Romance Lovers for the Challenge-Impaired discussion

Hi Friends,

I've just had a mate of mine send me a message asking for some recommendations:

"Here's one to ask your discussion groups. Are there any romance novels historical, fantasy or current day where the heroine is a homely girl who doesn't fade awade to skin and bones if she doesn't get the man of dreams etc. I'm getting sick of reading books about stick figure women who come at the drop of a hat with head jobs and swallowing as the highlight of their sexual experience. "

I responded with a recommendation for Jennifer Crusie's Bet Me, but I've hit a head-blank as far as anything else goes.

Can anyone help with some recommendations for her?

cheers!

Thanks Jenny!!! I saw that you'd put that one in the "Made me Angry" shelf. How did it do that?

Loved that list, will have to send my friend the link, I especially liked the title for , lol!!

Two of my favourite that meet your discription CaroB are:
1. A plain looking bit overweight woman in pioneer Texas time. Her attitude is this is me, get to know me and you will like me. Your loss if you don't.

2. contemporary romance. Over weight even in high school, now a caterer who loves her self and looks her best. Friends support her 100%. meets high school sweetheart once again.

Jenny wrote: "That was before I started trying to do little reviews, but from what I can recall, the hero was kind of an ass. Her friends were awful (of the with friends like that who needs enemies type) and the..."

I hate ass-hat heros. Very glad most authors have now learnt there's a distinction between masculinity and machismo.

I just finished this one and it is wonderful! Highly recommend it

I enjoyed , it's a scottish historical.

☼sunny☼ wrote: "Two of my favourite that meet your discription CaroB are:
1. A plain looking bit overweight woman in pioneer Texas time. Her attitude is this is me, get to know me and you will ..."

Excellent, thanks ☼sunny☼ ! Especially like the description of the heroine in the first one, but both of those sound like books I wouldn't mind trying as well, not just for my friend. :-)

There's also this page. It has two list: Curvy Heroines and Big & Tall Heroines.

, a light and sweet historical romance by Lynsay Sands has a heroine who is a bit overweight - and the hero LOVES it.

Loving it! Thanks Ladies!

☼sunny☼ wrote: "Two of my favourite that meet your discription CaroB are:
1. A plain looking bit overweight woman in pioneer Texas time. Her attitude is this is me, get to know me and you will ..."

I added those!

Leslie beat me to rec'ing He Loves Lucy. I loved that one!

It's pretty much clean, but Gypsy at Almack's has a fat heroine who gets even fatter when she's unhappy. I loved that. :-)

willaful wrote: "It's pretty much clean, but Gypsy at Almack's has a fat heroine who gets even fatter when she's unhappy. I loved that. :-)"

LOL, a comfort-eater! I know all about that. I'm a comfort baker :-) The two go hand in hand...

How about ? It's hysterical. The heroine (who is a big girl with a big bust) ends up being in one of those reality shows where everyone takes on the part of a person living in the past and lives as people did during that era. The hero loves the way she looks wearing a corseted gown.

Jenny wrote: "This list might be useful:
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/47......"

Great list, Jenny! A lot of my favs are on there; but, WTH is doing on there? LOL! Kinsey is a runner and slim. Maybe it is for a secondary character; I'll have to do a re-read.

Katie MacAllister often has big girls as her heroine. And she doesn't always make a big deal out of it, it's just the way the character looks. It's not always part of the storyline. I like that about her books.

cover makes heroine look anorexic but she's actually plump and quite the klutz. Very funny book.



Not romance but main character is a plus sized baker with a hot ex-Israeli soldier boyfriend. Her books get billed as cozies but they really aren't to me. Not a lot of violence but her characters actually have sex lives even if they aren't graphic sex scenes.



I have this in my TBR and I believe the heroines are all plus sized.

Mary wrote: "

cover makes heroine look anorexic but she's actually plump and quite the klutz. Very funny book."

Oh, yes. I liked that one, too, Mary.

I saw this thread's title in a friend's feed, and had to comment. "Fat people romance"? Really? And all of you think this is just a dandy name?

How incredibly charming. By which I mean nauseating.

It did bother me a bit but I decided it wasn't worth making a stink about.

"Plus-size heroine" would be a better thread title.

Tracey wrote: "I saw this thread's title in a friend's feed, and had to comment. "Fat people romance"? Really? And all of you think this is just a dandy name?

How incredibly charming. By which I mean nauseating."

Wow Tracey. That's certainly one way of pointing out that the name could be hurtful or insensitive... not a way I would've chosen, but Vive la différence!

Name changed. Insensitivity on my part was completely unintentional, ladies. My apologies.

