One to Watch: A Novel by Kate Stayman-London
If you’re seriously missing The Bachelor franchise, then there’s no other book for you to read except for The One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London.
This fictional book takes The Bachelorette to a whole new journey, by creating a faux season with its first-ever plus-size bachelorette. The star of this book, Bea Schumacher, is a late-twenties, plus-size fashion blogger, who just so happens to write virtual tweets critiquing the show about its lack of diversity. Bea ends up being called on by the newest producer of Main Squeeze (the fictional version of The Bachelorette), to be the latest star of the reality show! Obviously, Bea struggles with the idea that any of these supermodel-esque male contestants could *actually* fall in love with her, all the while facing harsh backlash and rude comments from social media trolls who just can’t stand to see a fat woman be the star of a reality love show.
The story is filled with a bunch of predictable moments, especially if you’ve ever watched a season of the real Bachelorette, but does contain a couple of fun surprises for Bea and the reader!
Of course, when you’re reading a reality-show-turned-fictional-romance-book, you’re not in it for the twists and turns, you’re in it for the romance! And, let me tell you, there’s plenty of that! But, there’s also so much more. There is a lot of talk about body acceptance and positivity, self-love, accepting love, and sexuality.
I had a lot of fun reading this book because I’m a fan of this type of reality show, but also because I am a plus-size girl myself. I would love it if The Bachelorette actually had a plus-size star, but as this book very well portrayed, that’s not as easy as it sounds. And just as America isn’t ready for a female president, they sure as hell aren’t ready for a fat bachelorette. And that’s on that.
I don’t think this book is for everyone, but if you’re a fan of these reality shows or just some fun, flirty romance, you should definitely add The One to Watch to your list.