NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Real love . . . as seen on TV. A plus-size bachelorette brings a fresh look to a reality show in this razor-sharp, “thoroughly charming” (Hillary Clinton) debut.“Relatable, incredibly smart . . . an extraordinary debut.”—Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Date and The ProposalNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time • NPR • Marie Claire… OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time • NPR • Marie Claire • Mashable • “Divinely witty and engrossing . . . Grade: A”—Entertainment Weekly
Bea Schumacher is a devastatingly stylish plus-size fashion blogger who has amazing friends, a devoted family, legions of Insta followers—and a massively broken heart. Like the rest of America, Bea indulges in her weekly obsession: the hit reality show Main Squeeze. The fantasy dates! The kiss-off rejections! The surprising amount of guys named Chad! But Bea is sick and tired of the lack of body diversity on the show. Since when is being a size zero a prerequisite for getting engaged on television?
Just when Bea has sworn off dating altogether, she gets an intriguing call: Main Squeeze wants her to be its next star, surrounded by men vying for her affections. Bea agrees, on one condition—under no circumstances will she actually fall in love. She’s in this to supercharge her career, subvert harmful beauty standards, inspire women across America, and get a free hot air balloon ride. That’s it.
But when the cameras start rolling, Bea realizes things are more complicated than she anticipated. She’s in a whirlwind of sumptuous couture, Internet culture wars, sexy suitors, and an opportunity (or two, or five) to find messy, real-life love in the midst of a made-for-TV fairy tale. In this joyful, wickedly observant debut, Bea has to decide whether it might just be worth trusting these men—and herself—for a chance to live happily ever after.
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I am officially obsessed with this book. I have nothing but good things to say.
Bea, our heroine, is a highly successful fashion blogger and influence who also happens to be plus-sized. Like the rest of the females in America, she tunes in to watch Main Squeeze (a VERY thinly veiled fictional version of The Bachelor–even Neil Lane’s equivalent is named Nils). However, one night, her blog post consisting of a (slightly) drunken tirade online about the show’s lack of body diversity goes viral. Main Squeeze viewership declines, Bea encounters new legions of fans (and haters), and eventually… Bea gets asked to be the new lead! One to Watch covers Bea’s journey as she becomes the show’s first plus-size lead and struggles to determine who she can trust (dare I say… who’s there for the right reasons?) and who actually has an interest in dating her.
I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve read some quasi-The Bachelor books in my time. I’ve seen several versions of the friend being in love with the lead, producer falling in love with the lead, contestants falling in love with each other, but this was a new take. It hardly breaks the mold of the traditional Bachelor model at all–the lead just happens to not be a size zero. Oddly, but making such a minor change (that I think we all know The Bachelor would never actually do), this book is the most ORIGINAL version of The Bachelor trope that I’ve seen. This (strangely) creative premise coupled with characters that seem completely REAL carry this book straight to five stars.
All of the characters are fully three-dimensional, with flaws and backstories that are realistic and yet overwhelm their personalities. The world-building is off the charts, and it’s not just because I’m intimately familiar with The Bachelor universe but because of the truly excellent writing. Another fun feature of this book is the multi-source storytelling. We rotate between Bea’s traditional narrative, blog posts, news articles, group texts, emails, Podcast transcripts, and more. This unique way of presenting the story makes the book feel thoroughly modern and anything but boring. This book is my next go-to recommendation for friends!
One to Watch drew me in from the first chapter; this book was relatable, incredibly smart and thoughtful about body image and the way the media treats women, and just plain entertaining. I adored this extraordinary debut and had so much fun reading it!
One to Watch was such fun! Gotta say, I’ve watched about 30 minutes of reality TV in my entire life, so the goings on in One To Watch surprised the heck outta me. The story is much more than a take-down of the antics of what goes on behind the scenes of a Bachelor type of show since the heroine is a plus size influencer or INFLUENCER with a lot of moxie. (An old word which needs to be brought back into use.) A few choice meanies get what’s coming to them, and that’s ALWAYS a hoot. I couldn’t stop reading and the texting and bitchery everywhere was the best!
I’m lucky that my daughter made me watch some of the Bachelorette over the holidays otherwise this book wouldn’t have resonated so much with me but it did and it’s a wonderful story about a plus sized woman living a “dream” (maybe a nightmare?) as the woman in a reality show like the Bachelorette. Great book
Loved this book! So incredibly cute and entertaining. Highly recommend for fans of The Bachelor franchise!
I do not watch reality TV but I may have to now that I have read “One to Watch” by new-to-me author Kate Stayman-London. I loved Bea Schumacher, plus-size fashion blogger who is picked to be on the hit reality show “Main Squeeze” and enjoyed her dynamic and chemistry with the other characters especially bachelors Luc, Sam, Wyatt and Asher. This is a perfect beach read and will bring you reading pleasure and joy. I received an advance reader copy of this book from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.