Jenny wrote: "CaroB, I'm sure most people know you did not name it that in an effort to be hurtful or insensitive. Maybe I'm just not easily offended, but if the intent of a person is good, then I see no reason ..."

Ditto.

Jenny wrote: "CaroB, I'm sure most people know you did not name it that in an effort to be hurtful or insensitive. Maybe I'm just not easily offended, but if the intent of a person is good, then I see no reason ..."

Thank you Jenny & Megan, completely good intentions, truly :-)

No worries Karen, I'd like to think that us mods are approachable enough that if you or any other members do have any issues, you can voice them. There's absolutely no need for you to apologise, I much preferred your way of communicating your sentiments to the sarcastic one above and if my response was short, it was as result of that attitude, not yours. You are a regular part of this group and as you stated, you felt it needed to be said, glad that you felt you could :-) Also, glad that you saw no malice was meant originally when you first posted your recommendations. Changing the title wasn't a big hassle at all for me. My ugly feelings generated from Tracey's sarcasm, were.

Just as an explanation, not an excuse... I'm a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of person, and what you see with me is that I'm obese, and I guess that the word fat is so much a part of my life... I'm either trying to cut it down from my meals, work it out of my body, hide it better with my clothes or chatting with my friends about how much more of it we've added on, during coffee (and cake, lol!), or finding a way to balance it in my life, that for myself and a large (no pun intended) number of my friends, it is a big (ok, that one was intended) part of our everyday thoughts, rather than a taboo word. It just is what it is... and rather than being offended by it, it is something my friend (the one who sent the message with that title that led to this whole topic in Post #1) and I, identify with, while "plus-sized" is a term marketing departments use to encourage us to buy their clothes :-)
But having said all of that, I'd rather be fat than hurtful, no matter how PC the topic, so if I caused offense I'm truly sorry. Anyways, this has been in the back of my mind for a few days and I felt I needed to explain... I've harped on enough about it now, sorry.

Back to the regularly scheduled non-stick-figure heroine recommendations :-)

I think there are a few of Kristen Ashley's novels where the heroine either is or used to be overweight and I always thought she handled the health vs self-image concept quite well in those...

Yep, wasn't Laurie in a little on the heavy side when she first got to Carnal? I remember her talking about how she got smaller from all the swimming she did in the pool at the hotel.

Yes, Susan, Laurie gained weight after her divorce. I really did like the way the author handled her losing weight and getting back into shape.

And there's another one, from the Rock chick series where the heroine grew up in a household where she was the heavier, uglier duckling of the family of swans that deals well with how the heroine perceives herself as attractive.

Oh, I remembered one, has a heroine who is on the chubbier side, and an ex-husband who never let her forget it.

So true Alexandria! I think self-confidence is sexy, no matter what you look like :-)

The last three books I've read had heroines that constantly pushed the hero away because they kept telling themselves:
"Oh he doesn't really want me, I'm plain/boring and he's H.O.T. he could have any woman he wants."

And I kept yelling at them (In my head anyway):
"Yes he can have any woman he wants and he wants you! He can love you the way you are why can't you?!?!?!?!"

Their attitude made reading the books a chore. Needless to say none of those books rated higher than 3 stars!

All three of you are spot on. Confidence - without false bravado - is sexy.

Measuring up by n.dawn
you don't have to say you love me by sarra manning
bet me by jennifer crusie

I only know of a couple to add to the list...

or

Jamie wrote: "In the early 1990s I started a book while on a high_school trip top the local library. But was embarrassed by a male friend of mine and put it back on the shelf. I can't remember the name only the plot. Hoping someone might recognize the plot and let me finish the story from so long ago.

A plump girl is baking in the kitchen thinking about her pretty sister, when a good looking dark haired man arrives. Turns out he likes her, but thinks she's a servant our something like that, I seem to remember he was actually there for her sister. Anyway, any I ideas world be greatly appreciated that story line has haunted me for years."

Jamie, I only now checked out this thread, and found your message. I'm not sure if my recommendation is the book you're looking for, but the plot you mentioned sounded an awful lot like Wishes by Jude Deveraux, a favorite of mine. Some elements aren't quite the same (I don't believe hero ever thought heroine was a servant, though she was made to be one.), but it might be the book you're looking for.

This offering of mine goes all through Sophie's life. I'm fairly unspecific size wise until she's older, and she worries about her 'lumps & bumps'...
Rekindled Love

But I have put a call to action in one of my blogs, as I also had noticed a tendency towards young, thin, pretty, insta-cum girls :-(
http://tlclarkauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2...

The book after next I will try harder to write my heroine as plus size. :-)