This is my first time reading/listening to a Danielle Allen book and I definitely need to read more! I went into this book with high expectations because so many people kept saying it was amazing. Im glad to say that Plus Size Player was fantastic! I loved the plus size representation and how modern dating was portrayed.

We a have a super confident FMC which is awesome. This book is empowering. It's filled with self-love, confidence and curvy girl positivity. Nina is such a great heroine and I was a huge fan of her. Rus was a dreamy hero. And these two were sexy as hell! The chemistry and passion between these too made these so steamy. Do not read this in public lol!

This is narrated by Wesleigh Siobhan which does a phenomenal job here. She brought this story to life in a way no other narrator could. Siobhan perfectly captured the chemistry between Nina and Rus and brought a lot of energy to the book.

Absolutely loved this! Highly recommend!

Plus Sized Player by Danielle Allen is a delightful and engaging romance that had me hooked from the first page. The main character, Nina, is a plus-sized diva with a heart of gold, and I loved every moment of her journey. The humor was laugh-out-loud funny, and the emotional moments hit just the right notes. Nina’s realness and bold personality, paired with her quick wit, made her an unforgettable character. Russell, our MMC, was every bit the dream man, Prince Charming, without the flaws I expected him to have! Their chemistry was electric, and I was rooting for them every step of the way. The stakes were high, and the plot kept me on the edge of my seat. I didn’t want the story to end, and Danielle Allen’s writing style kept me fully invested. If you’re looking for a fun, heartfelt romance with a beautiful HEA, this is the book for you!

Spicier than expected—and I was absolutely here for it!

This book? Whew. It brought the heat, the heart, and the hell yes plus-size rep I’m always searching for. And the audiobook? PERFECTION. Narrated by the queen herself, Wesleigh Siobhan, who once again delivers with incredible depth, emotion, and pure charisma. She is the moment—your ears are in for a treat.

Read it for:

Black romance excellence

Boss/employee tension

Stellar plus-size representation

Smut that delivers

A confident influencer/model FMC

Close proximity deliciousness

Nina Ford is that girl. A plus-size model with a thriving career, a rotating roster of lovers, and zero desire to be boxed in—by jobs, relationships, or expectations. She’s bold, fierce, and fully in control of her story. Watching her navigate life and love on her terms? Empowering as hell.

At first, the story tosses us into Nina’s world of casual hookups and multiple men, and I wasn’t quite sure where things were heading—but then came Russell Long. And friends, that man came correct. He listens. He supports. He shows up. He’s sexy, emotionally intelligent, and just the right kind of steady Nina didn’t know she needed. Once these two lock in? GAME. ON.

Danielle Allen doesn’t just write spice (though let’s be clear—the spice is SPICING). She writes characters with depth, communication, and chemistry that crackles. Nina and Russell fit in a way that makes you root for their HEA from the moment their walls come down.

And let’s talk visuals—that cover? Stunning. Bold. Black romance front and center. Just how we like it.

If you’re craving a summer read that’s hot, heartfelt, and full of Black joy, Plus Size Player needs to be at the top of your TBR. And if you’re an audiobook listener? Turn the volume way down if you’re in public—you’ve been warned.

✶ Plus Size Player | Danielle Allen ✶
🎧 ALC - Audiobook
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ➎ /𝟻 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜

Thank you partner MacMillian Audio and #Netgallery for the Advanced Listeners Copy!

Blurb:
A steamy, witty novel about finding the perfect partner-and how sometimes what you're looking for is right in front of you.

💭 𝚖𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:

10s 10s 10s ACROSS THE BOARD!!! ✨

This was my first book to ever read by Danielle Allen! I received this ALC and completely went in blindsided! When I tell you I finished this book in 1 day yall!!

