Customer Reviews

Love At Large

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anthology: Elizabeth Angus, Judy Bagshaw, Jennifer Harrington, Nancy Trausch, and Eileen Wilson

A guest review by Jenn Bennett

Heroines: varied

Six generously proportioned ladies find love when they least expect it.

In one story we meet a woman who is buying herself a tattoo for her 30th birthday and winds up gaining more than just the body art. In another we find a gal at the beginning of a new adventure in her life when she moves to an island paradise near Lake Michigan. Let's just say the pilot of her flight plays a key role in her future. Still another interesting tale involves two people who meet in their apartment building laundry room of all places. (I've always heard doing laundry is a great way to meet men, now that idea is truly validated for me.) As the collection continues more romance blossoms between an artist and an admirer not just after her art, and sparks are rekindled between two old friends. The final fable in the book about an office costume party is a delightful surprise because it is a collaboration by all of the authors.

What worked for me:

This anthology was truly a great read. I enjoyed the stories, some more than others, but all were intriguing and inventive.

I loved the fact that the women were strong and independent. When the men came into their lives, it enhanced them but none of the ladies were desperate to meet a man. Moreover, these women were comfortable with themselves and felt worthy of love. That was especially important since most of the women had had previously serious relationships. I felt that the book sent the message that women should be happy with or without a man and when you find love it just enriches what is hopefully an already good and happy life.

Size-wise the women are comfortable in their own skin. The fact that they are fuller figured is a focus point of the book, but not that big of a deal to the women themselves. I, however, was pleased that the women varied in size and shape. All of them were plus-sized but there was diversity within their voluptuousness.

What didn't work for me:

I wanted more. More stories and I wanted to learn more about all of the leading ladies. I thought that many of the tales could certainly be turned into full-length romance novels. Because of the abbreviated length, the love scenes were not as steamy as I like them to be, but nevertheless they were eloquently written and well thought out.

Overall:

"Love at Large" is a must-read. There is something for everyone in this anthology. Each author is talented and brings to us a heart-warming love story. I eagerly await the next collection.

If you liked "Love at Large" you might also enjoy the "Living Large" or "At Long Last, Love!" anthologies.

I couldn't wait to get my copy. I enjoyed the stories but there wasn't enough passion in them, for me. As a full- figured woman I love to read about other women like me getting the man.

I enjoyed reading this book. It's about time that people present stories where the female protagonists are not stick thin but they still have it going on and they're still sexy and feminine. As a woman who was once overweight I know what it's like being "other" in a thin obsessed world. I wish books like these were around when I suffered from low self esteem due to the way I looked and the way society responded. That said, I found this book to be totally unrealistic. I realize that the stories are short and thus, there isn't a lot of room for developement, but still. The male characters with the exception of one were all totally predictable and "devastatingly handsome." None of them were just regular guys. I'm sure there are handsome men who love big beautiful women, but these stories layed it on so thick, it seemed fake and like wishful thinking. Still, I enjoyed reading this book and I enjoyed the message it sends about being comfortable in your own skin, despite your dress size.

In case you somehow missed it, these are stories about plus-size women finding love - typically with the most handsome man around. As another reviewer mentioned, these are meant to be sweet tales of plump women finding love - they are not meant to be spicy tales of how the love occurs when they hit the sheets. If you're looking for racier stories of chubbettes, look elsewhere.

Below is a quick sentence about each story and then my opinion of each.

The Illustrated Woman by Elizabeth Angus - To celebrate her 30th birthday, Remy decides to get a tattoo of her own design at Rip's tattoo parlor. Mutual interest in each other develops over several visits to his shop, but can Remy find the courage to make the first move? **** Four stars: I enjoyed this story. Rip is appealing in a `bad boy with a steady job and a Harley' kind of way. I really liked his tattoo. Makes me wish that the tattoo artist who first inked me was like Rip.

A Work of Art by Judy Bagshaw - Darby is an artist manning her own table at a craft show she's been badgered into attending. Martin drops by her booth, buys a couple of works, and wants her to give him lessons - but what is he really hoping to learn? ** Two stars: Maybe it was just the mood I was in, but this story didn't do much for me. Martin was supportive and encouraging, but something about it just didn't engage me.

Dirty Laundry by Jennifer Harrington - Lauren is doing her laundry and listening to the old biddies in her apartment building talk about the hot new tenant when he drops in to finish his washing. Jamie leaves his book in the laundry room and, Lauren, being a good neighbor, returns it to him - but what does she get in return for being a good neighbor? **** Four stars: Thoroughly enjoyed this one. It features a slingshot thong, several mean old ladies, a hallucination while doing the dishes, one very disappointed aerobics instructor, and a cute kitty cat door knocker.

Love Bytes by Sue Ann Jaffarian - Gwen and her boss Cynthia are both on the dating site "Love Bytes" where Clark discovers their profiles. Clark sets up a date with Gwen, but she asks Cynthia to tag along, which prompts Clark to ask his brother Dave to tag along too. Cynthia and Dave may be third wheels, but can they set the wheels of love in motion for themselves? ** Two stars: I recently discovered the Odelia Grey series and a love of Sue Ann Jaffarian's writings - which is actually what lead me to this book. I don't want to ruin the story for anyone, but basically Dave is a mean pain in the <...> when he joins their dates and actually tells Cynthia this during a private `come to Jesus' meeting the two of them have: "Why don't you lose some weight so you can get dates on your own and not have to sponge off your cute friends". As a heavy woman, this is one of those unforgivable statements that some people make - and after that, they get no more chances. Maybe it's just me, but I found it impossible to get past this statement and accept him as a man who learns to love a plus size woman.

A Change in Direction by Nancy Trausch - Getting on a puddle jumper, headed to Mackinac Island to spend six months working with her friend in a trinket shop, Jade meets Rick, her sexy pilot. They have a connection, but will that connection fly her home to him? **** Four stars: This was a sweet, sort of flirty story. I admired her gusto and willingness to make a clean start of things and I envied her enthusiasm of that change. In a short story, she managed to weave in several supporting characters that would easily have their own, less chubby stories. This could easily transition into a longer story.

An Unforgettable Kiss by Eileen Wilson - After a drive-time DJ says "Tell me about your first kiss", Fallon can't help but reminisce about her summer of puppy love with Marcus Carson twenty years ago and their first kiss at that summer camp. Time has separated them, but can they find each other again in time? **** Four stars: (Actually, it's probably more like 3.5 stars, but it helped remind me of happy memories of my own so I bumped it up rather than knocking it down.) A hand-drawn rose from twenty years ago, a karaoke bar, and a matchmaking mutual friend... what more can a girl ask for?

Passion Unmasked by the BBW Romance Writing group - Fran heads to the Colonial Ball in her best time-period dress and masquerade mask with hopes of finally being able to take things further with the office hunk, Jake. At the end of the night, Jake unmasks Fran, but will he reveal his desire for her as well? ***** Five stars: I really, really liked this story. I appreciated that the tormenting office tart got her comeuppance and that Jake only has eyes for Fran. I liked that he was sweet and a little forward and that they were flirty with each other... just something about this story in particular (maybe it was the costumes) reminds me that it's ok to be lush and flirty. Good stuff.

Like any anthology, I liked some and wasn't fond of others. In general, I liked that the women were open to love but not desperate to find a man and that they were comfortable with their curves. As a plus size woman myself, I know we struggle with accepting our shape and sometimes it's nice to just bypass all of that and just read about characters who like to be shapely, not matter the size of the shape. Overall, the writing is quality and the Kindle formatting is just fine.