One to Watch: A Novel by Kate Stayman-London A Girl with Glasses Book Review

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I have to say upfront that romance is not a genre I spend much time reading. I am a romantic, but I have also been so burned in real life so many times that reading romance novels can almost feel like sarcasm in action. I have hope, yes, but I do not know if I want to be a fool again. No one does, right?

I picked up a copy of One to Watch, by Kate Stayman-London on a whim because it was being marketed as a plus size romance. As a plus size woman (size 14/16, aka the average and most normal body type for women in America) I was intrigued. I wondered what the difference would be between a plus size and not plus size romance story.

And reader, let me tell you as any person in a marginalized group in this nation will tell you,it feels downright delicious to be represented, to be seen, to be IN a story that is usually the same old same old story - skinny woman finds love and romance with handsome ripped man.

All well and good, but there’s something that hits different when you are reading a book about a woman who is your size - gasp - curvy! - going on dates, being strong and being loved, having an amazing career and then - romance too!

I enjoyed this book very much. Bea, the main character is semi-relatable - she’s a plus size fashion blogger in her early 30's living in LA. To avoid spoilers, she somehow finds herself in the position of being the star of a reality TV show where she is the prize - one woman filtering through 25 men all vying for her love. Except some are not. Some are the usual and unfortunate type of men who either a) make fun of non-thin women (mean!), or b) fetishize us but can’t see us as people (gross!).

There are also a few of the ‘wait until you are with me and I can help you lose weight’ types. Ugh, no! For many of us average size ladies, we have struggled in this society all of our lives. We have been bullied and teased, we have tried diets and eating disorders, we have felt self-hate and rage at society, and eventually we have arrived at a peace, a truce - an acceptance. We are who we are. Our bodies are beautiful. There is nothing to fix about our bodies. We are beautiful and worthy of all good things.

I work out, I am a vegetarian, I don’t eat much sugar - I even cut out carbs! But, I am still a size 14/16 and have been so since giving birth to my daughter. In high school and college I was a size 10 and guess what? I felt fat and was made to feel fat by classmates and by this culture. Crazy right? Mean. Because I was beautiful and made to feel hideous. And in the book Bea struggles with this too - all in the public eye of a reality show about love and dating!

I really felt for Bea, and who knows this might open the door to me reading more in the romance genre, but I think for me the fact that Bea was a regular, average, woman my size really helped me feel less conflicted about reading a romance novel. Also, Stayman-London’s writing is beautiful, conversational and endearing. I loved how she included bits of internet culture into the whole thing - complete with emails, twitter threads, and blog posts, and she even threw in a podcast transcript. So fun!

You will cheer for Bea and you will hurt for Bea. And in the end who knows, if you might even re-download that Bumble app just to see if there are any worthy prospects.

I highly recommend picking up a copy of One to Watch, by Kate Stayman-London as your summer beach read for June!

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