DANIELLE ALLEN!! Excuse meee report to the front of the class because baybay THIS 👏🏽 BOOK 👏🏽 RIGHT 👏🏽 HERE, 👏🏽 THIS 👏🏽 BOOK 👏🏽 RIGHT 👏🏽 HERE. The black women were black womening. The banter was bantering. The jokes were joking. Top tier A1 dialog. Idc what no one says Ahmad is a book bae of the year contender fr. Listen I’m gonna head out and go read some more of Danielle Allen’s book catalog because I was unaware it was like this. I want to thank the publisher for approving me for this ARC. Listen when I tell you this book hit the spot. I am this book’s target audience because it did it for me. Loved it!

Favorite Quote: "You doubted me. You should never doubt me.”

Favorite Scene In 1-3 Words: Onyx Office

First off, I am OBSESSED with this cover!! It's just so damn good and the story itself definitely matches in this super sexy friends to lovers romance that sees almost 30 year old Aaliyah online dating in order to find a guy before her birthday. While she goes on a series of disastrous dates at her favorite bar, she becomes friends with the hot bartender, Ahmad. The banter and chemistry between the two was sizzling and I was rooting for them to get together right from the start. Great on audio and highly recommended for fans of authors like Talia Hibbert and Taj McCoy! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Spice level: VERY steamy

♡𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 & 𝐞𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰♡
5 🌟
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This cover is gorgeous. 𝑰𝒇 𝒋𝒖𝒅𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒃𝒚 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝑴𝑬! First, this story is extremely relatable! Uncle Al had me ready to square up with him because we all have that nosey ass uncle who thinks he knows what's best for everyone.
The banter between Aaliyah and Ahmad had me on the floor because it was just so heartwarming, home feeling, and just overall GREAT. They gave me homegirl | homeboy vibes turn lover. this is my first book by this author, Danielle Allen, and now I want the entire catalog. This book was purely amazing! Highly, highly recommend this book.
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 :
•black romance
•curvy female lead
•hilarious banter
•strong female lead
𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 :
•fat-shaming (fatphobia)
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♡𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 June.11♡
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Thank you, Netgalley, MacmillanAudio (ALC), -Audiobook, and Tor Publishing Group (eArc) for my honest review.

This might be my new favorite DA book! The story development, the character growth, the sensitivity and respect to trauma and the complicated family dynamics, all of it I loved! This just secured my forgiveness for Broken Clocks

The first chapter of this book had me wondering if it was erotica, but I'm glad that I pushed through. It's definitely got spice, but it's also got an incredibly well-developed slow burn with an incredibly satisfying ending. All the characters are lovable (except those whom you will love you hate), and you can't help but cheer for every part of this. It's not exactly a light read; there's plenty of fatphobia and discussion of trauma, but Allen does so in a respectful and relatable way without derailing the plot. Overall, a solid and much-needed entry to the genre.

such a fun read! i am always looking for more curvy rep and this did not disappoint! this was my first book by danielle and it won't be my last. i loved getting a curvy and confident fmc!

A strong voice. Admirable female lead!

It's refreshing to a romance start out with the heroine knowing what she wants and being clear about it.

Since I adore Danielle Allen so much, I was eager to read this book. I was interested to see how Aaliyah would fare in the end because the story had a promising beginning. I cherished the friendship that grew between Ahmad and Aaliyah. The readers are pulled deeper into Aaliyah's world as she navigates the dating app world, sharing her every longing, hope, and fear-inducing moments. I felt sorry for Aaliyah because of the hilarious dates she went on. The story gained a humorous touch from Ahmad and Aaliyah's back-and-forth banter.  The plot became plodding as it went on—almost too plodding for my taste. Ultimately, Aaliyah found what she was seeking from an unexpected person. Curvy Girl Summer is a humorous, slow-burning romance that will leave you both cheering for and annoyed with the lead character.

I absolutely loved this book, especially Aaliyah and Ahmed's relationship! They made me laugh, they made me angry, they frustrated me, they made me laugh again, made me sad, and made me so darn happy! This book pulled many emotions from me and I appreciate Danielle for that. She is a phenomenal writer!
Aaliyah is a plus size, beautiful WOC on a mission to find a boyfriend before her 30th birthday. She wants to prove her family wrong (that she can and does have a man), and inherit her uncle's yacht. She decides it's time to finally step back into the dating scene, with the support of her two best friends, Jazz and Nina, and the protection of her newest bartender friend who has volunteered to watch her back as long as she brings her dates to his bar.
That is how Ahmed's and Aaliyah's relationship began, and boy, was it entertaining! They had the greatest, most comfortable relationship, where one could cut up without the other taking offense, and they genuinely cared for each other enough to be honest with each other (well, honest enough.. lol). However, they both have past trauma that makes it difficult to be transparent and completely trusting of one another.
This book was wonderful! I love how Danielle cut straight to the chase with this one. The opening sentence had me wowed and invested lol, and the book itself just kept getting better and better. I appreciate how she made this read feel so realistic and modern-day. She included colloquialisms and slang that we use in our everyday lives, which was very relatable. I love how she shined light on "fat-shaming"/"fatphobia", and the ignorance surrounding it, body positivity, and the importance of standing one's ground. This was such a great read and I will be buying the physical copy once it is released!


