Big Girl Blitz - Review

I received an audio copy via Macmillan Audio. All reviews are my own.

I can’t tell you how disappointed I am that my latest read has killed my Black Romance vibe. Over the years, I’ve been building up my Romance chops, because that never was the dominant genre for me. It was always a palate cleanser when I got sick of History and Fantasy. But now, after stumbling on some bangers, I’ve been building up the list and even keeping some trophies on my shelves. So, what book ruined my “Read the Mood” spirit? Sadly, Big Girl Blitz by Danielle Allen.

"Because life’s too short, and mean girls ain’t sh…

Jazmyn Payne fled her hometown—and the fatphobes who made her life hell– the minute she graduated high school. Growing up, her haven was her Aunt Addison, and when her health takes a drastic turn, she insists that Jazz should spice up her life. Emphasis on spice.

But dating is the last thing Jazz had on her mind.

Until Lamar Anderson sits next to her at the local sports bar. He is sexy, fun, and refreshingly drama free. With him she's able to pretend that everything is alright. But as real life intrudes, Jazz has to decide if she can leave the past where it belongs…for a love that she deserves."

I listened to this book on audio, with Wesleigh Siobhan once again playing Jazmyn Payne. If you start strong, you might as well finish strong, right? This audiobook was 16 hours and 31 minutes, the longest of the three. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I love Ms. Siobhan, but I wish we had other narrators for the different characters in this series. She was amazing as Aaliyah in Curvy Girl Summer, but it would have been nice to hear different voices for Nina and Jazz.

If you’ve been following my journey with the Curvy Girl series, you know I loved the first two books, Curvy Girl Summer and Plus Size Player.  You couldn’t tell me nothing about those books. So what went wrong in Big Girl Blitz??? Too much whining. In this third standalone, we focus on Jazmyn Payne, a recently (well, two years isn’t really recent) divorced woman who is caring for her dying Aunt, Aunt Addison. While spending the summer back home, Jazz meets Lamar Anderson, and they hit it off through shared love of football. The story follows Jazz as she deals with grief, deep insecurities, and the dark side of social media.

I did not like this story. Mainly because it wasn’t a real romance story. If we want to talk about romance in a symbolic way, maybe, but this book didn’t match the rest of the series or the genre. In Big Girl Blitz, the focus is on Jazz’s relationship with her Aunt, a major positive force in her life, and on her struggles with body image. Jazz fled her hometown because of the bullying. Growing up in a small town and seeing the same people who torment you all throughout your middle and high school years would make you want to run and never return either. The only thing that keeps her coming back is her Aunt. Aunt Addison is the one who helps Jazz see her worth. One thing I do like about the avenue Jazz took was that she went to therapy to work out her issues. With her Aunt’s support, she faced her trauma and learned to love herself. This is probably the first real sign of love or ‘romance’ this story has to offer. Jazz couldn’t move further in her life until she learned to love and accept herself. Or so we thought.

Another reason I don’t see this as a true romance is how Jazz and Lamar's storyline is told. They met at a bar, bonded over football, and connected. Normal. They went on a couple of dates and immediately started fucking in the parking lot. Unconventional, but still normal. While Lamar’s interests were clear as day, Jazz kept overthinking and ended up making things harder for herself. Their relationship felt more physical and financial, with Lamar secretly throwing money to ease Jazz’s problems. To be fair, there were a few small moments where they really saw each other. But unless things were happening in the background of the story that readers didn’t pick up on, this situationship is purely transactional. I won’t say Lamar wasn’t trying to be romantic; he was following Jazz’s lead. But I will say there was no defining moment that solidified the decision to jump out the window for each other.

Let’s talk about the characters. Honestly, I didn’t like any of them except Aunt Addison. She was the life of the party, and her relationship with Jazz reminded me of the characters in Tia Williams’s A Love Story for Ricki Wilde. Aunt Addison was a fun, boisterious, ‘I do want I want’ type of person we all need in our lives. I get why Jazz clung to her so much. I also know what it's like to care for somebody who is dying. Watching them fight to keep their spirit alive is tough. But if we keep it a buck, this should have been Aunt Addison’s book. She carried this story to her grave. Jazz was my least favorite character. She was exhausting! Everyone has insecurities, but Jazz let other people’s opinions control her way too much. At times, I even wondered if she really got the therapy she needed. Maybe my dislike for Jazz is personal, because in real life, I don’t like people who complain all the time. Either do something about it or shut the fuck up, and Jazz did neither. Lamar was a blah to me as well. Besides his love for football and Jazz, there was nothing special about him. There was no star quality about him that made me want to say, “Ooo that’s a book boyfriend right there!” He was a background character who was pushed into the main character spotlight.

The pacing of the story was slow. In the other books, we usually reached this point midway through the story, but in Big Girl Blitz it felt slow from the start. I think the repetition in the narrative was a big reason for that. I realized I was losing interest when I paused the audiobook in the middle of a sex scene to do something else. Another issue I had was how the bullying was handled. It may be the drama in me, but I wanted Allen to explore that in a more physical way. A lot of people came at Jazz crooked, and I wanted her to defend herself. She should’ve popped them in the mouth for it, or at least cussed them out a good one. I get that ignoring them was supposed to show strength, but it didn’t really work for me, especially when Jazz’s thoughts kept going back to it. We all know internet trolls are a thing, and people say wild things online because there are no real consequences. I wish Allen wrote Jazmyn as the conqueror.

One good thing I can say about Big Girl Blitz is that it raises awareness about being bullied for your size. It shows the secondhand embarrassment people feel when they see bullying but don’t step in because of social pressure. The book also highlights the dark side of social media and how it shapes people’s views and choices about body image. I hope this book opens some eyes, especially for those who think this kind of thing is exaggerated and for those who know it is real and can happen. There’s even a story circulating now about how a football player’s girlfriend was ridiculed for snagging an athlete for her size. I will never knock down Big Girl Blitz for what it represents, because this story resonates with someone out there who didn’t have an Aunt Addie, Aaliyah, Nina, or Lamar in their corner. And for that, I give it credit.

Overall, I rated this book a hard 2.5 stars. I’m not happy with this story’s outcome and, in so, became my least favorite out of the Curvy Girl series. Jazz was mainly the problem. She was her own worst enemy. Even though Allen wrapped the book up in a pretty bow, I don’t believe this is a true ending. Based on how Jazz was written, I doubt her relationship with Lamar would last, and I think Jazz would be the reason. If it was not for Aunt Addison and updates from Aaliyah’s and Nina’s relationships, this book would have been a wash for me.

Big Girl Blitz is available now!

As for the Curvy Girl Series, it’s a wrap! This series was everything to me (minus the last), and Danielle Allen is still that girl for bringing these stories to this space. My overall rating for the series is a 4. We almost teetered at the 3-star line for reasons above, but I can’t knock down the entire series for one book.

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