This book is entertaining and tackles with the self esteem and physical stresses put on ourselves. Heartfelt and a great read!!

I loved this book, the characters are interesting, likable and well developed. The McCullough Family are great and not too heavy on the Irish stereotypes. Mallory is so relatable as a character, her insecurities and weight issues are something a lot of us can connect to.

I would love a sexy warm hearted lumberjack like Finn who is very family orientated to come into my life. He is the quintessential book boyfriend.

This is a series and it is better to read in order just to avoid spoilers but each features a new central character.

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Fin was the bright point in this and Mallory was not what I expected. It's fast-paced and sweet, and it may fall into a it depends on your reading mood category whether it's a yay or a nay.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book received from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sweet HEA with curvy woman and Lumberjack, It was a light read and enjoyable. The was a good book and kept me entertained. I will look for more books by this author..

**I received this book free from NetGalley.

I loved a lot about this book. Finn was wonderful. He's a strong, sweet hero and someone i definitely rooted for. . Mallory was. Wry relatable for me. I absolutely loved that Lydia Michaels featured a curvy woman and, having body image issues myself, I know how difficult it is to be open when all you think about is your flaws, and I loved that it was more relatable than a lot of characters. This is a slow burn romance and a fun entry to the series. I do plan on one day reading more in this series because I did enjoy the story overall. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this read.

I didn’t realize until later that the first edition of this book was published in 2013, but I could tell it was dated. I loved that the cover had a woman who was bigger than the man, so I gave the book a shot. Thank goodness body positivity has come a long way since 2013. There was a lot I really liked about this book—Finn is wonderful and I loved their instant friendship that quickly becomes romantic—but it’s mostly focused on Mallory’s body issues and weight loss. Finn absolutely loves her body and is always trying to boost her confidence, which was great. She’s also actually plus-size and not just “curvy,” which is nice to see too.

But Mallory’s journey is very focused on numbers and sizes and BMI category and not about self-acceptance. I understand why she would feel that way in our messed up diet culture and could relate because I’ve felt that way before too. Luckily that’s far enough in my past that her body thoughts no longer bothered me much. But definitely a trigger warning for anybody going through it right now.

She does overcome a lot of her insecurities—mostly due to Finn’s constant reassurance—but she puts herself down a lot along the way. Since the author has rereleased the book with a new cover, I wish it had been revised so that she doesn’t meet her weight goals, but still ends up happy with herself. Instead, there’s a page or two in the epilogue saying it doesn’t matter to her anymore. I think the author was going for her meeting the goal only to find out the goal didn’t really matter, but the message is muddled because it still took weight loss to “finally feel comfortable in her own skin” and “start living.”

Anyways, I still enjoyed Finn and Mallory and the small town world of this series. I’ll probably read more of it because I’m invested in the characters.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Mallory and Finn. Mallory is a school secretary and Finn works for his family logging business. Mallory has just moved to town when she meets Finn. They quickly become friends and Finn breaks up with is girlfriend. He realizes Mallory is so much more than a friend, he falls in love with her. The ex-girlfriend tries to break them up but is unsuccessful. They declare their love for one another and get married.

I went back and forth about whether to give this book 3 or 4 stars so I'm giving it 3.5 and rounding up. I loved a lot about this book. Finn was wonderful. He's a strong, sweet hero and someone consistent to root for. I really loved him.

Mallory was the weak point in the story for me. I absolutely loved that Lydia Michaels featured a curvy woman and, having body image issues myself, I know how difficult it is to be hyperfocused on your flaws. But the constant negativity took away from her as a heroine- it's difficult to root for someone who doesn't root for herself either. And I thought she truly needed to have more of a self love moment than occurred.

Overall, a beautiful setting, a sweet slow burn romance and a fun entry to the series. I do plan on one day reading more in this series because I did enjoy the story overall. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this read.

Beautiful Distraction is the friends to lovers romance novel that I dream about! I read it in half a day and couldn’t go to bed until I finished it! Thank you NetGalley and Bailey Brown Publishing for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review. The story follows Mallory, a sweet young woman, who struggles with her dating life because of insecurities with her looks. She decides to move away from the city where she grew up in an effort to reinvent herself into the person she imagines she is. When she arrives in her new rural small town, she meets Finn, a handsome local, with a big charming Irish family. Their spark is obvious from the start, but Finn has a long time on and off again girlfriend, and Mallory isn’t exactly in the best head space to be starting a relationship anyway, so they become good friends. When Finn’s long term relationship finally fizzles out for good, it gives him a new perspective on what he’s looking for in a partner. Things begin to change for Finn and he begins to look at Mallory as more than just a friend. Mallory’s deep insecurities are the challenges they must overcome, but Finn finds ways to support her and earn her trust in the most patient and thoughtful ways. As their relationship grows, Mallory finds her confidence and it’s the most beautiful story. She learns she never needed to change. She just needed someone to show her patience and kindness and to believe in her, so she could love herself and believe in herself too. This story gave me so many butterflies! I would love a part two to this story! I recommend this to anyone who wants a quick read and loves sweet romance novels!

