{Book Review} BIG SUMMER by Jennifer Weiner

 

Big Summer

Standalone

Jennifer Weiner

Chick Lit / Mystery

368 Pages

Blurb:

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the “nothing short of brilliant” (People) Mrs. Everything returns with an unforgettable novel about friendship and forgiveness set during a disastrous wedding on picturesque Cape Cod.

Six years after the fight that ended their friendship, Daphne Berg is shocked when Drue Cavanaugh walks back into her life, looking as lovely and successful as ever, with a massive favor to ask. Daphne hasn’t spoken one word to Drue in all this time—she doesn’t even hate-follow her ex-best friend on social media—so when Drue asks if she will be her maid-of-honor at the society wedding of the summer, Daphne is rightfully speechless.

Drue was always the one who had everything—except the ability to hold onto friends. Meanwhile, Daphne’s no longer the same self-effacing sidekick she was back in high school. She’s built a life that she loves, including a growing career as a plus-size Instagram influencer. Letting glamorous, seductive Drue back into her life is risky, but it comes with an invitation to spend a weekend in a waterfront Cape Cod mansion. When Drue begs and pleads and dangles the prospect of cute single guys, Daphne finds herself powerless as ever to resist her friend’s siren song.

A sparkling novel about the complexities of female friendship, the pitfalls of living out loud and online, and the resilience of the human heart, Big Summer is a witty, moving story about family, friendship, and figuring out what matters most.

My Review:

This review is going to be a little different. I DNF'd this book, meaning I did not finish it. But I definitely have some opinions on what I did read. 

I bought this book last year when it first came out and I guess I thought it was a fluffy summer beach read. Maybe I read the description then, I'm not sure. I didn't realize going in this was going to be an attempt at a murder mystery.

We start out with a prologue in 1994 and that was fine, interesting even. But I have no idea how the woman we read about or her son play into the plot. I never got that far. Fast forward to chapter 1 and suddenly it's 2018. So the four-year-old in 1994 would be 28. Are we reading about him? No. We meet Daphne, a plus-size instagram influencer meeting with Leela, a stylist/clothing designer at a coffee shop to talk about a social media collaboration. Leela is talking about ethically sourced materials and inclusivity and Daphne is thinking about all the trouble she had growing up finding clothes that look nice on her body and are stylish and that's about the point where I was like - hold up I don't need to read anymore of this BS. 

I'm a plus size woman, true. I also like to think I appreciate fashion and have an interest in acquiring nice clothing. I'm so sick of authors writing plus size characters and their whole character ARC is having a past of being bullied or having insecurities about their body. I'm over it.  If we've reached a place where we can have LGBT+ books that aren't just about coming out why can't we have books with plus size main characters where it's normalized and say "x character" is bigger the same way we'd just casually describe characters saying they were tall or short or red-haired or bald and have the main story be about a mystery or a rom-com or a horror plot that has nothing to do with pages upon pages reminiscing about their weight struggles. When I think of myself, I often don't see myself as any different than anyone else. I don't constantly internalize that my thighs are thicker than a woman I might see at the mall. I buy high-end clothing and have no trouble finding clothing that fits nice and is in my correct size. I even *GASP* feel sexy when I wear certain things. Please authors, stop reducing anyone over a size 10 into a bunch of insecure, weight obsessed, weaklings. Give us hobbies, a personality, the same as you would a skinny character! 

Moving on, I skimmed to the end of the book after I realized it was a mystery just to see who the killer was and found the reveal to be not all that surprising and their motivation mostly unoriginal. 

Overall, though I did not finish this book, I really disliked the parts that I did read. I probably will not try anything else by this author.

My Rating:

DNF

{Book Review} SPOILER ALERT by Olivia Dade

Title: Spoiler Alert

Author: Olivia Dade

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: October 6, 2020 from Avon Books

Format: Paperback, Audiobook, eBook, 

Page Count: 416 Pages

Blurb:
Olivia Dade bursts onto the scene in this delightfully fun romantic comedy set in the world of fanfiction, in which a devoted fan goes on an unexpected date with her celebrity crush, who’s secretly posting fanfiction of his own. 

Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. While the world knows him as Aeneas, the star of the biggest show on TV, Gods of the Gates, he's known to fanfiction readers as Book!AeneasWouldNever, an anonymous and popular poster. Marcus is able to get out his own frustrations with his character through his stories, especially the ones that feature the internet’s favorite couple to ship, Aeneas and Lavinia. But if anyone ever found out about his online persona, he’d be fired. Immediately.

April Whittier has secrets of her own. A hardcore Lavinia fan, she’s hidden her fanfiction and cosplay hobby from her “real life” for years—but not anymore. When she decides to post her latest Lavinia creation on Twitter, her photo goes viral. Trolls and supporters alike are commenting on her plus-size take, but when Marcus, one half of her OTP, sees her pic and asks her out on a date to spite her critics, she realizes life is really stranger than fanfiction.

Even though their first date is a disaster, Marcus quickly realizes that he wants much more from April than a one-time publicity stunt. And when he discovers she’s actually Unapologetic Lavinia Stan, his closest fandom friend, he has one more huge secret to hide from her.

With love and Marcus’s career on the line, can the two of them stop hiding once and for all, or will a match made in fandom end up prematurely cancelled?

My Review:

It's so refreshing to see a "fat" heroine get the hot, fit male lead. It's a type of diversity that is not as popular in contemporary romance and as a plus sized woman I like the representation. 

April seems like a confident strong woman on the surface but behind the scenes (even though she keeps claiming she isn't) she's really insecure about her weight and how people perceive her. She says on the page that she doesn't care about what strangers think only people she cares about but she's a little too sensitive when it comes to her relationship with Marcus and it can put the reader off. 

*Spoiler Warning* 

The drama when Marcus asks her if she wants to go to the gym with him is one example. April sees it as Marcus not liking how she looks and trying to change her and decides to give him the cold shoulder and stop speaking to him. Talk about an overreaction. The guy is an actor - a really fit one at that. Going to the gym is probably just part of his daily routine like some people go to the coffee shop or something. If it were me it wouldn't have bothered me, I do like a nice exercise bike after all and if I got tired I would have made an excuse to sit by the pool or something. And then the fiasco with the buffet. Just because he eats hard boiled eggs and oatmeal doesn't mean you have to.. but whatever. Be a drama queen. Screw up a budding relationship. 

And then when April finds out Marcus's online identity and blows a gasket? Here we go again... seriously I wouldn't have been angry. It would have been like, really? That's so cool! Like finding out your man is superman or something. But of course April overreacts and breaks up with Marcus. 

**

Other than that I really enjoyed the book. I liked Marcus and how on screen he shows this confident, albeit dense celebrity who has it all but behind the scenes he comes from parents that really screwed him up and stomped on his spirit just because he has a learning disability. 

I love the fandom for the show Marcus is on and wish that there was a community like it where I could show my love for a specific show or fandom besides the (sometimes divisive and nitpicky) social media I'm already on.

And I love the chemistry between April and Marcus. Who doesn't wish that a celebrity they like would meet-cute with them and fall madly in love?

There's going to be another book centered around Marcus's co-star Alex and I'm excited to read it. 

Overall, I really loved this book. I couldn't put it down and other than the couple times where I wanted to ask April wtf is wrong with her it was an enjoyable read. I know and appreciate that the author specifically chose a plus-sized heroine to send a message, I just wish writers would realize that not all plus sized woman are so sensitive about their bodies. We are what we are, and we don't fall apart at every suggestion of working out or healthy food. I love healthier food and exercising, I just don't seem to take the weight off. And I do have a man that loves me. Men being attracted to me has never been an issue. But hey, maybe that's just me. 

My Rating:

🌟🌟🌟🌟

4 of 5 Stars!