Book Review: Real Men Love Curves by Kat Baxter

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through links on this site. Your purchases help fund my content and come at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!

It has been a hot minute since I read a romance book about a girl who doesn’t exactly lead a sheltered life but has been prevented from doing a lot of things because of the protective male figures in her life.

And when I say this, it isn’t because I have taken a feminist stand against this inherently misogynistic trope but simply because I haven’t felt like reading any books like this for the longest time.

Like any other sensible reader, I know how to draw the line between fiction and real life, and unlike what a lot of individuals say about romance readers, I’m very proud of my ability to separate my fictional fantasies from what I can take or dish out in real life.

That said, our female lead in this book is a virgin and not by her own choice. Her brother, who is her boss and her only family member, is very protective of her since they lost their parents when they were younger and he essentially brought her up.

Because of this, any man who attempts to get closer to her is immediately warned off, and she is very tired and exhausted by the fact that she has grown older and hasn’t lost her virginity yet.

Also See: 30+ Swoony Second Chance Romance Books Where Love Wins Again

Now, before you think too much about this, let me assure you that this particular trope isn’t new in romance, and some authors haven’t handled it well. But in this particular book, I feel that the author did their best with what they were given.

I’m neither pro nor against keeping virginity until marriage, but the rationale backing it is definitely important. In this book, the fact that she still had her virginity wasn’t made to look like a moral failing on her part but rather something that she really wanted, and I feel this was good enough.

In order to lose her virginity, she decides to seduce one of her coworkers at her brother’s security firm. This plan was supposed to be successful since her brother was out of town and wouldn’t be able to stop her, but then his best friend, who also grew up with them, arrives and puts an end to things immediately.

Now, his best friend is our male lead. He has always had an unhealthy attraction to our female lead; that’s to say he has been attracted to her for the longest time but never acted on it because he felt it was inappropriate and he was also scared of his feelings being revealed, which would no doubt damage the friendship between himself and her brother.

What he didn’t know, though, was that our female lead had also nursed her own feelings for him for a long time, but she was convinced that he didn’t care about her and was simply in their life because of her brother. 

So she didn’t really make a move to start anything with him because she was also scared of being rejected and making everything awkward.

As I said, he crashes in and destroys her plans and somehow promises that he will relieve her of her virginal burden. She agrees, and they fool around, but it doesn’t really end in anything before he leaves and starts avoiding her for a while. 

She then tracks him down to his office, and it is at his office that he finally breaks down and tells her his feelings. They are about to do the nasty when her brother walks in and everything goes to hell in a matter of minutes.

Our male lead is fired, our female lead is chastised, and her brother wishes he could wash his eyes with bleach because he catches them in a very compromising situation. 

But somehow, they convince everybody, and most importantly, convince themselves of being worthy of each other’s love, and they have their happily ever after.

This is one of the many spicy plus-size romance books that have had my heart for the past week or so, and I have to say it’s probably my favorite of the lot for many reasons. 

Related: 11 Best Cohabitation Novels With Swoony Romance You Need To Read

I loved the chemistry between the both of them, and I also really loved that it had a plus-size rep, even though, as usual, the female lead is petite.

I can’t really bring myself to complain since we don’t even get enough plus-size romance books, as far as I’m concerned. But I would definitely like to see more books about plus-size female or male leads who are Black and who aren’t petite.

It was also super spicy, and all the spicy bits never felt awkward or transactional or odd in any way. In fact, I was looking forward to them so much, and I loved every single page. 

I think a lot of readers can relate to that particular dilemma when you read so many steamy novels in a row and suddenly you are forced to start skipping the scenes entirely. Well, that never happened in this book.

I usually talk about this in my book reviews, but I feel that narrative POV is very important, especially in books like this, because I will tell you flat out right now that the yearning and the level of pining from both sides could not have been better reflected. I love that the author chose to go with the first person from both sides.

Finally, you definitely want to read this book if you are in the mood for a best friend’s sister romance novella featuring a plus-size lead you are absolutely going to love in no time.

Read Next: 12 Romantic Books With Autistic Characters Who Find Love In Their Time