection come off the page. It was kind of stale. Like he liked her more than she liked him. It seemed so one side and flat.
He said all the right words but I just didn’t feel their chemistry.
I’m thinking about reading the next book in the series I hope it’s better if I give it a try. Also, why was drew at the party with all her friends just seemed weird to me.
The lead H in this book is so frustrating. She talks a good game but doesn’t have the follow through. She never just sit backs and think maybe I am overreacting, maybe I should speak my mind in that moment, maybe I should ask what is you problem with me. Let at anything if she would have done any of these things she wouldn’t have the pain she had.
As for Xander he was like a puppy with a new toy and thought because he loved his friends would too. He didn’t think past his like for her which lead him to take her places where as$hole thrived. He just didn’t think
Also I didn’t feel their connection come off the page. It was kind of stale. Like he liked her more than she liked him. It seemed so one side and flat.
He said all the right words but I just didn’t feel their chemistry.
I’m thinking about reading the next book in the series I hope it’s better if I give it a try. Also, why was drew at the party with all her friends just seemed weird to me.
February 14, 2020
Dear Chubby & Charming,
*Full body shutter* Girl, We gotta talk. You made me angry. Like seething, red faced, foaming at the mouth ANGRY. As much as I wanted to fall head over heels in love with you. . . You just, made me cringe. And I'm all for cringe worthy moments if they get a damn point across, but damn. Your heroine has some major problems. And while I admire what you tried to accomplish, damn you just fell flat. I finished you, on nothing other than my own sheer will and determination. But damn you made it hard.
I ended up noting thirteen things in my kindle, which on its own isn't necessarily a good or bad thing. But going over them only ONE was positive. ONE THING. The other twelve were just me needing to rant and get angry.
Lord Give Me Strength.
My Love Of Words.
*Full body shutter* Girl, We gotta talk. You made me angry. Like seething, red faced, foaming at the mouth ANGRY. As much as I wanted to fall head over heels in love with you. . . You just, made me cringe. And I'm all for cringe worthy moments if they get a damn point across, but damn. Your heroine has some major problems. And while I admire what you tried to accomplish, damn you just fell flat. I finished you, on nothing other than my own sheer will and determination. But damn you made it hard.
I ended up noting thirteen things in my kindle, which on its own isn't necessarily a good or bad thing. But going over them only ONE was positive. ONE THING. The other twelve were just me needing to rant and get angry.
Lord Give Me Strength.
My Love Of Words.
August 6, 2017
Reread 2017: after rereading this, I did still like it but I found a little more fault in it. I'm not a fan of the way she treated him in the beginning but she did state she knew she was being a jerk. All and all it was still decent.
You know for a new author this wasn't that bad of a book and a hell of a lot better than some I have read recently. She did a pretty god job and I'm on,y guessing it's going to get better as the series goes on.
You know for a new author this wasn't that bad of a book and a hell of a lot better than some I have read recently. She did a pretty god job and I'm on,y guessing it's going to get better as the series goes on.
May 23, 2019
Seriously girl...
Poor Xander. I wanted to shake the "poor-little-fat-me" right out of Mandy. She's only a size 18, and busty at that! Try being a small chested size 28... and I have fewer body issues than she did. Mandy never learns that sexy is in the mind, not the body. No matter how many times Xander tells her, it won't matter.
Poor Xander. I wanted to shake the "poor-little-fat-me" right out of Mandy. She's only a size 18, and busty at that! Try being a small chested size 28... and I have fewer body issues than she did. Mandy never learns that sexy is in the mind, not the body. No matter how many times Xander tells her, it won't matter.
June 28, 2021
It’s been awhile since I have felt the need to write a review. However, this novel frustrated me so much, I felt compelled to. As an overweight woman, this novel was not only frustrating, it was borderline offensive and we deserve better.
‘
Both the characters and the plot are as thin as tissue paper, and just as transparent. The cliches begin with Mandy’s self introduction about how she’s happy with her life and does not need men, even for friends. From there, everything is so cookie cutter, the reader could have written the outline without ever reading the rest of the novel. Hero is over the top gorgeous? Check. Still somehow is excessively sexually attracted to the heroine? Check! Multiple misunderstandings involving the heroine’s weight to create conflict instead of any true creative conflict? Multiple checks! Hero almost obsessively chasing after the heroine because he can’t, for some reason, imagine life without her? Unfortunately, check.