I was hooked! Engaged!! I worked both of my shifts with a DND on my door ready to fight if I was interrupted on any parts! 😂

NIINNNNAAAAAAAAAAAA. 😏
Gave straight BOSS and Go Getter! Social Media Star and uprising Fashionista! A woman who knows what she wants but doesn’t want her time wasted yet considerate on her terms to not waste anyone else’s time either. I love an option lol and I was LIVING through Nina’s life! Because why settle for 1 when you can have like 4 and be happy in different ways 🤸🏾‍♀️

Now let’s talk about the RUSSSSSSSSS.
My Man, My Man, My Man. I have never wanted a fictional chocolate CEO before but he checked all the boxes for me! Had me screaming Nina if you don’t quit this job!! 😂IYKYK!! I’m sorry call me weak but at that point I was already his in my own mind. 😂 He gave confident, superior, dominant and most importantly that man paid attention to intimate details from the words she spoke down to her body! He had my heart, body and soul!
He was scaring me more than Nina! 😅
Cause girl if you don’t stop acting like you are confused lol

All of this to say this story really brought out how you can be a plus size woman in a hypothetical world and stand tall and be confident and get who you want when you want.
Knowing you are deserving to be loved and paid attention to is what really showed through.
Having someone in your life that delivers everything down to the little things you say, pays attention to you and wants you over everything and will do what it takes to keep you and your relationship together.
He’s a good one Savannah!!

The narrator, Wesleigh Siobhan, took this whole story up to another level! It was so good! I wish I could listen to it again for the first time! But now I have to get straight to Curvy Girl Summer and I’m not even mad about it!

Thank you Danielle Allen for writing such a fun, thriving master piece!
It is at the top of my favorite reads for this year!

⁕ PUB DATE: June 10,2025
Plus Size Player is brought to you by Danielle Allen, MacMillian Audio and Bramble !

I wanna reread this already!! Best believe i’m going to immersive read this when it comes out!

The audio?? That man can whisper all the dirty things in my ear 🫣😩🥵 His voice was deep and sexy, it was everything.

Plus Size Player gives:

🫶🏽 Forbidden Romance 🤫
🫶🏽 Black Romance 🌹
🫶🏽 Plus Size Rep 😍
🫶🏽 Spiceee 🥵
🫶🏽 Messyyy 🫣
🫶🏽 Self love 🥰


The chemistry between Nina and Russ was insane. You could really feel the tension and pull between them. Their relationship was steamy, messy, and intense.

Danielle Allen did her big one AGAIN!!

I received an ALC on Net Galley from Macmillan Audio and this is my review.

5 Stars, no notes.
3.5/5 spice

I devoured the ALC of this and can’t recommend the audiobook enough. The narrator completely nailed it. It felt so immersive, like Nina was just talking directly to me, and I didn’t want to stop listening.

This is such a fun, sexy, and empowering follow-up to Curvy Girl Summer. Nina Ford is everything. She’s confident, hilarious, and fully living her best life. She’s juggling coaching, fashion influencing, and a full dating roster. But then there’s Russ. Their chemistry is unreal, and the slow burn had me grinning, swooning, and fanning myself all at once.

I laughed out loud so many times. Nina’s inner monologue is gold, and the steamy moments? Whew. Danielle Allen brought the heat and the heart.

I loved seeing a plus-size heroine who is bold, sexy, and fully in her power. Nina’s joy, her confidence, her friendships—every part of this story felt like a celebration. I will always be here for the plus-size girls loving out loud, and this book absolutely delivers.

If you want a flirty, feel-good friends-to-lovers romance with spice, humor, and incredible fat rep, this is a summer must-read. And seriously, grab the audiobook. You’ll be obsessed.

