Curvy Girl Summer
Ratings1
Average rating5
15
Ratings1
Average rating5
Bridget Jones’s Diary meets Survival of the Thickest in Danielle Allen’s CURVY GIRL SUMMER, a smoking-hot, hilarious novel about the perils of online dating.
“There’s got to be an easier way than dating. I want the shortcut. I just want to find my person and start our lives together.”
After a one-night stand with her clingy ex, Aaliyah James has an epiphany: this ain’t it. She knows what she wants, and she’s ready to move past casual hookups, flings, and situationships.
But for her family, the clock is ticking―after all, she’s almost thirty. And when they imply that her personality (and her body) might be too big to land a man, she lets them know they’ve gone too far―and her (nonexistent) man loves her curves, thank you very much. Now, she has seven weeks to find the perfect boyfriend to rub in their faces at the big, fancy birthday celebration she’s been planning.
After her first blind date goes wrong, charming local bartender Ahmad Williamson consoles her with a drink and some playful banter. Aaliyah takes him up on his suggestion to use a dating app―but the more she sees of his warm, funny, and easygoing nature, the less she wants to check her DMs. Will her next swipe bring her closer to true love―or is her real match closer than she thinks?
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Contains spoilers
💬: He pointed at my drink.
"What are you drinking?"
"Malibu Sunrise, it's delicious"
'It looks good but I can't be seen drinking that."
I blinked rapidly, "Oh?"
Allen, Danielle. Curvy Girl Summer (Chapter 6, p.?). Bramble. NetGalley Advanced Reader's Copy.
📖Genres: romance, contemporary, contemporary romance
📚Page Count: 210
🎧Audiobook Length: 12h 23min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5
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TW - <spoiler>Infidelity, Car accident, Cursing, Alcohol, Grief, Death, and Misogyny</spoiler>
Curvy Girl Summer by Danielle Allen is about Aaliyah James a plus sized 29 year old who wants to find a boyfriend for her 30th birthday celebration. Aaliyah's family members think that she's getting older and her time find a boyfriend, get married, and have children is running out. Annoyed with her family's comments, she lets them know that she does have a boyfriend and that he'll be at her 30th birthday celebration. She doesn't have a boyfriend yet but with online dating, how hard could finding one be? When the first date goes not as planned, the local bartender, at the bar where the date took place seems to be kind and funny enough to make Aaliyah feel hopeful about finding more people to date. The more she spends time with Ahmad the closer she feels to him. Will she find a boyfriend in time for her birthday and will he be from the online dating app "Tinderfish" or will he be the funny, handsome, and caring bartender?
Reading this book was such a great reading experience. This is my first slow burn romance novel and now I still why people like this trope so much. There's so much built up sexual an romantic tension and it feels as if everything will erupt during the climax of the book. I loved how Aaliyah and Ahmad teased each other relentlessly, it was so cute. It was so nice that they both loved concerts, live shows, and music in general. The miscommunication trope was in there and it was so annoying, like the situation was very obvious but the main character was just not getting it. That was annoying but the book was so good overall that I'm not going to change my rating because of that annoyance. Something the author did a really good job of including is what it feels like to be a plus size woman dating with dating apps and websites in the real world.
The audio book narrator was really good, I enjoyed their voice for all the characters. Sometimes when an author voices several or many characters some of the voices sound off but that was NOT the case with Wesleigh Siobhan and their narration. All of the words are clear and concise and the individual voices they use for each character fits so well with the story.
Talk about a slow burn! There are two spicy scenes and let me be honest, the spicy scenes don't start happening until well over 80% through the book. The scenes come late in the book but I honestly think it was worth it. I don't really like spicy scenes with unprotected sex with almost strangers or first time lovers, though I did like the scenes in general. I'm giving the spicy scenes four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️out of five chilies
This book was a pleasant surprise! I really enjoyed myself while listening to this audiobook. It was fantastic. I'm giving this 5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5 Stars
Thank you [NetGalley.com], Danielle Allen (the author), and Macmillan Audio (publisher) for the arc (advanced reader's copy) of the audiobook.
“I want you to know that my happiness isn't tied to being with a man or racing to the altar or having children. My happiness is tied to me living a life that I love and am proud of. My happiness is centered around me and what I want."
I don't think I've laughed so hard at a book like this one! Danielle Allen could honestly be a comedian on the side! Every Character had personality and humor. Ahmad had me cackling in the depths of the night, he did not spare Aaliyah from any roasts. He ate her up (in more ways than one)!
Curvy Girl Summer was honestly an effortless read. It is a slow-burn romance, which I don't normally like, BUT while you reading there's so much more to be worried about that the end goal of Ahmad and Aaliyah working out in the end felt like the cherry on top to bring the entire story together.
Outside of the romance, we have Aaliyah struggling with the dating scene, and the turmoil she has with her family worried that she will not find love soon enough since she is about to turn 30. I loved that we got to see her confront her family on their misconceptions of her as a whole, and the subconscious comparisons they have been making between her and her older sister that passed. It got addressed in a very mature and admirable way. It was one of my favorite scenes in the book!
I will definitely be reading some more Danielle Allen in the future!