Mandy is not a likable character, either, and doesn’t even have a personality beyond being a “fat girl.” Not to mention, her page 3 rant about her best friend Claire portrays Mandy’s true colors not only as an awful person, but an awful friend as well. She likes to claim that “fat is fun” but that immediately follows her claiming Claire - her best friend - is “wasting her body because if I could have been skinny I would have.” This is vital to remember when the reader reaches scenes later in the book such as where Mandy eats four gourmet cupcakes in a row, almost making it six. I am for body positivity and am not here to body shame anyone, but she claims to have been fat all her life because her weight is “genetics and uncontrollable.” Was it, Mandy? Was it really?
From the moment she actually meets Xander in person, her insecurities are immediately apparent in her downright rude interaction with him. Then the rest of the novel is misunderstanding after misunderstanding of her just being overly sensitive about her weight and taking it out on him, forcing him to grovel after her in hopes that she will be gracious enough to grant him another chance for something he did not even do wrong despite her trying to make him the bad guy. Nowhere in the novel does she prove that she is worth chasing after, and after how poorly she consistently treats Xander, it is hard to root for her as a heroine much less a romantic interest.
Normally, I DNF novels that start off as poorly as these, novels that so clearly mean to appeal to a specific demographic but miss the mark by a mile. As a larger woman, I know that my experiences are not the same as others and I cannot speak for the group as a whole. However, I would love for a novel involving larger women that does not follow this frustratingly overused formula lead by truly awful heroines.
‘
Both the characters and the plot are as thin as tissue paper, and just as transparent. The cliches begin with Mandy’s self introduction about how she’s happy with her life and does not need men, even for friends. From there, everything is so cookie cutter, the reader could have written the outline without ever reading the rest of the novel. Hero is over the top gorgeous? Check. Still somehow is excessively sexually attracted to the heroine? Check! Multiple misunderstandings involving the heroine’s weight to create conflict instead of any true creative conflict? Multiple checks! Hero almost obsessively chasing after the heroine because he can’t, for some reason, imagine life without her? Unfortunately, check.
Mandy is not a likable character, either, and doesn’t even have a personality beyond being a “fat girl.” Not to mention, her page 3 rant about her best friend Claire portrays Mandy’s true colors not only as an awful person, but an awful friend as well. She likes to claim that “fat is fun” but that immediately follows her claiming Claire - her best friend - is “wasting her body because if I could have been skinny I would have.” This is vital to remember when the reader reaches scenes later in the book such as where Mandy eats four gourmet cupcakes in a row, almost making it six. I am for body positivity and am not here to body shame anyone, but she claims to have been fat all her life because her weight is “genetics and uncontrollable.” Was it, Mandy? Was it really?
From the moment she actually meets Xander in person, her insecurities are immediately apparent in her downright rude interaction with him. Then the rest of the novel is misunderstanding after misunderstanding of her just being overly sensitive about her weight and taking it out on him, forcing him to grovel after her in hopes that she will be gracious enough to grant him another chance for something he did not even do wrong despite her trying to make him the bad guy. Nowhere in the novel does she prove that she is worth chasing after, and after how poorly she consistently treats Xander, it is hard to root for her as a heroine much less a romantic interest.
Normally, I DNF novels that start off as poorly as these, novels that so clearly mean to appeal to a specific demographic but miss the mark by a mile. As a larger woman, I know that my experiences are not the same as others and I cannot speak for the group as a whole. However, I would love for a novel involving larger women that does not follow this frustratingly overused formula lead by truly awful heroines.
October 21, 2020
Someday I hope to see books about actual fat people, who aren't horribly insecure about their bodies. This is def not one of those. The trope of fat girls never having a healthy relationship and being damaged by this fact is so old.
The writing was weak, and the characters were clichéd stereotypes in many ways, and also contradictory in ways that were unbelievable, not a deepening the character way.
