I’m a little bit torn about this book. I spent the first half really enjoying it. As an overweight woman, I loved the plus-size representation and thought it was handled well. I loved the premise of the book and adored the spunky characters.

But there were some things I didn’t care for. I didn’t feel a great deal of chemistry between Reid and Cassie. It felt a little forced to me. Also, Reid does something hella shady right at the beginning of the book, so I spent the whole time just waiting for the 80% mark when the inevitable conflict from his actions would start.

I’m just not really convinced that they would end up together after the conflict unfolded. Reid’s actions weren’t the greatest, and his apology almost felt a bit robotic. Maybe because it was so expected? I don’t know, it’s hard to explain.

ANYWAY. I liked but didn’t love. Would still recommend you give it a try if this looks interesting to you!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for my gifted copy! My review is posted on Goodreads and my Bookstagram account.

The Accidental Pinup is a fun debut from Danielle Jackon. Photographer Cassie Harris is making a name for herself in the Chicago photography world. Her specialty is a modern twist on classic pinup photos, and her company, Buxom Boudoir is thriving. They’re hoping to keep the momentum going with a huge lingerie ad campaign. It’s Cassie’s bff Dana’s dream come to life.

When Dana’s high-risk pregnancy complicates the friends’ plans, Cassie finds herself in front of the camera, and her biggest rival–Reid Montgomery–taking the shots. Cassie, a proud, plus-size black woman, isn’t concerned about modeling the sheer underwear in the body-positive lingerie campaign, but she is hesitant to trust Reid. Despite their similar styles and undeniable talent, Reid somehow always seems to edge out the competition when it comes to Cassie, and she wants the creative credit for the campaign. The two spend months getting to know each other and making plans to work together as effectively as possible, but the closer they get, the harder it is to ignore the chemistry between them.

I think I expected more of an enemies-to-lovers vibe, but definitely did not get that. I really, really, really wanted more tension between these two. I think it could have added so much to an already good storyline. Nonetheless, there was a lot I enjoyed. I liked that Cassie stood up for herself and demanded credit where credit was due. The secondary storylines with the friends/ family /business added unique layers. The writing was really vivid, and I could easily picture the photography scenes Danielle set up on the page. I’m looking forward to seeing what she writes next! Thanks to Letstalkbookspromo, NetGalley, and Berkley for an eARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

SUMMARY:
Cassie is an established Boudoir photographer, but she wants more with her career. Her best friend creates a size-inclusive lingerie line, and Cassie is slotted to be the photographer, until all of a sudden she's become the plus-size model and her #1 competition for photography gigs is her new partner.

MY THOUGHTS:
I thought this was a cute romance. I loved the body inclusivity and plus-size representation! Plus, Cassie's crew was a pretty cool group of badass women. I did find some parts to drag a bit and I was sort of bored, but it was overall a pretty cute story! I'm surprised I haven't seen this around more!

Such an exquisite treat of a romance story!
I loved The Accidental Pinup for so many reasons. I love the FMC and her boss babe empire that she is building. I love the clandestine type of love that her and the MMC start to develop, which becomes a full fledge out in the open air affair. I love that they are both creatives. As they both speak about their art of photography, the things that inspire them as well as their purpose in the verse was so great to read. I love romance books with a strong story line and this delivers. I def recommend.

Cassie was the best part of this book. She was amazing and I loved the body positivity. Cassie was confident and fought for herself and I found it inspiring.

I wasn't a huge fan of Reid and I think a lot of it was because I wanted him to recognize his privilege sooner than he did.

I enjoyed this book. It took me a bit to get into it, but it was a fun sexy read. I really liked Cassie as a character and loved her friend group. I love a book with a cast of supportive women. The romance was hot and fun to read especially with in the setting of the boudoir/lingerie world.