Bea is a style blogger. After watching Main Squeeze Bea went to her Instagram account and posted a rant about the show, now they want her as the main contestant. Bea promises her self to not fall in love and she holds to that, as it seems like she portrays herself as a grump. I liked this book and the MC, Bea. I can really relate to her, I was like that with guys myself. This book was a good listen, the narrators were good. It bothered me that Bea was constantly body shamed and referred to as the plus sized blogger. Other than that I liked the book. This was my first book by Kate Stayman-London and I plan to check out this authors other books.
Ok…..I thought this was an interesting premise, so I decided it would be a great read! It is about a plus sized blogger looking for love who was cast as the “main squeeze” in the tv show (think Bachelorette style.) The men coming on the show didn’t know who the main squeeze was, or what she looked like. Since Bea (the blogger) didn’t fit the description of all the other main squeeze women, some of the men were rude and stand offish. Three just walked out on their own accord because she didn’t fit their description of beauty. There was a lot of talk about Bea being plus sized, I wish there would have been more empowerment about it than there was. I wish Bea was more confident on the show. I felt like the book got a little long. It ties up nicely at the end. This book was written in different ways, via text messages, blogs, radio shows, newspaper articles, and the traditional story way of writing.
All in all, this one was just ok for me.
I loved everything about this book. Being a large woman myself this book and the body positivity in it is amazing. Yes there is drama because why not there all ways is. I loved how the main characters friends supported her and how she grew in the books.
The ending was great and correct for the story line
This was a definite page turner. Look for a Nerdy Romantics Podcast episode reviewing this book. Coming soon!
This one is also FABULOUS with a plus-sized heroine and the setting of a “Bachelorette” reality TV show. Hilarious and full of twists that keep you surprised until the very end. This ALSO has some of the most incisive takes on body prejudice in today’s society.
Reading this book felt just like watching a season of the Bachelorette (snarky tweets and all!), except so much more satisfying!!
This was another deliciously compelling book, though a much lighter read than most of the others on this list! It centres around Bea Schumacher, a plus-sized fashion blogger who goes viral for an epic takedown of a popular Bachelor-style dating show for having yet another season full of stick-thin women. So imagine her surprise when the show calls her up asking her to be their next contestant? Nursing a broken heart and dreading what the trolls on the internet might have to say about this, Bea nevertheless decides to throw caution to the wind and let 25 total strangers compete for her affections. This is pure, ridiculous escapism and it was so addictive it should probably come with a warning label. Perfect for anyone lucky enough to be going on holiday and looking for something to read by the pool.
I have been a longtime member of Bachelor Nation, and this book really delivered on that front. Some really funny moments for sure. What made me really love this book, though, is Bea as the plus-size heroine. I wish this would actually happen with the show! I also always love it when books do multimedia storytelling, with tweets and emails and podcast transcripts.
I read the whole book – but didn’t love it. I wanted to root for Bea, but I just never could get invested.
This was one of the more enjoyable and engaging books I’ve listened to in a while. I couldn’t put it down. I one hundred percent felt like I had a backstage pass to the filming of a Bachelorette season. Even after it was over, I found myself going back to re-listen to parts. (I wish I had made myself a cheat sheet as I went to keep up with all the names!) It’s partially told in epistolary style through text conversations, emails, podcasts, and blog posts, which was a fun change-up. Loved it, and will likely listen again in the future.
I could not get enough of this story! It was SO GOOD! it was so nice to have a plus-size heroine since it seems many are super thin. the dialogue was witty, the characters were relatable, and I liked Bea. Some receivers may have thought the ending was rushed, but I didn’t. I think it was exactly how it was supposed to be. Though I could have done without the social media moments and they seemed to take up most of the beginning of the chapters. the narrator did an amazing job.
To be honest it was hard to read at some points because it shows the ugly reality of how a lot of people are treated because of their weight. It also pinpoints some harsh truths on how we get in our own way too. Overall loved the book and so glad it was well written. I felt like there was a truth to this book that needs to be released into the world even now. Why are all the bachelorette contestants such thin beautiful people the idolized like Barbie and why can’t there be girls that are real on the show? I mean wouldn’t it be cool to have bachelorette who was a bigger girl it’s not like there are none that are famous already. Honestly I would watch that show then!
I laughed til I cried and then cried again. I literally cancelled every plan I had today so I could finish this audiobook. I didn’t read the premise before starting it, just heard everyone recommending it, and was pleasantly surprised how exactly up my alley this book was for me. My plus-size, OG-Bachelor loving heart is SO happy right now!
I will say that this might have a few trigger warnings, especially for those of us pleasantly plump girls. My heart absolutely broke several times for Bea throughout the story, but being able to watch her grown and learn throughout the journey was worth every moment.
I had very strong feelings about certain contestants, that I will gladly discuss if anyone is up for a discussion, but I’m glad it worked out the way I hoped, even if I still want to hire a hitman for a few of them, lol. This is definitely a book I think everyone should read, so make the time for it and enjoy
I much prefer to read than watch television. Reality shows – no with the exception of The First 48 Hours. Bea’s insecurities are relatable. The book kept you on your toes as to each person’s motives.