Book review | Viva Voluptuous by Sarah Clark

Hello love bugs!

I have a book review for you today - Viva Voluptuous by Sarah Clark.

Photo via Amazon


I read Viva Voluptuous before I went on holiday. I read the entire book in two sittings as it was so engrossing. I even emailed Sarah halfway through to tell her she's a "FUCKING GENIUS". When I whack out the caps lock it's serious business. ;) Right from the outset I loved Sarah's 'voice' as a writer. So often I start a book and hate the writer's voice until I get used to it, but her writing was so relateable and the characters instantly believable. I stayed up till the early hours reading voraciously, only going to bed when my eyes felt like they'd fall out of my head.

At the beginning of Viva Voluptuous we find our protagonist Ellie smarting from the break up with her ex Mark, who had the audacity to dump her via email. Ellie is a plus size blogger and freelance writer with a great support system in fellow plus size ladies Zoe and Lauren, who come across as wonderfully feisty and nuanced characters. Ellie and Mark had been going out for 6 months without doing the deed. Her body confidence is at an all time low after being dumped and she finds herself drawing comparisons between her and Mark's thin ex. Ellie had been upset to read some snarky comments about fat people on a newspaper's website and decided she needed to do something to prove you can be big AND beautiful. Zoe and Lauren come to the rescue, and before you know it they're planning world domination over a few cheeky vinos. The Viva Voluptuous campaign is born, and this results in empowering flash mobs up and down the country where plus size ladies wear clothing which makes them feel sexy. The campaign picks up steam and this revitalises Ellie's self esteem and helps loads of other plus size women to feel good too.

Woven through the book is a strong emphasis on sisterhood and the world being put to rights over a slice of cake or a bottle of wine, something most of us can relate to in our dealings with our girlfriends. We see men come and go in the lives of the three main characters (Ellie, Lauren and Zoe) but the gentle message is that a girl can face anything with the support of her good friends, and that no man at all is better than having the wrong man in your life. The female characters are strong, but gently flawed in ways that we can all relate to. The talent of a good writer is to craft characters which are human enough to identify with yet strong enough to aspire to, and I think Sarah is great at this.

As well as writing strong female characters, Sarah effortlessly deals with issues of body positivity and self acceptance throughout, so much so I found myself wanting to shake my fist in agreement in many places. The dialogue is never stilted and I could imagine the characters in my mind's eye as I read.

Does Ellie have a happy ending? You'll have to read Viva Voluptuous to see. It's a galloping read and one I think everyone would enjoy as an alternative to simpering chick lit where women are almost useless without a man. You don't have to be plus size to enjoy it, but it really is nice to read a book which is positive about bigger bodies.

You can buy Viva Voluptuous for the Kindle here and in print here.

Have you read it?

Thanks for reading,
Leah xoxo

*I was sent an e copy of the book. I genuinely love it, and I'm sure you will too. 

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