The best things about this book were the unabashed love of plus size women of color, photography, and Chicago. Unfortunately that wasn't enough to hold it together. The premise was puzzling and then off-putting, and the writing was info-dumpy and lacked real the spark of voice, and it didn't dig into emotions in a deep enough way to be satisfying to me.

A beautiful photograph helping her best friend launch her plus size lingerie line proves that the grind is real, but so is love.

That sounds amazing, right, but sadly it didn't give enough.
The love interest was a dick for his ulterior motives, their relationship felt rushed, and I wanted to fight Cassie's Parents and friend at one point and REALLY wanted to fit Reid.

The body positivity, the LGBTQ+ Rep, Diversity and drive was great, but the romance wasn't it, and I blame the love interest entirely on that.

I adored so much about this book! Rival photographers, forced to work together on a huge launch campaign, both wanting control and both with a lot riding on it. This was such a great enemies to lovers (even if it was only one of them who knew they were enemies to begin with).

Cassie is a bad-ass photographer, who owns her own boudoir photography studio and is all lined up to be the photographer on her bestie's launch of new body-positive lingerie. But when her friend is forced to go on bed rest with her pregnancy the company they've partnered with starts to go back on the deal they've made, insisting Reid Montgomery be the photographer. Reid doesn't realize it but he's been hired over Cassie on numerous occasions, and while she's an amazing photographer she has always had to work twice as hard for half as much success. One thing leads to another and Cassie is asked to step in as the lead model in place of her friend. She's never done any modeling and is way out of her comfort zone, but the more her and Reid work together the more the sparks begin to fly.

I absolutely loved Cassie's character. I was less thrilled with Reid, but Cassie really sparkled. She was just all-around amazing and I wish she was a real-life person so we could be besties. I can't believe this was a debut too!

DNF at 25%.

I really am just not into where this story is setting up to go. You've got the lead female who has a friend that volunteers her to model (when she's adamant against it) and the male love interest who is plotting of going behind her back for the sake of money. Yeah, this is a no for me.

This book was ok. I didn't like how the female was treated and while I get that that was the point, it got to be to much for me and just left me angry.

I loved that this book was very visual in the descriptions so I felt like this read as a movie and was there there. I enjoyed the humor and the friends group and I found that I really wanted to see more of some of them with possibilities of other books. I also am in love with the cover of this book! There was a nice build up to the spice as well. I enjoyed this book!

i loved the idea of this, the cover, the title - i was really excited about it! unfortunately, i just didn't click with it. i wanted to, but i just never felt the connection between the two MCs. i'm sure it's a 'me not the book' thing :)

PLEASE DON’T BE SCARED OF THAT 2.5 STAR RATING!! Still give this book a shot just know it wasn’t for me… 🙈

The biggest reasons why I didn’t love this book was there was too much miscommunication from both our leads and frankly quite a bit of entitlement. And eh just because they got on my nerves and I struggled a bit to finish it there was still a lot to love. The plot was very cute and the friendship’s that our lead Cassie had with all her girlfriends was actual #goals. So let me give you a little synopsis because it might be the right book for you!!

Rival photographers, Cassie & Reid, are forced to collaborate on a body-positive lingerie campaign, but they might have to readjust their focus when sparks fly.

I tried reading this in two different formats and I couldn't do it. The writing style just didn't work for me. And then I read a spoilery review on it and I can honestly say I'm glad I didn't finish it. The way he treated her wasn't much of a romance. I'm sad because I was looking forward to this book because of it's inclusiveness, but it just wasn't for me.

This was such a fun read! I totally fell in love with the entire cast of this book, and I am obsessed with the whole idea of a boudoir/lingerie company. I thought the tension between the two love interests was really well done and I enjoyed their banter. Overall, this was a perfect summer read!

Cassie fights for what she wants. She's a great photographer, friend, and...model? Usually behind the camera she now finds herself in front of the camera modeling lingerie. Cassie's best friend Dana is launching a lingerie line and thinks Cassie is perfect for the job. Cassie's rival, Reid, is hired to take the photos. Not the most ideal situation, Cassie puts her best foot forward. When two rival photographers are forced to work together, things get tricky when feelings get involved.