These McCullough brothers are swoon-tastic!
This book is listed as the friends to lovers trope and I agree a little. I typically like my friendships to be longstanding in this trope but this one works as well. It's endearing how much Finn champions Mallory.
My one annoyance (ending spoiler) [ ANOTHER!!! surprise/unplanned pregnancy (hide spoiler)]
but that declaration makes it okay!!!!

I love a story that’s heart warming and relatable. This one is both plus so much more. Love these characters and Mallory may be my favorite so far. You sympathize and want to scream but at the same time applaud and cheer. Her and Finn are both fighting so much and need one another to heal and get well deserved happiness. Grab this one and prepare to want more at the end.

This satisfying read from Miss Michaels touches on a real and current issue of self-image and how we try to address the way society believes we should look.Mallory has struggled with her image of self and throughout the book she disparages her looks and discounts any positive appraisals given, to the point where it just became annoying.Finn comes upon her trespassing on his family's property and through their interactions and frank speaking, Mallory is exposed to another way of thinking.The secondary characters and the familial bantering added some levity to the weighty (pun intended) topic explored in the book.This is actually the second book in the series and the first one I read, prompting me to start reading all the other books in the series. This was an easy read and easily one to recommend.

Beautiful Distraction is part of a series but it can be read easily as a standalone. First off, I love these two characters. They are both so lovable, and Mallory is just so real. She is full of self doubt and body image issues which are just pervasive in our culture; and I identified with her character so much. Finnegan is basically perfect and adorable and loving; and the two of them together are such great friends to lovers.

This book was just amazing. I loved that the main love interest just wanted the heroine to be happy. I loved that he didn't stop her from doing what she wanted to do for her own benefit and health, but rather supported her. That is the kind of relationship that is healthy and loving. The content was sweet and hot at the same time.


This was sooo amazing.

ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review. Lydia Michaels brings another romance to us that many women can relate to. Mallory has always had a weight issue in her eyes but Finn falls in love with her perfection. This book is raw with feelings, but gives you the ending you really want.

This is actually the second book in the series, but I read this one first. Finnegan is a lumberjack working for the family logging mill. He spots a woman running on his property one day and stops her. Mallory was not expecting to run into anyone, especially a lumberjack. After the first meeting, he comes to find out that Mallory has moved from the city to their small community and she has also taken up jogging and eating healthy. She was told by her doctor she needed to lose weight.
Finnegan actually thinks she looks good just the way she is and though he does tell her he also shows up to jog with her and tries to support her in her eating healthier. There are many moments in this story that are very emotional one being when he wants to buy, her some clothing and asks for her size. Though it does not bother him he does not understand the pain she has been dealing with since childhood and the author shows you both sides. This is a wonderful story of Mallory working at finding her own self to be happy with and yet allowing Finnegan into her life. He also comes from a huge and loud Irish family. Overall a very good book.

This was an okey read but I hoped for more.

What I liked about the book:
How the author described the nature, when the characters had their first meeting and that it was kind of an okey story.

What I disliked about the book:
The abrupt ending, the Erin character and how naive Finn was sometimes plus I feel like something was missing.

You might wonder IF I will continue to read this series and I actually think I will because who doesn't like an easy read with hot men in the story altough the books about the brothers are soon finished and the rest is gonna be about the sisters I think.

Thanks for letting me read the two first book in this series.

Romantic fluff, overweight and highly insecure, self-demeaning girl meets super hot guy who has only been with one not-so-nice girl who the large family dislikes. Wanted to slap Mallory through most of the book, was kind of annoying. A bit less self-hate would have improved things. That given, a mindless and quick read.

I received an arc from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Mallory moves from Philadelphia to a small town looking for a fresh start. She has started running and her first encounter with mountain man Finn has her running away.

She has an attraction for Finn however he has a girlfriend and she is uncertain any man could have feelings for her. As she works through some self esteem issues Finn is there by her side. First as friends and then more.

Love the ending and love that Mallory believes in herself at the end and has the confidence to be loved for who she is and not a body type. Great read!

This book was read thanks to NetGalley.

Did i enjoy this book? yes i did. I really did, the characters are good, are likable and i root for them in a lot of moment, but something that prevent me from loving it was that the premise is that she is a plus size girl, and for me it was tiresome to read her complaining about her looks and her weight, a lot, I understand that those thoughts are very common for fat people, but also i think we deserve to read protagonists that from day one they are comfortable with their body.

Also fat isn't a bad word, i laughed at moments when she said that she was fat and he acted as if she said that she was stupid or something,

Don't add fat people in your story as your protagonist if you are not going to treat them right.