oh i really wanted to like this book. for starters i have found her aisling gray series to be really fun so far, but i just don't enjoy her straight up "romance" books and that is what this book is. the book started out rough and i had trouble staying focused between the historical nature of the setting and the thoroughly modern plots of her protagonist tessa. also her body issues get old - really quick. it got a bit better as an assortment of characters are introduced - but then really lost me

It was a cute idea but there was more sex than story.

I picked up this book because the story idea seemed interesting, as did the idea of a plus sized heroine. While initially the story was intriguing, the story could have easily been 100 pages shorter. The story seemed to lag about mid-way through the book, and the author decided to fill the pages with sex. Other things that bugged me was the heroine's lack of self respect at times when it came to Max. Her whining about her weight eventually got old, especially when she kept complaining about it e...

This was a book-club read; I never would have picked it up on my own. It was supposed to be erotica, but, even though there is a lot of sex, it is really a romance...a bad romance. It feels a little like the author couldn't decide which one she wanted to write and so she tried to do both, but failed miserably. The 2 stars is generous.The beginning is not so bad; although, the premise is a little silly. Tessa, an out-of-work genealogist (because THAT is a viable career), is chosen to be a "contes...

This book was fun to read. It had its crazy moments, hoy sexy moments and just sweet ones.

FUNNY! Loved this book. I have read every Katie MacAlister book I can get my hands on. Just love her writing style. Love that her lead characters are so relateable. In this book the lead character agrees to go on a reality show and it's just a hoot. I may have to reread this one again one of these days. Just thinking about all the crazy stuff that happens makes me smile.

Well, I gave it a good go. Got to 50% but this is seriously one of the worst books that I have ever read in my entire life.

Ok, for my bookclub members who don't want to be spoiled before we meet next week, please stop reading now. For anyone else, please continue.(view spoiler)[I really wanted to like this book, as the premise of it sounded good and we chose it as our book club selection for erotica. Well there is definitely sex throughout the book, but it is not erotica at all. IMO erotica books start with sex scenes fairly quickly in the book. In listening to this book (I did audible) the first time the two MCs ki...

I have one word for this book, shenanigans. It is one long string of crazy mishaps, tied together to vaguely resemble a plot. This has been my experience with two other MacAlister books (Noble Destiny and Noble Intentions). But neither of those was as poorly constructed as this one, which was trying way too hard to be funny, by having as many eccentric characters, and silly accidents as possible. The main character, Tessa your quintessential Mary Sue, is tiresome as well as overly self-deprecati...

I think I may have pulled a muscle. In my throat. See, I was reading the book late at night, and something got particularly funny - so funny that under usual circumstances I would have been howling with laughter, only it was after midnight, and people were sleeping, so I settled for clutching my abdomen and wheezing in a rather animated manner.Such is the magic of Katie MacAlister's romance novel, The Corset Diaries, which had me from the time I read the cover. The front of the cover, which says...

This author writes a lot of paranormal romance, but I REALLY like her writing style so I have read two of her straight up romances. I want to stress that I don't generally read straight up romances, but I will make the exception for MacAlister and for MaryJanice Davidson because I like their writing styles.This book is just flat out funny. The heroine likes to banter when having sex or foreplay and the dialog had me in stitches. The heroine is not your typical woman either. She's 39, 5'11" and a...

too bad the so called "reality" shows don't do things like in this very funny book about the filming of a ficticious one. This was a laugh out loud read for me. I especially enjoyedthe fact that the heroine was NOT 21, tall, thin, blond, tan, a genius and rich. This heroine is a little more based in what "most" of us women look like. You know, with a SHAPE that you can tell is not that of a boy in the final stages of malnourishment.I have enjoyed most of Katie's books since they were recommended...

I was being generous giving 2 stars...terrible, terrible, terrible. Not realistic, no development of characters, main heroine is irritating and talks too much.

The concept of this book really caught my attention. I enjoy historical romance and loved the premise of a modern day reality show where the participants lived like they did 125 years ago in Victorian England. Brilliant! Sadly, it just didn't work for me.I think if you read this book and think of it in terms of a screwball comedy, you may enjoy it. All the the characters are stereotypes and caricatures. The situations are bawdy and outrageous. Lots of jokes about farts and barfing. Oh yes, you r...

The Corset Diaries could have been a lot better. Tessa is the main character. She is invited by a friend (who we never hear from again) to join a reality tv show and pretend to be from the Victorian Era. The concept was interesting, but it fell flat for me. More often than not, I was annoyed by Tessa. She never shuts up and sticks her nose in other people's business when she has met them not 10 minutes before. I found myself cringing several times at her almost rude behavior. Also, I did not fin...

I DNF’d at and I quote “Max is a boob.” I just couldn’t...... I gave it a 1 star because I laughed at the beginning once. Then it gave me stress hives.

