The Fall of Whit Rivera (2023) by Crystal Maldonado didn’t deserve to sit on my TBR shelf for as long as it did, because it is a sweet fat-positive YA romance from the author of Fat Chance, Charlie Vega and Get Real, Chloe Torres. Whit (Whitney) Rivera is getting ready to have the best seniorContinue reading “The Fall of Whit Rivera”
Tag Archives: contemporary rom-com
My Big Fat Fake Marriage
I enjoyed the ride of My Big Fat Fake Marriage (publication day March 11, 2025) by Charlotte Stein, although there weren’t any surprises. The banter, though, is superb!! Set somewhere in England, Hazel, who goes by Connie as an adult, works for a marketing company and is somewhat jaded, although she is close to herContinue reading “My Big Fat Fake Marriage”
On Her Terms
On Her Terms (publication date February 25, 2025) by Amy Spalding is the third book in her Out in Hollywood series, but could easily be read as a standalone. I found it to be a cute sapphic romance between the “baby gay” bisexual, plus-sized Clementine and experienced queer Chloe. Clementine meets Chloe on her firstContinue reading “On Her Terms”
I Think They Love You
I Think They Love You (pub. date January 28, 2025) is Julian Winters’ adult rom-com debut, and it’s lovely. Winters has written many YA novels, including Right Where I Left You, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and several others that I need to get to. Told from the perspective of Denz, whose Instagram is “notthatdenzel” andContinue reading “I Think They Love You”
How to Get a Life in 10 Dates
In How to Get a Life in Ten Dates (publication date December 10, 2024), I loved meeting Jenny L. Howe’s newest characters–Haleigh and Jack–who live in the same world with some of the same characters from Howe’s first two books–On The Plus Side and The Make-Up Test. Twenty-five year olds Haleigh and Jack have beenContinue reading “How to Get a Life in 10 Dates”
A Jingle Bell Mingle
So . . . I was able to attend one of the book tour events for A Jingle Bell Mingle (2024) with the authors, Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone. I’ve been a Julie Murphy fan since Dumplin’ (excellent book and Netflix movie). They are hilarious, as expected, and my funniest experience had to be talkingContinue reading “A Jingle Bell Mingle”
Because Fat Girl
I cannot gush enough about Because Fat Girl (publication Day October 22, 2024), by Lauren Marie Fleming! It was such a delight!! Diana works at a high-end department store, as a personal shopper, in Los Angeles with her bestie Janelle, and is an out and proud queer fat woman. Since her brother’s death from cancerContinue reading “Because Fat Girl”
The Make-Up Test
The Make-Up Test (2022), by Jenny Howe, is a fat-positive, second chance romance set in the fraught world of the Academy. It’s filled with dogs, geeky medieval literature references, impostor syndrome and extreme competitiveness, and a difficult parental relationship that included a lot of anti-fatness. And the best part is how Howe describes the mainContinue reading “The Make-Up Test”
If the Shoe Fits
If the Shoe Fits (2021) by Julie Murphy is her unique, fat-positive, contemporary retelling of the Cinderella story. Cindy, a shoe designer, returns to the LA area to live with her producer-stepmother, 2 stepsisters, and 2 preschool-aged twin siblings after finishing design school in New York, Erica, her stepmother, produces the hottest reality dating showContinue reading “If the Shoe Fits”
Reading While Fat 