Tropes
💞 Friends to lovers
🔥 Only one bed
💬 Flirty banter
🏖️ Forced proximity
❤️‍🔥 The “it was supposed to be casual” emotional spiral
👗 Plus-size fashion queen falls for the secretly-soft jock

🎧 ARC Audio Vibes: Plus Size Player by @authordanielleallen with phenomenal narration by @wesleigh_siobhan 🖤

Danielle Allen has done it again! This Curve series sequel brings the perfect mix of heat, heart, and hilarious moments. Remember Aaliyah from Curvy Girl Summer? Well, her bestie Nina is that girl—a plus-size baddie with confidence, curves, and options. She’s not just dating, she’s drafting greatness. Her “starting lineup” is elite, every man playing his part… the fun one, the romantic one, the smart one, and the hilarious one…. until the fun one throws a flag on the play. 👀

Nina’s story is smart, sexy, and full of intentional dating, emotional vulnerability, and grown-woman choices. What I loved most is that this wasn’t just a romance—it was a full character journey. Nina stands firm in who she is, but watching her reckon with her feelings, past patterns, and the possibility of something real? Whew. I was invested.

The writing is classic Danielle Allen: witty dialogue, believable tension, and scenes that had me cackling one minute and blushing the next. Don’t let the cover fool you … the spice is like that! Be gentle to your bottom lip - it will have you biting down hard! Wesleigh Siobhan’s narration added so much personality—it was an audiobook I didn’t want to pause.

This is for the girls who want their romance with spice, substance, and a heroine who refuses to shrink herself. A five-listen all the way. Can’t wait to fangirl in person on release day! VA allllll day 🫶🏽.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me! I LOVED it and hope you do too! Queue up and/or be at the bookstore on June 10th! Thanks @NetGalley @macmillan.audio for the ARC audio!

👀 Who’s on your fictional roster? Asking for Nina…

#PlusSizePlayer #DanielleAllen #CurveSeries #BlackRomance #BookBaddie #ARCReview #RomanceReaders #BookstagramBaddie

I love so much about this book! The witty quips, the way the FMC is a badass curvy woman that takes no ones crap, all the men on her roster being absolutely enamored by her(because she is just THAT girl). I liked the little twist and the way it was maneuvered. The f3 main women best friends warms my heart, it's everything you want from best friends as far as support and banter.

Let’s start with Danielle Allen wrote this book down to the GRISTLE!!!!!

Russell Long & Nina Ford came out the gate SWINGINGGGG!!!! The chemistry between the two was instantly felt!!! I love the way they were both written & the way their story developed!

Nina is without a doubt among my all-time top five FMCs 🔥👏🏾👏🏾🥰! Although Nina was a force all by herself, Russell did not play around with Nina, okay!

I think it's a very original and brilliant writing style that the stories "Curvy Girl Summer" and "Plus Size Player" are sort of happening at the same time!

I could say a lot more, but I don’t want to give away the book. I’ll finish with, I'm eager to read Jazmin's story, especially in light of the recent happenings. Additionally, this audiobook being narrated by Wesleigh Siobhan…. TOOPPPPPP TIERRRRRRR, MMHMMMM!

****Recieved as an ALC from NetGalley****

Audio version Review

Wesleigh Siobhan does a great job with the narration for this book. She changes her voice to ensure readers and distinguish the male characters from the female characters. The inflections in her voice on point within the storyline and keep the story on pace.

Note: I received an advanced copy from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

If you enjoyed Curvy Girl Summer, then Plus Size Player is a must read!

Danielle Allen gave us everything with Nina. Her confidence? Unmatched. I loved how she owned who she was—bold, curvy, and in control. I could relate to her in so many ways, especially her fear of choosing the wrong guy, so she kept her options open. That part hit deep.

And let’s talk about her friend group iconic. The way they gave the guys nicknames? I loved it. My friends and I do the exact same thing, which made it feel so real and fun.

This comedic love story has a couple OMG moments giving a sexy, empowering read full of pe

I absolutely loved this sexy, empowering, & passionate story! From the first chapter, I was completely hooked. Nina’s journey felt both personal and powerful as she navigates relationships, exudes confidence, and dives into the complexities of dating. She was truly an inspiration to all women, and especially plus size women.

Per usual.. The narration was absolute perfection. Wesleigh Siobhan brought every flirtatious moment, internal thought, and sizzling scene to life with her usual infectious energy and authenticity. I could physically feel the chemistry between Nina & Rus, between Danielle Allen’s pen game & Wesleigh’s voice. She truly brought life to these characters!