Ooooof. This was a rough read.Positives: A main character who is considered beautiful even though she's not thin.Negatives: Everything else. The main character is not as charming or funny as the author intended. She, herself, is way too hung up on her weight when it is a non-issue to most people around her. The characters were either flat or what depth was given to them made the so unlikable I was rolling my eyes at every person discussed on the page. The sexy parts weren't sexy to me. The main

The Corset Diaries has all trademarks of Katie MacAlister's style.What I Liked?+ Heroine does not have perfect body and is unsure in her appearance, but thanks to hero's support she gains her confidence.+ The idea of contemporary people reenacting Victorian way of life. + Heroine is blabbermouth (KMA's trademark.)+ Hero is a single parent.+ Cast of quirky side characters. (Another KMA's trademark.)What could have been better?- Hero is perfectly handsome. I would have liked him to be just an ordi...

2.5 Stars I enjoyed MacAlister’s Aisling Grey series so I thought I would check out some of her other work. But the Aisling Grey series was definitely better than this book. The Corset Diaries did have some funny moments, but all of the humor was based on awkward and embarrassing situation which were sometimes more uncomfortable than they were funny. Through some contrived circumstances, Tessa ends up on a reality tv show where people have to pretend to live in Victorian times. Luckily, she gets...

This was a very funny book! I did actually LOL. Have you seen those reality shows where a group of people pretend to go back in time and live the life 24/7 for a week or a month, such as Regency or Colonial or even Victorian times. This book starts with that premise and we get a peek at the behind the scenes action.Max, our pretend Duke, is actually descended from a Duke and Tessa, his American Duchess, is actually descended from one of the "Dollar Duchesses" from the late 1800's. They meet and

This was supposed to be another fat-lead read, and no matter how many times Tessa insists she’s hideously fat, she’s a size 18 — which is at “best” pretty much the average dress size of an American woman today, and at “worst” very much within the acceptable and/or “good fat” range. Ah, to suffer at the hands of another fat protagonist...However, I MUST digress because none of the parameters of my fat project really matter when you’re dealing with a book as bad as this one. Only read this book if...

3.5*Tessa is a plus sized American who goes on an English TV show. The show is designed to show how people (a Duke and his family and their servants) lives in the Victorian times. Tessa got the job because she was a distant relation to an American who married an English Duke. Max, who plays the Duke, is also a distant relation of the Duke who married the heiress. Tessa's 1st person narration was laugh out loud funny. But (yeah you knew there was a but!), she was very self-conscious about the siz...

a newbie author to me ... and i just enjoyed the narrators voice, Ann Marie Lee ... i am hoping she does other reads on Audible? i will see. great cover. funny story ... my Grandma did were a corset all of her life ... i guess she called it a girdle ... i always wondered how a lady of her size and being so elderly ... her fingers hurts so ... with arthritis ... and other health issues ... i am guessing that is was just a way of life that many of us don't get ... i guess somewhere along the time

The first time I thought “I’m not sure if this ones for me” was when the protagonist said she was a size 18. I closed the book, looked at the cover, and read it again. I understand that the cover is an illustration but there’s no way in hell that cover model is a size 18. It wouldn’t be such a big deal if said protagonist didn’t constantly put herself down about her weight. I ended up DNFing this one because, well it was just annoying.

This book was really fun, with the right amount of mostly fluff that has a touch of depth. I really liked Tessa and Max, and the setting made the book a thousand times better. 4.3 stars. I wish there was another one.

Can we all agree that a woman being ashamed (to put it mildly) of being a US size 18 is not a storyline we should be incorporating into books? It’s not funny, cute, or interesting, it’s just sad and exhausting. This is a fully grown woman and from page one all I could think was “get it together”! We can do better than this.

How refreshing to read about a plus sized heroine who is more than just a bunch of stereotypes tied together. She is written as a complete person with a complete personality, who a handsome man falls in love with--no excuses for her size are needed or given.The plot itself is fun and inventive, dipping into both the anglophile and cinephile genres with aplomb. This was recommended by a close friend and I intend to pass it on to many others of mine as well!

2.5 - Having a hard time deciding if I should round up or down.I'll save my thoughts for book club ;)

I love those tv shows in which people live as our ancestors did in a bygone era, and therefore I absolutely loved the concept of this book. However, I did not like the heroine and that detracted from my enjoyment of the book.Tessa is 39 years old and in debt. We learn that her husband died 3 years ago leaving her with a lot of medical bills. Her situation evoked sympathy but she talks and acts like a teenager, and not in a good way. I could not understand the attraction Max had for Tessa, especi...

Wow, this book was terrible. I'm not sure why I read the whole thing, i guess that's why it gets 2 stars instead of one- clearly something was good enough to keep me from abandoning it. but seriously, did not like her obsession with talking about her 'chunky' weight (which i realize is something many women struggle with, but found it a distracting side issue that really had no importance to the overall story, so why bother bringing it up all the time?), did not understand her emotional journey (...