Thank you NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group, and Danielle Allen for an outstanding ARC!

I loved the banter between fmc and mc. It was very funny and enjoyable. This was a slow burn friends to lovers and I I loaded it . The only thing was how long it took for them to realized that the other person had feelings for them.

Wow…such a sensual, romantic, and amazing ride with these two characters. The author showed the many layers of love and growth within in a long distance relationship. I enjoyed the flow of the story and how it got better and better as the story progressed. Just an amazing book and the realism in this fictional story was the best.

I loved everything about this Story. Aaliyah is a plus sized Beauty with hips and curves to go along with hee Amazing Personality. She just wanted love and for her family to see her for who she was and not compare her to her sister Aniyah.
The Plot is her trying to find a boyfriend for her upcoming Birthday. After her Uncle said some very hurtful this to her along with her Parents. After being stood up she meets Ahmad a bartender at a local bar. She joins a dating app and forms a great relationship with Ahmad. I love their friendship. He was their for her and looked out for her during her dates and she was their for him also. Her bestfriends Nina and Jazmyn were a trip especially Nina you never knows whats going to come out of her month. I love the Aaliyah found her boyfriend and love in the end. I definitely need a book 2, because Nina, Jasmyn and Asia needs a Story.
Thank you Danielle Allen for giving Curvy women some much needed attention andove.

I was excited to read this one due to it's diverse representation, but sadly it was too graphic for me. Still finished because I always want to see how a story ends, and the premise of the story was promising, but I felt it was overshadowed by the crude language and graphic scenes - and I don't mind spicy, but this surpassed the threshold for me. If you don't have a threshold, you'd probably enjoy this book more than I did.

Never tell a woman what she can or can't not do. People, especially family should never put a time on when and how you should live your life. Whatever make you happy and what you are content with, that's how you should live. Another great read by Danielle Allen!

Danielle Allen is a phenomenal indie author, and I know there is some worry when indies break in to traditional publishing, but worry not. Curvy Girl Summer DID NOT disappoint. It was EVERYTHING you expect from a Danielle Allen novel. If you've never read her before, what are you waiting for?
Curvy Girl Summer is funny, sexy, and relatable. The characters are amazing and well written, even the ones you don't quite vibe with. I will admit that I felt personally harassed by one character in particular, but what that says about the writing is bigger than my imagined harassment. When a story can pull you in to feel ALL the things, even the not so good things, it has done its job.
When I say I was deeply involved in this story. I was in that bar 24/7. Waiting and watching for Aaliyah to show up. Aaliyah and Ahmad did not do me wrong!

this was absolutely amazing i loved everything about it! great characters and great writing it was so fun! this is def a new favorite

I was very excited about this book because it started off so strong, like at 100. I was invested immediately. And then it just dropped off and I was no longer interested anymore. Also this book was very long, and romances/ women's fiction novels have no business being that long or slow paced.

⭐️⭐️⭐️½

This was an entertaining friends-to-lovers romance! I was intrigued by Ahmad's backstory. I knew that it wasn't as simple as him not being available. It seemed that he was into Aaliyah but he couldn't act on it. But why? It wasn't what he initially led us to believe and I needed to know why.

Ahmad and Aaliyah had great chemistry from the start. Their banter had me laughing out loud. They made fun of each other in a playful way and it was kind of like foreplay. This was a slow burn romance because it took a while for them to get it on, but once they did, HOT DAMN!

On top of those steamy scenes between Ahmad and Aaliyah, I really do enjoy a book that starts with a hot sex scene!

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥½
⚠️: grief, body shaming, infidelity (not between the main characters), mention of fatal car accident and death of a loved one

I enjoyed this story and what it represented. This is definitely a slow burn. One thing I point out is that the relationship between Ahmad and Aaliyah gradually developed and I truly loved the unique way they bonded. Ahmad was a real one as he was determined to give her pointers on how to carry herself while dating. He pointed out that body language and the facial expressions were hindering her from success. But my girl Aaliyah was stubborn as hell. Wheeeew she was stubborn. So stubborn that she almost missed her blessings.

There’s no misunderstanding that Aaliyah is a BBW. Some of the conversations may be triggering, however, I do believe that these are real conversations. I loved that she was written to be one who took care of her body whether others may have thought so and had an issue with her weight. Sis was a fashionista. She did exude confidence outwardly and carried herself with respect. I did wish that this had some of Ahmad’s POV to get more into his head. There were a few areas that I wanted to know more about, but understood that this was more about Aaliyah’s journey.

Aaliyah’s friends were a great support system. They gave Aaliyah truths she didn’t want to hear. You need honest people around you like this to hold you accountable.

I must say that I had such a hard time with the fat phobia in the book. It literally made me want to fight all of her dates and her uncle.

What I loved most about the book was the banter between Aaliyah and Ahmad. They had me cracking up for the entire book. And also her friendship with Nina and Jazz.

I would love to see more of Aaliyah and Ahmad post their first date.