⭐️⭐️ Camera Shy by Kay Cove (CR, MF, fat heroine) review and discussion

i finished camera shy yesterday and i’ve been thinking it over. i had originally rated it 3 stars but decided to downgrade it to 2 over some (to me) glaring problems with the story.

there’s some major internalized misogyny in this one plus the author wasn't able to convince me the mmc was anything but a man written by a woman (derogatory). also to me “queen” is a cringy and book-dating nickname. i feel like the author did a good job of laying the seeds for the best friend's betrayal, but it also is one of the main reasons why i say this book is dealing with some anti-woman feelings. that and the repeated praising of the fmc's "womanly" form that obviously is superior to and sexier than thinner frames. i can't believe some people are still putting others down to raise themselves up in 2024. haven't we been talking about this in body positivity/body neutrality spaces for years?! can't we just have bodies and that's ok?!

and as i was contemplating it, i realized there was a bit too much gender essentialism in this one, too. lots of discussions of men being chivalrous in public so they can degrade the fmc in private with their brutish sexual lusts. i REALLY didn’t buy the whole “men don’t want to hurt women, we just want to feel powerful” thing when talking about men liking porn with women crying and gagging while giving blowjobs/getting face fucked.

idk but i guess im tougher on contemporary than other subgenres but if you're gonna be set in this world at this time you gotta contend with all the shit here. does anyone else feel contemporary is much harder to read and enjoy than other subgenres?