Fat Girl by Leigh Carron ♥ Fun Facts, Review, Book Tour & GIVEAWAY ♥ (Contemporary Romance)

Years after fleeing small-town Springvale, Illinois, Deanna Chase has picked up the pieces of her shattered heart and built a new life for herself as a child advocacy lawyer. Her food addiction is quasi under control, her secrets are buried, and she has even made a tenuous peace with her plus-size body. Until…

Micah Peters—the very sexy and now famous man she fled— walks through her office door and sends Dee reeling. His demand that she help a young boy caught in a custody battle will reunite her with the past she left behind.

Torn between duty and self-preservation, Dee isn’t easy to convince. But when obligation wins, the former lovers get more than they bargained for—a searing passion that burns hotter than ever and startling revelations about what really happened the fateful night she left.

Will the truth set Dee free to love again? Or will past hurts and lingering insecurities destine her to walk away from her heart again, this time for good?

FAT GIRL is the first book in this provocative two-part series about love and self-acceptance.

I was excited when Romance Novel Giveaways asked me to write a post on behind the scenes of Fat Girl. Here are 10 things you may not know:

1. I had 80% of Fat Girl written in the third-person narrative before I scrapped it and rewrote the story from the first-person POVs of both my leading characters. I found this style better captured Dee and Micah’s voices and conveyed their emotions.
2. Originally I had Dee and Micah reuniting at a high school reunion. Thankfully ditched that idea. Too cliché!
3. I pronounce Micah: Ma-kai, while others say: Mi-ka. I like the pronunciation both ways.
4. The initial title of the book was Perfectly Imperfect Dee. But along the way, Fat Girl seemed to fit better. However, the series name is Perfectly Imperfect because I love beautifully flawed characters.
5. Most people assume Fat Girl refers to Dee’s weight. While she is larger than most mainstream heroines, fat girl actually refers to Dee’s perception of herself. It’s her inner voice that tells her she is not good enough, skinny enough, perfect enough.
6. Water is my muse. Whenever I get stuck or can’t seem to locate my creative vibe, I shower, wash my hands or go for a walk by the lake (when it’s not subzero here in Toronto). Maybe something about the water cleansing my mind. Who knows? But it works for me.
7. I write in total silence. No music. No TV. Nothing. I find I can hear my characters’ voices better this way.
8. Fat Girl was over 500 pages long and I still wasn’t close to finishing when I decided rather than seriously cut into the meat, I’d turn it into a two-part novel.
9. For those who like word riddles, Leigh Carron, my pen name, is a combination of the last part of my real first name and the French version of my middle name. Hint: I was named after a famous French actress.
10. I type with my right hand only. My left hand contributes absolutely nothing to the keyboard. But it does come in handy for feeding me chocolate while I write. : )

This was one HOT, emotional, and all-around EXCELLENT contemporary romance!

Dee and Mick are opposites in many ways, especially in the physical sense. He was named the Sexiest Man Alive by a magazine, and she...well, not so much. Yet, in spite of this glaring difference between them and the many obstacles constantly in their way, the love that Dee and Mick have for each other never dies. It's a truly touching story to read. The love expressed between Dee and Mick is SO endearing and so believable. I was sincerely rooting for them to end up together and happy.

Leigh did an excellent job writing some HOT love scenes, but she made sure to keep "love" the central theme.

The mystery of the past happenings between Dee and Mick are revealed slowly, and it's mostly done via flashbacks, which gives an entirely different and unique perspective. I liked this idea a lot, and felt that it gave me a much better understanding of the characters, and I developed more of an affinity for them as well.

The story changes from his point of view to hers and back again, and the writing throughout evoked such emotions that I almost felt as if these were my good friends telling me their story! I was almost brought to teas, but not always in a sad way. I felt SO much throughout this book, and I could not put it down!

While this book is part 1 of 2, I was very satisfied with the ending of this segment. Don't get me wrong; I will ABSOLUTELY read the next book, but I wouldn't necessarily classify this as a "cliffhanger," inasmuch as I would classify it as a story that could only keep getting better as more loose ends get tied up.

The topic of body image and self-acceptance appear to be very important to Leigh Carron, and she encourages women to accept themselves as they are, which is very refreshing.

Can’t wait for the next book!!!

***A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review***

“Hello, Deeana.”

His voice, deeper with age, packs an unfair sexual punch. Just like the rest of him.

As handsome as he was at eighteen, it didn’t come close to his appearance at thirty-three. People magazine has called it right. Micah Peters is the Sexiest Man Alive. No amount of shock or disdain could deny him that.

Partly Brazilian, on his mother’s side, he is blessed with exotic good looks. Short black waves carelessly styled, caramel skin that doesn’t pale even in winter, and espresso-brown eyes fringed with the darkest, thickest lashes I have ever seen.

Like his body, his facial structure is harder—more masculine, more defined. And the inky stubble framing his strong jaw and full, gorgeous mouth only adds to the instant, powerful impact.

But I’m not that naive girl anymore. I’ve taken my knocks and know all too well that the quality of a man’s character doesn’t lie in the quality of his looks. The fact that time has been unjustly charitable to him only fuels the resentment I’ve kept secret and locked away for fifteen years.

It takes every ounce of my trained composure to push civility past the bile rising in my throat. I lean against the wood frame for support and manage to say, “This is a surprise.” The fake calm of the words burns my tongue.

If he’s affected, it doesn’t show in the easy strides that move him toward me. The delicious aromas of leather and earthy cologne fill my senses. As he comes closer still, I struggle not to breathe him in. Mustn’t let him think he has any effect on me either.

Without smiling, his dark gaze slides over my every feature, studying them one by one, as if comparing them with his memory. “It’s been a while,” he says.

Not nearly long enough to forget or forgive. “Several years,” I reply.

Now he smiles. A mocking grin that tells me he knows I remember just how long it has been. That I remember the very night I left him—and everything else that mattered to me—behind.

An American living in Canada. Chocolate snob. Recovering yo-yo dieter. Devoted mother and wife, blessed with a wacky family. Most nights, you will find me either curled up with a great book or, more often, sitting at my computer, tapping out the countless visions in my head.

To me, there’s nothing better in a narrative than perfectly flawed but strong characters and intense romance that is sexy, deep, and sensual. Mm…I liken such stories to a box of Godiva. Decadent and delicious! You can’t stop at just one. In fact, I’m now hard at work on my next novel—A Naked Beauty, the conclusion to Fat Girl.