This was SUCH a joy to read. In a time where the world feels chaotic, hardhearted and hateful, Bea's joyous story was like a beacon in the dark. Romcom lovers, The Bachelor viewers (lovers and hate watchers both), hopeless romantics, or any person looking for a happy and fluffy story would largely enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley and John Murray Press for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't gel with this book, I tried reading it pre-publication and then a second time more recently but I just couldn't for the life of me get invested into this story enough to continue. I'm really grateful for the opportunity to read this book, but it just wasn't for me and so I did not finish this book.

This just wasn't for me. I read romance books mostly for the humour and the silliness but this book didn't have any. For me, the tone is everything in romance, and the tone here was way too serious for my taste. It didn't have that light-hearted tone that I usually look for in romance books. Nothing wrong with the book though, it just wasn't my cup of tea. If you don't want you romance novels with a good chunk of humour then maybe this will work for you.

Such a bad representation of plus size women. This couldve been soooo sooo much better. I understand that this is just one plus size womans opinion but i had to dnf this book

Not a bad book, but not for me. I don't really think I amthe target aaudience. It was nice to see a plus size heroine who was not a figure of fun for once though.

I loved this story. The fact that she was plus size added to the enjoyment, as I feel this is rarely included in romantic novels, without it being added for comedic purposes. Putting the plus side element to one side, this is still an amazing story.

Though I liked the pace of this book and the format with the narrative interwoven with excerpts of twitter posts, articles and podcast transcripts I just could not "fall in love" with the main character, I found her incredibly judgemental, hypocritical and frankly very immature so I spent most of my time reading this book eye-rolling.

I’m sorry but I did not like this book at all and I ended up stopping reading at 30%, then skipping to the end and reading the last 10%.

It wasn’t badly written at all and I can understand why people would like it, but I found it to be an uncomfortable read. Although I understand that the author was trying to be very body positive and celebrating all sizes, I found that it felt forced and it was unpleasant to read.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of One To Watch in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, 10% of the way through, I thought this was going to be a DNF but I pushed on - I have a 15% rule - and I did find my self a little bit invested ad I did end up wanting to know how it would all pan out, but overall? Not the book for me.

As addictive as a reality TV Show, Bea is our unlikely plus size heroine starring in a dating show trying to lift it's ratings by breaking the typical routine of stick thin wannabe models that normally traipse through..Along the way she learns about herself, and anybody who was ever bullied for being different to what society dictates we should aspire to be will relate to this painful process. Wrapped up in the delightful snackfood wrapper this is a story with real heart. Loved it!

I have to be completely honest, when I first read the premise of the book I thought I'd enjoy it, but I just fell completely in LOVE with this!

I think seeing Bea develop I just enjoyed it so much!

Bea is a plus size fashion blogger in LA who’s spent the last 10 years pining after her best friend Ray. After they sleep together & he ghosts her (he’s engaged too...not great life choices), Bea is devastated. She posts a wine induced rant on the lack of body diversity in a reality show (based on The Bachelor) called ‘Main Squeeze’ which is widely shared & ends up with her being asked to be on the show to find love and champion body positivity to boost ratings for the show and further her own career.

Along the way she encounters vicious trolling, bullying, phobias & fetishisation. Will she find love?

I liked this book a lot. I didn’t always agree with the decisions Bea makes, but I wanted her to find love and come to accept herself even more. The ending wasn’t what I wanted either....but still I enjoyed it! This book has put a big effort into being socially conscious and has diverse characters. Loved the twists and turns and seeing behind the scenes of reality tv.

Thank you to #Netgalley and the publisher for my free advance copy of #OneToWatch in return for an unbiased review.

Wow! What an open and honest novel from a totally different prospective.
I don't blog or follow fashion but from the start, in Paris, an insecure Bea Schumacher finds a cloak that changes her and when she wears it becomes a much more confident woman and so her love of fashion begins.
Fast forward a few years and Bea is a well known fashion blogger and after a drunken night of tweeting her negative opinions of a TV show, similar to The Bachelor/Bachelorette , she finds herself invited on to star in it herself.
She will meet 25 men go on dates to filter out a possible future husband, her insecurities are there for show, what's real?, what's not?
Will she meet the love of her life or has she bitten off more than she can chew?
The insight to the TV show is fascinating and the truthfully written views on plus size women are astounding.
A great escapist read

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre,  however I wanted to take the opportunity to read something from outside my norm. And I am glad I did!! Thank you for  opening up my mind to something totally different. Characters were so well developed that I felt as though I knew them. I love when a book draws you into the story and it feels like you are living it with them.

