What do you think?
Rate this book
Sweet Temptation
Maddie's getting it from all sides. Her bitchy new boss at the radio station humiliates her live on air about her figure, her glamour-puss mum keeps dropping not-so-subtle hints that Maddie should lose weight and her kids are embarrassed to be seen with her after the disastrous Mums' race at their school sports day. Something's got to change...
447 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
124 people are currently reading
2562 people want to read
About the author
Lucy Diamond
82 books1,430 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
First of all, a confession. My name isn’t really Lucy Diamond at all, it’s Sue Mongredien. I’ve used a pen name because ‘Diamond’ is a lot easier to spell and pronounce than ‘Mongredien’ and also because I’ve written lots of children’s books too and wanted to keep the genres separate. (There is actually another Lucy Diamond on Amazon who writes religious children’s books. That isn’t me, though.)
I was born in 1970 and grew up in Nottingham. I read English at Leeds University then moved to London and worked for various publishers before I packed it all in to go travelling around the world for a year and a half. When I came back to the UK, I worked in publishing again, then moved to the BBC. I now live in Bath with my husband and three young children and divide my time between writing and looking after them. You can have a look at my children’s books here.
Favourite things: beaches, holidays, chocolate, wine, reading, Green Wing, bubble baths, sunshine, hearing my children laugh, babysitters
Favourite books: The Magus (John Fowles), The Edible Woman (Margaret Atwood), The Secret History (Donna Tartt), The Colour of Memory (Geoff Dyer)
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
First of all, a confession. My name isn’t really Lucy Diamond at all, it’s Sue Mongredien. I’ve used a pen name because ‘Diamond’ is a lot easier to spell and pronounce than ‘Mongredien’ and also because I’ve written lots of children’s books too and wanted to keep the genres separate. (There is actually another Lucy Diamond on Amazon who writes religious children’s books. That isn’t me, though.)
I was born in 1970 and grew up in Nottingham. I read English at Leeds University then moved to London and worked for various publishers before I packed it all in to go travelling around the world for a year and a half. When I came back to the UK, I worked in publishing again, then moved to the BBC. I now live in Bath with my husband and three young children and divide my time between writing and looking after them. You can have a look at my children’s books here.
Favourite things: beaches, holidays, chocolate, wine, reading, Green Wing, bubble baths, sunshine, hearing my children laugh, babysitters
Favourite books: The Magus (John Fowles), The Edible Woman (Margaret Atwood), The Secret History (Donna Tartt), The Colour of Memory (Geoff Dyer)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 285 reviews
March 12, 2017
If you have ever struggled with your weight, read this.
If you have ever been frustrated with your boss, read this.
If you have ever been dumped, read this.
If you have ever felt lonely, read this.
It's a nice light, fun read with great characters with real life problems. The only reason I cannot give it 5 stars is because sometimes I forgot which of the 3 character POVs I was reading. Different font should have been used. But the book was a joy to read. I have already bought 2 more of Lucy Diamond's ebooks.
If you have ever been frustrated with your boss, read this.
If you have ever been dumped, read this.
If you have ever felt lonely, read this.
It's a nice light, fun read with great characters with real life problems. The only reason I cannot give it 5 stars is because sometimes I forgot which of the 3 character POVs I was reading. Different font should have been used. But the book was a joy to read. I have already bought 2 more of Lucy Diamond's ebooks.
June 4, 2010
Maddie Lawson isn’t having a great time – her new boss Colette has humiliated her live on air with her new feature “Making Brum Beautiful” and has enlisted Maddie to join a Fatbusters club. Added to that, Maddie will also have to go live on air to discuss her ongoing weight loss. Maddie’s mum and children also get involved and after a disastrous Spots Day Race, Maddie realises something has to change. Colette may not have her best interests at heart but it could end up helping Maddie after all. At the first Fatbusters meeting, Maddie meets two other new girls: Lauren, who runs a dating website but has given up on love herself, and Jess, a beautician desperate to fit into a size 10 wedding dress for her wedding day. Can Maddie get her own back on Colette and use the Fatbusters class to her advantage? And what about the other two girls, can they make their own dreams come true, too?
I’m a huge fan of Lucy Diamond’s books. I managed to pick up her second novel Over You a couple of years ago for a euro which I thought was well worth picking up and I found that I really really enjoyed it once I’d read it. I was then offered a chance to read her third book Hens Reunited back when I first started the blog and I eagerly jumped at the chance and I enjoyed that just as much. So imagine my delight when her publishers offered us the chance of a proof copy of Sweet Temptation, her latest book, I wasn’t letting that go either. I received it in March but decided to wait a while to read it but I finally couldn’t resist, as it sounded great.
One thing I think Lucy Diamond excels at is managing to create fantastic female friendships. Over You, from what I remember featured some fantastic friendships, Hens Reunited was about three former friends rekindling their friendships and Sweet Temptation is no different. Here, Lucy takes three very different women and connects them via one medium: the Fatbusters club. Before each of the girl’s meet at the Fatbusters club, we’re introduced to Maddie who works at Brum FM. Her colleague Colette decides impulsively to being a campaign to Make Brum Beautiful and gives each of her colleagues – including herself – tasks to do over the Summer. Maddie’s task is to lose weight, much to her embarrassment when Colette announces it live on radio, and join a Fatbusters club. Maddie isn’t going to do it until an incident at her kids’ school sports day made worse when one of her children asks her outright if she’s going to die because of her weight. It shocks Maddie into action and she reluctantly goes along to the meeting.
Maddie goes along to the Fatbusters meeting and it turns out that she isn’t the only new member that night. There’s also Lauren, who runs a dating agency LoveHearts despite the fact her own marriage ended months earlier and then there’s Jess, a shy beautician who is desperate to be a slim bride for her fiance Charlie. All of the three girls then decide to meet up and become dieting buddies on the advice of Alison, the Fatbusters group leader. But will the girls become more than just diet buddies? As well as having to deal with trying to lose weight, the girls also have a lot of family problems to deal with which helps make the book a bit weightier than it might first seem!
Another thing Lucy excels at is giving us fantastic characters. I loved all three female lead characters Maddie, Lauren and Jess. I think Jess was probably my favourite of the three but they all had fantastic points and would make a great friend for anyone. I felt really sorry for Maddie as she goes through a heck of a lot throughout the book not least being humiliated on live radio by her colleague and she also has to deal with her mum who as well as “helping” her in her weight loss bid also appears to be suffering from some bad headaches. I thought Maddie was lovely and deals with everything really well. As I mentioned, Jess was probably my favourite of the three ladies. She seemed sweet and incredibly nice and I hated the way her boyfriend, Charlie, treated her. He didn’t seem to be a pleasant man and I truly wanted to punch him in the face. He had brought down Jess’s self-esteem no end and I so so wanted Jess to wake up and smell the coffee. I eventually liked Lauren, too, she came across as a bit hard-nosed when we first met her but she eventually thaws out and she definitely comes into her own. There are a few other characters but the book mainly revolves around Maddie, Jess and Lauren.
The book is very well written and is told from Maddie, Jess and Lauren’s perspective – they each alternate first-person narratives. It’s a very clever way to write the book as it means we get to know each of the three ladies very well. However, the only problem I had with Sweet Temptation is that the difficult situations appear to be rather glossed over. Because the book focuses so much on three different girls then not everything is able to be explored properly. I personally would have liked a bit more time dedicated to Maddie and her mum as I loved their interactions throughout the book and they seemed to have a great relationship. Bar that though I thoroughly enjoyed reading Sweet Temptation. The 400 pages fly by and it’s another great read from Lucy Diamond.
