The Resident Bookworm's Thoughts on: Big Girl Panties

Hello, fellow bookworms!

I wanted to formally greet you since this is my first blog. I'm Clare, and I'm the aforementioned resident bookworm. I love to read, and I normally get through one book per week...most of the time. The first book I've chosen to discuss is Big Girl Panties by Stephanie Evanovich.

Summary: "Holly Brennan used food to comfort herself through her husband’s illness and death. Now she’s alone at age thirty-two. And she weighs more than she ever has. When fate throws her in the path of Logan Montgomery, personal trainer to pro athletes, and he offers to train her, Holly concludes it must be a sign. Much as she dreads the thought of working out, Holly knows she needs to put on her big girl panties and see if she can sweat out some of her grief. Soon, the easy intimacy and playful banter of their training sessions lead Logan and Holly to most intense and steamy workouts. But can Holly and Logan go the distance as a couple now that she’s met her goals—and other men are noticing?" - Summary courtesy of amazon.com

The Good: So as a fair warning, the majority of the books that I will blog about will be young adult or new adult novels, since that's the majority of what I read. This book, however, was a full-fledged adult novel (complete with some very steamy sex scenes), and I really enjoyed it.

Big Girl Panties is a fun read and it's easy to get in and out of. There's nothing worse than a novel that you can't pick up and put down at your leisure. This book, however, is very well suited to doing just that. The characters are relatable; both of the main characters have flaws and make mistakes, but they are both good people deep down. And the secondary characters are equally relatable. Evanovich is great at helping the reader get to know her characters, because there were only about four secondary characters in the whole book, and I can name all of them, something every author should be proud of. The use of the anatomical terminology and the gym-speak was interesting, proving that Evanovich either follows a strict workout or she did her research. Honestly, it's just a sweet story. As a curvy girl myself, I really enjoyed this My Fair Lady-esque story, because I don't think there are many others like it, so I enjoyed it's uniqueness immensely.

The Bad: I thought it was a little long. The book is more than 330 pages, and the story simply isn't that intensive. There were times when I found myself thinking, "God, I still have 100 pages to go?" I also was a little let down by the big conflict in the story. It was okay, but it wasn't as realistic as I earlier praised the rest of the book for being. It was too dramatic and silly to be in a book that was previously so realistic.

Overall Score: I give this book a hearty 7. I don't think it's one that I want to read again, but I really did enjoy it thoroughly, despite what I said about it being a little lengthy.

Would I recommend this to a fellow bookworm?
Yes, I would recommend Big Girl Panties. If you like romantic comedies, this is a book for you.