Genre: New Adult ( Wikipedia defines it as a developing genre of fiction with protagonists in the 18-25 age bracket. The term was first coined by St. Martin’s Press in 2009 when they held a special call for “…fiction similar to YA that can be published and marketed as adult—a sort of an ‘older YA’ or ‘new adult’.”New Adult fiction tends to focus on issues such as leaving home, developing sexuality, and negotiating education and career choices)
I give this book ***** 5 Stars
I rated this book a solid 5 stars for its creative subject matter, well written, and unique twist of a romance book. I was first introduced to this author’s work from her trilogy Groupie! That trilogy too was very different and had great entertaining aspects. Fierce is a spinoff of Groupie, but note that you do not have to read the Groupie series to understand what is going on, even though the book series is well worth reading.
Fierce is about a plus-size woman named Jordi who has a dream of becoming a singer. When I read that she was a ‘plus-size woman’ right there it had me stop and smile, and think, ‘now here is something different’, not the same old perfect looking character with perfect body and personal issues. No, Jordi has issues with her size among other things that she works through in the book. You read about her relationship with her mother and why it is so strained is not revealed until the end, but the buildup has you wanting more. Jordi is from a small town with big dreams, and most of the people in that town stay and raise families there. Not Jordi, she wants to go to L.A. and make it as a singer but when you read it you will see that this decision was not really well thought out. I do not want to give away the book, so I will just say that Jordi gets a break in her career in an unusual way, and that’s where her journey of self-discovery and self-love and hate starts.
I really had a hard time reading Eddie’s fake and hateful words throughout the book; he is the cliché of a good looks football star, and of course Jordi dreams of him, but how he treats her… uhhh, how he treats her is just, just wrong. Enter her mother, another person who made me cringe when she entered into the book – I did not like her at all either. This book had me talking to it, saying ‘No!!! Jordi don’t do that!’, but she does and the story keeps building and building until I just could not take it anymore and I had to tweet the author to vent my feelings about her book. Letting her know how much I could not stand these people, I had to do something just to carry me through this journey.
Here are some the conversations in the book that got me so upset! (6)
“Yeah, and look at you, Jordi. You’ve packed on at least twenty pounds since you left. You wear your hair in weird colors. You’ve tattooed and pierced yourself like a freak. And you think you can honestly win a nationwide popularity contest?”
“Why do you want me if I’m so fat? said Jordi.
Because I see how you could be.” said Eddie.”
I also really didn’t like Pilar; see what she had to say:
“No good man wants a fattie.”
This statement was made by a fan of Jordi’s which made me smile and cheer!
“I get made fun of a lot in school. Most days I don’t even want to go. But then I saw you on the show and I thought maybe I’m not so bad. Maybe someday I’ll grow up and be somebody too.”<— This made we weep a little
Spoiler Alert for the Groupie Series book: There were a lot of references of food in this book that made me hungry, so just a warning that you may want to be chewing gum or something while reading, or you may snack too much while reading. Jordi obsesses over food which gets me wanting to eat the food she eats in the book.
For those who have read Ginger Voight’s Groupie Series, you will love that she had Vanni, Andy, Graham, and Maggie in the book, where they fit perfectly. You see life after Vanni and Andy’s married, and Graham and Maggie are really involved in the contest that is held too.
Overall, the book was well-written; I felt it was a very original New Adult book. But yet I am surprised no one that I know of has written a New Adult fiction book based on American Idol or reality shows. I know at times I am curious to the behind-the-scenes world on some of these reality shows, and this book lets you take a look at that, but of course it’s only fiction so your imagination can go wild.
The author will be coming out with a sequel sometime in September, and I will be on the lookout. At the end, the author did have me wondering:
- What is Jordi going to do with Eddie?
- What’s going to be Jordi’s best way to live a happy life and learn to love herself?
- Will she ever close the chapter on her feelings for Jace (I hope for a happy ending)?
- When will she tell people to take a hike and let her live her life?
So if you are anything like me, this is the kind of book you need to talk through or even buddy read; you can go to my discussion page and start the discussion now… I look forward in seeing what you have to say. And if you have read this book, tell me what you think of it.
Below are the books in order:
<—– This is another one of Ginger Voight’s books that has characters of Groupie and has the Bachelorette-reality-like romance theme.