I hugely recommend Sweet Temptation – and the two other of Lucy’s books that I’ve read – and I look forward to see what Lucy is working on now. It’s also nice to see Lucy have a nice cover – I liked the Over You cover, but hated the Hens Reunited cover and now, she has a new design for Sweet Temptation which is quite nice. Sweet Temptation isn’t as light a read as it might sound (and look) and Lucy Diamond is a great new addition to the Chick Lit genre. If you haven’t already read one of her books then I recommend you go out and do that pronto particularly if you’re a fan of well written chick lit that centers on fantastic female friendships!
I’m a huge fan of Lucy Diamond’s books. I managed to pick up her second novel Over You a couple of years ago for a euro which I thought was well worth picking up and I found that I really really enjoyed it once I’d read it. I was then offered a chance to read her third book Hens Reunited back when I first started the blog and I eagerly jumped at the chance and I enjoyed that just as much. So imagine my delight when her publishers offered us the chance of a proof copy of Sweet Temptation, her latest book, I wasn’t letting that go either. I received it in March but decided to wait a while to read it but I finally couldn’t resist, as it sounded great.
One thing I think Lucy Diamond excels at is managing to create fantastic female friendships. Over You, from what I remember featured some fantastic friendships, Hens Reunited was about three former friends rekindling their friendships and Sweet Temptation is no different. Here, Lucy takes three very different women and connects them via one medium: the Fatbusters club. Before each of the girl’s meet at the Fatbusters club, we’re introduced to Maddie who works at Brum FM. Her colleague Colette decides impulsively to being a campaign to Make Brum Beautiful and gives each of her colleagues – including herself – tasks to do over the Summer. Maddie’s task is to lose weight, much to her embarrassment when Colette announces it live on radio, and join a Fatbusters club. Maddie isn’t going to do it until an incident at her kids’ school sports day made worse when one of her children asks her outright if she’s going to die because of her weight. It shocks Maddie into action and she reluctantly goes along to the meeting.
Maddie goes along to the Fatbusters meeting and it turns out that she isn’t the only new member that night. There’s also Lauren, who runs a dating agency LoveHearts despite the fact her own marriage ended months earlier and then there’s Jess, a shy beautician who is desperate to be a slim bride for her fiance Charlie. All of the three girls then decide to meet up and become dieting buddies on the advice of Alison, the Fatbusters group leader. But will the girls become more than just diet buddies? As well as having to deal with trying to lose weight, the girls also have a lot of family problems to deal with which helps make the book a bit weightier than it might first seem!
Another thing Lucy excels at is giving us fantastic characters. I loved all three female lead characters Maddie, Lauren and Jess. I think Jess was probably my favourite of the three but they all had fantastic points and would make a great friend for anyone. I felt really sorry for Maddie as she goes through a heck of a lot throughout the book not least being humiliated on live radio by her colleague and she also has to deal with her mum who as well as “helping” her in her weight loss bid also appears to be suffering from some bad headaches. I thought Maddie was lovely and deals with everything really well. As I mentioned, Jess was probably my favourite of the three ladies. She seemed sweet and incredibly nice and I hated the way her boyfriend, Charlie, treated her. He didn’t seem to be a pleasant man and I truly wanted to punch him in the face. He had brought down Jess’s self-esteem no end and I so so wanted Jess to wake up and smell the coffee. I eventually liked Lauren, too, she came across as a bit hard-nosed when we first met her but she eventually thaws out and she definitely comes into her own. There are a few other characters but the book mainly revolves around Maddie, Jess and Lauren.
The book is very well written and is told from Maddie, Jess and Lauren’s perspective – they each alternate first-person narratives. It’s a very clever way to write the book as it means we get to know each of the three ladies very well. However, the only problem I had with Sweet Temptation is that the difficult situations appear to be rather glossed over. Because the book focuses so much on three different girls then not everything is able to be explored properly. I personally would have liked a bit more time dedicated to Maddie and her mum as I loved their interactions throughout the book and they seemed to have a great relationship. Bar that though I thoroughly enjoyed reading Sweet Temptation. The 400 pages fly by and it’s another great read from Lucy Diamond.
I hugely recommend Sweet Temptation – and the two other of Lucy’s books that I’ve read – and I look forward to see what Lucy is working on now. It’s also nice to see Lucy have a nice cover – I liked the Over You cover, but hated the Hens Reunited cover and now, she has a new design for Sweet Temptation which is quite nice. Sweet Temptation isn’t as light a read as it might sound (and look) and Lucy Diamond is a great new addition to the Chick Lit genre. If you haven’t already read one of her books then I recommend you go out and do that pronto particularly if you’re a fan of well written chick lit that centers on fantastic female friendships!
September 26, 2017
Weer een heel leuk, lief en fluffy boek. Ik zou niet haar hele repertoire achter elkaar lezen. Het lijkt wel allemaal een beetje op elkaar en is hier en daar wat voorspelbaar, maar het is gewoon heel erg leuk en luchtig om te lezen. Verstand op 0 en gaan. Soms kan dat zo fijn zijn. Zeker weer 5 sterren, want ik heb gewoon genoten!
May 30, 2011
This is my first Lucy Diamond book in which I have read, so I cannot compare with her other book but what I can tell you is I WILL be reading her other books soon if this one is anything to go by. I popped to the library this morning and saw this book in the new section. It looked like your typical pink girlie chick-lit easy read which is just the kind of book I wanted for my first day off in the sun this year. And yes I have spent all day reading it and have finished much to my disappointment!
There are three main characters in this book who all come together after chapter 8. Each Chapter is told from one of the girl's point of views.
We first meet Maddie who is a married mum of two, over weight and works for a radio station. Her problem is her horrible boss does nothing but put Maddie down and is rude and spiteful to her. It is during one of the radio broadcast that Maddies's boss lets the nation know that Maddie is going to be "fighting the flab" which is the first Maddie has heard of this, just another dig at poor Maddie but an almighty blow. It is when she attends Fatbusters that we meet the other two main characters Jess and Lauren.
Jess is a beauty therapist who again is overweight. She is engaged to Charlie but Charlie has put the wedding off for a while as he wants Jess to lose weight. Charlie does nothing but make Jess fell low about herself she feels fat and ugly. This doesn't help when Jess also gets the same reaction from her temporary boss at work, who is constantly on her case about how her appearance is not professional. Jess decides she will have to do something about the weight and joins Fatbusters.
Lauren works for a dating agency lonely hearts. She has recently split from her husband who had an affair with her work colleague, so Lauren is very bitter about love. Since splitting from her husband Lauren has gradually put more and more weight on and feels it is time she finally done something about it in attempt to find new love.
The relationship between the girls comes across they are all after the same result and they all try to help each other through this time but different and difficult events happen in each of their lives which could jeopardise there weight loss success.
Nearly every woman has at some stage decided they need to lose weight I can hold my hand up high to that statement and you usually feel so alone so to watch the connection the girls have in this book you can see what a support it can be. All three of the girls are your usual average kind of girl so you can relate to the story. None of the storyline is too far fetched so you almost feel as if you are reading about their real lives.