3.5 rounded up. I thought the book was good. I'm all for body positivity. Cassie was a bigger girl who owned all of herself. I did like her character. I also really liked Reid...most of the time. The supporting characters were great as well. I liked their added commentary. However, without giving anything away some of the situations were too much for me...Cassie and other characters let things slide a bit too easy.

This was a great book debut. I look forward to what this author comes up with next! I listened and read this book. I thought the narrator they chose was great! She kept me engaged the whole time. Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley PRH audio for the free ebook and audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Read this if…you like the forced proximity trope and a strong female lead.

Cassie is a curvaceous Black woman who, along with her model best friend, has established a successful photography business. Cassie has been putting herself out there for a variety of jobs, but another photographer with a similar style to hers always gets hired instead. When her friend designs a lingerie line that is inclusive for all bodies, petite to plus size, Cassie finally gets her big break.

This is finally Cassie’s chance to make a name for herself as a photographer in a national ad campaign, but the execs have other ideas. They want Cassie to model the lingerie and Reid Montgomery, the same guy who’s been stealing all the photo gigs out from under her, to be the photographer! Can the two work together peacefully to make this launch a success? Or will their mutual attraction get in the way?

Cassie is a wonderful MC. She was easy to love and root for. I like how the author spent time describing the difficulties she was having as a Black woman competing with white males for jobs. I also appreciated that while Cassie was plus-size, never once did she doubt herself, put herself down, or question why a handsome guy like Reid might be into her. The body positivity in this one was wonderful!

My only caveat is that it felt like Cassie and Reid got together too quickly. I would have liked to see a little more tension built up between the two before they got together initially. Other than that, this is a cute romcom with witty banter and a lovable supporting cast of characters. The spice level was perfect for me. I think readers who like uplifting romcoms with badass female MC will enjoy this one as well!

Cassie Harris is a boudoir photographer on a mission to launch her best friends lingerie brand into stardom. When she finds herself competing for the job with her distant enemy, Reid Montgomery a bad situation turns weird.
Photographer turned model, Cassie is forced to work with Reid and they find themselves drawn to each other.
I was wildly disappointed by this novel. The dialogue was repetitive and frustrating. Reid and his brother constantly call each other 'big brother' or 'little brother' which feels so weird and forced and uncomfortable. Siblings don't talk the way they talk to each other? Especially if they're not close?
Reid also like majorly fucked up and his 'grand gesture' would not have fixed enough for me. The conversation around race and privilege was there but felt ignored for the sake of wrapping it up with a bow.

First, this cover is gorgeous. Other than that, this didn’t work for me and I had to DNF this one. Third person POV doesn’t work for me and I found our characters annoying. Cassie had no backbone and Reid was a jerk way too many times to be forgiven in my opinion.

The Accidental Pinup is Danielle’s debut contemporary romance book. After reading this I will definitely continue to pick up her future books. I plan on picking up a finished copy of the book. Plus isn’t the cover pretty?

I really enjoyed this and surprisingly enough I breezed through this pretty quickly. Once I started to read it I had a hard time putting it down.

The book is told in dual pov from Cassie and Reid. They are both rival photographers. Well in Cassie’s mind they are because he has taken all the jobs she has put her name for.

One of the characters is Cassie, she is the owner of Buxom Boudoir (which is a pinup/boudoir photography business). Cassie is a plus-sized black woman who is funny, smart, strong, creative, and charming. I would definitely want to be friends with her in the real world.

Her best friend, Dana is an influencer and model who is coming out with her own lingerie collection of size-inclusive items as part of a collab with a lingerie company. For Dana, the deal is she is going to model and Cassie will be the photographer but it seems like the company has other ideas in mind.

