NETGALLEY REVIEW: CURVES FOR DAYS BY LAURA MOHER - AUGUST 23, 2023

Summary of the book:
Alice Rose Barnes, who chooses to go by Rose, has a history of trauma that has made her wary of trusting others. She wins the lottery, which leads to a sudden influx of people trying to connect with her due to her newfound wealth. Feeling overwhelmed and unsafe, she decides to escape her old life and start fresh in Galway, NC, under a new identity.
In Galway, she manages to build a new life for herself, forming friendships and integrating into the community while keeping her lottery winnings a secret. Her interactions with the grumpy carpenter she hired to reno her new house, Angus Drummond, lead to an unexpected relationship. Angus is someone who values honesty and authenticity, which attracts Rose despite her decision to hide her millionaire status.
As the story unfolds, Angus helps Rose open up about her past trauma, and their relationship gradually evolves from initial tension to a more romantic connection. At the same time, Angus’s own challenges, particularly related to his experiences as a military veteran, are explored, adding depth to his character.
The novel addresses themes of trust, healing from past wounds, the impact of personal history on relationships, and the importance of authenticity in forming meaningful connections. The “slow burn” of their relationship suggests a realistic development of their feelings over time, while the gradual revelation of their secrets adds intrigue and emotional depth to the plot.

General Review:
This book was so amazing. I have read other books by this publisher, and they have not hit me like his. I loved the setup. I loved the setting. I loved the main characters so much. I love the secondary characters. It was impossible for me to find major fault with this one. It is a cozy, charming read with deep issues addressed and dealt with in ways that seem realistic and sweet. Can’t wait t read more from this debut author.

Characters:
Rose’s trauma is believable and relatable. As a plus-size woman and someone bullied in school, I found myself cheering her on so hard. I wanted to see her move past her trauma and find the connections she was looking for. While I understood why she was so leery to disclose her lottery winnings, I knew that it would be the downfall of her relationship with Angus. I loved Angus; he is my perfect book MMC. But Angus has some culpability here as well. He is so blinded by his own issues that he is not as forthcoming with Rose as he needs to be for her to see how important the absolute truth is to him.
As for secondary characters, I hate the ones Moher wants me to hate and love the ones that are so refreshingly kind and sweet and accepting of Rose.

Tropes and Triggers:
Slow burn, small town. Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Grumpy/sunshine, Forced Proximity
Fatphobia, death, sexual assault/rape, bullying, PTSD, suicide (mentioned).

Quotes:
“Kissing Angus was… a lovely way of getting to know my sweet friend better. How can a man who could break me in half with his hands be so incredibly gentle? He tasted like… security and spice. And he held me like I was treasure. Wanted you to feel safe. Lordy.”
“There’s not a damn thing missing from you, Rosie. You’re one of the most complete people I know.”

Stars:
5

I loved everything about this story!

It’s a beautifully written small town/slow burn romance with two characters you will fall in love with. Grumpy sunshine vibes with two plus sized leads that will make you smile.

I loved how honest and raw the author was with the real world issues these characters experience. They’re both slightly broken in their way but for me that’s what made them so beautifully raw and deserving of their HEA. Definitely recommend.

*3.5 Stars On My Instagram Account*

"In my head we had a certain kind of relationship and I knew my role... what I had to offer. I felt... valuable."

"It changed everything. Changes how I feel about you, how I feel about us...how I feel about me."

I was upset by Angus, our giant grumpy veteran-contractor-part time PTSD therapist's reaction to our selfless plus size sunshine Rose's secret; but appreciated his honesty in the emotional slow burn romantic comedy Curves For Days by romance author Laura Moher.

Rose has no family, no friends. After being harassed in her hometown she finds her way to small town Galway where, with the exception of fat shaming Miz Ames, she finds kindness, friends and a handsome burly contractor to help with her new home.

Angus has scars, seen and unseen from his military career. He feels he owes the world for being saved when so many of his fellow soldiers never made it home.

