The Brunette Librarian: "On the Plus Side" By: Tabatha Vargo Review

On the Plus Side

By: Tabatha Vargo

Synopsis from Goodreads

Big girls need love, too, but at what cost?

Lilly is loaded, not only with money, but with weight. Both things she could do without. But even with her undesired millionaire status, she doesn’t hold on to false hopes of finding true love. So when a sexy stranger comes into her life dripping with seduction, she finds it hard to resist. The bigger they are the harder they fall and Lilly falls straight through the floor in love with Mr. Sexy.

Too bad he’s there for all the wrong reasons.

The chance of losing it all will make you do some crazy things and Devin’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep his life together. All seems lost when out of nowhere he’s approached by a Millionaire Momma with an offer he can’t refuse. But even a womanizer like Devin has a heart and when the short, chunky girl with the carefree attitude breaks through his icy façade, he finds that losing everything takes on a whole new meaning.

My Thoughts
    Whew! I just finished this book this morning before I went to work (I totally got up early to finish it, it was kind of insane) and even now I’m left in a lurch as to what I thought about it. I liked it but there were so many things that just made me mad that I can’t get it out of my head. The librarians I work with say if you can’t get a book out of your head, it’s a good thing so we’ll just have to wait and see.
    First off, I’m totally going to start this off and say I’m a chunky girl myself. Proud, confident, and self-assured I was excited to read about another plus sized gal finding love. Trust me honey, these Missouri boys just ain’t cutting it for me. So I did love Lilly in certain ways. She’s plus sized and insecure about her weight, but confident about her social and working areas in her life. She has good friends and lives life to the fullest. She’s incredibly sweet and when Devin walks into her jewelry store, she’s flattered by his attention and kind of immediately falls for him.
   Now Devin, oye. A bit of backstory - Devin’s family is getting ready to lose everything. Lilli’s family is loaded so when Lilli’s mom overhears of Devin’s money problems, she approaches him with a proposition. She will pay him to pretend to be her boyfriend. He is honestly a nice boy and finds this behavior distubing, but he ultimately decides he can spend time with Lilli, get money and no one is hurt.
     I had two huge pet peeves with this story. First off, I kind of resented the idea that Lilli had to have a boy paid to be her boyfriend. I know the point was that ultimately it wasn’t needed, but it was so dang crazy of her mom to even think of. I don’t resent Devin but the idea a mom would do this boils my blood. I don’t know if we are supposed to like the mom or not, but throughout the story I disliked her immensely.
      Secondly, while I liked Devin and think he redeemed himself ultimately in the end, I hated how he kept referring to her weight. It seemed like whenever we were in his head he was referencing her weight, what she looked like, and how her chunkiness would impact his life. Over and Over and Over. Maybe boys think like this, I don’t know, maybe it was done to show he was insecure, but in my opinion it was a little overdone. We know she was heavy, let’s get over it.
     On to the positive stuff, I am so happy the plus size romance heroine got her man! I liked their journey, it seemed like life kept throwing things in their way and they worked through it. Beyond the repetition of the weight, I liked how Devin viewed Lilli. He loved how she was kind and how she wanted to get involved with his family. I think the relationships began with Devin’s family were realistic and honestly, Devin’s relationships with Lilli’s friends seemed incredibly real to me too.
     I guess what I’m trying to say in this long review, while I had a few problems with certain aspects of the book, I honestly enjoyed it. I loved the epilogue with Devin and Lilli and when I finished I was left with a big old smile. If you can get past the crazy mother and the mentions of poundage, you are left with an incredibly lovely romance filled with friends, hope and love. I’m looking forward to what Tabatha comes up with next and I’ve gotta admit, I hope Devin and Lilli at least make a cameo!

Book Details

# of Pages: 340

Date of Publication: January 21, 2013

Source: Personal Purchase