Synopsis
It was all fake dating and games until my heart got involved…
I wanted to have the best summer ever. To have my first kiss and finally get my brother’s best friend to notice me.
So I talked my best friend Carson into helping.
He’d do anything for me, and I’d do the same for him. But somewhere between fake dating and pretending to fall in love with him, I fell for real.
And it was the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.

Title: Curvy Girls Can’t Date Best Friends (Curvy Girl Club, #5)
Author: Kelsie Stelting
Publication Date: December 19, 2020
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Review
My favorite Curvy Girl book by far!! There was so much love, so much emotion, and a few tears shed (by me) in the process of reading this book. This whole series is beautiful, but this book was truly a great ending to the first part of this series.
I’ve been waiting so long to hear the story of these two best friends and it didn’t disappoint. Every time they talked about being in love with each other, my heart just panged a little in my chest (if that even makes sense). It was the fact that they loved each other, but didn’t know they loved each other and I just kinda wanted to rip my hair out, but also I loved that it was all so drawn out and it was just so wonderful…
I also loved how the book was set up. The first few chapters show Callie and Carson’s relationship from start to present. It set up their romance nicely, but also gave me enough back story for both characters to make their emotional present situation pack a harder punch.
Also, along the same lines, one of my favorite things about this book was getting to know Carson. I had no idea he had been through so much or was still going through so much. In the previous books in the series, he just seemed like this sweet and thoughtful jock that was a good ally to the Curvy Girl Club. Really, he was so much more. This book made me fall in love with him and had me seeing how strong he was. This book was probably the most emotional for me just because of Carson and his tough life. Callie really saved him.
Moving on, there was one thing that I wanted to mention because I wasn’t sure it was going to happen, but I’m soooooo glad it did. The redemption arc I’ve been waiting 5 books for finally happened! It was wonderful and welcoming and didn’t completely forgive the person for what they did. Which made things even better. It was a very realistic and necessary redemption.
Overall, this book was pretty spectacular. It was emotional, character-driven, and a beautiful wrap-up to a beautiful series. I’m so glad I was able to get to know not only Callie and Carson better, but all of the Curvy Girl Club better. They feel like people I would have liked to be friends with.
Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Rating

To check out my other reviews, click here. Or to check out more books by Kelsie Stelting, go to her Goodreads profile or visit her website. Buy this book on Amazon!
This series sounds sooo good!! I’ll have to look into it! Great review Ariel 💞
It’s so, so good! I especially love how body positive it is