Curvy Girl Summer by Danielle Allen

“My life isn’t over at thirty. My life doesn’t revolve around me getting married and having children. When I meet the man I want to be with forever, I’ll marry him. Until then, I’m fine.”

Aaliyah is fast approaching her 30th birthday, she has life, she has a job she enjoys, great friends. But her family keep reminding her of the one thing she lacks: A man. As the pressure mounts to have a date for her 30th birthday, Aaliyah persues countless online dates to secure a date for her birthday, every Friday, at Onyx. Under the watchful eye of the hunky barman, Ahmad.

This was a really good Hot-Girl Summer type read. We had some hot contenders for Aaliyah, and some absolute twerps too. I loved the inclusion of Aaliyahs friends who kept this a light & humourous read.

Even though I would deem this as an easy & light read there were some serious topics included in this story: Fat shaming & grief.

Nah, guys, the fat shaming in this book was WILD. You know when you nervously laugh because you can't quite believe what youre hearing. Aaliyah’s uncle was the worst for this. I despised the way that he determined her worth as a woman by her size & her ability to attract a man kmt.

This is the 2nd book that I’ve read this year which has addressed the continual comparisons between the living sibling & deceased sibling. A hard pill to swallow when you are still actively grieving.

Ahmad what a man. He is the type of bookish character you want to be real for your girls! I loved his wit, his attentiveness, his swag. Everything about this man just screamed ‘WHAT A MAN!!!’

As much as I enjoyed this story, I would have liked if it had the opportunity to come full circle sooner, as by the 60% mark the story began to drag a little for me. I would have also have liked a little more sexual tension between Aaliyah & Ahmad. But honey, once they got to it - straight FIRE.

If you are after a summer slow burn romance, then I’d recommend this one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