Book Review & Excerpt of Fat Girl Begone! by D.E. Haggerty

Fat Girl Begone! by D.E. Haggerty
Genre: Adult (Contemporary Romance)
Date Published: May 1, 2017
Publisher: Self

I’m a total mess. My boyfriend dumped me – get this – because I diet too much. Not because I’m fat, mind you. Of course, this spurs me into the diet-fitness-revenge-plan of the century, which leads me to the gym and a scorching hot personal trainer. I even manage to make some cool new friends, including a millionaire if you can believe it. Things are looking up! Naturally, that’s the moment my ex decides he wants me back, the personal trainer asks me out, and my millionaire male buddy decides to throw his hat in the ring. But that’s not enough drama. No, not for me. Because I’ve also lost my job and decided to start my own business. Just call me Ms. Drama. 

Warning: Bad language, bumpy roads, and embarrassing moments ahead. But there’s also more than a bit of romance and even, if we’re lucky, love. Fingers crossed.

Not endorsed by or affiliated with any brand of tequila. 

Fat Girl Begone by D.E. Haggerty was a cute and funny story about a woman who has so many things going for her, but doesn't have the self esteem to back it up. Everly has allowed her long time boyfriend to let her feel worthless for far too long, but she doesn't even realize it yet. So, when he dumps her, she feels like the world has ended. Fortunately, she has kept her sense of humor through it all. I thought Everly was from England at first, because there were a few British slang words thrown, but the story seemed to take place in America, so I'm not sure where it actually took place. No biggie though. I think the words are fun, so I didn't mind. I enjoyed Everly's adventures and misadventures as she found herself with the help of friends and working out. My biggest gripe was, the dialog didn't always feel natural. The characters all had these words that they'd continuously use, and it got distracting. For example, one of Everly's friends addressed people as "Bitches" all the time. I mean ALL the time. Another, addressed people as "Chica" every time she spoke as well. There were more. It was like each character had their own word they used to address others, and they used it pretty much every time they spoke. This felt awkward, because people don't naturally talk like that in every single conversation.

But, back to the story. It was definitely entertaining, and I enjoyed watching Everly's confidence in herself grow. She's quirky and fun, and I love that. It was also empowering, as she is a character that most woman can relate to in many ways.

Fat Girl Begone! by D.E. Haggerty was kindly provided to me by Reading Addiction Book Tours for review. The opinions are my own.

“You should totally jump that, chica.”

It’s Monday, and I’ve just survived another Zumba class. I only hit Tara once. Okay, twice, but who’s counting? I’m still trying to catch my breath and stop my heart from jumping out of my ribcage. None of which stops me from panting after my personal trainer. Before I get a chance to respond to her comment or tear my eyes away from Gabe’s epic ass, the rest of the gang joins Tara and me.

“What are you bitches yapping about?” Oh great, Charise didn’t just say that at maximum volume or anything.

“Everly taking her personal trainer for a ride.”

Oh my god. Please tell me no one else heard Tara announce that I’m lusting after Gabe. I hear giggles and murmurs of agreement from the other exercisers exiting the group exercise room. Of course, everyone heard. Charise, Tara, Naomi, and Jessie have one volume – embarrassingly loud.

I ignore them and head to the locker rooms with my head down. Of course, I can’t help but sneak another glance at Gabe. He’s doing squats for God’s sake! I defy any woman – or man for that matter – to not look. I keep my eyes glued to those glutes as I walk in the opposite direction. My foot hits something and before I know it I’m going down.

I end up sprawled on the floor of the gym. I look down at my outfit and sigh in relief. Good. No rolls of fat are showing. Thankfully, I had put a long sweatshirt on over the loose tank I was wearing during class. A hand appears in front of my face.

“Let me help you up, babe.”

I look up to see yet another example of male perfection. Does this gym have a portal to Mount Olympus for the Greek Gods to come and go as they please? Because damn. This is one fine specimen of manhood in front of me.

“Babe?”

His voice startles me out of my perusal of his perfection. I reach out and he grabs my hand to pull me up. Only he doesn’t stop there. He pulls me flush to his body and then leans down to whisper in my ear.

“It’s okay, babe. Happens all the time when girls look at me.” And crash. There goes my adulation of the man. I knew there was a reason no one believes in the Greek Gods anymore. Vanity is not attractive.

I pull on my hand until he releases me. “Thanks.”

“You okay, sweetheart?” As if I couldn’t be embarrassed enough, now Gabe’s here.

“I’m fine. Just wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see the former Greek God puff out his chest as if I had paid him a compliment. I can’t help it. My eyes narrow at him, and I attempt to engage my eye lasers. Just like the two gazillion other times I’ve tried to use those lasers, they malfunction.
Gabe ignores the entire episode. “You here to do your exercise class?”

“Nope.” I shake my head. “I just put on some workout clothes and then ducked my head under the faucet to get my face and hair wet.”

My personal trainer laughs and grabs my shoulder to give it a squeeze.
Why is he squeezing my shoulder? “You’re funny, sweetheart.” I wasn’t going for funny but whatever.

Someone shouts ‘Gabe’ from the other side of the gym. I look over to see the blond bimbo he was training staring daggers at me. Gabe squeezes my shoulder again. “Sorry, sweetheart, I need to get back to work. I’ll see you Wednesday, right?” I nod, and he winks before walking off.

“Looks like I’m not needed here.” I forgot Mr. Vanity was still standing here. I don’t bother responding to his obvious pout. I shake my head and walk to the locker rooms.

I grew-up reading everything I could get my grubby hands on, from my mom's Harlequin romances, to Nancy Drew, to Little Women. When I wasn't flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although on the odd occasion I did manage to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. But being a lawyer really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out being a B&B owner wasn’t my thing either. I polished off that manuscript languishing in the attic before deciding to follow the husband to Istanbul where I decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay away from my adopted home. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book.

Fat girl Begone! is my eleventh book.

To learn more about D.E. Haggerty and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, and Twitter.

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