Then things switch because Dana who is pregnant is forced on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy and unable to model so they ask Cassie to fill in because they think she would be perfect for the campaign. Cassie is unsure because she has never wanted to be in front of the camera and always feels best behind it. Cassie is 100% comfortable with her body and has no issue with wearing lingerie.

Enter Reid who is hoping to land this national ad campaign because he really needs the money. His brother has moved back home but is struggling to pay his bills and asks Reid for help. When the company approaches Reid to lead the campaign as the art director AKA as babysit and keep an eye on Cassie. He accepts but before long he is asked to be the photographer. Can Cassie and Reid work together?

One of the things I loved was the slow-burn romance. It worked perfectly in this situation because it allowed Cassie and Reid to get to know each other better (since they were working together) instead of just jumping into bed together. I feel some books you just want that slow burn. I also loved that this fell into one of my favorite tropes of enemies to lovers. I mean who doesn’t love this kind of trope?

I loved the premise of the book, a young woman who loves her body and knows what she wants, has her own business. I really liked the main character Cassie and her female friends, made me feel the unity and strength of female friendship. The male character Reid, on the other hand I felt that it was underdeveloped and wasn't as grabbing as the female ones.

The story dragged at times, but all in all it made an enjoyable read. I read in lots of parts while reading the book and that made me happy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley romance for the review copy; all opinions are my own!

Danielle Jackson brings to life a lovable, confident heroine in Cassie who was so easy to root for, and a complex yet ultimately swoony hero in Reid. The messages of self- and body-love, the empowering focus on the sexuality and desirability of all bodies, were so affirming to read. Looking forward to see what Danielle gives us next!

THE ACCIDENTAL PINUP is now available!

When Cassie Harris gets the oportunity of a lifetime to shoot a national campaign for a successfully backed lingerie line she finally feels like all the hard work and countless hours of shooting boudoir photography has paid off! Until her best friend and the creator of the lingerie line (and the reason Cassie got the job in the first place) has to go on bedrest leaving all creative decisions to the agency. After being asked to step into the creative director role instead of shooting the campaign Cassie thinks thats the worst that can happen - until her biggest competitor, Reid Montgomery, is asked to shoot the campaign AND they want Cassie to be the model and face of it. Despite the competition between the two of them they can't deny the chemistry that's seen and unseen by the camera. But this may be a successful campaign but does Reid really have Cassie's best interests?

While I loved the concept of the book, Reid's character made me so mad once you find out the big secret he's keeping from Cassie. Also even though its set in Chicago I felt like the author didnt do enough research on the different parts of the city, it was hard to believe that Cassie would enjoy living and working primarily in River North, but that critique is bias as someone from Chicago.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

Full disclosure: I DNFed at 20%

I can appreciate what the author was trying to do here, but the premise AND the writing did not work. For me, there was way too much exposition about things that had very little bearing on the characters and the plot. The book opens up with a longwinded diatribe about how Cassie's friend was building an inclusive lingerie line and all of the nuances associated. As a plus size woman, I'm all for body positivity, but even I felt like all of that exposition had no place here.

Also, the fact that you have two rival photographers competing for the same shoot, but it goes to the white man who stole the ideas of the black MC. She is then then told that if she wants to be involved AT ALL, then she is the one that has to model for this guy. Why would she? She's a photographer, not a model. And even if the guy is super hot, there's no excuse for him stealing her ideas and taking the job that should have been hers.

No thanks.

I appreciate the opportunity to read and review The Accidental Pinup. The things I liked are: the cover; plus size rep; the woman owned business rep; learning about the lingerie industry; & SOME of the friendships.. However there are some things that didn't work for me: the spy trope is my least favorite trope; Reid is in a position of power over a woman of color and continues to spy on her DESPITE her clearly communicating how important this opportunity is for her; there is a lot of telling without showing; Dana is supposedly her best friend but literally acts in a way that does not SHOW that. She makes decisions without looping her best friend in and then we are expected to really feel like she is such a good friend. I don't buy it. Ultimately, this book was not for me but I know that there are people who truly love it.