The only thing I didn't like in this book is the character Charlie but we are not meant to like him as a person anyway. He is not a nice character in anyway and you just hope the whole way through that Jess will find the confidence in herself to walk away and go it alone. He is such a vile man.
I would highly recommend this book and I cannot wait to read her other books I just hope they are as good as this one. The book has a good mixture of humour , love and relationship, in some places quite sad parts. This book really has helped me get the focus to try harder on my diet although now I want a Pandora bracelet!!!! (you will understand once you have read the book!!!)
Overall this is a thoroughly enjoyable read as you can tell as I read it in a day, I really could not put it down.
There are three main characters in this book who all come together after chapter 8. Each Chapter is told from one of the girl's point of views.
We first meet Maddie who is a married mum of two, over weight and works for a radio station. Her problem is her horrible boss does nothing but put Maddie down and is rude and spiteful to her. It is during one of the radio broadcast that Maddies's boss lets the nation know that Maddie is going to be "fighting the flab" which is the first Maddie has heard of this, just another dig at poor Maddie but an almighty blow. It is when she attends Fatbusters that we meet the other two main characters Jess and Lauren.
Jess is a beauty therapist who again is overweight. She is engaged to Charlie but Charlie has put the wedding off for a while as he wants Jess to lose weight. Charlie does nothing but make Jess fell low about herself she feels fat and ugly. This doesn't help when Jess also gets the same reaction from her temporary boss at work, who is constantly on her case about how her appearance is not professional. Jess decides she will have to do something about the weight and joins Fatbusters.
Lauren works for a dating agency lonely hearts. She has recently split from her husband who had an affair with her work colleague, so Lauren is very bitter about love. Since splitting from her husband Lauren has gradually put more and more weight on and feels it is time she finally done something about it in attempt to find new love.
The relationship between the girls comes across they are all after the same result and they all try to help each other through this time but different and difficult events happen in each of their lives which could jeopardise there weight loss success.
Nearly every woman has at some stage decided they need to lose weight I can hold my hand up high to that statement and you usually feel so alone so to watch the connection the girls have in this book you can see what a support it can be. All three of the girls are your usual average kind of girl so you can relate to the story. None of the storyline is too far fetched so you almost feel as if you are reading about their real lives.
The only thing I didn't like in this book is the character Charlie but we are not meant to like him as a person anyway. He is not a nice character in anyway and you just hope the whole way through that Jess will find the confidence in herself to walk away and go it alone. He is such a vile man.
I would highly recommend this book and I cannot wait to read her other books I just hope they are as good as this one. The book has a good mixture of humour , love and relationship, in some places quite sad parts. This book really has helped me get the focus to try harder on my diet although now I want a Pandora bracelet!!!! (you will understand once you have read the book!!!)
Overall this is a thoroughly enjoyable read as you can tell as I read it in a day, I really could not put it down.
July 23, 2012
This is the first book i have read by lucy diamond and i loved it i couldn't put the book down. The main characters of the book were lovely and i liked how each chapter was about a different character i loved the storyline.
July 8, 2023
Christ, what an awful book. With the underlying themes of "you'll only be happy if you're thinner", "men can treat you like s*** if you're fat" and "you need a man to be happy", it is one of my least favourite books ever
December 19, 2016
Lucy má jednu úžasnú danosť, ktorá spája väčšinu jej kníh. Píše o priateľstve, o ženskom priateľstve, aby som bola presná. O nezištnom priateľstve, v ktorom si ženy /hrdinky/ pomáhajú navzájom - povzbudzujú sa, podporujú, fandia jedna druhej bez závisti, bez zákerností, bez intrigovania. Jednoducho sú si jedna druhej oporou. Ženskú spolupatričnosť a jednotu bolo cítiť ako z knihy Bude to dobrý rok tak aj z tejto. Pravdaže v iných situáciách, v iných podmienkach. Úžasné, na koľko spôsobov možno spracovať jednu a tú istú tému.
Hlavné hrdinky sú tri a sú ako ktorékoľvek iné ženy medzi nami. Tiež majú svoje sny, majú svoje traumy, majú svoje túžby, nádeje, plány. Takisto majú svoju silu. Či už Maddie, Lauren, alebo Jess, každá z nich je iná, jedna je šťastne vydatá, druhá nešťastne zasnúbená a tretia rozvedená a momentálne single, no jedno ich spája - pevná vôľa (ktorá nie je vždy taká pevná ako by chceli) a priateľstvo. Práve to ich motivuje, to ich ťahá nevzdávať sa, to ich núti bojovať a ísť si za svojim cieľom. A mňa ako čitateľa mimoriadne baví sledovať, ako sa im darí a prežívať s nimi ich pády, ich vzlety, ich starosti i radosti. A že ich je neúrekom, ani nemusím hovoriť. Navyše Lucy toto všetko podáva jej pisateľským štýlom, ktorý je príjemný, hravý, miestami dojímavý, miestami humorný, a v konečnom dôsledku veľmi pútavý. Zvyšok recenzie je tu: http://kokina1.blogspot.sk/2016/12/tr...
Hlavné hrdinky sú tri a sú ako ktorékoľvek iné ženy medzi nami. Tiež majú svoje sny, majú svoje traumy, majú svoje túžby, nádeje, plány. Takisto majú svoju silu. Či už Maddie, Lauren, alebo Jess, každá z nich je iná, jedna je šťastne vydatá, druhá nešťastne zasnúbená a tretia rozvedená a momentálne single, no jedno ich spája - pevná vôľa (ktorá nie je vždy taká pevná ako by chceli) a priateľstvo. Práve to ich motivuje, to ich ťahá nevzdávať sa, to ich núti bojovať a ísť si za svojim cieľom. A mňa ako čitateľa mimoriadne baví sledovať, ako sa im darí a prežívať s nimi ich pády, ich vzlety, ich starosti i radosti. A že ich je neúrekom, ani nemusím hovoriť. Navyše Lucy toto všetko podáva jej pisateľským štýlom, ktorý je príjemný, hravý, miestami dojímavý, miestami humorný, a v konečnom dôsledku veľmi pútavý. Zvyšok recenzie je tu: http://kokina1.blogspot.sk/2016/12/tr...
August 21, 2016
I usually enjoy Lucy Diamond's novels but I thought this one was weak. The story was predictable and shallow. I think it is one of her earlier books so maybe her style has improved with experience
September 5, 2020
A good easy feel-good fun read. Just what I needed.
October 6, 2016
Time taken to read - 1 day
Pages - 447
Blurb from Goodreads
Maddie's getting it from all sides. Her bitchy new boss at the radio station humiliates her live on air about her figure, her glamour-puss mum keeps dropping not-so-subtle hints that Maddie should lose weight and her kids are embarrassed to be seen with her after the disastrous Mums' race at their school sports day. Something's got to change...
My Review
Three main characters, Maddie, Jess and Lauren all are trying to lose weight so they join FatBusters club, not all exactly voluntarily. Maddie is pushed on by her horrible boss at the radio station and her journey publicly cataloged. Jess is desperate to be everything her partner wants her to be, including thin enough to be his bride. Lauren is a successful business woman who runs a dating agency but lost her husband to another woman and wants to slim down a bit. The woman find friendship when none are looking for it and come together to battle the bulge and overcome personal difficulties.