I love fun, fluffy, fantasy entertainment, but this didn't cut it for me. If you are insecure about your size 18 body and have never felt sexy or attractive, you just might love this.
The writing was weak, and the characters were clichéd stereotypes in many ways, and also contradictory in ways that were unbelievable, not a deepening the character way.
I love fun, fluffy, fantasy entertainment, but this didn't cut it for me. If you are insecure about your size 18 body and have never felt sexy or attractive, you just might love this.
January 16, 2019
I downloaded this free & told myself why not. I've always been plus size & love a romance about chubby girls. This is Mandy & Xanders story. A lot of trust issues takes place between both since Mandy doesn't think anyone as good looking as Xander would fall for a chubby girl like her.
This is a quick read, lots of misunderstandings & growth to take place between two people that just needs to learn to trust one another.
This is a quick read, lots of misunderstandings & growth to take place between two people that just needs to learn to trust one another.
July 28, 2020
I hated this book! My problem was with the heroine, who constantly doubted the hero's attraction and affection for her. The plot also didn't keep me engaged much, and while I liked the idea of the series featuring each one of the friends, I felt like I had to slog through this to finish it! Would not continue the series, and have deleted from my Kindle library.
January 12, 2020
I love reading books or even fanfiction that has a larger woman as a main character, I feel like I can relate more to it. Just the fact the it is a BBW had me a t hello (Lol). With these stories there's always going to be self esteem issue but they always overcome that but in truth that's real life.
June 13, 2021
Simple and not really a very realistic story for me personally. I liked some of the humour and it was a bit of a let down with quite cliched sex and romance. The main character had a few too many hangups for me and felt a bit light on substance. I also thought the romantic interest didn't have much in the way of unique characteristics which I found disappointing. The writing style was clear and concise but not quite descriptive enough for me.
July 10, 2017
I enjoyed Mandy and Xander.
December 5, 2021
I liked Mandy (aside from her tendency to jump to conclusions), but Xavier felt one dimensional to me. I was TOLD how amazing he was outside of being boyfriend material, but didn't get to SEE it.
Read
February 7, 2022A nonsensical bore. DNF after 5%
January 20, 2024
Takes place around the Buffalo, NY area, the Hero is an electrical engineer grad from SUNY Buffalo, which makes us cousins by degree program 😩 Hero and heroine meet via call center when he calls in to report a claim for his health insurance and he thinks her voice is sexy and I talk about how this is such a black and white world where skinny women are evil and fat women are the only nice, worthy ones. It's truly a fantasy in every way, especially the idea that an electrical engineer from UB is a nice guy 😩😩 /jk. Book has absolutely no substance, there is too much fatphobia coming from the fat characters that has me thinking the author has never been a plus size woman and therefore falls on the stereotypes of fat people being worthless without the validation of conventionally attractive individuals... And I saw in book 2, page 2, the author writes "Fat girls don't get raped." So basically, this is a bunch of BS. The heroine needs therapy. The Hero needs to sort out his feeder fetish.
December 15, 2015
Mandy has spend her whole life overweight. She has learned to embrace it. She figured there was no hope of ever finding a man. But she had her three best friends and life was good. Working for an insurance company she only had to talk on the phone. Nobody had to see her. She loved talking to people and this gave her the anonymity to never be judged by her size. Until the day Xander Carlson called. The man with the sexy voice and man could he flirt. Xander wanted to meet that person behind that beautiful voice. What that voice did to him over the phone he could only imagine what would happen face to face. Xander can't wait. Mandy knows men as hot and sexy as Xander will never fall for a women like her.
Mandy has had quite a few men play games with her. Used to being judged on her body, she assumes Xander is going to do the same when they meet. She puts up her walls before she even gives him a chance. Xander was excited when he met Mandy the first time and really confused at what went wrong at that meeting. Xander was a fantastic man. He tried so hard. There were a few times you want to reach in the book and slap Mandy on the back of her head. Yet you understand where she is coming from. Once you build them walls it is so hard to knock them down. You do everything you can to protect yourself from pain. The story line flows smoothly and you got to love the best friends, even Xander has one great friend. Hopefully you get to learn more about all of them in the rest of the series.