Unpopular opinion! Contains spoilers!

The premise: plus size woman, who is body positive and fashionable, is looking for love on a The Bachelorette-like show.

Bea is a plus size fashion blogger. She’s been pining after her best friend for years. They share one night together after which Ray, who’s engaged, basically ghosts Bea. After a wine induced social media rant about a reality TV show, the producers of the show want Bea to be their next bachelorette to find love among 25 contestants.

Bea is hesitant to go on the show, knowing what kind of trolling she might have to deal with due to it. She still signs the contract and meets the initial 25 men. The majority of them are handsome and not at all what Bea had expected. Here we get my first big issue: although body positive on the outside, Bea is not very positive on the inside. She’s insecure and despite the evidence pointing to the opposite she thinks the men despise her for her size.

I have the feeling that the author had a list of boxes that needed ticking while writing this book. Include a gay person, a black person, an asian person, someone asexual, someone who’s gender non-conform, someone with a fat-fetish, … They are all there! Are they handled well? Nope! Scratched at the surface of what would have been possible. Used as cliché? You bet!

Same for the body positivity. Do we get to see Bea eat healthy? Enjoy a dance lesson? Nope! We are being told that she eats healthy, but then her shopping list contains only snacks, not a single veggie. She tells us she does yoga and cross fit, but nearly freaks out when some of the love interests are personal trainers. Perfect opportunity to show that you don’t have to be stick thin to be fit.

Ray! Bleurgh! A guy who cheats on his fiancée with his best friend? Then there is radio silence? And she keeps pining after this guy?! A girl who takes her best friend to bed knowing he’s engaged to another woman? *hand me a bucket, please* Suddenly he shows up, a week before the finale show, to make sure she knows he loves her before she accepts the hand of another man. Bea’s best friend Skypes in and tries to reason with Bea, but, of course, they argue about the idiot who has been stringing Bea on for the past decade. And, of course, on their date Ray has lots of arguments why he suddenly noticed that Bea is the woman he wants to spend his life with. *where’s that bucket?*

Cue the very predictable finale!

Thanks to NetGalley for an eReader copy of this book to review - my thoughts and opinions are my own.

As a (former) plus size blogger and size activist, I really felt seen by about 50% of One to Watch.

From Bea's drunken rant on her blog about reality TV, to her long term unrequited (??) love affair, to her doomed attempts at online dating - her pre MainSqueeze (The Bachelorette, right??) life hits a little to close to home if I'm honest - but that is the power and the warmth of this. You don't always like Bea. You don't always agree with her decisions but by golly are you gunning for her at the end.

One to Watch is not preachy (and it could have been), it is not twee (and booooooy, it could have been), and it's not predictable either - and that is refreshing in the romance novel sector, amirite?

I can't wait for the paperback copy of this to come out to add to my shelves - and I really want to see the formatting for the interesting little vigrettes - the podcast transcripts, the email trails, the whatsapp groups - all great insights which really added something to the way I viewed / followed the story.

This was a good book. Watching Bea develop throughout was heart warming and seeing her open up and let people in was just lovely. Definitely worth a read.

The one thing that really bored me about this book was the over play on Bea and Asher's emotions towards each other. This was not even including the love triangle between her and Luc. For me, I think what caused this fustration was Bea's lack of certainty when making decisions and knowing how she felt. As a character, she was obviously not confident but it was like she had major anxiert and no-one had acknowledged it even though she's a famous blogger? It went on a little too far when Stayman-London brought in a character back into the picture at the end. It should have ended, in the way that it did, but sooner. The twist on how the ending happened was perfect for television but it didn't quite work with the extra drama she gave us so felt like a longer ending. Does this make sense? This didn't stop me from not loving the book!

If you haven't guessed by now, Kate Stayman-London is a huge fan of Bravo shows and The Batchelor. I love this quality about her, openly admitting it. It's hard to admit that sometimes you like the low-brow television shows and secretly judge everyone on them like the press do. Unfortunately, it's just another way for us to switch off from things. My favourite shows are Vanderpump Rules, The Real Housewives Franchise, The Only Way Is Essex and Keeping Up With The Kardashians! There was a side to me that was always ashamed to admit this to people because people's reactions but since the release of Love Island (which I don't actually like, sorry), I feel like we are officially in world who likes to watch other people at all levels.  “I’ve been a fan of The Bachelor for 20 seasons. And in that entire time, at no point has the show ever reflected what the world actually looks like,” she told Observer. This is something we have to thank social media for.