THE ACCIDENTAL PINUP by Danielle Jackson is a smart and steamy story full of fun, but also containing thoughtful messages about diversity, body positivity and inclusion. Cassie Harris is a proud, plus size Black photographer with a company called Buxom Boudoir. Using a modern twist on pinup photography, Cassie makes her clients look and feel beautiful no matter their age or size. Her best friend, Dana, is a model who is about to launch an edgy lingerie line and she wants Cassie to be the one to shoot the high-profile national campaign. But company politics throw Cassie in competition with her long-time rival in the Chicago photography scene, Reid Montgomery. In a twist of fate, they are forced to collaborate on the campaign and Cassie ends up being the one photographed instead of the photographer. Sparks fly as the pair spend time together. Can Cassie ever get the respect and recognition she deserves in this emotional arrangement? I liked how assertive and empowered Cassie came across. That her friends and business partners always had her back was refreshing and uplifting. This interracial romance with a rivals-to-lovers trope was very entertaining and engaging. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.

Many thanks to @letstalkbookspromo and @berkleypublishing for a gifted copy of The Accidental Pinup. I was drawn to the concept as I'm a sucker for a plus size main character, especially one who ends up becoming the face of a campaign. I loved Cassie and her friend group and all of those relationships. Buxom Boudoir is an awesome company and sounds like it would be fun to work for. And if we took Reid Montgomery and the entire romance out of it, I would have liked the story a lot better. I don't like stories where they fall in love while one character is holding a big secret and it doesn't come out until the inevitable 3rd act break up. I never trusted Reid for one second because of the way he was written. I didn't like that no one seemed to be able to tell Cassie the truth and felt they needed to protect her when they just ended up hurting her.

His grand gesture was sweet and of course they get back together because it's a romance but the road there was super rocky and honestly hard to read. I screamed at the book in my head a lot and if Reid had come clean sooner, then maybe I would be alright with the two of them together. Overall, I give the book 3 stars as it had some really great plot points and characters but between the whole Reid issue and some questionable sentence choices, I wasn't as much of a fun as I was hoping.

Cassie loves being behind the camera. Her best friend, Dana is on the verge of launching a body-postitive lingerie line. Cassie is not only ready to be the photographer on set but the director of the entire campaign. Enter rival photographer, Reid Montgomery. Cassie has lost more than one photo shoot to Reid and with Dana not able to model the lingerie, Cassie has been asked to fill in for her. Will Cassie and Reid be able to work together? And will anything develop between them?

I enjoyed the storyline. I thought well written and original. A surprising debut novel. Cassie is a strong female lead, exudes confidence and sass. And in a diverse cast of characters and set of friends, you got yourself a nice contemporary novel. My biggest issue was the love interest and romance of the book. Reid's character was a bit flat and boring, which carried over into a lackluster relationship with Cassie. Overall it was fun and entertaining.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review honestly an advanced digital copy.

I really loved the premise of this one with Cassie going from photographer to model and I adored the fact that she was a plus sized Black woman as well. The author did a great job sharing Cassie’s experiences as not only a woman in the industry but as a Black woman and I enjoyed Cassie’s transformation from a sometimes doormat to a strong woman who finally stands up for herself and gets the life she wants and deserves. This one brought some heat too, Reid and Cassie taking lingerie pictures made for some sexy foreplay and their chemistry was hot. Cassie and Reid both have some friends that made up a fun supporting cast too, so overall a well balanced read. I thought this was funny, sexy and a great representation for body positivity.

Loved the premise, loved the representation, but the execution fell short for me. There was too much telling without enough showing. The first couple chapters over-explain without allowing the reader to sink into the story. It's all exposition, which is a tough way to start. The pacing remained off for me throughout, with the passage of time uneven and disorienting. I never really got into the romance itself, as a result. I absolutely want to read more books centering plus-sized characters of color, this just wasn't executed in a way I found compelling.

Included as a top pick in bimonthly July New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

My favorite part of this book was probably the friendship between Cassie, Dana, Kit, and Sam — the ladies of Buxom Boudoir. I loved how each of them had their own distinct personalities and that while they didn’t always agree on everything, they were always there to support one another.

I absolutely love how body positive this book is! I love that Cassie ensures that all of her clients feel beautiful and confident in their bodies during their photo sessions, that Dana has an actual size inclusive lingerie business (many say that they’re size inclusive when they only go up to XL…that’s not size inclusive friends!), and that Cassie and Dana made sure that all the models for the campaign have a range of body types and don’t all look the same. Body positivity and inclusivity is so important and that’s something that is still lacking in the world of literature — and just…the world, but that’s not what we’re talking about here — so it was just such a joy to read a book that was actually full of body positivity and characters that were actually inclusive.