Mandy has had quite a few men play games with her. Used to being judged on her body, she assumes Xander is going to do the same when they meet. She puts up her walls before she even gives him a chance. Xander was excited when he met Mandy the first time and really confused at what went wrong at that meeting. Xander was a fantastic man. He tried so hard. There were a few times you want to reach in the book and slap Mandy on the back of her head. Yet you understand where she is coming from. Once you build them walls it is so hard to knock them down. You do everything you can to protect yourself from pain. The story line flows smoothly and you got to love the best friends, even Xander has one great friend. Hopefully you get to learn more about all of them in the rest of the series.
July 12, 2019
This is just the kind of thing I am looking for in my chubby-heroine books: insecure (but not doormat) heroine, supportive hero, misunderstandings and angst, overheard insults and Mean Girls. In fact, it was a little too perfect, almost heavy-handed in driving home certain points. As a fat woman, I have definitely had people be rude to me, but the shear amount of constant, intense hostility from basically all the women who aren't in the heroine's friend circle seemed a bit much. Also, two complaints: one, while I love a hot built hero, I wish the heroine didn't talk about thinking fat men are unattractice. Though I guess at least she acknowledged that she was a shallow hypocrite. Two, I wish there wasn't such a need for the female characters to emphatically proclaim their heterosexuality. Of course, there is nothing wrong with being straight, but most people who are repulsed by the idea of homosexual sex are homophobes; sorry, they may not be card-carrying conservatives, but there is a spectrum of homophobic attitudes, and sometimes it is gentle/subtle like it was here.
Overall though, this is a promising series for my favorite tropes!!! On to Claire's book!
Overall though, this is a promising series for my favorite tropes!!! On to Claire's book!
May 22, 2016
For Fat Girls
To write a book like this, the author had to have lived a fat life at some point. The feelings, thoughts, and emotions cannot be faked by a thin person. I've had all of them myself. This book is well written and easily believed. It draws the reader into the story and keeps her (or him) totally engaged. I've laughed and I've cried right along with the main character and the others. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to us larger than the average person. Congratulations to Mary E. Thompson, you have a hit!
To write a book like this, the author had to have lived a fat life at some point. The feelings, thoughts, and emotions cannot be faked by a thin person. I've had all of them myself. This book is well written and easily believed. It draws the reader into the story and keeps her (or him) totally engaged. I've laughed and I've cried right along with the main character and the others. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to us larger than the average person. Congratulations to Mary E. Thompson, you have a hit!
September 23, 2020
I can't...
There aren't many books that I give up on.... But I'm on Chapter 7 and I cannot. She's supposed to be an independent woman. But because she's chubby she has the self esteem of a 7th grader. As a plus size woman this was borderline insulting. If she grew up chubby as the story claims, she'd be a lot further on her self love journey. To any young women reading this, please know that your size does not dictate your worth or value. And if ever you need a confidence boost remember... Most chubby girls are pretty.
There aren't many books that I give up on.... But I'm on Chapter 7 and I cannot. She's supposed to be an independent woman. But because she's chubby she has the self esteem of a 7th grader. As a plus size woman this was borderline insulting. If she grew up chubby as the story claims, she'd be a lot further on her self love journey. To any young women reading this, please know that your size does not dictate your worth or value. And if ever you need a confidence boost remember... Most chubby girls are pretty.
April 19, 2016
I had mixed feelings while reading this book. I like that Mandy feels she's confident and content with being overweight and doesn't feel that she needs a man to make her feel complete and happy. That of course, is before she meets Xander. By the end of the book I was just ready for it to be over.
February 24, 2017
Great book!!!
February 26, 2019
3.5 stars
I enjoyed this story of curvy and sassy Mandy and her hunky, gorgeous love interest Xander. There was a lot of sassiness between the two of them that started from the beginning when Xander called the customer service line that Mandy worked at, and the flirting began. It was cute as it was very sexy as the two connected through the phone. He was very flirty with her and asked her out on a date because he thought she had a beautiful voice. At first, Mandy didn’t want to go, fearing that her size would detract from his attraction between her, but decided to go, even though she didn’t expect it to go well. After a little rocky start, these two connected by getting to know each other on the phone first then preceding to them date in real life, and the attraction between them was fierce and hot.
