One to Watch is a debut novel for Kate Stayman-London, and it was published in the Summer of 2020. It was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award for Romance and Debut Novels. While it may not have won the awards, it has won a lot of hearts.
I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by Kristen Sieh.
Synopsis
Bea Schumacher is a successful fashion blogger. She also is searching for love. What makes this all unusual is the fact that Bea is a plus-sized fashionista and finds herself on the dating show Main Squeeze. What happens when she is faced with her own personal insecurities and the prospect of happily ever after?
Positives
The book is a wonderful showcase of the life of a plus-sized woman. There many people who automatically assume plus-sized equals unhealthy and unworthy. I love the fact that Bea grows in her self-confidence. While she is a successful fashion blogger, she still finds herself hiding. As the story goes on, she finds herself opening up more.
There is also LGBTQA2+ representation in the book. One of the men that Bea connects with while on Main Squeeze is asexual/aromantic. Another character in the book is gender-fluid/non-binary. While neither character is the main character, they are important characters all the same. And all representation is a good thing.
Negatives
While it’s not a negative in how the book is written or presented, it is still negative to me. I also understand that it was needed to help move the book along. To me, the biggest negative is the way some of the men on the show with Bea actually fat-shame her. As I said, I know it helps move the story along, some of it was a bit aggressive and personally hit a little too close to home.
Another negative is the stereotypes in the characters. I understand that the fitness coaches would react negatively to Bea, or offer in a not nice way, to help her lose weight and all of the stuff. What is it with Luc being the stereotypical French chef? Or with Wyatt being from Oklahoma automatically making him a farmer?
My Opinion
I truly enjoyed One to Watch, even finding myself laughing out loud several times. Especially in one scene, when Bea’s brother Tim gets some revenge on a couple of the guys from the show. I also found myself feeling shocked and betrayed when Bea found Luc and Lauren together.
I found it refreshing to find a romance novel that has a plus-sized lead. So often the plus-sized character is the side-kick or a minor character. It’s great to see more diversity in the novels that are being written. Is the story perfect? No, but is any story ever really perfect? I look forward to seeing more from Kate Stayman-London.
Looking for some more books to read? Check out my other book reviews and my monthly reading wrap-ups.