Additionally, I really loved that there was never a moment or comment about Cassie and her body that ever leaned into the “she’s beautiful, but if she lost some weight…” territory or anything like that. It’s mentioned multiple times that Cassie is beautiful and that her body is beautiful just the way it is. That meant a lot to me, and I know it will to a lot of other people as well.

However, some parts fell really flat and I wasn't particularly excited by Cassie and Reid

I had a tough time with this one. I loved Cassie, Dana, and all their coworkers. I really enjoyed learning about their studio and their photography work. I just couldn’t get on board with Reid and his relationship with Cassie. From Reid agreeing to basically spy on Cassie and make sure she was staying in line, I had a hard time supporting their relationship. He made several really insensitive comments and Cassie had to educate him about how much harder she worked for everything. They had physical chemistry, but I’m not sure I saw more depth to their relationship. I really couldn’t forgive him after he almost took the art director promotion. I liked the grand gesture at the end, but it was too late for me. The epilogue seemed like moving way to fast.

Strong women with a body-positive message make The Accidental Pinup a good read. I like how the author, Danielle Jackson, surrounded her main character with strong female friends. Each of these women was supportive and emulated positive relationships. The book explores misogyny and it is a timely theme. Cassie was easy to connect to and I could understand her frustration with not being treated as an equal to her rival Reid. I was frustrated with Reid at times. The dual POV allowed to us understand his motives, but I just wasn't feeling sympathy for him. I would have liked for him to do better.

Overall, this is a good book, with positive messages, that is easy to recommend.
Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Romance for the eArc.

Cassie Harris is a boudoir photographer, trying to further her photography career and be recognized for her good work, especially as a serious photographer with the ability to make clients feel comfortable and empowered. But when her best friend and colleague ends up on bed rest, the photography job that was supposed to launch her career is given to her biggest competitor, Reid Montgomery—and she’s going to be the lingerie model in front of the camera instead. Luckily, her friend makes sure she’s also the art director on the campaign…or so she thinks.

As Cassie strives to further her career and be respected as a Black career-woman and Reid strives to make enough money to help his brother, things get more intimate and personal than either of them planned. But when everything blows up and truths are revealed, will their relationship be able to survive?

This book was so sweet! While I admittedly prefer a slow burn, the romance was adorable, and I couldn’t wait to see how everything played out, knowing a certain betrayal was occurring (avoiding spoilers here!). But my favorite part about this story? The ending! I love a solid heartbreak that makes my stomach drop and makes me feel so sad, followed by an amazing grand gesture! *chef’s kiss*. I love, love, love the body-positivity present in this book! It was so nice reading something that was so fat-positive. Super cute romance, definitely recommend.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was about Cassie, who is a photographer and due to a turn of events ends up modeling for her feircest rival (and love interest) in an ad campaign she was supposed to have. It was a great story and I enjoyed getting lost in it. As I am someone who mostly reads and reviews books with fat main characters I will say this book isn't one like I've read before. The size of her body wasn't ever really seen as a bad thing, she just got to be this amazing beautiful powerful model/photographer living like and kicking ass in a fat body. The representation was great, this is how I like to read about fat main characters, strong and powerfeul in their own bodies. I will definitely be reading more Danielle Jackson in the future.

The Accidental Pinup follows photographer Cassie Harris who loves her job—her own company Buxom Boudoir focuses on making people feel beautiful and empowered in their own skin thanks to Cassie’s modern twist on classic pinup photography. When Cassie’s best friend Dana is about to launch her size-inclusive lingerie line and wants Cassie to shoot the career-changing campaign, Cassie thinks all of her dreams are about to come true. But when Dana’s complicated pregnancy and company politics interfere, Cassie suddenly finds herself not behind the camera—but stuck in front of it. Though she’s never modelled herself, Cassie’s pretty sure she can handle the job—what she’s not so sure of is working intimately with the chosen photographer, none other than her long-time competitor and thorn in her side, Reid Montgomery. What neither expects, though, is how fast sizzling chemistry can turn into real feelings when the camera’s off.

The Accidental Pinup has a lot going for it in terms of themes: a fun rivals to lovers workplace romance, great body positivity rep thanks to its fierce and proud plus size Black protagonist Cassie, an emphasis on female empowerment, what it means to be a Black woman and face constant racism and sexism at work and the importance of loving yourself.

