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One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London
Romance

One to Watch

Debut

We love supporting debut authors. Congrats, Kate Stayman-London, on your first book!

Early Release

This is an early release that's only available to our members—the rest of the world has to wait to read it.

by Kate Stayman-London

Quick take

Take the best parts of The Bachelorette, mix them with your favorite rom-com, add a dash of sweet wisdom, and stir.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, Icon_400

    400+ pages

  • Illustrated icon, Icon_Feminist

    Feminist

  • Illustrated icon, Icon_SalaciousPeach

    Salacious

  • Illustrated icon, Icons_Underdog

    Underdog

Synopsis

Bea Schumacher is a devastatingly stylish plus-size fashion blogger who has amazing friends, a devoted family, legions of Insta followers—and a massively broken heart. Like the rest of America, Bea indulges in her weekly obsession: the hit reality show Main Squeeze. The fantasy dates! The kiss-off rejections! The surprising amount of guys named Chad! But Bea is sick and tired of the lack of body diversity on the show. Since when is being a size zero a prerequisite for getting engaged on television?

Just when Bea has sworn off dating altogether, she gets an intriguing call: Main Squeeze wants her to be its next star, surrounded by men vying for her affections. Bea agrees, on one condition—under no circumstances will she actually fall in love. She's in this to supercharge her career, subvert harmful anti-fat beauty standards, inspire women across America, and get a free hot air balloon ride. That's it.

But when the cameras start rolling, Bea realizes things are more complicated than she anticipated. She's in a whirlwind of sumptuous couture, Internet culture wars, sexy suitors, and an opportunity (or two, or five) to find messy, real-life love in the midst of a made-for-TV fairy tale. In this joyful, razor-sharp debut, Bea has to decide whether it might just be worth trusting these men—and herself—for a chance to live happily ever after.

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Free sample

Get an early look from the first pages of One to Watch.

Why I love it

I have a confession—before I started @spiveysbookclub, I went on The Bachelor to find love. It was almost 10 years ago and I am now a vocal critic of the show, but you can imagine my trepidation when I was approached to review One to Watch. After reading this book, however, I can confidently say that the author has provided a compelling, realistic, and funny story about reality TV that is poised to be one of the breakout rom-coms of the summer.

Bea Schumacher is a popular and stylish plus-sized fashion blogger who has given up on dating. After a night of live-tweeting and drinking (which I can confirm is usually a bad idea), Bea pens an epic takedown of Main Squeeze—a reality dating show that resembles The Bachelor—criticizing them for their lack of size-inclusion and diversity. When the blog post goes viral, Bea is asked to be the next star of the show. She decides to use the opportunity to jump start her career, without falling in love. Unfortunately, she is not prepared for manipulative producers, fairy-tale date scenarios, or the charms of sexy suitors!

This book is way juicier than any written by former Bachelor contestants. Fans of reality dating shows will squeal with glee at the familiar characters we all love to hate, while critics will appreciate the smart commentary from a relatable feminist heroine about the unrealistic beauty standards popularized by these shows. Who needs Bachelor In Paradise when you can just read One to Watch and imagine the progressive show that we all deserve?

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Member ratings (25,047)

  • Rachel B.

    New York, NY

    As a Bachelor superfan, this was such a guilty pleasure. As a plus-size woman, this was phenomenal and spoke to every thought I have ever had about feeling unwanted, unlovable, and alone. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

  • Ariel A.

    San Antonio, TX

    Maybe ‘cause I’m plus size… but I so LOVED this book! I was expecting it to be like Jennifer Weiner’s “Good in Bed” but I was WAY off. It was more tender, more vulnerable. I couldn’t tear myself away!

  • Katie M.

    Jersey City , NJ

    It had everything I wanted — drama & romance, discussions on what its like to be a woman who doesn’t fit the mainstream media’s ideal beauty and entertainment’s lack of diversity... and Chris Evans ????

  • Michelle M.

    Whittier, CA

    I did really like this. Not sure if I’ll reread it anytime soon so I think I’ll be donating this to the library. I really love the characters. I don’t follow the Bachelor shows but I’d watch this one.

  • Jazmine A.

    BRONX, NY

    I love this book. I loved how relatable of what some of our young woman are facing in our society, especially with social media as it is. The power of confidence and beauty and really being kind to yourself