Fat girl romance

Being a "plus size" woman myself, I absolutely love the new-to-me genre of BBW fiction.  I particularly love the BBW romances.  My absolute favourite author so far is Angela Verdenius.  I was introduced to the genre by reading her Big Girls Lovin' series and have subsequently read the two titles in her Lawson Boys series, a spin-off from the third title in the Big Girls Lovin' series.

Big Girls Lovin':

*Doctor's Delight (Cherry Williams)

*Cop's Passion (Maddy Lovett)

*Vet's Desire (Cindy Lawson)

Lawson Boys:

*Alex

*Marty

  The thing I like about all of them is the wonderful idea that a gorgeous hunk of a man can fall head-over-heels in love with a fat woman.  Of the five books, only one features a main female character that is not down on herself for her size.  Cindy Lawson (of "Vet's Desire") knows she is beautiful and doesn't care what others think of her size.  I love her for that.  I really enjoyed "Doctor's Delight" because Cherry is a shy, 35 year old, plus-sized virgin...which means I'm not the only one (even if she is fictional).  And I loved that Maddy is an independent, self-sufficient woman.  Although spiced with emotional/psychological drama and graphic sex scenes, I just really enjoyed the love stories.

I also absolutely adore and can't get enough of Kerry Greenwood's Corinna Chapman series. The main character is a fat female baker.  The books are what I call intellectual mysteries...no blood and gore but mysteries nonetheless.  I love the characters and she too falls in love with a gorgeous man.

Corinna Chapman:

*Earthly Delights

*Heavenly Pleasures

*Devil's Food

*Trick Or Treat

*Forbidden Fruit

*Cooking The Books

I also recommend the works of Adriana Hunter and Christa Wick.

If you are fat, I totally recommend these books.  Despite all the fat-positive and size-acceptance blogs I've been reading, it was these books that finally convinced me that fat women deserve (and get) love too.

Read on,

Paula

"Heart's Blood" by Juliet Marillier

Synopsis: Whistling Tor is a place of secrets and mystery. Surrounded by a wooded hill, and unknown presences, the crumbling fortress is owned by a chieftain whose name is spoken throughout the district in tones of revulsion and bitterness. A curse lies over Anluan's family and his people; those woods hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom.
For young scribe Caitrin it is a safe haven. This place where nobody else is prepared to go seems exactly what she needs, for Caitrin is fleeing her own demons. As Caitrin comes to know Anluan and his home in more depth she realizes that it is only through her love and determination that the curse can be broken and Anluan and his people set free.
My review: "Heart's Blood" by Juliet Marillier is a Celtic retelling of the Beauty and the Beast tale.  I like this one better because Caitrin is not kidnapped or held against her will.  She is not forced to stay...in fact, she goes there willingly, seeking refuge from an abusive relative.  I like this adaptation because Caitrin is smart.  She can read and write in Irish and Latin in an age when that was very rare for everyone but the rich, regardless of gender.  The chieftain, Anluan, is not an actual animal, just a man deformed by disease in childhood and haunted with grief and a family curse.

I could easily relate to Caitrin and her journey from scared, cowering girl to strong, confident woman.  Learning to hope, to love, to stop listening to the negative voice in your head, and to overcome your past were lessons for the main characters that I have also had to learn.  And learning that, despite how little you may think of yourself, you make a difference in the lives of others just by being yourself.

Learning to believe in yourself is the main lesson for Anluan.  Instead of the beast running from the hordes of angry townspeople come to kill him a la the Disney version, Anluan must form an army to fend off the invading Normans.  For Caitrin, it's learning to stand up for yourself, to confront your tormentors.  Being a kind-hearted and caring person, Caitrin makes friends and makes  a difference in the lives of  the inhabitants of Whistling Tor, even though she doesn't see it herself.

Despite it being slow-paced at times, including flowery and detailed descriptions, this book was captivating and a thoroughly good read.  The characters were well-defined and believable (even the ones that aren't fully human).

Various websites have claimed this as the first in the Whistling Tor series but the author's website sets "Heart's Blood" as a lone title and it seems unlikely that it could be a series.  But I would like to read more about these characters if it turns out to be a series after all.

I read the e-book version of this but have added this title to my wishlist for purchasing.  It is a book I would like to reread.

Read on,
Paula

Rejuvenating interest

I love the idea of blogging. I love writing and do a lot of journaling in my personal life. I've had blogs in the past and eventually lost interest in posting because I end up feeling like I have nothing to say. Call it self-esteem issues or just a general lack of self-absorption. Starting a blog about reading and books should have been and was an enthusiastic project. It started as a course project but I posted more than just my assignments. I really wanted to continue it after the course ended and for a while I did. And then the enthusiasm faded. Although I love reading and I love writing, the two didn't seem to go hand-in-hand for me. On the rare occasions when I write a review about a book I've read, it's because the book has meant something to me, sparked an idea or a thought process. My reviews tend to be vague and short: whether or not I liked it and why. Some reviews I've read by other readers are long and detailed and evocative. I haven't written like that. There are times when I can't vocalize the reason I liked a book...just that I did. Today I listened to a podcast from The Readers that helped rejuvenate my interest in blogging because one of the speakers talked about taking notes while reading a book to help flesh out a book review.  I plan to do that from now on and hope that it will help me develop my book review-writing skills.

Lately, the books I've written reviews for have been books that made me feel lucky for the things I have (or have not) experienced, grateful for the life I have and the person that I am.  Three of them are:

Beauty - Patria Dunn
Ink Me (The Sevens series) - Richard Scrimger
On The Island - Tracey Garvis Graves

I wish I could have been taking notes while I read these titles because I wish I could have written longer, more detailed reviews for them.  So I plan to learn from others and hopefully improve my blogging life.  I'm crossing my fingers for myself.

Read on,
Paula