The comic relief was a huge standout for me, I can’t tell you how many times I laughed out loud. Nina was hilarious and her energy was contagious. How can you read this and simply not be in a better mood afterwards? And the way she matched energy to those that spewed negativity her way, was unmatched!

Definitely.. Positively recommend this confidence boosting, extra spicy romance that will leave you swooning! The audiobook is a must listen, but even if you read it instead I recommend immersive reading, as this audiobook is simply an experience you don’t want to miss. Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this advanced listening copy. All opinions are my own.

Publication 🗓️ : 6.10.25

🎧: Plus Size Player -Curve #2

🙏🏾 Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Danielle Allen for this ALC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

✍️ By: Danielle Allen-I read Curvy Girl Summer and gave it 4 ⭐

🗣️ Narrator: Wesleigh Siobhan voices all the characters. The narrator's voice fit the characters with standouts from Nina and Russ. The reading style brought the text to life, and the author and narrator worked together perfectly. The pacing and flow allowed me to get lost in the story. The narrator paused and announced new chapters and there was a table of contents which helped me follow along.

🏃🏾‍♀️Run Time: 12:25

🗓️ Publication Date: 6/10/25 | Read: 6/7/25

Genre: AA Interests, Contemporary Romance, Adult/Women's Fic

Tropes: body positive/plus size h, workplace romance

🌎Setting: VA

⚠️ TW: fatphobia, bullying, misogyny, racism

POV: 1st person, single

💭 Summary 💭Nina is a plus-sized social media influencer that has a harem of men to fulfill all her needs. Russell 'the fun one" has something special that the others do not. She becomes a brand ambassador for RL Fashions and discovers Russ is the CEO. His company has a no fraternalization clause, so they have to cool off their sexcapades.


🚺Heroine: Nina Ford-30, a content creator and an internet model

🚺 Hero: Russell "Russ" Long-travelling businessman, CEO of RL Fashions

🎭Side Cast

*Aaliyah James + Jazmyn Payne-Nina's BFFs
*Charlotte-Nina's friend and co-worker at her lingerie boutique
*Nina's parents-Di and Michael Ford
*Nina's dates: Russ -the fun one, James -the funny one, Dru- the romantic one, and Tyrell- the smart one.

🤔 My Thoughts: I wanted to read this just for the cover, gorgeous! Anything featuring AA rep I'll read because I rarely get good ones. Nina had the added plus of being very confident as a curvy girl who dated who she wanted. As a curvy girl, I still get same treatment Nina did from the weight- police helicopter pilot and the disrespectful waitress who name-called Nina. I loved the passion between Nina and Russ and how he stood up for her.

🌶️: Spice 5/5 dirty talk, explicit
🎧: Narration 5/5
😭: Emotion 3/5
❤️: Couple 4/5
⭐️: Rating 4/5

One of my most anticipated read of the year and I knew it was going to be a hit, and I was not disappointed. Also you can guarentee that anything with Wesleigh Siobhan narration is going to be gold so I had zero doubts here.

And I had a really great time. Danielle Allen has always been a very funny writer, so the comedy was on pointe, Nina being the character playing the field in this plot was a nice turn of events. It's always the dudes out there doing whatever they want with women on rotation, so it was really refreshing and real to have someone who is plus sized enjoy and use her roster to it's full potential. I loved that Rus was fully into it. That he was always going to be 100% behind her, and clock whatever bullshit was moving behind her. And I knew that she could handle the bullshit that was coming, because she had been dealing with it, but it's always nice when someone can pick up that burden sometimes. Absolutely everything Nina is. *heart eyes*, and I wanted nothing but the world for her.

I think my only gripe with book is maybe how things were resolved, but thats a personal feeling and thats a I can understand that there are others that are going to love it.

All in all, it was an excellent time, and I'm happy that one of my most anticipated releases of the year was a total winner.

Thank you to Danielle Allen, Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for an early copy.

The story 4 stars and the narrator 5. Wesliegh did her thing with this narration. The way she would switch her voice up for each character is unmatched.

