Curvy Heroines
More to love!
As a fat girl romance reader, sometimes I want to read books where I imagine a world of beautiful thin people. Sometimes, though, I want to read about someone who looks more like me finding love. These are three in particular I really loved for the way they navigated body image issues, body dysmorphia, and finding love in spite of society’s insistence that fat girls don’t deserve it.
Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas. I love a lot of the books that I read. I have a whole newsletter about them! But sometimes I’ll feel worried I’m being too hard on books, books I genuinely love, when I can’t bring myself to give them a 5/5 rating. I’ll wonder if I’m being too critical, and worry as a result I’ll never read another 5/5 book again.
Then I’ll be two pages into a new book and… oh. Oh, I love romance and love so many books but this one. This one is special.
I didn’t expect that experience with this book. I’d loved the Ravenel series up to this point, but having met Tom Severin in previous books, and knowing the age gap (while not big for a historical but realistically still pretty big), I figured it would be a good read but that I’d be holding it at a slight distance. BOY WAS I WRONG.
Tom Severin is an emotionally stunted dumbass who doesn’t understand literary subtext and is instantly obsessed with Cassandra when he sees her at a party and near-immediately proposes. Cassandra is the head in the clouds romantic (and book lover) to her chaotic twin who surprisingly got married first, worried she might never find something like her sister found for herself. Her cousin/the new head of the family (from book 1) is friends with Tom, sure, as is her new brother in law Mr. Winterborn, but do they want him to marry the sweet, innocent Cassandra? Not especially. They’re total opposites! But stunted Tom can’t give up. For normal, definitely-not-being-head-over-heels-in-love reasons. Because love is fake, as are all emotions, and subtext, and metaphor. What a dunce! I’m obsessed.
So this is the curvy heroines roundup, and while I think in modern day Cassandra would be far from considered curvy, that’s ultimately not the point, is it? Because she is constantly watching her food intake, feeling embarrassed by her size and how she physically fits into the world of waif-like debutants. And then, there’s this line when she brings it up to Tom:
DO YOU SEE! Tom Severin 5Eva.
Rating: 5/5
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥🔥
The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert. Cherry Neita is done with men, happy to keep them in a box (for sex) while she lives her life free of obligations to anyone but herself. But when she meets sexy royal Prince Ruben of Helgmøre at her workplace, everything gets derailed due to her hopes of getting railed. I could not resist and only God can judge me. MOVING ON! When Cherry and Ruben get caught in an amorous embrace right before they consummate their one-night-stand by the paparazzi, and because Ruben is trying to resuscitate his reputation, he gets Cherry to agree to pretend like they’re engaged for a while until things blow over. This fake engagement also requires her to move to his kingdom for a while to keep up appearances. She’s PISSED, and so is Ruben’s father (the king!) but Cherry goes along with it and soon realizes that the playboy prince she considered having a fling with might be worth a longer engagement.
I’ve written about Talia Hibbert’s protagonists before, most of whom are curvy and fat and fabulous, so it’s not a surprise Cherry is so great, and this book adds in the pressures of modern royalty with Hibbert’s usual excellence, so, what are you waiting for? Go read this book!
Rating: 4.5/5
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Misadventures of a Curvy Girl by Sierra Simone. One of the first books I picked up as a result of hearing about it on Fated Mates (an exceptional romance podcast by author who’s been recommended by me previously Sarah MacLean and romance editor Jen Prokop), and it did not disappoint!!Â
We’ve got photographer Ireland Mills on assignment from the Kansas Chamber of Commerce to capture some beautiful images of a farm for a promotional campaign. She’s fat, and has finally come to terms with her body (mostly, or so she thinks), but her fragile new self esteem is tested when she captures the lust and devotion of the two best friends who own the farm she’s stuck at (there’s a storm, this will become relevant in a bit). Caleb Carpenter and Ben Weber have been friends for a long time, and love each other deeply, but their relationship is missing something… like a passionate and creative woman with curves for days like Ireland. After a steamy night together, it’s clear this isn’t a one-night thing, but when they go public with their relationship and Ireland is barraged with nasty comments from people who can’t believe a woman like her could claim the hearts of these hunky dreamboats, she has to reckon with not just whether she can trust these two incredible men with her heart, but whether she can love herself enough to accept them.
This read is short but devastating in all the best ways. Poly HEA AND the boys love each other as much as they love Ireland?? Amazing! The handful of poly relationships I’ve read so far (does anyone have more recommendations? For science) usually center around hunky dudes sharing a woman (The Hostage Bargain and Happenstance, both previous Forced Proximity picks!) and while they’re fine if they’re all up in each others’ grills, their adoration is exclusively for the woman, with respect and brother-husband vibes for the other dudes. What I loved about Caleb and Ben is that they love and desire each other in addition to loving and desiring Ireland, a dynamic I found much more satisfying.
Rating: 4/5
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Next week, I’ll be recommending books XXXX!
What should I be reading next? Let me know in the comments!