They couldn’t keep their hands off of each other and soon wound up having a very passionate relationship while Mandy dealt with insecurity over her body and her attractiveness to Xander. But Xander showed her that he was very much into her and loved her body and showed her in very passionate ways throughout the book. I was very surprised how many passionate and bedroom scenes there were and just how much sexy time they did have, which made the book very steamy. A majority of their relationship was focused on that, but there were things here and there that showed that Xander wanted her more than just in the bedroom like introducing her to his family.
They had an issue near the end of the book that caused tension and a temporary separation between the two before coming together again. I understand why Mandy felt the way that she did, but at the same time she should have trusted Xander and not thought the worst of him. I didn’t believe what she did because it was obvious he was absolutely crazy about her, but that was her issue to deal with. That conflict kind just felt like it was thrown in there, and a little bit unnecessary, but I get why it was in there I just couldn’t have done without it, and then just the resolution was kind of rushed for me, but it was a satisfying ending at the same time.
It was good and I enjoyed it. I thought the relationship was very sexy and hot and I liked seeing Mandy and Xander together. I also loved the female friendship in this story as well and showed off the true meaning of friendship. I liked seeing Mandy dealing with her insecurities, and it felt very realistic as she slowly came to terms with them through her relationship with Xander, who was very into Mandy and thought her very beautiful. That was the biggest obstacle in their relationship and just coming to terms with the fact that he could have feelings for her just as she was and not wanting to change who she was. That was beautiful part. I love that they had honesty in their relationship that could talk about things. I wish they had a few more dates throughout the book and just have more time outside the bedroom to show how their bond developed and grew throughout the story. A lot of the focus was in the bedroom and though hot I wish there more of a balance there. Ending was a little rushed too. Other than that it was good.
I enjoyed this story of curvy and sassy Mandy and her hunky, gorgeous love interest Xander. There was a lot of sassiness between the two of them that started from the beginning when Xander called the customer service line that Mandy worked at, and the flirting began. It was cute as it was very sexy as the two connected through the phone. He was very flirty with her and asked her out on a date because he thought she had a beautiful voice. At first, Mandy didn’t want to go, fearing that her size would detract from his attraction between her, but decided to go, even though she didn’t expect it to go well. After a little rocky start, these two connected by getting to know each other on the phone first then preceding to them date in real life, and the attraction between them was fierce and hot.
They couldn’t keep their hands off of each other and soon wound up having a very passionate relationship while Mandy dealt with insecurity over her body and her attractiveness to Xander. But Xander showed her that he was very much into her and loved her body and showed her in very passionate ways throughout the book. I was very surprised how many passionate and bedroom scenes there were and just how much sexy time they did have, which made the book very steamy. A majority of their relationship was focused on that, but there were things here and there that showed that Xander wanted her more than just in the bedroom like introducing her to his family.
They had an issue near the end of the book that caused tension and a temporary separation between the two before coming together again. I understand why Mandy felt the way that she did, but at the same time she should have trusted Xander and not thought the worst of him. I didn’t believe what she did because it was obvious he was absolutely crazy about her, but that was her issue to deal with. That conflict kind just felt like it was thrown in there, and a little bit unnecessary, but I get why it was in there I just couldn’t have done without it, and then just the resolution was kind of rushed for me, but it was a satisfying ending at the same time.
It was good and I enjoyed it. I thought the relationship was very sexy and hot and I liked seeing Mandy and Xander together. I also loved the female friendship in this story as well and showed off the true meaning of friendship. I liked seeing Mandy dealing with her insecurities, and it felt very realistic as she slowly came to terms with them through her relationship with Xander, who was very into Mandy and thought her very beautiful. That was the biggest obstacle in their relationship and just coming to terms with the fact that he could have feelings for her just as she was and not wanting to change who she was. That was beautiful part. I love that they had honesty in their relationship that could talk about things. I wish they had a few more dates throughout the book and just have more time outside the bedroom to show how their bond developed and grew throughout the story. A lot of the focus was in the bedroom and though hot I wish there more of a balance there. Ending was a little rushed too. Other than that it was good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 20, 2023
This was practically a DNF, but somehow I slogged my way through it. The main character is intolerable, there are spelling/grammar mistakes throughout, logistically the spicy scenes don’t make sense, and the characters are so indecisive.