Overall the story was really good. Nina and Russ had instant chemistry and it could be felt through out the book. I had so much fun listening to the interactions between these two, the banter and my goodness the spice was there. Russ last name definitely fit him 😂😂😂


I love the friendship between Nina and her girls and getting to see a glimpse of the stories unfolding from book 1. Nina’s relationship with parents especially her mom was beautiful.


One downside to me , in the first couple of chapters too many times Nina was in situations where people commented on her weight. Now as a big girl, I know this does happen but not as much as it did to Nina. It was like every event, someone made it their business to address her weight, it felt unrealistic.

I loved this book. Nina is a content creator and model looking to make her way in the fashion world. We follow along as she is dating and finds her perfect fit. Danielle Allen does an amazing job of crafting fun lovable characters. They feel like friends or people you know if your life. The book is sweet but filled with laugh out loud moments.

I received an advanced copy of this audio book, and it was a cute read. Wesleigh did a great job reading this story, and capturing Nina’s character.
As the 2nd book in this series, I think it was great how they connected the characters and tied the story line together until the end. I didn’t completely realize the connection until the end.

The story line was typical for a romance novel, but the romance scenes where very spicy! That was one of the better things about the book, that set this book apart, and resulted in me giving this book an average rating. Just like Curvy Girl Summer, I found the beginning of the story very slow, and often times hard to follow.

I enjoyed that I was able to get lost in the story, but honestly it was only because of the spicy scenes. I hate when people get technical with the story lines and point out the all of the things that make it unrealistic, but I found myself doing that with this. Specifically, with the non-fraternization policy and the huge emphasis on this between an employee an independent contractor — especially for such a short business relationship. Again, it was a cute story — but I often found myself rolling my eyes at the “drama” of Russ and Nina dating in a situation that was perfectly fine and would typically not result in any unethical circumstances or with any legal ramifications. Considering how short of a timeframe they knew each other, the reality is, they moved way to fast in the beginning (as Nina seemed to do with several others), and if their business relationship was an issue, they could have utilized the time of their short business relationship to get to know each other.

I can see why some would really get into this book, but if it wasn’t for the extreme spicy scenes, not sure I would have been able to give this book 3 stars. I will likely check out any future books in the series, specifically for the spicy scenes, but knowing that the story line may not be that realistic.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.5 rounded up to 5)


Danielle Allen does a wonderful job weaving spicy scenes into the story without letting them overpower the plot or the emotional evolution of the romance. The chemistry feels natural, and the relationship development is just as rewarding as the heat.

Nina, our plus-size heroine, is confident, takes care of herself, and leads with a big heart. She’s the kind of character you genuinely root for from beginning to end—her strength, vulnerability, and self-assurance truly shine.

This contemporary romance strikes a great balance between the realities many millennial women face—career ambition, self-worth, and the refusal to settle for less in love. One plot point I felt somewhat indifferent about was Russ’s decision regarding his career and the choice he made for their relationship. It didn’t feel entirely realistic, and I found myself wondering if there might have been a more plausible option. Still, it made for a compelling story and an overall enjoyable read.

3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listener copy.

I read the first book in the series and while it wasn’t my favorite; I like Nina’s character and was excited to see what kind of time she would be on. Nina is the main character in this book and has a better sense of self in this book. I felt as odd as she did when she fell into a relationship if I’m being honest. I like Russ and her together. For a while it was a lot of back and forth that made it seem like he wasn’t end game. She said she would commit if she could get something like her parents. I just never felt she was ready to commit to that. And I mean even past the halfway point and since she was actively dating that didn’t seem far-fetched. I enjoyed Russ and Nina together some things were clunky, but they were overall cute.

