An Enjoyable Read, But...
So, on the whole, the book was OK. The overall plot was, well, OK. And though the characters were a bit one-dimensional, they were likable. Except for Gabby.
I didn't have a major problem with her, but the non-stop self deprication and constant body insecurity, along with the mens' statements to the contrary, became super annoying. It felt like her weight and her insecurities about it became the main focus of the book and overshadowed the developing relationship between her and Trip, Ash, and Dallas.
I felt like the body positivity mantra was sort of shoved down the reader's throat. Between that and the way the guys denigrated the so-called "thin" girls made the fat acceptance message seem rather preachy and forced. To be quite honest, it began to feel like THAT was the actual plot of the book instead of the relationship between the guys and Gabby, as well as her breaking away from the stalker ex.
I'd just get into the developing relationship with her and the guys and boom! Up pops the body insecurity. I'd push past it, and then things would get steamy between the characters, and just when I'd get into that, boom! The insecurity again. It was like a bucket of ice-cold water being tossed in my face. Like, do we really need to bring it up every three pages? We get. She's insecure, and the guys think she's a goddess. We don't need to be told 53 times throughout the book!
I also had a problem with the amount of telling versus showing in this book. In writing, you should do more showing than telling. People want to watch the plot unfold and to have the characters revealed as things happen. Instead of that, we're being told how everyone is feeling and what's happening instead of having scenes where we get to watch it happen. It's fine sprinkled in very sparingly; not steadily doled out on a constant feed like it was done here.
Consequently, the book failed to keep my attention. Rather than getting lost in the book and reading it straight through in one sitting, as I typically do, I found myself putting it down quite a lot and then coming back to it later, reading it in starts and spurts. I'm going to give Veronic Wade another chance and try a second book. Hopefully, this one focuses on the plot and character development instead of pushing a social issue down readers' throats. *For context, I'm a big girl, so this is not me hating on overweight people because I am one.*