Dangerous Curves Ahead

Big, bold, hilariously flawed personalities surround this contemporary debut’s plus-sized heroine, who swings between her outer mean girl and inner insecurities in a playful, optimistic story that shows how loving yourself is the first step in letting someone love you back. Cookie-loving, weekday-dieting Ellis Garret has rewritten her life by dumping her critical boyfriend, starting a pro-fat blog, and opening a clothing store for women of size. A chance meeting with her difficult sister’s ex, Det. Mike Edwards, sets Ellis’s heart pounding, but it takes her socially awkward dad, radical feminist mom, shop employees, and Mike’s best friend to convince her that this hunky player might be interested in a girl like her. Generic sex scenes show Jamison less skilled in writing hot passion than clever banter, but the emotions are real and will have readers rooting for Mike and Ellis to get the happiness they deserve. (Sept.)