As a plus sized woman, I love finding books with positive representation. This was not it. The main character, Mandy, claimed to be confident and love her size, but all of her actions and words and thoughts (everything about her) pointed otherwise. She noticed every single persons weight and made a mental comment, whether it’s the “skinny bitches”, relief at her boyfriends sister and mother not being “waifs” and being medium sized, or even a paragraph of internal monologue about only trusting bakery owners who are plus sized.
There is a small section that includes homophobic comments made between Mandy and her group of friends, one making gagging noises at the idea of touching another woman. Come on.
Though the author focuses a lot on Mandy’s size, the spicy scenes are lacking in accurate depictions of being a plus sized woman having sex. Nobody is laying flat on the kitchen counter with their feet off the floor without some discomfort in the chest/back/stomach.
The MMC (who is so unforgettable that I quite literally cannot remember his name) fights tooth and nail for Mandy’s trust, and she continues to not trust him, reading things into situations that wouldn’t even be logically considered to be correct, leading to the largest miscommunication trope I’ve ever seen. He also says in the beginning that her size isn’t important, it’s her heart, but towards the end of the book he says that “if you were a skinny bitch, I wouldn’t want you.” Pardon?
Overall, not worth the read. I’m very glad I got this for free, because I would have been upset to have paid money for this.
As a plus sized woman, I love finding books with positive representation. This was not it. The main character, Mandy, claimed to be confident and love her size, but all of her actions and words and thoughts (everything about her) pointed otherwise. She noticed every single persons weight and made a mental comment, whether it’s the “skinny bitches”, relief at her boyfriends sister and mother not being “waifs” and being medium sized, or even a paragraph of internal monologue about only trusting bakery owners who are plus sized.
There is a small section that includes homophobic comments made between Mandy and her group of friends, one making gagging noises at the idea of touching another woman. Come on.
Though the author focuses a lot on Mandy’s size, the spicy scenes are lacking in accurate depictions of being a plus sized woman having sex. Nobody is laying flat on the kitchen counter with their feet off the floor without some discomfort in the chest/back/stomach.
The MMC (who is so unforgettable that I quite literally cannot remember his name) fights tooth and nail for Mandy’s trust, and she continues to not trust him, reading things into situations that wouldn’t even be logically considered to be correct, leading to the largest miscommunication trope I’ve ever seen. He also says in the beginning that her size isn’t important, it’s her heart, but towards the end of the book he says that “if you were a skinny bitch, I wouldn’t want you.” Pardon?
Overall, not worth the read. I’m very glad I got this for free, because I would have been upset to have paid money for this.
November 7, 2019
Loved this book
Mandy is a confident charming person on the phone to customers who ring in with problems with their accounts but outside of work she insecure in her body with her being bigger than the average girl even though she says she loves her curves and has accepted her weight and being fat when it comes to men she isn’t. Xander rings up his health insurance company and a lady with a beautiful voice and laugh answers the phone he is instantly smitten and wants to meet up except when he does meet Mandy she isn’t the one he’s met over the phone. Mandy was defensive before she even met Xander as he is hot, gorgeous hunk of a man why would he want to be with a fat girl like her. Xander eventually gets her to meet up again after they had spent time just talking and texting on the phones they can’t keep their hands of each other. The relationship was going great even though Mandy was still wary about her weight when meeting his parents the time went lovely his parents where lovely people and they liked her but when they went the next night to a barbecue meeting some of his friends it all went wrong the girls where nasty about her and her weight then Xanders friend starting making fat jokes she couldn’t take it and walked out as Xander was there laughing at the jokes. Mandy’s phone keeps going off Xander trying to call her she gets home after work to find him on her porch asking for her to hear him out and listen to what he has to say. Mandy lets him in and the events of that night come out and what happened why Xander has a back eye and cuts and bruises over his knuckles. Mandy gets her HEA which never thought she would get.