As Rose and Angus spend time together they breakthrough each other's proverbial walls. They go from enemies to friends to lovers at a realistic pace. Their lovemaking is not so much spicy as sweet and honest. But Rose has a secret that is actually pretty awesome but keeping it from Angus and what it means for their dynamic causes him to back away.

Narrator Michelle Price gave Rose her genuine sensitivity. The reasons for her body insecurities and sexual hesitancy that she endured alone will break your heart. Narrator Paul Bellantoni does grumpy perfectly. My image of Angus didn't always match his tone but as I listened I heard the subtle vulnerability behind Angus' often alpha male entitlement.

Funny and sweet, Curves For Days deals with some serious issues so please check the trigger warnings. I can promise reading and listening to it has left me emotional for days.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair & honest review. All opinions are my own.

In this book, the curvy heroine moves to her new house that she wants to renovate it. The grumpy hero is working on the heroine's house and trying to not let his attraction to her distract him. As the two become closer to each other through the home renovation, they began to fall in love with each other. But there are secrets and issues from their pasts that they must confront before they could have their happy ending.

This is my first Laura Moher romance book that I've read. This book has a grumpy hero and a sunshine heroine in a small-town setting. This book also has some content warnings in the story that readers may find triggering. I did like the community vibe, though I found it hard to tolerate a certain secondary character due to their so-called advice to the heroine. The heroine is my favorite character in this book, and the hero needed a bit more growth to make him likable in my eyes. The book did need a bit more details that could help the story, especially when the book tackled a lot of situations. Overall, a nice book with a mostly good set of characters to start this Laura Moher series.


** Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own. **

I enjoyed this story so much! I loved Rose and Angus. The characters were well developed, and I liked getting to know them. The book had a lot of laugh out loud moments as well as a lot of moments that touched my heart. It overall left me with an overall warm and fuzzy feeling. I will definitely look for more books by this author. I found the writing style enjoyable and easy to read. It kept a good pace. I look forward to the next book in the series. I received an advance copy and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I jumped into this book because of the body representation and I’m so glad that I did. It was cute, adorable, and sweet and I really related to Rose in some aspects. I loved watching Angus and Rose’s relationship blossom and the diversity was wonderful. Overall, this was a solid read and I recommend it to others. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this ARC. All opinions are my own.

4.5/5 (rounded up to 5)

CW: bullying (recounted), post-traumatic stress disorder, divorce (recounted), death of grandparents (recounted), fatmisia, cancer, suicide, sexual harassment, poverty, death of a parent, sexual violence, car accident (recounted)

I would like to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks - Casablanca for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

After winding up with $80 million from the lottery, Rose Barnes escapes the constant hounding from her old life in Indianapolis and finds herself in the town of Galway, North Carolina to start over. She gets herself some new friends and ends up hiring the local grump, Angus, to renovate her new home. Yet, as she tries to keep her winnings a secret and her relationship with Angus develops, she wonders if love can conquer all.

Now, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Curves for Days addresses some heavier topics. I encourage you all to check out my content warnings at the top of my review and decide whether this is a title to read or not.

Curves for Days is a delightful small town rom-com that you want to keep an eye on this summer. Moher is able to bring out all the Southern charm and hospitality that I love into book form. I really like the dual POV approach that Moher utilizes in Curves for Days and does a great job with creating authentic personalities for Rose and Angus. Though, I would have liked it better if the dual POV was separate into chapters instead of line breaks.

Rose and Angus are great MCs and I enjoyed rooting for them throughout the book. Both go through their own growth during the course of this book and I feel that Curves for Days does a great job with showing how their relationship strengthens due to their pasts.

I would definitely recommend Curves for Days to anyone looking for a fat-positive rom-com that has small town charm, such as Abby Jimenez’s Part of Your World, and grit, a la the Knockemout series by Lucy Score or if you’ve been searching for a secret millionaire rom-com.

This deserves a billion stars. I loved every single thing about this book. A slow burn, small town with plus sized representation, I gobbled this up.

