The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Wiliams
Plus-sized women don’t need a hero. We’re all heroes just by existing in a society where people believe fat and ugly are synonyms. No, plus-sized women need validation when the rest of society sees a plus-sized hero. Enter Britta.
Denise Wiliams’ sophomore novel, The Fastest Way to Fall (Berkley), is about being strong enough to be yourself and live your dreams no matter what others say. It’s also about supporting others to help them find their strengths. Oh yeah, and a gorgeous girl and a hot guy get together, too.
Britta Colby is an editorial assistant at an online wellness magazine, but she dreams of becoming a writer. She finally gets a chance when she’s tasked with writing a column reviewing a new fitness app, FitMi, which focuses on being your best fit self. Britta is a curvy girl who isn’t focused on weight, just to “look good and feel good naked,” a perfect candidate to review FitMi and its virtual coaching services. Wes Lawson, CEO of FitMi is having a career/life-fulfillment crisis. He’s made the money that was never there while he was growing up, but is he happy with his life? To find fulfillment he decides to go back to coaching, and Britta is his first client.
BUDDING ROMANCE THREATENS TWO CAREERS
As Britta and Wes forge a virtual coach/trainee relationship, they find they want something more. Wes suggests in-person training, and Britta says yes, even though both know this is clearly outside of the parameters of the program. On top of that, Wes is hiding that he’s the CEO (he goes by his nickname, which is not on his company’s profile), and Britta is hiding that she’s reviewing the app for a magazine. With their attraction growing, if all of this were to come out, it could be detrimental for both their careers.
But I couldn’t help rooting for them to fall in love. They are so cute together! Williams does an amazing job with that witty, slightly sarcastic but laugh out loud funny dialogue I love reading in a romantic comedy. It is a slow-burn romance, but readers won’t even notice the “slow” part because they’ll be turning pages so fast while inhaling all the wonderful antics of these two.
I also appreciated the fact that Britta’s a curvy woman who was not focused on losing weight, and neither was the FitMi app. Plus-size women can want to exercise to be fit and healthy without having weight loss as a major goal. In fact, they talked very little about weight loss in this book. This is what society needs — to see that plus-size people can exercise, like it, and still be plus-sized. There are many different reasons to want to exercise, and people shouldn’t be told what their objectives should be, nor should they be ridiculed while exercising because of their size. Here, Britta made her wishes and goals, and Wes supported and guided her, so that she could reach them. And while I silently applauded the author’s choice to make Britta a curvy woman of color who went through this journey, there was so much more in this novel to applaud. Namely, the social issues that are brought up as we learn more about who Britta and Wes are.
COME FOR THE FUN, STAY FOR THE MESSAGE
While many pick up romantic comedies for the escapist fun that we sorely need in these troublesome times, a trend that isn’t going away (I hope) in these novels is authors broaching serious social issues or domestic concerns woven between the meet-cutes and sexy romps. Just like Mark Twain or Johnathan Swift, romantic comedy authors are subtly addressing the issues of our time. And yes, I compared romantic comedies to classic literature. Pick your snobby jaw up off the floor. In The Fastest Way to Fall, Williams uses Britta’s journey to wellness to address eating disorders and body positivity and Wes’ family struggles to address alcohol abuse. It’s amazing how one little novel can do so much, and it’s why everyone needs to pick this one up.
The Fastest Way to Fall is a romantic comedy with realistic characters, relatable struggles, and a real cute couple that readers will cheer for.
