Awarded Best Contemporary Romance Novel of 2017 ~ N.N. Light’s Book Heaven I was expecting a ring not a ‘see ya later’. Well, you know what? Screw him! I don’t need him. What else don’t I need? To drown my sorrows in tequila only to wake up to find I’ve planned (and paid for!) the diet-fitness-revenge-plan of the century. My best friend is ad-A-mant I not back out. Thank my lucky stars, I run … out. Thank my lucky stars, I run into a group of crazy women at Zumba class who take me under their wing. Yippie! Things are looking up. Of freaking course, that’s when my work situation goes belly up. That’s also the moment my ex decides he wants me back, my personal trainer asks me out, and my millionaire male buddy decides to throw his hat in the ring. Oh boy.
How am I going to get myself out of this mess?
Warning: Bad language, bumpy roads, and embarrassing moments ahead. But there’s also more than a bit of romance and even, if we’re lucky, love. Fingers crossed.
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I loved this story. Everly was a character that I could totally relate to. I was only frustrated that it took so long for her to see how amazing Carter is. He is just the sweetest guy ever.
The title, cover and blurb on this book totally put me off, and I was tempted to give it a skip. However, I decided to play nice and started to read it. I am so glad that I did. The transformation of Everly is a story that almost every woman can relate to – weight, self-confidence and need for approval issues affect most women in one way or another. As Everly hit rock bottom after being dumped by her boyfriend of five years, she has one asset that proved to be her saving grace, namely best friend Blaze, who would not take “no” for an answer. Blaze was there when Everly was at her worst, but it was also Blaze that put a plan into action to help Everly turn her life around. At first, every step Everly took was painful and mortifying. However, as she made progress and surrounded herself with other women who were self-confident and full of life, Everly began to see herself in a new light. She suddenly finds that she is high demand, by her personal trainer, her ex-boyfriend and the computer geek at the gym. Through her ups and downs, one has to laugh and cry with Everly, but as she starts to get her head on straight, one has to cheer her for new choices. Ultimately, I am so glad I read this book, because it left me with a smile on my face and a realisation that regardless of our age or size, we are powerful in our own right. I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily post this review. This is my honest review.
How to become your own best friend
In Fat Girl Begone! author D.E. Haggerty has put a different spin on the fat girl transformation trope. Everly is 35, single, on the plump side, and her long-term fiancee Josh has just dumped her because she’s a chronic failure at dieting. A BFF back-up call, a bottle of tequila, and a hangover later, she finds herself committed to the old “I’m gonna get skinny and gorgeous and make him sorry” revenge plan. But the lady who never hits Day 3 on a diet plan finds unexpected back-up in her bestie, in her (hot) personal trainer, in the gals in her Zumba class, and especially in the geeky-sweet guy who works out at her gym. And the “fat girl” – the one who calls herself ‘lard-ass’ and doesn’t think she’s good enough – starts her metamorphosis. I empathized totally with Everly, and her struggles with self-comforting behavior that has morphed into harmful habits. That Everly actually struggles more with Body Dysmorphic Disorder than with overeating put a new spin on this kind of story, a very thoughtful and upbeat one. No shaming, no blaming, just a lovely clean romance and a woman learning to stand tall
I was expecting a romcom or at least a body/ego boosting romance. This is a cutesy fluff story that had me questioning Everly’s ability to have a normal relationship at all. The relation direction steers you off for many chapters before you get a glimpse of what couple is end game. Carter dotes on Everly but, their dynamic is almost forced and she mentions sides of him she doesn’t like but, brushes them off. They aren’t ever brought up again. I didn’t get much passion between the two with the very little kissing actually happening. If adult fluff is what you want, this is something to read.
Fat Girl Begone is a really fun and relatable story. If you’ve ever had issues with your weight you will know exactly where Everly is coming from! After being dumped by her long time boyfriend she decides to jump into a new health and fitness regime as a way to get back at him. Along the way she makes new friends, realizes what a jerk her ex really is, and learns to accept herself in a way she hadn’t before. And oh yeah, gets romanced like she never had been!
I found Everly to be such a realistic character, so much so that at times I wanted to give her a little smack upside the head! But luckily she had Blaze and her crazy group of new friends there to do what I couldn’t. But as much as I wanted to smack her for some of her thoughts and issues, I knew exactly how she felt. As someone who has struggled with weight my whole life I could see myself in her- her struggles, her at times unrealistic expectations, her negative view of herself. I could completely empathisize with her. Her journey of self-discovery was one I took not too long ago- I’m just missing the hot, geeky millionaire love interest!
From start to finish this is a book I think a lot of women will see themselves in- there are pieces of Everly that every woman will be able to relate to. Ms. Haggerty did a great job of handling what can be a delicate and tricky subject. Fat Girl Begone is in equal measures uplifting and entertaining.
This is the best book I have read in a looong time. I loved it!
Everly has never been happy with her weight so she’s been on a diet of some sort forever. After being dumped she spends the evening with her friend, tequila. Her “friend” influenced her to sign up for 6 months with a personal trainer. Her plan was to get thin and fit then show her ex what he was missing.
No matter how many inches she lost, she didn’t think she was looking any better because the scale wasn’t going down as much as she wanted it to. She had such a negative image of herself that she didn’t notice that she was now several sizes smaller.
I absolutely loved Fat Girl Begone! I could relate to Everly and her constant diets. I swear I have been on a diet since I was 12 when I realized boys were for more than just throwing mud at. She sure had a lot on her plate, though. Getting dumped was bad enough but she also lost her job. I loved how she turned those things into positives. First by going to the gym where she had a couple of guys interested in her. That was good for her self-esteem. Then, when her ex wanted her back, she had men coming out of the woodwork. On top of that, she starts her own business. It was a lot to handle but she was determined to be successful.
This book was hilarious! Everly’s first gym training session was priceless and had me laughing so hard, I couldn’t see the page for my tears. They were streaming down my face. I really liked Everly and could easily identify with her. I loved her friends from the Zumba class. They were a hoot. And what a great bestie she had in Blaze. She was great in keeping Everly on track. The romance parts couldn’t have been better. Having three men interested in her, all very different sure did wonders for the way she felt about herself.
I want to thank the wonderful author for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I love all her books and never suspected she would write one I liked more than the others. But she did. If you enjoy romantic comedy, I highly recommend this book.