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One to Watch

A Novel

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One to Watch

Written by: Kate Stayman-London
Narrated by: Kristen Sieh
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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Real love . . . as seen on TV. A plus-size bachelorette brings a fresh look to a reality show in this razor-sharp, “divinely witty” (Entertainment Weekly) debut.

“Effortlessly fun and clever . . . I found the tension impeccable . . . and that made my reading experience incredibly propulsive. Read it in a day and a half.”—Emily Henry, #1 bestselling author of Beach Read and The People We Meet on Vacation

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time • NPR • Marie Claire • Mashable

Bea Schumacher is a devastatingly stylish plus-size fashion blogger who has amazing friends, a devoted family, legions of Insta followers—and a massively broken heart. Like the rest of America, Bea indulges in her weekly obsession: the hit reality show Main Squeeze. The fantasy dates! The kiss-off rejections! The surprising amount of guys named Chad! But Bea is sick and tired of the lack of body diversity on the show. Since when is being a size zero a prerequisite for getting engaged on television?

Just when Bea has sworn off dating altogether, she gets an intriguing call: Main Squeeze wants her to be its next star, surrounded by men vying for her affections. Bea agrees, on one condition—under no circumstances will she actually fall in love. She’s in this to supercharge her career, subvert harmful beauty standards, inspire women across America, and get a free hot air balloon ride. That’s it.

But when the cameras start rolling, Bea realizes things are more complicated than she anticipated. She’s in a whirlwind of sumptuous couture, Internet culture wars, sexy suitors, and an opportunity (or two, or five) to find messy, real-life love in the midst of a made-for-TV fairy tale. In this joyful, wickedly observant debut, Bea has to decide whether it might just be worth trusting these men—and herself—for a chance to live happily ever after. Body Positivity Fiction Literature & Fiction Romance Romantic Comedy Women's Fiction Comedy Fantasy Heartfelt Witty Feel-Good
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This was definitely not my usual! But fair and enjoyable for what it is. Surprising love story with rich-enough characters and a different, modern way to relate the story, using chats and blogs and a suite of outsider characters who help tell the story. I don't watch any such reality shows but thought I'd find the background telling to be oh Idk, insightful? I think it was. Having a young, heavy female in the lead was a nice twist. Recommend overall, just don't expect high lit.

enjoyable fluff

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I loved this book. The story which could have been overplayed or repetitive kept me coming back and the narrator did an excellent job with the different voices and maintaining an upbeat and very likeable reading.
This book hit so many notes of diversity and did a wonderful job of normalizing not only different body types but different experiences.
And if that doesn't matter to you, rest assured that the story itself was compelling and the characters were all well written. I could have used a bit more spice but it was sweet and really lovely.

A beautiful and inclusive love story

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Love it. The story is light and heart warming and the narrator is simply amazing.

Entertaining from beginning to end

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A great listen, the voice actor was wonderful and the story entertaining, but the story lost me a little with it's fat obsession. I understand that it was a key factor in the book, but I wish the author had explored Bea's positive mindset change more after all the constant self-hatred. I suppose it's more realistic that even towards the end of the book Bea was still doubting herself a little, but the never-ending thoughts started to infect my own mind and I caught myself worrying about my own body! And the way Bea thought about thin people was also a little hurtful, as she would regularly refer to them as "skinny bitches" - so no one is safe.

Aside from that, the book kept me hooked chapter after chapter, and it was a great little story to pass the time. It's got an element of reverse harem which I feel I would have enjoyed a bit more in a different novel. It also taught me to be more aware and sensitive of other people's bodies and mindsets, and ways to accommodate plus-size people so they never feel excluded the way Bea was.

TLDR; entertaining, but be warned about the focus on the body and negative mindsets

Entertaining

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Great listen! Fell in love with so many of the characters! The twist and turns were great surprises! Great insight on how plus size girls feel in the dating world! Can't wait to read another by Kate Stayman-London!

loved it

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