Curves for Days by Laura Moher
Contemporary romance. Alternating POV. Grumpy Sunshine, friends to lovers, slow burn.
Rose has had a working class life. Often exhausted from hard work, with some trauma in the past that makes her a bit skittish to open up and make friends. With constant harassment from people about her newfound wealth, she leaves her apartment under cover of night and ends up in the small town of Galway, North Carolina.
Angus served in the military, has PTSD as well as the need to help people to pay a debt. He spends time both as a counsel for military vets and construction work. He agrees to help rebuild the new home that Rose buys and is intrigued by her sunny disposition though he doesn’t understand it himself.

🎧 I alternated between an ebook copy and an audiobook narrated by Michelle Price and Paul Bellantoni. The ebook helped with transition between Rose/Amy and Angus. I was glad to have the ebook copy because the first time hearing his name I didn’t get it and backed up a couple of times to try to hear it clearly enough to understand. I then referred to the book to find “Angus” with an “oh, that’s what he said”. Don’t get me wrong, the narration was well done between the two and easy to listen to. The author used both chapters to change POV as well as mid way POV changes within a chapter, so having male and female narratives was extremely helpful listening to the audiobook.
I listened to this at 1.5 which is my preferred speed.

Entertaining and heartwarming. Two souls in need of love, find happiness in each other.
The heroine has curves and some body insecurities. The hero is a big man with PTSD and needs to contribute. Together they learn to be happy as they are with their best selves.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley, the publisher and Dreamscape Media.
4.5

I really wanted to like this book, the synopsis and the cover caught my attention and made me super excited to read it, but the execution was not what I expected. I didn't really like the pace of the story, but that could have been a personal problem, the biggest issue for me was that I didn't believe. Too much of the romance seemed so shallow and weak to me, I didn't think there was enough development in their relationship. I also felt that the story lacked a little more plot. Some points are positive as the characters separately, but together, they lacked chemistry. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Love it when the big sexy contractor loves a woman's curves.

And Rose sure does rock them. And Angus's world. Until he acts like a complete dumb--- and I didn't like him for a little while.

When her world changes - for the much,much better - Rose tries to start a new life without everyone knowing her business, and I like that. I like the found family she makes, the true friendships she creates.

I love the attraction between Rose and Angus, and my heart hurts for him at times.

It was much better once heads were removed from sphincters though and our lovelies got on with being who they are, and being with each other.

I am looking forward to more of the Big Love From Galways series in the future.

We've been extremely lucky with our ARC's as of late and this last pick was no exception! With Curves For Days by Laura Moher, I found a very charming book about a very isolated and lonely woman who ‘finds herself’ and a tremendous amount of self worth in a small welcoming mountainous NC town. The hero had his own journey of self discovery too. I thought both had exceptional chemistry with one another and provided a safe space for each to grow.

The book describes the journey of Rose Barnes, a midwestern curvy girl with a secret lottery windfall and traumatic backstory, who flees into the south to discover anonymity and a way to distribute her new found wealth in a safe manner. Along the way, she meets Angus, an army vet and therapist whose main source of income is construction. While Angus reconstructs her newly purchased fixer upper, the two grow closer - from friends to eventual lovers (spoiler alert, it’s a romance novel guys). What happens when Angus learns Rose’s secret and will she ever feel comfortable to take a leap of faith?


