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| Eton Fields |
Gretchen Galway
2015
The Summary
"The world of fitness apparel isn't ready for Beverly Lewis. She hates the gym, she's nice to everybody, and she shops at Ross Dress for Less. When she's not teaching preschool, she's wearing yoga pants...to nap in. So when she inherits her estranged grandfather's fitness-wear company in San Francisco, nobody expects her to keep it. Fite Fitness needs a heartless suit to save it from bankruptcy, not a thirty-year-old woman who cries when her students leave for kindergarten.
"Someone like Liam Johnson. A former Olympic swimmer, Liam is Fite's executive vice president. Unlike Bev, he's devoted his life to Fite's success. Managing one little preschool teacher - and his attraction to her - shouldn't be an issue. Right?
"But Bev's tired of being underpaid and underrated, and refuses to step aside as an obedient figurehead. To everyone's shock and horror, she moves up to San Francisco, sets up an office, and dives into the business. Nothing - not mockery, not exercise, not sabotage, not a disastrously hot night with her aggravating VP - is going to scare her away.
"As Liam realizes she's tougher than she looks, he discovers that losing Fite might not be nearly as bad as losing her..."
The Good
Love Handles is a cute, quirky little romance with a big heart. It throws together two very different individuals, who manage to fall in love regardless of their dueling identities and their conflicting personalities. Love Handles is sure to melt your heart.
Although I enjoyed the overall story of Gretchen Galway's novel, I think I liked Beverly best: she's smart, she's sassy, and she's willing to go to great lengths to prove to herself - and pretty much everyone else who has ever doubted her in her life - that she can defy expectations and run a company on her own. She's a strong, dynamic character, even if she is a bit of a marshmallow, and she's incredibly likable.
However, what I liked best about Beverly was her sense of self-worth. After struggling with her weight - and her parents' high expectations and health-nut tendencies - she's learned to love herself for who she is, love handles and all. It's refreshing to meet a female protagonist who has a healthy respect for herself, and it's one of the many good reasons I enjoyed Love Handles.
The Bad
I like Liam. He's dynamic, he's heroic and, under his gruff exterior, he really does have a heart of gold. However, he has this alpha male personality that I found increasingly abrasive and body image issues that proved frustrating.
Despite his status as an Olympic swimmer, Liam wrestles with self-doubt due to his rocky relationship with his father, basing his sense of self-worth on his athleticism and his success in all his ventures. I realize these are deep-seated personal issues that help to develop him as a character and, more importantly, show his development as an individual, but I wish he was a little less self-deprecating, a little less critical of himself and others.
The Ugly
Family rivalries, plain and simple.
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