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LOVE AT LARGE is an anthology of stories written by members of the BBW Romance Writing Group.
[Big Beautiful Women]
THE ILLUSTRATED WOMAN by Elizabeth Angus is the story of Remy Martin. Remy has wanted to get a tattoo for quite a while. Her friend referred her to Rip’s Parlour, so she goes there. She sees Rip is quite attractive, and he appreciates her sketch. He tattoos her seahorse over the course of a two visits. Despite the pain, Remy loves how it turns out. And each visit to Rip’s increases her attraction to this gorgeous guy. She decides that she wants another tattoo and Rip. They talk and learn about each other in his parlour, and she works up the nerve to ask him out. He agrees and then reveals at the end of the evening that he’s fallen for her.
I enjoyed this story, Remy was believable, her inner conflict realistic. Rip’s problem of not wanting to date a customer leaves him in a passive role, which is not his usual style. I found myself wanting to know more rather than having the story end.
A WORK OF ART by Judy Bagshaw tells the story of Darby Marshall, artiste and size 26 woman. She has a career as a sculptor, with displays in the Griffith Gallery, and has added fractal art to her repertoire. Unfortunately, a community craft fair is not a good place to display her art, as everyone seems to be looking for a bargain, and her prices though reasonable for art are much higher than people want to pay. The good thing about being at the fair is her meeting Martin Thomas. He purchases some of her work, and asks her to teach him how to make fractals. Darby is very drawn to him, and welcomes the opportunity to see him again. As he learns about fractal art, they learn about each other, and become very close. The surprise at the end is a nice touch, and leaves the reader satisfied.
Judy Bagshaw is a talented writer who makes her characters come alive in this short story. The interactions between Darby and Martin are sweet and build slowly through the story. I will definitely look for more writing from this author.
DIRTY LAUNDRY by Jennifer Harrington was my favorite story of the group. Lauren Giles is in the apartment building’s laundry room when she overhears her catty female neighbors discussing her recent divorce, and the latest tenant in the building. And when he shows up, she realizes the biddies weren’t exaggerating his attractiveness. After he finishes his laundry, she sees that he left his book in the area. Several of the women have granddaughters and daughters they hope to hook up with the new guy. To her complete surprise, Jamie Brandt is much more interested in Lauren.
Lauren’s experiences have left her bruised and battered. She’s never had anyone appreciate her just as she is. Her ex-husband referred to her as a big fat slob, and she believed him. She wants desperately to make a good impression on him, but fumbles around, dropping things and almost falling instead. Jamie is less of a known quantity as the POV remains Lauren’s through the whole story. But he shows his appreciation for a real woman telling her she’s perfect just the way she is.
The internal dialog was realistic, and familiar. The descriptions of the cutting looks, rude comments, and negative attention were true to life, and BBW encounter it all the time. Having a gorgeous man appreciate her for who she is, not only how she looks is a true ego boost for Lauren. I hope this author continues to write, as I plan to put her on an auto-buy list.
A CHANGE IN DIRECTION by Nancy Trausch is the story of Jade Reynolds, a recently divorced 34 year old who is moving to Mackinac Island to work with her friend in a new shop. The pilot of the small plane, Rick Montgomery is a widower who is known to not be interested in any new relationships. Yet he seeks out Jade, a curvy plus sized woman every time he flies to the island. Jade has to decide if she is willing to risk her heart again, as does Rick. The setting is unique, the hero and heroine both sympathetic, and the story flows very well.
AN UNFORGETTABLE KISS by Eileen Wilson reminds the reader of their first kiss, and Fallon O’Shea goes back in time to remember her first kiss at summer camp from Marcus Carson. It was her sixteenth birthday, and she had never looked at Marcus as a potential romantic partner. But when another boy told her that Marcus liked her, she saw him in a different light. Marcus brought her a drawing of a rose as his present, and then kissed her. And twenty years later, she still had that drawing in her place.
Marcus has just moved to Castleton, and his summer camp buddy Erik, tells him he needs to get out and have some fun. He drags Marcus to a karaoke club, and it just so happens that Fallon is there with her girlfriends. Marcus realizes it’s really Fallon when she goes onstage and sings “their song”. He has to decide if the magic will still be there between them and if he can take the risk, as a newly divorced man.
I liked Fallon a lot; she looked at herself in the mirror and liked what she saw. She didn’t excuse her size, or wish she was different. She also knew what she wanted and didn’t hesitate to go after him. Marcus was also likeable, not focused on outsides, though he liked Fallon’s a lot, but rather on who Fallon was.
PASSION UNMASKED is a Round Robin story written by Eileen Wilson, Nancy Trausch, Judi McCoy, Jennifer Harrington, Heather Donovan, Pat Ballard, Judy Bagshaw, Elizabeth Angus and Rida Allen.
Francesca D’Amore has come to the Colonial Ball. She is a size 22, squeezed into a corset to fit the size 18 dress. She has gone to all the trouble for Jake McCabe, a coworker. Unfortunately, before she got into the ballroom she overheard the thin women from the firm making snide comments about her, as she was fixing her hair. She drags up her courage and enters the ball. Almost immediately she finds Jake, who invites her to join him. The manner in which the ringleader of the nastiness gets her comeuppance is poetic justice, and finishes the anthology with a smile.
I can recommend this book to others who want to know more about life on the large side, as well as women who live it every day!
Reviewed by Nancy Riggins-Hume
for The Road to Romance
November 11, 2004
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