For many years, I bought into the idea that romance novels were terrible and I should steer clear of them if I respected myself. I had Anne Rice’s books and copious amounts of fanfiction, so what else did I need? After a friend recommended I read a certain paranormal romance, my journey into the often-ridiculed genre began. Reading mainstream romances, as well as sub-genre books, gave me so much more enjoyment than I thought they would. However, no matter how many books I looked through, it was hard finding a lead with a body type I could relate to.

Romance novels featuring plus-size main characters are few and far between. When you are a bigger person, sometimes you get sick of reading about slim hips or how someone’s large hands almost encompassed a small waist. You want to read about bellies, thick thighs, and full butts getting the love they deserve. Once I finally found some, reading books with real plus-size characters felt so good. Until I realized many of them are filled with harmful tropes that feed into negative body images rather than erase them.