I can't remember if I have ever read Diamond before however this will not be my last. Chick lit at its best, humour, emotional, touching, friendship, families, weight issues, diets, abuse and love are only some of the subjects tackled in this tale. Whilst some scenes and exchanges make for uncomfortable reading it mirrors the reality of some of the real life struggles individuals experience. I do like when art imitates life, it adds authenticity to the story and gives weight to the characters. 4/5 for me this time, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys chick lit with some serious undertones.
Pages - 447
Blurb from Goodreads
Maddie's getting it from all sides. Her bitchy new boss at the radio station humiliates her live on air about her figure, her glamour-puss mum keeps dropping not-so-subtle hints that Maddie should lose weight and her kids are embarrassed to be seen with her after the disastrous Mums' race at their school sports day. Something's got to change...
My Review
Three main characters, Maddie, Jess and Lauren all are trying to lose weight so they join FatBusters club, not all exactly voluntarily. Maddie is pushed on by her horrible boss at the radio station and her journey publicly cataloged. Jess is desperate to be everything her partner wants her to be, including thin enough to be his bride. Lauren is a successful business woman who runs a dating agency but lost her husband to another woman and wants to slim down a bit. The woman find friendship when none are looking for it and come together to battle the bulge and overcome personal difficulties.
I can't remember if I have ever read Diamond before however this will not be my last. Chick lit at its best, humour, emotional, touching, friendship, families, weight issues, diets, abuse and love are only some of the subjects tackled in this tale. Whilst some scenes and exchanges make for uncomfortable reading it mirrors the reality of some of the real life struggles individuals experience. I do like when art imitates life, it adds authenticity to the story and gives weight to the characters. 4/5 for me this time, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys chick lit with some serious undertones.
August 9, 2016
I love all of Lucy Diamond's books especially this one. I really felt for Maddie in the story I could see where she was coming from but I could understand that she wants to change. The fact she has two new friends to help her along the way is so lovely. I absolutely loved this book.
January 18, 2015
First book I've read by Lucy Diamond and I'll definitely be reading more!! This book was fab, I couldn't put it down at some points! Absolutely loved it (:
October 21, 2018
This was a wonderfully "sweet" book, yes it had moments of seriousness and sadness, but on the whole it was a very sweet, wonderful book.
There is something special about a book that can tell a warm and beautiful story but with essence of real life issues within it.
This book covers everything from mental abuse, bereavement, body image to friendship, love and happiness. For me even though, it has romantic partners for all the characters - the beautiful relationship in this story is the friendship that grows for the three main women. They are all very different people but come together in a slimming group. Although they initially start of as strangers, they soon grow to become really good friends and help each other in more ways than support in slimming. I really liked all the characters and I loved hearing it on audible, the narrator really got the Birmingham accent and attitude spot on. Each of the women are on their own journey of self discovery and self worth, so although are very different and facing different challenges, they are all on the same path.
Maddie who works for the local radio and gets bullied by her boss into entering the fat busters for her Make Birmingham Beautiful campaign, possibly had the toughest time of all along the way. Maddie is a very brave and beautiful character, and I think I responded best to her, as she is very like me. Her unpleasant boss in her unkind behaviour probably helped Maddie have a fitter and happier life overall, so although Maddie had to go through some embarassment and nastiness, at the end of the day - this is what gave Maddie the push to change and go for things she wanted.
Jess the really sweet and lovely beautician, in a not very pleasant relationship and cannot see her own self worth. I really liked Jess, she is a wonderful character but I really wanted to hit Charlie and give Jess a little shake for not realising how special she is, and that she didn't need a man to be great. Plus, if she did want a man, she could do better than him.
Lauren was possibly, at first, my least favourite character as I couldn't quite see past her abruptness and sharp tongue. But once you learnt more about her and got past that initial hostility, you get to see she is as lost, lonely and confused as the other ladies. Once she opened up and was showing her true self, I really liked her character as well.
The whole book is one feel good feeling of friendship and love. The characters go through some awful ordeals and loss, but each of them come out the other side stronger and better for knowing each other.
If you are looking for a warm, feel good story with a hint of romance, friendship and growth but with realistic storylines to boot, this might be the book for you.
There is something special about a book that can tell a warm and beautiful story but with essence of real life issues within it.
This book covers everything from mental abuse, bereavement, body image to friendship, love and happiness. For me even though, it has romantic partners for all the characters - the beautiful relationship in this story is the friendship that grows for the three main women. They are all very different people but come together in a slimming group. Although they initially start of as strangers, they soon grow to become really good friends and help each other in more ways than support in slimming. I really liked all the characters and I loved hearing it on audible, the narrator really got the Birmingham accent and attitude spot on. Each of the women are on their own journey of self discovery and self worth, so although are very different and facing different challenges, they are all on the same path.
Maddie who works for the local radio and gets bullied by her boss into entering the fat busters for her Make Birmingham Beautiful campaign, possibly had the toughest time of all along the way. Maddie is a very brave and beautiful character, and I think I responded best to her, as she is very like me. Her unpleasant boss in her unkind behaviour probably helped Maddie have a fitter and happier life overall, so although Maddie had to go through some embarassment and nastiness, at the end of the day - this is what gave Maddie the push to change and go for things she wanted.
Jess the really sweet and lovely beautician, in a not very pleasant relationship and cannot see her own self worth. I really liked Jess, she is a wonderful character but I really wanted to hit Charlie and give Jess a little shake for not realising how special she is, and that she didn't need a man to be great. Plus, if she did want a man, she could do better than him.
Lauren was possibly, at first, my least favourite character as I couldn't quite see past her abruptness and sharp tongue. But once you learnt more about her and got past that initial hostility, you get to see she is as lost, lonely and confused as the other ladies. Once she opened up and was showing her true self, I really liked her character as well.
The whole book is one feel good feeling of friendship and love. The characters go through some awful ordeals and loss, but each of them come out the other side stronger and better for knowing each other.
If you are looking for a warm, feel good story with a hint of romance, friendship and growth but with realistic storylines to boot, this might be the book for you.
February 10, 2023
This book captured me! I enjoyed getting to know Lauren, Maddy and Jess, who were all fab characters. You really rallied behind them and I was with them all the way, following in both their fitness journeys and personal lives. It did hook and there is no way you can start it and leave it half way through!
The narrator was also fab. She gave spirit and personality to each of the characters and it made for effortless listening. It was so easy to loose yourself in the story and zone out of the world for a bit.
There are a few fairly hard hitting themes though, of weight loss, terminal illness, fat language & eating disorders and domestic abuse but there is a major sense of overcoming and strength in this that really inspires. The friendships, the looking within to beat their challenges made for great reading. I always looked forward to returning to this! A pleasant surprise.
Thank you to the author and publisher on NetGalley for this audiobook in return for my honest thoughts and review.
The narrator was also fab. She gave spirit and personality to each of the characters and it made for effortless listening. It was so easy to loose yourself in the story and zone out of the world for a bit.
There are a few fairly hard hitting themes though, of weight loss, terminal illness, fat language & eating disorders and domestic abuse but there is a major sense of overcoming and strength in this that really inspires. The friendships, the looking within to beat their challenges made for great reading. I always looked forward to returning to this! A pleasant surprise.
Thank you to the author and publisher on NetGalley for this audiobook in return for my honest thoughts and review.