What I struggled was the actual storytelling. Especially in the beginning, the writing was pretty clunky. The first two chapters are info dumping galore – it reads more like a CV about Cassie. Sure, we get all the relevant info about her and how her lingerie came to be and how she became friends with Dana but after the fifth page of non-stop recapping her entire career, I almost DNFed the book. Unfortunately, the exact same thing happened when it came to establishing Reid Montgomery. We once again get a rundown of everything that would later on become relevant in a clinical bullet points list which made it hard to care for these characters early on. So to say that I had a rocky start with this book would be an understatement. However, I’m super thankful that I stuck with it because, as you can guess from the fantastic premise, this turned out to be a pretty great read once the writing began to flow.

And much of that can be attributed to the way this book handles important topics with a gentle hand: Cassie has fought tooth and nail to create her own space in the Chicago photographer scene. She’s had to—and still does—deal with racism and sexism at almost every turn, being passed over for male photographers even though her work is just as good if not better. This can of course diminish your confidence but Cassie never let the bastards get her down—she gives everything for her company and is truly a fighter. Sure, there are some hiccups and days where things don’t work out or she questions her place but she always gets back up and works even harder, which was inspiring to read. I loved how that translated into her friendships—Cassie is the kind of friend you want in your corner when things get rough and Dana is the ultimate hype girl. It’s these kind of positive, empowering female friendships that always make my heart soar.

In turn, there’s also such a big emphasis on body positivity and learning to feel comfortable in your own skin— Cassie literally founded her business because she wanted people of colour to feel beautiful in life and have that reflected in photographs. The premise of Dana’s size-inclusive lingerie line also made me feel really seen which I loved.

Now there’s of course the romance between Cassie and Reid. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of the trajectory of their relationship due to secrets Reid has to keep and the role he plays in the campaign, I really enjoyed their witty banter and their insta-attraction. Though neither of them wants to pursue a relationship, they grow closer as they scout for locations and try to make sure that this campaign is the best it can be for Cassie’s best friend. As their friendship and eventual romance develops, we also get to learn more about Reid’s backstory (which was really well-paced in opposite to the clunky first chapters) and fall in love with him alongside Cassie. They’re both flawed characters that deal with a lot of self-doubt and wondering whether they deserve the love of the other which always makes for delicious tension and the will-they-won’t-they quality that I’m sure many readers will love to devour. All in all, if you can stick it out past the first few chapters, then this story is definitely worth falling in love with.

Packed to the brim with body positivity, female friendships and witty banter, The Accidental Pinup is an empowering rivals-to-lovers romance that will hopefully make readers fall in love with their own reflection in the mirror.

There was no way I was not going to love Cassie. Her friendship group in The Accidental Pinup makes me jealous! I loved the ways in which they support each other and know when to prod each other. I now need books about each one of these side characters because it's clear they have their own stories to tell. Cassie is driven, talented, and facing a ton of misogyny within the industry. And it's meant she's become outspoken and determined to make her space.

The rivals to lovers trope provides a foundation for their tension and some witty banter. Being dual POV, it allows us to get a sense of why Reid has been acting the way he has. What makes him tick and what has he lost track of. We can become so focused on that status quo that when things appear in our life to shake it up, that can cause room to wobble. He's laden with burdens and unsure about how to take care of the people in his life - which leads to some pretty epic mistakes.

Going to keep this short and to the point. The idea behind it I am all for-body positivity and inclusivity. The enemies to lovers trope gets me usually bc the man is a grump and I am a sucker for a grump. But there was nothing super memorable about the story. And Reid, her love interest was meh at best.
Reid and Cassie are rival photographers finding themselves going after the same gigs often. So when Cassie’s best friend and designer of a plus size lingerie line, Dana, has to go on bed rest and the advertising company wants both Reid and Cassie to audition for the principal photographer role, Dana tutors Cassie on what she wants for her line. And because Dana can no longer model for her own collection, Cassie becomes Reid’s muse and steps in and models while Reid takes the pictures.
See? Had the potential to be cute but was just kinda ok. I rounded up from 2.5 because of the body loving message.
Thanks to Berkley Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.