Several things I adored about this novel:

1. Rose suffers from trauma related to sexual violence. Trigger warnings if you’ve experienced SV, DV, or SA. What I loved about how Moher handled the intimacy in the love was through Angus creating a safe space in which Rose was continually in control. Every step that’s taken is initiated or ‘approved of’ by her. Angus is aware of her past, therefore, is cognizant of the fact that for the experience to be enjoyable, Rose has to take the lead and feel in control. Speaking as a SA survivor, I believe others will find this to be extremely moving.
2. Rose’s reaction to suddenly becoming extremely wealthy is refreshing. You hear the horror stories of lottery winners who lose it all in mere months by just spending like crazy. Rose is determined to keep a small amount for herself and give away the remainder by helping others. We love to see it.
3. The romance isn’t overwhelming. Not that I don’t love a big ol’ whirlwind romance. This is definitely a sorta-enemies - to friends - to lovers story and it works for the journeys of both main characters. When the third act breakup (spoilers cuz duh it’s a romance novel) this gradual build up hits even harder. You see them become extremely ingrained in each other's lives, so this one is gonna punch you in the feels my friends.
4. The side characters are lovely. I understand this is going to be a series, so I’m excited to see where we head next. I think I know (July and Lenny?), but I’ll be excited to see if I’m correct.

All in all, I really enjoyed this one. We all love to see the bullied plus sized girl come into her own and build up self confidence. Plus, she gets the giant sexy grump in the end. What’s not to love?

This book got from the very first page. Rose and Angus are just such fun characters and I fell in love with them. They are adorable together and are just what each other needs. I loved how insecure they were about the fact that the other person liked them. He made her feel so safe and protected and it was so perfect.

TW: SA in the past

I received an arc through netgalley.

The execution of this story didn't do it for me. The writing felt lazy and lacking. The pacing was abrupt and the tension never really built to a point that warranted a release. I didn't get to sit in a scene long enough to actually be invested in the moment. I felt like I was watching TV when a toddler kept pressing the fast-forward button - I didn't really get the information that I needed to follow along.

I really wanted to love this one, but it didn’t work for me. Tonally, it was a little all over the place- like it was trying to do too much all at once. It was a wish fulfillment fairy tale but also a heavy tale of overcoming trauma to start over. Trauma was everywhere and in everyone and that wasn’t what I came to this book for- the synopsis didn’t prepare me for the journey I think we were supposed to go on. I appreciated having characters who were complex and not your average romance leads but some of the details felt a little clumsy for both Rose and Angus. I think what fell the flattest for me was the chemistry between these two characters- I just didn’t buy that they liked each other or that they were attracted to each other, even as the plot picked up.

DNF at 42%

This book continues to feel like like a slice of life AO3 fic. There's really no plot here. Just characters doing everyday things while gradually getting closer to each other.

I don't think this style of storytelling works for me in commercial fiction. I want the regular aspects of plot, characterization, conflict (there's nothing happening here!), and resolution. I'm not invested in these characters and this slow pace just makes me put the book down.

I also think the cutesy cover sold the book as something it's not. Rose spends a lot of time in angst of her teen years and the previous things that happened to her. The illustration makes this seem more of the rom-com variety, and it's not. Angus works with vets with PTSD and we know Rose had horrible bullying in her teen years. It's just a disconnect that doesn't work for me.

Lovely slow burn romance between two characters who are trying their utmost to be more than the terrible things that have happened to them. Delightful.

This was the first book I'd read by Laura Moher. It was a pretty cute story, and I did have fun reading it. I loved the character of Rose. I found her to be brave and resilient and she showed significant growth. This romance had a grumpy sunshine trope, and I thought the author did a good job with it.

I loooooooove this cover and felt so represented with it. I was excited to read this romance - thought the setup for romance sounded great. Unfortunately the execution really isn’t working for me and I decided to DNF at 54%. The pacing, the romance, sooooo many side plots - it really just didn’t work for me. Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

4.5!

Rose Barnes has recently received a big change to her life leading her to reevaluate what she wants to do for her future. Enter the lovely new town Galway where she meets a handful of wonderful new people, including the big burly veteran Angus. Angus is a general contractor and part-time psychiatrist for veterans.

Getting over the slightly incredible start to Rose’s character, I thought this was amazing! A strong and powerful romance about a plus-size woman and the various daily challenges she has as well as her struggles with various traumas from a difficult childhood.

Angus was also a sweetheart who, although I thought he was stupid at times, really always wants the best for the people he loves and cares about.