February 6, 2023
This is a women's fiction/romance book, which is light-hearted and full of fun. I really enjoyed it!
The story is about a woman called Maddie who joins a weight watchers group, and there she meets two new friends, called Lauren and Jess. We are shown all three of them as they go on their journey to lose weight and feel better about their bodies. Along the way, we have a good laugh and cry with them, as they overcome their fears and help each other to be more confident. The three of them support each other, and this is lovely to see.
The audiobook narrator was perfect for the job, and she had a nice, calming voice, which suited the story.
I loved this sweet and funny book, and recommend it highly. I also loved the book cover, which is really beautiful.
Many thanks to the author, narrator, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.
The story is about a woman called Maddie who joins a weight watchers group, and there she meets two new friends, called Lauren and Jess. We are shown all three of them as they go on their journey to lose weight and feel better about their bodies. Along the way, we have a good laugh and cry with them, as they overcome their fears and help each other to be more confident. The three of them support each other, and this is lovely to see.
The audiobook narrator was perfect for the job, and she had a nice, calming voice, which suited the story.
I loved this sweet and funny book, and recommend it highly. I also loved the book cover, which is really beautiful.
Many thanks to the author, narrator, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.
February 11, 2023
I got a free audio arc from Netgalley all opinions are my own.
3,5 stars
I like this book, the plot was nice, the characters weren't bad either. But I kind of got lost as to which POV I was at. All the narrations sounded the same to me. Eventhough the narrator did change their accent depending on which POV we were at. I did like the narrators voice. And it was easy listening to this book and getting into it.
I liked seeing the characters growth and their friendship.
The book has a happy ending for the main characters which I enjoyed.
I wouldn't mind listening to this book again.
3,5 stars
I like this book, the plot was nice, the characters weren't bad either. But I kind of got lost as to which POV I was at. All the narrations sounded the same to me. Eventhough the narrator did change their accent depending on which POV we were at. I did like the narrators voice. And it was easy listening to this book and getting into it.
I liked seeing the characters growth and their friendship.
The book has a happy ending for the main characters which I enjoyed.
I wouldn't mind listening to this book again.
February 11, 2024
Enjoyable book, loveable characters. Wish I had know someone was going through chemotherapy and died. Having not long finished chemo myself, this hit a little too hard. Not 💯 sure that this booking isn’t suggesting you can only be happy if your skinny either. The jury is out on that one !
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2024
Light hearted and silly, ends happily ever after, exactly as it should.
March 17, 2022
Just a lovely read! Good characters and great friendships.
March 18, 2023
LUCY DIAMOND - SWEET TEMPTATION.
BOOK BLURB:
Maddie's getting it from all sides. Her bitchy boss at the radio station humiliates her live on air about her figure, her glamour-puss mum keeps dropping not-so-subtle hints that Maddie should lose weight, and her kids are embarrassed to be seen with her after the disastrous mums' race at their school sports day. Something's got to change . . .
Maddie reluctantly joins the local weight-watching group where she finds two unlikely allies - Jess, who is desperate to fit into a size ten wedding dress for her Big Day, and Lauren, who, despite running a dating agency, has signed off romance for ever. Or so she thinks . . .
As they all count the calories, new friendships develop, and secrets are shared - but can they resist temptation?
MY REVIEW:
I’m a big fan of Lucy Diamond’s work, so I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to review the audio version of her 2010 release, Sweet Temptation, which it’s fair to say is as fresh and relevant today as it was upon its original release.
The three female characters in this book are all gorgeous women in their own right, but they just aren’t feeling it.
As they buddy up in fat club, they form a lovely friendship.
It was wonderful to read these women’s stories and see them lift each other up and have each other’s backs.
Each woman has their own storyline and the whole book is written beautifully. It’s funny, thoughtful, wise and uplifting.
Sweet Temptation left me with a big smile on my face and sent me rushing to dust off my fat club membership.
This book oozes girl power and won’t fail to uplift you.
Five feel good stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Excellent narration from Kate Rawson.
With thanks to Netgalley and Bolinda Audio for an arc of this title.
BOOK BLURB:
Maddie's getting it from all sides. Her bitchy boss at the radio station humiliates her live on air about her figure, her glamour-puss mum keeps dropping not-so-subtle hints that Maddie should lose weight, and her kids are embarrassed to be seen with her after the disastrous mums' race at their school sports day. Something's got to change . . .
Maddie reluctantly joins the local weight-watching group where she finds two unlikely allies - Jess, who is desperate to fit into a size ten wedding dress for her Big Day, and Lauren, who, despite running a dating agency, has signed off romance for ever. Or so she thinks . . .
As they all count the calories, new friendships develop, and secrets are shared - but can they resist temptation?
MY REVIEW:
I’m a big fan of Lucy Diamond’s work, so I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to review the audio version of her 2010 release, Sweet Temptation, which it’s fair to say is as fresh and relevant today as it was upon its original release.
The three female characters in this book are all gorgeous women in their own right, but they just aren’t feeling it.
As they buddy up in fat club, they form a lovely friendship.
It was wonderful to read these women’s stories and see them lift each other up and have each other’s backs.
Each woman has their own storyline and the whole book is written beautifully. It’s funny, thoughtful, wise and uplifting.
Sweet Temptation left me with a big smile on my face and sent me rushing to dust off my fat club membership.
This book oozes girl power and won’t fail to uplift you.
Five feel good stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Excellent narration from Kate Rawson.
With thanks to Netgalley and Bolinda Audio for an arc of this title.
January 6, 2016
In ‘Sweet Temptation’, three overweight women decide to lose weight for different reasons. Along the way, they learn several lessons, make better choices and become close friends.
The story was told via the alternating perspectives of Maddie, Jess and Lauren. Initially I wasn’t really pleased about this as in such cases, I would usually find at least one character’s chapters to be boring or similar to another character’s. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised for I ended up enjoying all three storylines as the author succeeded in giving each of them their own voice hence making them distinguishable. Besides that, each storyline was distinctive and had different issues while simultaneously interlocking seamlessly at some point.
The characters brought plenty of life into this story. Meet Maddie, a working mum who is constantly humiliated by her boss Collette who takes pleasure in embarrassing her on the radio. Consequently she’s forced to join the FatBusters Club and report her progress to the listeners as part of a new programme. Furthermore, after her children plead with her to participate in their school’s sports day’s mums’ race, she gives in only to be chagrined as she finishes last. However, after starting to make the appropriate lifestyle changes in order to shed some pounds, she realizes that her husband isn’t too encouraging about it and her mother suddenly falls sick.
As for Jess, she’s a beautician who genuinely likes her job but the assistant manager is unbearable. Still, at least she has her devastatingly handsome fiancé, Charlie except that he’s mentally, emotionally and physically abusive as well as possessive and unsupportive. Of course, Jess is unable to process her thoughts along those lines as she’s blinded by her feelings for him and desperately wants to be with him even though he keeps postponing their marriage, putting her down and treating her like a doormat. Although it was frustrating reading about her putting up with Charlie, it was entirely realistic and I appreciated that.
Then there’s Lauren who runs a successful dating agency called ‘Love Hearts’. Ironically, her own love life is practically non-existent even as she pairs people up and reaps fruitful rewards. She views love in a cynical way as her ex-husband had cheated on her with a colleague. But things begin to look up the moment she has her eyes set on a good-looking client, Joe and she determines to be her very own Cupid. Needless to say, things don’t go as planned but being the incredibly persistent woman that she is, Lauren refuses to give up in her pursuit of a possible romance.
