honest review.

This was a delightful read where Savvy really grows into herself and learns to love herself for who she is and take charge of her life in a positive way. This book definitely had me smiling and enjoying the journey! I really liked seeing Savvy's relationship with her family and close friends as she navigated a bad breakup where her ex was looking for an "upgrade".

While this book definitely had a romance in it, I think it was more of a subplot as the focus of the book was Savvy learning how to love herself (and we love it see it). All in all, I can't wait to read more romance by this author!

I'm not sure if it was the eARC or what, but there did seem to be some weird glitches in my copy. The most glaring was that every word that had "fl" in it and a space between those two letters - f lour, f lag, f loral, etc. There were also some odd transitions between scenes in this book; places where Savvy would be talking to her friends and then it would be a different scene with her uncle. I would have appreciated some sort of line or page break there to make it seem like a different interaction.

Like I said, those were just minor issues in a story that I thought was well-paced and the growth was real and believable. Can't wait to read more from McCoy!

Savvy is smart, hardworking, independent, loving, a great friend, and a fierce cook. What she doesn't have is a supportive partner. Let me tell you that I wanted to exchange words with Savvy's ex-boyfriend, Jason. He is an absolute jerk. After Savvy and Jason break up, Savvy feels the need to achieve a "revenge body" and make some changes in her life. She recruits her friends into eating clean and working out with her. I felt the approach and conversation about weight loss was realistic ---I've had those conversations with my friends. However, I can see how this may trigger some individuals.
I enjoyed reading Savvy's growth and realization that a "revenge body" isn't going to bring her happiness. I also enjoyed reading about Savvy playing tennis, as I'm someone who's been playing for 16 years.
I loved the steamy romance between Spencer and Savvy. I wish there was more about them! I kept picturing Shemar Moore as Spencer Morgan, probably because my first thought went "Spencer" Reid & Derek "Morgan" (Criminal Minds).
The food descriptions in here are simply divine. I salivated several times.
The story ends nicely with a great message. Overall, it's a cute story about self discovery and love.

Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell is the perfect book for when you're looking for a little boost in your mood or inspiration to make changes in your life. Just like your favorite Instagram or Pinterest board, this book is full of outfits you wished you owned, food you wish you could eat right now, renovation ideas for your home, and friends to share it with. Savvy Sheldon is a hard working woman who's life is just on the edge of coming together when her long-time boyfriend dumps her over dinner. His comments about her life and her body are devastating, inspiring Savvy to seek out revenge in the best way: by recreating herself and her life. With the support of her best friends and her family, Savvy starts to put her pieces in order, prioritizing her joy, including seeing where things go with the sexy contractor who she keeps bumping in to. But the seeds of doubt sewn by her ex and Savvy's own unsurety about what she wants threaten to keep her from the happiness that she deserves.

This book is like a glimpse into a fun life that you wish you were living too. Much of the book surrounds not just the romance between Spencer and Savvy, but Savvy's interactions with friends, co-workers, and family. Savvy is a fun, relatable, protagonist and reading about a plus-size woman of color succeeding in everything she sets out to do is always great, but the plot feels a little lost at points. It was difficult to feel like tension was building or to have concern for where her life was going through most of the book because her life was already so good. While it was lovely and refreshing to have a character not have to struggle through multiple traumas to realize that the greatness was always there in her life, it felt like most of the book was spent in details of work outs, meals, and fun conversations with friends and not as much on the journey that Savvy was going through. Still, this book made me wish I that I could transport myself inside it to hang out with Savvy and her friends!

This was, for the most part, a really sweet book that had a very sweet romance at its core. Main character Savvy was great, though it was hard to get through the first section when she was still with her atrocious ex-boyfriend...I always hope that romance books will start AFTER the hellish characters have left the MC's life. Oh well, I certainly understand why he was included, from a plot viewpoint. All in all, this book had a bit too much conflict for me to truly love it, but it was a very good book nonetheless.

What a fun read. Savvy gets dumped and decides to reinvent herself in revenge to her ex, to show him what he lost. Greet idea, but for the wrong reasons. She also renovated her kitchen and finds the contractor, Spencer, is handy with other things I liked the story and I liked how Savvy made things happen, focusing on self-care. I also liked how she really started to know herself and her limitations.
The first part of the book, with her ex, was brutal, he is such a jerk. I had to hold back until she finally wised up.
The best love a person can have is self love and Savvy develops plenty of that.