The way Stayman-London portrays the "Bravolebrity" world into a literary text was genius. She takes us through the screening process of the contestants, meet'n'greets with producers and stylist introductions. Where would all this be without media endorsement? She incorporates transcripts and blog posts in between scenes, none of which has ever been done in this style of novel. It is a glorification of her wonderful career of screenwriting, political strategist and now novelist. You can see how the bet placements on the group chat is symbolism of the political experience because in a way you are rallying for Bea to fall for a specific contestant.

By using Bea's background of a plus-size model, Stayman-London was able to intertwine elements of the contemporary topics into her novel. For instance, prior to joining the reality show, Bea was confident in posting a photo of herself in a bathing suit on Instagram. When one of the dates with her potential suitors involves getting into a bathing suit, she’s instantly apprehensive. I like this kind of situation in the book because I would be nervous to do this too. Well, I would have not even put it on Instagram. Bea is comfortable with the Instagram situation because she was able to control the angles in which people saw, whereas on television, you never know what your going to see. Slip of the nip, for example? The whole novel was to put the message out there that you should not be fat-shaming yourself or be victimised of this. You should be happy with how you feel and what you show which is a really important message to women in today's society.

In summary, this book is something that many readers can relate to. Stayman-London attacked all topical issues that serve great relevancy where readers can suggest other topical books alongside it. This summer we have seen great reflection books like Untamed,  If I Had Your Face and Queenie. With lockdown, many people have had sometime to realise who they want to be or become but also how they want people to see them. It is important to understand as long as you are happy within your own skin there is nothing to be ashamed of. This is one of those books that will stay on your bookshelf when your feeling that shame because of these reality shows and will recommend to your friend who needs that path of happiness too. I loved the drama that came with the book, espcially at the end. I literally gasped out loud as I fell for his charm too.  

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC.

Visit www.partiallybookedclub.wordpress.com for my full review

I enjoyed this book. Really. Just what the pandemic ordered. I have spent my days watching reality television from around the world. That I could get that experience in a book—while also having important conversations on body positivity, gender, sexuality, privacy, representation—is fantastic.
Bea Schumacher is a plus-size fashion blogger, who is obsessed with Main Squeeze, a show that’s basically The Bachelor, except the rose ceremony is replaced by a kiss on the cheek. Just when she is utterly dejected and broken-hearted, she is invited to be the next star. She agrees, with the understanding that it’s purely a business decision—a career move for her, a way for the network to change its image. She won’t fall in love. Not at all. Right?
It’s a fun refreshing read that, while lighthearted, has enough heft to keep you interested. If you’re not a fan of romance as a genre— I’m not; I rarely find them engaging and believe me I’ve tried—this would be a great choice. A lot of the writing is also done via text messages, news articles, Twitter threads and so on, which works well to highlight the ways in which pop culture shapes conversations.
Thank you Netgalley and John Murray Press

It’s refreshing, relaxing and motivational. This is not only plus size fashion blogger’s journey to find her love of her life, it’s her inner journey to realize she deserved to be loved, cared and she have to make peace with her appearance and inner fears to live brighter future she dreamed of.

Bea Schumacher’s life changes when she takes a trip in Paris (lately I read so much books about the city and I start to believe it has its own magical powers!) and change her fashion style, gaining more self-confidence and voila, she starts making videos, finding her power at social media with her creative ideas and now she gets offer from Main Squeeze reality show. Her brand new occupation requires fantasy dates! Another version Blind Date meets Bachelor meets Love is Blind (my husband started to watch it, can you believe it? I’m afraid the home quarantine will eventually fry the rest of his brain cells!)

Bea’s heart is already broken after her long time crush a. k. a her best friend (she should make better friend choices!) and she had a one night stand and he ghosted her! Yes, bastard ruined her self-esteem and now she deserves to have fun. And maybe but just maybe, she can find someone she may truly fall in love.

I think her dating parts are a little superficial, unrealistic but the parts about Bea’s inner fight, her vulnerability and her insecurities prevent her share true self with the world are remarkable. Those sincere parts help us connect with the heroine and understand her pain, her struggle and her need of approval.