Review: Sweet and hot
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 12, 2013
Mean girls. Who hasn't encountered a clique of catty tarts deserving of some of the same medicine they like to dish out?Chef and partner in a pub restaurant, plus-size Adele Blackthorne tries to make the best of her life. Pushing forty, she works out to stay healthy, but she hasn't been in a relationship for a while. She's also grown quite used to hearing others make derogatory comments around her weight and, though she isn't totally immune, she doesn't let the spiteful remarks that others make shake her confidence.The three nattering skinny girls at the leisure center, who never lower their voices when they talk trash about her, are a very minor irritant, and Adele refuses to confront them because she'd likely use language that would make her no better than the three witches themselves. The only rub is that hunky lifeguard Oliver Shaw can hear the witches' comments drifting across the water when Adele swims laps in the pool several times a week. That's a bummer, because though Oliver is a few years younger than her, Adele finds him seriously attractive.With studying towards his degree and lifeguarding at the leisure center, Oliver Shaw has little free time on his hands, but he'd make time for a lush woman like Adele if his shyness didn't make it impossible for him to do more than extend a casual smile or wave in her direction. And Oliver, being very aware of what the three skinny witches spitefully say about Adele, finds it just makes him even more determined to ignore the trio's brazen attempts to gain his attention with their flirting and skimpy bikinis. It also spurs Oliver to think of a way to get to know Adele well enough to get up the nerve to ask her out.But when Oliver unexpectedly encounters Adele in the sauna, he can't play it cool in a hot room with his fantasy woman. He's embarrassed by his own honesty, while Adele is shocked and pleasantly surprised. Luckily, a hunky shy guy like Oliver gets some sound advice and an unexpected second chance to connect with the woman he's been crushing on for months.Author Lucy Felthouse nicely explores a relationship between an older plus-size woman and a younger shy man in this sweet and hot novella from publisher Ellora's Cave. Adele's maturity is refreshing in that she's learned to accept her body, even if she still finds herself occasionally aggravated by tasteless comments from people who can't get past her dress size to see the vibrant woman she is. Oliver, though a few years Adele's junior and quite the looker, has only had a few relationships, and those with the woman as the aggressor, so he's never gained the confidence to pursue a woman. Yet, while Oliver is rather bumbling and shy at first, he knows what he wants and, once over his initial hesitation, he's quite the tiger in both his defense of Adele and in other ways.MEAN GIRLS is not a deep romance, but it can be compared to a new bloom slowly opening to the warmth and brightness of the sun. It combines sweet, heat, and a touch of humor that makes for an undemanding but decidedly pleasant read.Warning: contains sexual scenes of fantasy and reality.Reviewed by Angie Just Read...for TheRomanceReviews.com