So this was good. I liked that this story has a plus size MC, a hot contractor, and an awesome gang you can't get enough of! There's a bit of a misunderstanding between Savvy and Spencer but it all gets cleared up and worked out and I'm here for it. Savvy really is a great MC-- she's smart and compassionate and really does deserve happiness Love the writing and I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next.

Many thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read this one…it was sweet and funny and steamy…great friendships and family… I especially appreciated the emphasis on work-life balance…bonus points for the food and puppies

Savvy is a hard worker who loves to cook, is renovating her grandparent’s house, and trying to juggle a healthy work-life balance. When she gets a devastating blow from her boyfriend, it shakes Savvy up. She’s always dealt with insecurities and being pushed to succeed by her mom but now she’s starting to crack under all the pressure. Trying to shake off all the bad feelings she decides to makeover herself to feel good and start the “new Savvy”. Determined to make her own path and change her own life, where will this new path take Savvy?

I love the way Savvy grows on her journey to not only better herself but to do all the things she wants to do on her own. The breakup is hard on her no doubt, but she uses this reinvention to not only heal her spirit but her heart. Plus the charming Spencer that waltzes into her life is very cute. It’s the spark that Savvy needs in her life after being in such a long relationship. I love her besties, Joanie and Maggie. Not only do they crack me up but I love how they are such a support system for Savvy and their tight-knit friendship overall. It’s so endearing!

This story also sends an important message about self-care and putting yourself first. You’re no good to anyone if you’re running ragged. Though Spencer and Savvy fall for each other instantly she eases into a new relationship slowly. Like other facets of her life, there’s a lot of healing to be done before jumping into new situations. The reader can connect with the overall theme surrounding the struggle of self-improvement.

“But you’re right. This whole journey isn’t about revenge. It isn’t about Jason at all. It’s about you feeling good and doing the things you love because you’ve gotta love you before you can love anyone else. Only you can decide when you’re ready, Savs.”

Also, Savvy is a cooking machine. Her scenes where she cooked show her passion for creating new recipes and sharing food as a love language. The recipes mentioned are mouth-watering and I wanted to try some of the savory dinner meals that Savvy creates. I need a recipe list in the author’s notes asap!

This was a beautiful novel about loving yourself inside and out. The message is heartwarming and the romance was sweet and spicy!

This was such a great story! Loved it from beginning to end. My favorite things about this book were the strong female characters and the love they shared for each other to support one another and lift each other up no matter the circumstances.

**3.5 STARS**

This story was all about Savvy Sheldon’s journey to healing and loving herself after a bad breakup. I love how she didn’t let heartbreak keep her down. Instead she turned that energy into achieving a better work/life balance for herself. Savvy is a people pleaser and always going the extra mile at work so she can get a promotion even if it meant putting work ahead of everything else. She’s also always taking care of her uncle and cooking for her friends.

Her best friends Maggie and Joanie/Kotter are so much fun! I felt like I was hanging out with my girlfriends. They got Savvy’s back like best friends should. I love how they brought others into their circle like Beth, her tennis coach and the new guy in her life, Spencer.

Spencer and Savvy have the sweetest chemistry and then things get hot, but I think it was good how it happened gradually. I like how it was a slow burn and they really got to know one another. He even got to know her friends before their relationship goes to the next level. Spencer is the perfect guy for Savvy, they just have a great vibe together, he is down to earth just like Savvy.

There is some drama in the book but not enough to really be a big conflict. I felt like most of the conflict was with Savvy just trying to find out what makes her happy in life and attaining a balance so work doesn’t burn her out. But it was really nice seeing her try out new things and stick to her plan of exercising to feel better, not necessarily to lose weight. I’d say this is a lighthearted romance, perfect for a quick read.

FINAL THOUGHTS~~
Why you should read it:
*Savvy’s friends are so much fun
*full-figure main character, this is her journey to self love after a bad breakup
*it’s a sweet story but also has some scenes with heat, light hearted romance

Why you might not want to read it:
*wanted a little more conflict to keep things interesting
*she does try to get healthier and even says she wants the “revenge body” so if you want a character that embraces herself without making changes then this might not be for you

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this story about Savvy’s journey to self-love even if she did start out to get a revenge body to flaunt at her ex. All that changes afterwards when she realizes she’s having fun without him and she meets Spencer. For me, Savvy’s friends were my favorite part of the whole book, they are so much fun and had her back. This is a quick read and a lighthearted romance story.

ARC provided by NetGalley

While this wasn't as much of a romance as I expected, I enjoyed this book. After her awful ex body shames and dumps her, Savvy goes on a mission to move on and get to a place where she's happy with herself.

