One To Watch by Kate Stayman-London

Bea is simply a woman who has been taken advantage of in a friendship which she believed to be something more but not reciprocated in the same way. However, it seems like Bea is not a woman who is completely unlucky. Making a big break in fashion blogging, writing in the style of how it is for a plus-sized woman and how difficult it is to find amazing designer clothes to wear has enraptured many readers.

I don't think that I have every truly read a book like One to Watch. It truly lived up to its name of being something that must be watched, not just read. Seriously, this book should be made by Hollywood in some capacity. Everything felt as though I was reading more of what happened in a film, rather than a book. Even the epilogue felt more like a resolution from a film and how the end credits roll and they have those little videos that keep you watching to the end. Every part of this book is an event, there is nothing that sticks out to be better than the others, because they are all good in their own right.

Her relationships with certain people, such as family were hilarious, such as how protective her brothers were, to the relationship that she has with her stepdad, that would make any dark-heart melt.

The author seemed to touch upon subjects which were also very interesting. Societal responsibilities that we all seem to have on one another and how this could affect the next person. For instance, Bea puts herself out of social media, which even though there are good aspects to social media in general to help with your reputation and profile, there is also the problem of trolling. But what I found to be most profound is how you see this piece connecting together to question how society should function and if so, does this make it right? It also evokes how we can be seen to be more animalistic in regards to appearance, rather than being the rational beings that we are, by looking for a deeper connection within our partners. However, it also picks on problems that are possessed by reality tv itself, such as how things are edited in such a way that does not show the complete truth. Thus, what can we truly get out of the media if they are editing out information that is clearly important to the whole of the narrative.

So yes, I did enjoy this profusely and more than I thought that I would. So thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to have a copy to review. I don't think that I will be able to read in the same way again. Five stars from me - easy!

Comments

Thoughts of a Bookworm #5: Goodreads Choice Award is Fake

Hello! So, I know that it has been some time since I was last writing to you all. But I saw an email the other day and it really got me that I couldn’t not share my thoughts on it. As we all know it’s that time of year again. The fairy lights are beginning to twinkle, the days and nights are getting darker and colder and we are all starting to look ahead to the next year. But what comes before next year? Well, the Goodreads Book Choice Awards of course. One of the biggest events in a bookworm’s calendar. But personally, I think the whole thing is an insult to the whole book community. Obviously, when I was younger I didn’t think any different to most bookworms. However, I have come to realise that it isn’t necessarily what is the best book of the year but rather a popularity contest. More so now than ever with the insurgence of ‘BookTok’. Honestly, I don’t think we will ever get a book worthy of the title ever again. It has become a pure vanity project. Take me back to the T...

Thoughts of a Bookworm #6: Booktok is killing literature

Booktok. One of the most exciting community spaces for a reader in the past five years. A place where there is a big online community giving insight into old and new releases. Reviewers who are receptive to their audience and you don't have to be 'somebody'. This is no branded bookclub. It is a place for all people with different tastes come together to share what they truly love. Books. I have to be honest, I have also been a fly on the wall. Using their recommendations many a time for myself or as research to help someone else in their favourite genre. It can be a great tool. But there are times where I have thought that I was giving into the book version of 'fast fashion'. But what do I mean by 'fast fashion' exactly? Well, have you been watching recently? Especially in the romantasy space where plots have been subverted to a simple trope. One huge example that I tend to see is 'how much spice is there?' I get it. You want certain things to make...

A Wedding in the Country by Katie Fforde

SYNOPSIS Lizzie has just arrived in London, determined to make the best of her new life. Her mother may be keen that she should have a nice wedding in the country to a Suitable Man chosen by her. And Lizzie may be going to cookery school to help her become a Good Wife. But she definitely wants to have some fun first. It is 1963 and London is beginning to swing as Lizzie cuts her hair, buys a new dress with a fashionably short hemline, and moves in with two of her best friends, one of whom lives in a grand but rundown house in Belgravia which has plenty of room for a lodger. Soon Lizzie's life is so exciting that she has forgotten all about her mother's marriage plans for her. All she can think about is that the young man she is falling in love with appears to be engaged to someone else...