Size Matters by Alison Bliss
Series: A Perfect Fit #1
Publisher: Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
Publication Date: November 29, 2016
Date Read: November 22, 2016
Source: NetGalley
★★★★☆
The rules of (fake) engagement . . .
Leah Martin has spent her life trying to avoid temptation. But she’s sick of low-fat snacks, counting calories, and her hyper-critical mom. Fortunately, her popular new bakery keeps her good and distracted. But there aren’t enough éclairs in the world to distract Leah from the hotness that is Sam Cooper – or the fact that he just told her mother that they’re engaged . . . which is a big, fat lie.
Sam sometime speaks before he thinks. So what started out as defending Leah’s date-ability to her judgmental mother soon turned into having a fiancee! Now the plan is to keep up the fake engagement, stay “just friends,” and make Leah’s family loathe him enough to just call the whole thing off . But Sam has an insatiable sweet tooth, not only for Leah’s decadent desserts but her decadent curves. Her full lips. Her bright green eyes. Yep, things aren’t going quite according to plan. Now Sam has to convince Leah that he’s for real . . . before their little lie turns into one big, sweet disaster.
This was a fun book! I love it when a story can balance humor with romance and this one did it really well. There were plenty of touching moments as well to really tell a satisfying story. I didn’t want to put this book down and ended up reading it in a single day. I am so glad that I decided to pick this one up.
Sam and Leah are the focus of this book. Sam is in construction and has sworn off any relationships for the time being after his most recent disaster. Leah owns a local bakery and isn’t sure she will ever meet the right guy. Leah also has some body image issues that pop up pretty early in the book. On a whim, Sam tells Leah’s ex fiance that they are engaged and soon everyone knows about it. They must now spend some time with family before they can “break up” and make everyone happy.
As soon as I read this book’s summary and noted that there would be a fake engagement, I quickly guessed that they would end up falling for each other. I was right but the way it happened was a treat to watch. This pair fit so nicely together and Sam really seemed to become a part of Leah’s family almost immediately. The chemistry between the pair was well done and I was really wanting to see them make it work. Everything about their relationship felt genuine to me.
The humor in this book was well done. I didn’t find myself laughing out loud but I was rather amused quite a few times. Leah and Sam both had a great sense of humor. I really liked some of the things Sam said to try to make Leah’s family dislike him. The only thing that I didn’t care for was how much focus was put on Leah’s weight both by Leah and her mother. I understand why it was a part of the story but wish it had been scaled back just a bit.
I would recommend this book to fans of contemporary romance. This is the first book by Alison Bliss that I have had a chance to read but I do plan to read more of her work in the future. I am really looking forward to the next book in this series.
I received an advance reader edition of this book from Forever (Grand Central Publishing) via NetGalley.
About the Author
Credit Julie Abston Photography Alison Bliss grew up in Small Town, Texas, but currently resides in the Midwest with her husband and two sons. With so much testosterone in her home, it’s no wonder she writes “girl books.” She believes the best way to know if someone is your soul mate is by canoeing with them because if you both make it back alive, it’s obviously meant to be. Alison pens the type of books she loves to read most: fun, steamy love stories with heart, heat, laughter, and usually a cowboy or two. As she calls it, “Romance…with a sense of humor.”
I could use this feel-good story today of all days…
Sometimes a feel good story is just the thing.
The fake engagement scenario is fun and I'll bet it got hilarious when he tried to manipulate her family.
The fake engagement in this story was very well done.
oh this sounds like a cute romance here!! I do like the fake engagement trope, it can be quite entertaining. Great review.
It can be a lot of fun and it was well done in this book.
Aw yay! I really had a great time with this one as well and enjoyed the humor. I did wish she'd gotten her backbone over her weight/mom a little bit quicker but that was about my biggest issue. Can't wait for the next one!
It sounds like we had a lot of the same opinions with this one. The humor was definitely one of the best points.