I liked that Savvy's friends were hilarious and did a great job of validating and supporting her. All the food descriptions sounded amazing! Though the author did a good job of emphasizing self love shouldn't just be tied to weight, I could've done without the various clean eating descriptions.

Also, I wanted more from the romance. It really didn't pick up until 50% in and the "major" conflict made me roll my eyes. It was just a little too back and forth for no reason.

If you like women's fiction or slow burn romance, then I'd recommend this book for you

This book by debut author Taj McCoy was very cute and enjoyable to read. This was not only a romance book, but a book about friendship, family and personal evolvement. Seeing Savvy grow as a person was a delight! This book is good for those who like Jasmine Guillory.

Savvy is a sweet protagonist--hard working, vulnerable, surrounded by a great squad. But the body shaming language was a huge turn off to me.

DNF @33%

As a person with a history of body issues and disordered eating, this book was so hard to read that I had to stop for my own wellbeing. I was so excited to read a fat romance! I love reading fat romances! And I went in expecting this one to be not only body positive but fat positive. But boy, was it really really not that. Savvy's long-term toxic boyfriend breaks up with her because he says that she's "let herself go" and it's "time for an upgrade." And then Savvy decides to get a "revenge body." She goes to yoga and gets a trainer and throws out all of the junk in her house and devotes herself to "clean eating." All of it was just too much for me.

If body and diet and eating and weight stuff is hard for you, this one might be a good one for you to skip.

CW: fat shaming, diet culture, toxic relationship, “revenge body”

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin/MIRA for this ARC.

Even though I have read many contemporary romances, I have not read this author before. It was a cute story about a professionally successful woman with curves who gets dumped by her boyfriend. She vows to lose weight, eat healthier, exercise and works toward getting a promotion at work. While working on trying to win this no-good guy back, Savvy ends up strengthening her friendships, meeting a new guy, and getting in touch with what she wants for herself.
Playing tennis and cooking play parts in the story. I’m not a big fan of tennis, so those parts of the book didn’t grab my attention. However, I like to cook and eat, so the food and drink descriptions were a bonus.
The book wrapped up nicely, and as I said before, it is a cute story and a lesson in self-love.

Thank you to Taj McCoy, Harlequin, and NetGalley for sending me an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review!

I really liked the synopsis of this book, but the follow through was a bit disappointing (my overall rating is a 3.75, but I've rounded up to 4). I've seen other reviews stating that the romance between Savvy and Spencer was "stale", and I have to agree. While there were cute moments and the stereotypical, yet crucial to the plot "miscommunication" between the main character and the love interest, I felt like Spencer was underdeveloped and overbearing as a character.

I loved Savvy, her insanely fun crew of friends, and the message behind this book. I would have much rather read a book focused solely on Savvy's journey towards self love with a side plot of romance, rather than the other way around.

This was a very cute and likeable debut. McCoy has obvious talent and the writing style was right up my alley - I just didn't like the love interest! Other than that, I thought this book was great!

This is a great choice when you are in the mood for a light read. For the first half of the book I was really worried about the main characters motivation and was starting to get annoyed with some of her choices. But that just means the characters pulled me in enough to care. I feel like at least one of the side situations could have been left out of the book and it wouldn’t have lost anything, but then when thinking about it I kind of like that it was left in because it lead to a little more chaos in the characters life and it somehow made it more realistic to me. I would recommend this for a nice weekend read, and am excited to keep this author in mind for the future if she decides to write more.

P.S. There are some delicious sounding foods described in this book so bring snacks.

I wanted to LOVE this book, but I ended up liking it instead.
What I loved:
Reading about Savvy's tennis and yoga adventures was a lot of fun, and reading about her cooking was always mouth-watering. Also, a romance with a plus-size Black protagonist--yas!!
What I didn't love:
In terms of conflict, I didn't feel like there was a ton. Yes, there was some conflict with work and with Spencer, but I wanted to feel more unsure and worried for Savvy!
What I felt conflicted about:
Savvy immediately enacts her Revenge Body plan after Jason breaks up with her, and it isn't until halfway through the book that her friends tell her that changing her appearance isn't necessary! However, I love that the book still ends with her as a plus-size woman and it's her strength that she takes real pride in.
All in all, looking forward to what Taj McCoy writes next!

One of the things I loved the most about this book was the strength of the female friendships. Savvy was always surrounded by her squad, and they were so funny, tender, and ready to throw down with Savvy's ex, Jason.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A romantic comedy with strong female characters and a respectful man thrown in (after a not very respectful one departs).