Book Review: One To Watch by Kate Stayman-London

‘One To Watch’ was a novel by Kate Stayman-London and was released in 2020. It follows Beatrice, known as Bea, a plus sized fashion blogger and influencer on her thirties *gasp*, who has been unlucky in love.

One night after drunkenly watching her favourite TV show, Main Squeeze, the story’s clear equivalent of the trashy dating shows we find a guilty pleasure, such as The Bachelor(ette), Farmer Wants A Wife, Love Island etc., Bea writes a scathing review and commentary on the lack of diversity in the show, when it comes to race, background and body types. The post goes viral and Bea is offered the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to be the next Main Squeeze!

In a bid to use the show to further elevate her career, Bea accepts, but she’s still reeling from a recent heartbreak and doesn’t want to fall in love. But, when she finds herself swept off her feet by charismatic, beautiful, sensual Luc, charming, boyish and adventurous Sam and sensible, reserved, sentimental Asher, Bea cannot help but let her feelings run rampant.

‘One To Watch; was written in a series of formats, such as podcast transcripts, emails, applications and the streamline narrative that follows Bea’s escapades whilst on the set of Main Squeeze. It was a fun way to see how both our protagonist, and her audience perceived her and her actions.

The novel provides scathing commentary on the superficial nature of reality TV, the extreme standards the stars on the shows had to adhere to, and the slow rates under which these shows change along with the times. It offered great insight into the standards of which women, particularly fat women are held to. It was raw and powerful, offering great insight into the nature of reality TV fishing for ratings and plot twists and how this might impact the people behind the scenes. I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it in a heartbeat.