What I did not enjoy was how much of the story relied on external fatphobia to create conflict. But I also didn’t love the language around the characters narrative wise that at time unnecessarily enforced fatphobia among other harmful isms. Nina’s size as a plus size model could have stayed ambiguous. Putting a number on it made her an “acceptable fat”. And later on, unnecessarily saying she goes to the gym 5 times a week after someone implied something about her weight. It is an unnecessary metric of worth. People are fat there is nothing wrong with her being fat and it shouldn’t have to be explained away. Whether she goes 3 times a week, 5 times, or not at all. I feel like we spend more time explaining fatness to readers. The whole point of the series is allowing Fat Black Women to be at the for front of a romance story and be loved on out loud. Fat Black Women who read this don’t get a chance to escape because of the constant fatphobia as a plot device. I am glad she mouths off the people that say stuff unlike Aaliyah in the first book with her family and uncle. But I also would just like not to have to explain and see all kinds of blatant and over fabricated examples of fatphobia that were often surface level being brought up. I did start counting while in the first 30 percent the number of incidents that happened. I had to take breaks from this book. And I didn’t think this book would have to warrant that. I tend to read a book quickly plus I was trying to get the review out.

I would have liked that time being used to develop characters and maybe see Nina going on more dates in the beginning. Or just seeing Nina doing more things that made her happy or even shorten the beginning and get into the swing of the plot which was the conflict of Nina being involved with Russ at the most inconvenient time and becoming a forbidden (because of the contract Nina signed) company romance.

Them sneaking around had me stressed even before it’s revealed who Russ is. I could go on and on about Russ. I am not sure what more I could had wanted besides him to be more outright in discussion about Nina being a fat Black woman and their being nothing wrong with that. She was perfect just how she was. And him saying that to others. And maybe that wouldn’t had been a need if the scenarios in the book hadn’t been so outright. I would have like for there to be more affirming of the fat people in this book. That may had helped balance it out if was going to be in there at all. One conversation that felt helpful and warranted was the way people conduct themselves online. We were literally dealing with the fallout outrage from a 12 fat Black woman sculpture being in Times Square. And this was just what I saw within our community. Didn’t need anyone else to chime in the damage was done.

The smut in the book was fine I only had a small critique that Russ’s length wasn’t constantly brought up. We get it he’s 9.5 inches, he’s big. It gets to a point and lends to “BBC” f*tishzation Black men deal with. It’s similar to the Nina being 250 lbs, and apparently a gym girlie. I’m going to need us to find something else to describe these people. Shucks, it wasn’t until almost the end we find out Russ not the complexion of the man on the cover. Which isn’t a major issue but also, it’s wild his complexion which is part of his appearance is discussed once when he was at the airport and almost caught. We don’t know what people look like and just would like to know more about the people. It felt distant if that makes sense.

I will say while there are things I don’t love in this book if you handled what maybe was 30 percent of the book, I think the book is a solid 4 star read. The narration also was enjoyable with Wesleigh Siobhan being one of my favorite narrators because she can do an entire cast no problem. And she does romance really well too. The spicy girls will enjoy that in the book.

Overall, I would have liked to fall in love with the characters not just like what they were to each other. The dates were fun though. I was sure whoever took Nina to the amusement park would be our guy, but I was feeling less sure as the story went on expecting someone else to swoop in. I was nervous for Russ. The ending was a little anti climatic when Russ solution was to just step down as the face of the brand. He could had just done that but then we wouldn’t have a plot. The story could had been stronger if we trimmed some stuff off. Maybe got closer to some friends (not just over phone calls and the summary of Aaliyah birthday party) and Russ family. Nina introduces Russ to her parents maybe. Just felt too much too fast but also not close enough.

I will read other work from Danielle Allen in the future this series is hard to get through.

Nina Ford is a plus size fashion influencer. She has no interest in commitment and enjoys dating different men for different purposes. Just when "the fun one" starts to make Nina question her approach, she learns he is the new CEO of the company she just signed with. A company that doesn't tolerate fraternization.

In classic Danielle Allen fashion, this romance is messy and morally grey in places. Also in classic Danielle Allen fashion, I adore this heroine's confidence and body positivity. I loved Nina's family and their banter. This was also hot. Definitely worth the read or listen!