The minor characters had presence and actually had personality. That’s something that I usually don’t encounter in many books. Maddie’s mother, Charlie and Lauren’s colleague / best friend Patrick stood out the most. Charlie was definitely the most memorable and he was the perfect representation of an abusive partner. He was also manipulative and although I didn’t like him, I could see why Jess found it hard to leave him as she suffered from low self-esteem partially caused by him. Maddie’s kids weren’t featured much especially her son but that was alright considering they didn’t play a major role in her storyline.
Reading about their quest to lose weight was a fun journey. I liked that it wasn’t portrayed to be easy. Hunger pangs and cravings were fittingly incorporated while their struggles when they first embark on their respective exercise regimen were believable. They also didn’t magically become super slim and trim overnight. Plus, their friendship came across as natural though Jess and Maddie definitely seemed closer to each other compared to Lauren.
Overall, ‘Sweet Temptation’ was wonderfully written and had the elements of a great read – a well-executed premise, distinctive characters, realism and good pacing.
The story was told via the alternating perspectives of Maddie, Jess and Lauren. Initially I wasn’t really pleased about this as in such cases, I would usually find at least one character’s chapters to be boring or similar to another character’s. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised for I ended up enjoying all three storylines as the author succeeded in giving each of them their own voice hence making them distinguishable. Besides that, each storyline was distinctive and had different issues while simultaneously interlocking seamlessly at some point.
The characters brought plenty of life into this story. Meet Maddie, a working mum who is constantly humiliated by her boss Collette who takes pleasure in embarrassing her on the radio. Consequently she’s forced to join the FatBusters Club and report her progress to the listeners as part of a new programme. Furthermore, after her children plead with her to participate in their school’s sports day’s mums’ race, she gives in only to be chagrined as she finishes last. However, after starting to make the appropriate lifestyle changes in order to shed some pounds, she realizes that her husband isn’t too encouraging about it and her mother suddenly falls sick.
As for Jess, she’s a beautician who genuinely likes her job but the assistant manager is unbearable. Still, at least she has her devastatingly handsome fiancé, Charlie except that he’s mentally, emotionally and physically abusive as well as possessive and unsupportive. Of course, Jess is unable to process her thoughts along those lines as she’s blinded by her feelings for him and desperately wants to be with him even though he keeps postponing their marriage, putting her down and treating her like a doormat. Although it was frustrating reading about her putting up with Charlie, it was entirely realistic and I appreciated that.
Then there’s Lauren who runs a successful dating agency called ‘Love Hearts’. Ironically, her own love life is practically non-existent even as she pairs people up and reaps fruitful rewards. She views love in a cynical way as her ex-husband had cheated on her with a colleague. But things begin to look up the moment she has her eyes set on a good-looking client, Joe and she determines to be her very own Cupid. Needless to say, things don’t go as planned but being the incredibly persistent woman that she is, Lauren refuses to give up in her pursuit of a possible romance.
The minor characters had presence and actually had personality. That’s something that I usually don’t encounter in many books. Maddie’s mother, Charlie and Lauren’s colleague / best friend Patrick stood out the most. Charlie was definitely the most memorable and he was the perfect representation of an abusive partner. He was also manipulative and although I didn’t like him, I could see why Jess found it hard to leave him as she suffered from low self-esteem partially caused by him. Maddie’s kids weren’t featured much especially her son but that was alright considering they didn’t play a major role in her storyline.
Reading about their quest to lose weight was a fun journey. I liked that it wasn’t portrayed to be easy. Hunger pangs and cravings were fittingly incorporated while their struggles when they first embark on their respective exercise regimen were believable. They also didn’t magically become super slim and trim overnight. Plus, their friendship came across as natural though Jess and Maddie definitely seemed closer to each other compared to Lauren.
Overall, ‘Sweet Temptation’ was wonderfully written and had the elements of a great read – a well-executed premise, distinctive characters, realism and good pacing.
September 20, 2015
It isn’t very often that you will find a book like this one! What can I say? This book was amazing! It made me feel so warm and happy and it was just so lovely! The final chapter also brought a tear to my eye and it really isn’t very often that books/films/TV have that sort of impact on me!
Sweet Temptation follows the lives of three ladies: Maddie, Lauren and Jess. Maddie is a married mother of two who works for “Brum FM”, however people are going on at her about her size, her mum and her boss Collette who humiliates her live on radio. On top of this, humiliation from a gym instructor leaves Maddie feeling incredibly low. Then in walks Jess. Jess works as a beautician at the gym Maddie has just had her induction at. Forward on a few days and Maddie and Jess meet again at “FatBusters” where both have their own reasons for being there, Maddie being “forced” to by nasty Collette and Jess because she wants to lose weight for her wedding. Maddie and Jess then meet Lauren who manages a dating agency. All three become friends as they go through their “FatBusting” mission together. Throw in to the mix the death of Maddie’s mother, a bully of a boyfriend, postponed weddings and unsuccessful dates, but will the girls all help each other to keep going with their mission of losing weight?
First things first, I think having a book like this out there is absolutely brilliant! There is so much pressure in today’s society about how a woman should look, and that everyone should have a size 10 figure etc. etc. etc. but that’s not that case! It is totally ok to be a bit curvy and not be a stick thin model like we are so often faced with these days! Yes ok I’m a size 10 and I enjoy walking places and going for a run several times a week on the treadmill but not everyone is like that and nor do they have to be! This book is truly motivating and I think it’s great to watch the journey and difficulties that people who decide to lose weight face and actually it has really motivated me too to keep going with my running and help me strive towards my goal of running a distance race at some point in the (near) future!
On top of the storyline Lucy Diamond manages to create brilliant characters. I totally loved Maddie and Jess, and found myself liking Lauren more and more as we went through the book. You can’t help but feel sorry for each of the characters at different points through the book, particularly Maddie. But I love the way that Lucy Diamond has written the characters as each were easy to relate to in some way and I loved the friendship that was created between the three main characters. I think that is one key thing that comes out of all of Lucy Diamond’s books so far, is the brilliantly written friendships!
All in all the book was brilliant, and truly inspiring and motivating. The characters were really likeable and the story wasn’t at all predictable. It must have been good too as I started having dreams about the characters one night! But I really liked the book and would recommend it to anyone!
I’m really looking forward to moving on to “Summer With My Sister” now!
Sweet Temptation follows the lives of three ladies: Maddie, Lauren and Jess. Maddie is a married mother of two who works for “Brum FM”, however people are going on at her about her size, her mum and her boss Collette who humiliates her live on radio. On top of this, humiliation from a gym instructor leaves Maddie feeling incredibly low. Then in walks Jess. Jess works as a beautician at the gym Maddie has just had her induction at. Forward on a few days and Maddie and Jess meet again at “FatBusters” where both have their own reasons for being there, Maddie being “forced” to by nasty Collette and Jess because she wants to lose weight for her wedding. Maddie and Jess then meet Lauren who manages a dating agency. All three become friends as they go through their “FatBusting” mission together. Throw in to the mix the death of Maddie’s mother, a bully of a boyfriend, postponed weddings and unsuccessful dates, but will the girls all help each other to keep going with their mission of losing weight?