Loved this book the story was well written with good characters will be reading more of this authors books
Mandy is a confident charming person on the phone to customers who ring in with problems with their accounts but outside of work she insecure in her body with her being bigger than the average girl even though she says she loves her curves and has accepted her weight and being fat when it comes to men she isn’t. Xander rings up his health insurance company and a lady with a beautiful voice and laugh answers the phone he is instantly smitten and wants to meet up except when he does meet Mandy she isn’t the one he’s met over the phone. Mandy was defensive before she even met Xander as he is hot, gorgeous hunk of a man why would he want to be with a fat girl like her. Xander eventually gets her to meet up again after they had spent time just talking and texting on the phones they can’t keep their hands of each other. The relationship was going great even though Mandy was still wary about her weight when meeting his parents the time went lovely his parents where lovely people and they liked her but when they went the next night to a barbecue meeting some of his friends it all went wrong the girls where nasty about her and her weight then Xanders friend starting making fat jokes she couldn’t take it and walked out as Xander was there laughing at the jokes. Mandy’s phone keeps going off Xander trying to call her she gets home after work to find him on her porch asking for her to hear him out and listen to what he has to say. Mandy lets him in and the events of that night come out and what happened why Xander has a back eye and cuts and bruises over his knuckles. Mandy gets her HEA which never thought she would get.
Loved this book the story was well written with good characters will be reading more of this authors books
November 30, 2021
Probs THEE most misguided BBW story I've had the misfortune of reading. This book is teenage angst wrapped in a 30-year-old skin and it DOES NOT look cute.
The interactions and dialogue all flow into the most childish rationalizations, it's honestly unbelievable. I'm a little bit shocked that an adult wrote this for other adults. The main character has a lot of self-diagnosed and self-assaulted viewpoints of underwhelming self-confidence. Literally the whole book is her struggle to declare herself as a confident woman--while simultaneously bashing the world she sits in for her uninspiring lack of self-confidence. It COULD be executed in an interesting way, but in this rendition, it is not. The author makes teenage mindset dialogue a core feature and drags all of the sub-characters into backing up this psychology as a "normal" 30-ish behavior.
It's not.
I'm 29. I'm a size 18. Imma' tell you right now, NO ONE thinks this way, and if they do--they need therapy to deal with these problems that are holding them back from living their life. This is not an okay, or even emblematic pattern of story.
Also, her constantly drowning her sorrows in cupcakes? Eating chocolate before a date to "settle her nerves"?
This heroine is so far pegged into a stereotype of 'what fat girls do to function' that I can't even.
Yes. I know.
This book hits a nerve, but not in an "yes, that happens and it makes me uncomfortable" way. It comes across more as a "this is who we are and you should deal with it" way.
So badly displayed it's a joke.
Okay. I give it 0.5 stars for her writing and finishing the book without a huge amount of grammatical errors. But jesus this story DOES NOT stand on its own, please read something else.
The interactions and dialogue all flow into the most childish rationalizations, it's honestly unbelievable. I'm a little bit shocked that an adult wrote this for other adults. The main character has a lot of self-diagnosed and self-assaulted viewpoints of underwhelming self-confidence. Literally the whole book is her struggle to declare herself as a confident woman--while simultaneously bashing the world she sits in for her uninspiring lack of self-confidence. It COULD be executed in an interesting way, but in this rendition, it is not. The author makes teenage mindset dialogue a core feature and drags all of the sub-characters into backing up this psychology as a "normal" 30-ish behavior.
It's not.
I'm 29. I'm a size 18. Imma' tell you right now, NO ONE thinks this way, and if they do--they need therapy to deal with these problems that are holding them back from living their life. This is not an okay, or even emblematic pattern of story.
Also, her constantly drowning her sorrows in cupcakes? Eating chocolate before a date to "settle her nerves"?
This heroine is so far pegged into a stereotype of 'what fat girls do to function' that I can't even.
Yes. I know.
This book hits a nerve, but not in an "yes, that happens and it makes me uncomfortable" way. It comes across more as a "this is who we are and you should deal with it" way.
So badly displayed it's a joke.
Okay. I give it 0.5 stars for her writing and finishing the book without a huge amount of grammatical errors. But jesus this story DOES NOT stand on its own, please read something else.
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