First things first, I think having a book like this out there is absolutely brilliant! There is so much pressure in today’s society about how a woman should look, and that everyone should have a size 10 figure etc. etc. etc. but that’s not that case! It is totally ok to be a bit curvy and not be a stick thin model like we are so often faced with these days! Yes ok I’m a size 10 and I enjoy walking places and going for a run several times a week on the treadmill but not everyone is like that and nor do they have to be! This book is truly motivating and I think it’s great to watch the journey and difficulties that people who decide to lose weight face and actually it has really motivated me too to keep going with my running and help me strive towards my goal of running a distance race at some point in the (near) future!
On top of the storyline Lucy Diamond manages to create brilliant characters. I totally loved Maddie and Jess, and found myself liking Lauren more and more as we went through the book. You can’t help but feel sorry for each of the characters at different points through the book, particularly Maddie. But I love the way that Lucy Diamond has written the characters as each were easy to relate to in some way and I loved the friendship that was created between the three main characters. I think that is one key thing that comes out of all of Lucy Diamond’s books so far, is the brilliantly written friendships!
All in all the book was brilliant, and truly inspiring and motivating. The characters were really likeable and the story wasn’t at all predictable. It must have been good too as I started having dreams about the characters one night! But I really liked the book and would recommend it to anyone!
I’m really looking forward to moving on to “Summer With My Sister” now!
March 12, 2016
This book took me a while to get into. It is told in chapters by three main characters. Maddie, the overweight mum of two with a wicked boss at a radio station, Jess, a slightly pudgy beautician with an absolute asshat of a fiancé and Lauren, owner of a love agency who stacked on the weight after being left by her husband for her office assistant.
All three were strangers until they met at a fat busters meeting.
For the first third of the book I kept confusing the characters. Maddie.. Now which one was she again? Jess? Ah yes, the one I really want to smack because how can she possibly not see her fiancé is horrible. You get the picture.
But it did improve. I did grow to like the characters and I did grow to root for them.
Without giving too much away, one character loses someone close to her and every time that person is mentioned after, the tears came (that could also be my 7 month pregnant hormones- but I felt the sting of her loss).
It all ended nicely- as I'd expected it would but it was a great feel good end. All three ladies really grew as people over the course of the story and it was very believable.
I want to give this book 3.5 stars. It's better than a three but not quite hitting the mark for a four. Enjoyable but no big surprises.
All three were strangers until they met at a fat busters meeting.
For the first third of the book I kept confusing the characters. Maddie.. Now which one was she again? Jess? Ah yes, the one I really want to smack because how can she possibly not see her fiancé is horrible. You get the picture.
But it did improve. I did grow to like the characters and I did grow to root for them.
Without giving too much away, one character loses someone close to her and every time that person is mentioned after, the tears came (that could also be my 7 month pregnant hormones- but I felt the sting of her loss).
It all ended nicely- as I'd expected it would but it was a great feel good end. All three ladies really grew as people over the course of the story and it was very believable.
I want to give this book 3.5 stars. It's better than a three but not quite hitting the mark for a four. Enjoyable but no big surprises.
July 7, 2016
Another beautifully written story by Lucy Diamond. This book draws you in pretty quickly, I loved all three of the main characters & thoroughly enjoyed their individual storylines.
I would definitely recommend this book.
I would definitely recommend this book.
Read
March 22, 2016Thoroughly enjoyed this book. A feel good story about three girls joining Fatbusters to lose weight. Compassion, sadness and laughter are in this book. Feel I know the characters! Thoroughly recommended.
February 21, 2015
Always lovin Lucy Diamond ❤️
February 25, 2015
3.5*. A really nice story. Heart warming and smiley.
February 21, 2019
The story has 3 female leads, Maddie, Jess, Lauren. Maddie is an assistant to an RJ in a famous FM. Jess is a beauty therapist. Lauren owns a Dating Agency called "Love Hearts".
Maddie is married and has two kids. She is constantly humiliated by her senior at the radio station. She has a bossy mother and a doting husband.
Jess is committed and is expected to marry soon. She has a boss at the spa who hates her completely and her fiancé is a big bully.
And Lauren is a divorce and looking out for
Mr.Right. Although she owns a dating agency she is still single and is in the lookout constantly.
The biggest (pun intended) factor common between the girls are they are all Obese. They all meet at a help group called FatBusters.
Maddie a mother of two, faces humiliation at the kids school's mom's race. Her boss at the radio station introduces a new program and drags Maddie to join the FatBusters. Out of professional commitment she joins the helpgroup. Her mother too gifts her a membership at a gym after her school race humilation. She hates to attend both of them. But one day her young son walks to her and shares his fear that she might die soon because of the obesity. That is when it hits her hard.
Her first attempt at the gym is another disaster further pushing her self esteem low. But her fat busters help group comes as a blessing to her. She meets the other two ladies there and they are made a group, diet buddies. To help one another, to motivate each other when they have the urge to binge.
With great difficulty they do get into the weight loss mode and Maddie, compared to the other two girls , is getting successful in her weight loss journey, having joined the gym again and taking her diet strict. Jess and Lauren too buckup with their journey eventually.
Maddie has a bestie who is also a foodie, but burns her calories by running marathons. Jess stays motivated by thinking about her wedding dress, and Lauren stays motivated because she has to find Mr. Right and all men want the slim type partners.
They all have their share of personal hardships and overcome that with eachothers support and motivation.
Finally they all manage to loose weight and run a marathon of five km together.
The book is completely hilarious, the various situations a obese person has to face, how they get their temptations and how difficult it is for them to stick to their diet and calorie counting journey.
Being obese is not a crime, but loosing self confidence is the biggest crime is what I take from this book. And ofcoruse loosing all that fat and getting compliments will surely make one feel happy, young and healthy in many ways.
Verdict : A must read on a stressed out day to have a good laugh(not on obese people) but for the humor, a light read on a vacation. Reader will enjoy it thoroughly and I am looking forward to read other books of this author.
Happy Reading 🙏
Maddie is married and has two kids. She is constantly humiliated by her senior at the radio station. She has a bossy mother and a doting husband.
Jess is committed and is expected to marry soon. She has a boss at the spa who hates her completely and her fiancé is a big bully.
And Lauren is a divorce and looking out for
Mr.Right. Although she owns a dating agency she is still single and is in the lookout constantly.
The biggest (pun intended) factor common between the girls are they are all Obese. They all meet at a help group called FatBusters.
Maddie a mother of two, faces humiliation at the kids school's mom's race. Her boss at the radio station introduces a new program and drags Maddie to join the FatBusters. Out of professional commitment she joins the helpgroup. Her mother too gifts her a membership at a gym after her school race humilation. She hates to attend both of them. But one day her young son walks to her and shares his fear that she might die soon because of the obesity. That is when it hits her hard.
Her first attempt at the gym is another disaster further pushing her self esteem low. But her fat busters help group comes as a blessing to her. She meets the other two ladies there and they are made a group, diet buddies. To help one another, to motivate each other when they have the urge to binge.
With great difficulty they do get into the weight loss mode and Maddie, compared to the other two girls , is getting successful in her weight loss journey, having joined the gym again and taking her diet strict. Jess and Lauren too buckup with their journey eventually.
Maddie has a bestie who is also a foodie, but burns her calories by running marathons. Jess stays motivated by thinking about her wedding dress, and Lauren stays motivated because she has to find Mr. Right and all men want the slim type partners.
They all have their share of personal hardships and overcome that with eachothers support and motivation.
Finally they all manage to loose weight and run a marathon of five km together.
The book is completely hilarious, the various situations a obese person has to face, how they get their temptations and how difficult it is for them to stick to their diet and calorie counting journey.
Being obese is not a crime, but loosing self confidence is the biggest crime is what I take from this book. And ofcoruse loosing all that fat and getting compliments will surely make one feel happy, young and healthy in many ways.
Verdict : A must read on a stressed out day to have a good laugh(not on obese people) but for the humor, a light read on a vacation. Reader will enjoy it thoroughly and I am looking forward to read other books of this author.
Happy Reading 🙏
April 6, 2018
This is my second read through of the book and although I could remember bits and pieces nothing had really stuck with me about the plot or the characters. It is a rather bland story that meanders around without ultimately going anywhere and feels more like a very long introduction to the three main characters:
Jess - Browbeaten by her boyfriend she has no self esteem and only longs to finally set their wedding date. For someone so meek and brought down she sure does soon switch to business woman extraordinaire when she quits her Spa job and sets up a mobile beautician's business. My fingers itched to slap her face at the rubbish she put up with from her boyfriend and though it was a relief when she left him the actual mechanics of her regeneration to a "strong woman" were barely believable with no sign of psychological trauma which I am sure a real person would have been suffering from, after all Charlie has virtually given her Stockholm Syndrome style brainwashing.
Maddie - Busy mum who comes good in her job after her boss tries everything to humiliate her backfires. She is an exercise zealot and when her mother dies she turns to exercise to blot out her grief and almost destroys her marriage in the process. She is innately selfish but sees herself as selfless. At least the Author acknowledges this within the character and we feel like we are in on a bit of a joke at Maddie's expense for chunks of the book.
Lauren - By far my favourite character. She is eternally cynical and doesn't really care who knows it. This was the one person who felt like she had real emotions and whose life experiences had damaged her but she accepted this and is working through the hurt of her husband's betrayal and subsequent divorce.
This is an easy read that is told in chunks that make it perfect for the commute or to pick up and put down on holiday. I had little real connection with the characters and the plot is really more of a string of events that happen to these three women who become friends after a couple of FatBusters meetings. There is no gradual unfolding of events with it being more of this happened and then this happened which isn't necessarily a bad thing as you never get that "one more chapter" feeling.
Overall it is a middle of the road chic lit book that passes the time entertainingly enough but never really grips you.
Jess - Browbeaten by her boyfriend she has no self esteem and only longs to finally set their wedding date. For someone so meek and brought down she sure does soon switch to business woman extraordinaire when she quits her Spa job and sets up a mobile beautician's business. My fingers itched to slap her face at the rubbish she put up with from her boyfriend and though it was a relief when she left him the actual mechanics of her regeneration to a "strong woman" were barely believable with no sign of psychological trauma which I am sure a real person would have been suffering from, after all Charlie has virtually given her Stockholm Syndrome style brainwashing.
Maddie - Busy mum who comes good in her job after her boss tries everything to humiliate her backfires. She is an exercise zealot and when her mother dies she turns to exercise to blot out her grief and almost destroys her marriage in the process. She is innately selfish but sees herself as selfless. At least the Author acknowledges this within the character and we feel like we are in on a bit of a joke at Maddie's expense for chunks of the book.
Lauren - By far my favourite character. She is eternally cynical and doesn't really care who knows it. This was the one person who felt like she had real emotions and whose life experiences had damaged her but she accepted this and is working through the hurt of her husband's betrayal and subsequent divorce.
This is an easy read that is told in chunks that make it perfect for the commute or to pick up and put down on holiday. I had little real connection with the characters and the plot is really more of a string of events that happen to these three women who become friends after a couple of FatBusters meetings. There is no gradual unfolding of events with it being more of this happened and then this happened which isn't necessarily a bad thing as you never get that "one more chapter" feeling.
Overall it is a middle of the road chic lit book that passes the time entertainingly enough but never really grips you.
August 4, 2019
3.5*
I really, really loved the book "sweet temptation" and it entertained me a lot.
It is very predictable and I knew right at the beginning how it will turn out. If you want to read an intellectually challening novel, this is not the best option for you. I recommend this to everyone who is in the mood for an easy-going "feel-good read". The writing style is humorous and cute, the tone is upbeat and positive. The character choice and plot is SCREAMING cliché and cheesy. You notice right away: a woman wrote this novel.
However, the author added into her bubbly, lighthearted, fun story serious topics like death and toxic relationships and abuse.
I think the audience of this book is female and overweight. This is not to judge anyone but the way it is written, it reminds me of a "feel good" read for overweight women to make them feel better about themselves and give them hope and inspiration.
I must admit, I found this utterly interesting to read how overweight women think and feel, to understand their struggles and feelings because having a fast metabolism I never had to struggle with weight gain. That is why, this book gave me the opportunity to feel into those women, to understand their struggle to lose weight and understanding the reasons for their weight gain.
The book is about three obese ladies who signed up at "FatBusters" to lose weight. That is how they met.
The book is narrated by a first-person-narrator, each woman narrates a chapter alternately.
At first, it is kind of confusing because the writing style is more or less the same so you do not really see much of a difference in the character's traits and way of being.
I loved the character choice, although I did confuse Maddie and Jess often because they were described "kind of the same" to me. The other woman - Lauren- was different in her character to Maddie and Jess.
I rate this book with 3.5 stars because personally, I enjoyed the book as it made me feel good and uplifted. However, it has a very predictable, chliché and kind of unrealistic "happy ever after" plot- which I like in general but in this case, it was just TOO predictable and cheesy.
I really, really loved the book "sweet temptation" and it entertained me a lot.
It is very predictable and I knew right at the beginning how it will turn out. If you want to read an intellectually challening novel, this is not the best option for you. I recommend this to everyone who is in the mood for an easy-going "feel-good read". The writing style is humorous and cute, the tone is upbeat and positive. The character choice and plot is SCREAMING cliché and cheesy. You notice right away: a woman wrote this novel.
However, the author added into her bubbly, lighthearted, fun story serious topics like death and toxic relationships and abuse.
I think the audience of this book is female and overweight. This is not to judge anyone but the way it is written, it reminds me of a "feel good" read for overweight women to make them feel better about themselves and give them hope and inspiration.
I must admit, I found this utterly interesting to read how overweight women think and feel, to understand their struggles and feelings because having a fast metabolism I never had to struggle with weight gain. That is why, this book gave me the opportunity to feel into those women, to understand their struggle to lose weight and understanding the reasons for their weight gain.
The book is about three obese ladies who signed up at "FatBusters" to lose weight. That is how they met.
The book is narrated by a first-person-narrator, each woman narrates a chapter alternately.
At first, it is kind of confusing because the writing style is more or less the same so you do not really see much of a difference in the character's traits and way of being.
I loved the character choice, although I did confuse Maddie and Jess often because they were described "kind of the same" to me. The other woman - Lauren- was different in her character to Maddie and Jess.
I rate this book with 3.5 stars because personally, I enjoyed the book as it made me feel good and uplifted. However, it has a very predictable, chliché and kind of unrealistic "happy ever after" plot- which I like in general but in this case, it was just TOO predictable and cheesy.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 285 reviews