Fave Fat Rep I Read in 2019

~ xanwest

Continuing the tradition from 2017 and 2018, this post lists my favorite books with fat representation that I read in 2019. (Not all of them were published in 2019, of course.) It definitely shows my bias towards contemporary romance, but there is a smattering of paranormal romance, young adult fiction and speculative fiction as well. I’m focusing on fat MCs and love interests, but including memorable fat ensemble and secondary characters as well.

I’m unabashedly listing multiple titles by the same author, when they were my fave for fat rep. I link to reviews where I have written them; and also where I have only posted trigger warnings, so you can easily find those.

I’m listing rep at the end of my descriptions. If you spot something incorrect, please do feel free to let me know. Also, I am not intending to out anyone; I get author info from the web and the book bio. If an author would like me to remove any info listed, please do let me know. I want to note that I use the word fat as a neutral descriptor when listing rep, and use the word queer when a character or author identify that way or when I am unclear about their identity but know they fall under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella.

Books I Read in 2019

Young Adult Fiction

Photo cover depicts a close up of an Indian American fat teen girl who is laughing with her eyes closed. She has colored dust in blue, red, and yellow on her face, is weating sunglasses in her hair. The title is to her right, white letters on a purple background: THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT SWEETIE. The author;s name is across the bottom: SANDHYA MENON
Comic cover depicts a thin Chinese American witch with her back to a thin Chinese American non-binary werewolf. The title MOONCAKES is across the center of the image with the authors SUZANNE WALKER & WENDY XU at the bottom of the cover.
  • There’s Something About Sweetie by Sandyha Menon (2019 contemporary YA m/f romance novel)*** I loved this book so much. It hit on every level for me: engaging characters, swoony romance that I was rooting for hard, awesome friendships that were really important to the story and the MCs, extremely well paced and well-plotted, unputdownable, with this glorious fat rep that made me incredibly happy. (Rep: Fat Indian American teen girl MC. Indian American teen boy MC. Indian American woman author.)
  • Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu (2019 paranormal f/enby romance graphic novel)*** I adored this cozy second chance romance between childhood friends who reunite as older teens. I loved the feel of the art, so cozy with muted colors. All this glorious witchiness and magic school and magical experimentation. The MCs aren’t fat, but there is a lovely fat secondary character I enjoyed a lot. (Rep: Chinese-American, Deaf, queer Jewish girl MC. Chinese-American non-binary survivor MC. Fat white teen girl secondary character. Lebanese American woman author. Asian American illustrator.)

Romance

Foodie Romance

An illustrated cover with a red background depicts a variety of cakes with the title GRAHAM’S DELICACIES in yellow in the center and the author’s name MINA WAHEED at the bottom.
Illustrated cartoon style cover with a young fat white man sitting on the floor playing a video game and an older silver fox thin white man in a suit and Santa hat looking at him fondly, on a pale blue background. Title across the top in white gaming type: TEAM PHISON FOREVER. Authors name at the bottom, in same typeface: CHACE VERITY.
  • Graham’s Delicacies by Mina Waheed (contemporary romance short story collection) This contains three light and fluffy romances: a meet cute workplace f/enby romance, a coworkers in denial about their long term crush until they finally admit it m/m romance, and a second chance after the love interest disappeared in the middle of the night after a one night stand m/enby romance. They are all centered around queer characters who work in the same bakery cafe, and they were all adorable; Saccharine is the one with the chubby MC. (Rep: Saccharine: Black, bisexual MC with anxiety. Nonbinary, chubby white LI with anxiety. Delectable: Gay Mexican-American MC. Gay Black LI. Ravenous: Arab-American, queer, and nonbinary MC. Gay Korean-American LI. Fat, bi/pan romantic demisexual, Arab, nonbinary, anxious author.)
  • Team Phison Forever by Chace Verity (2019 contemporary m/m romance novella) This story spoke to my estranged-from-family queer heart. It was substantially more angsty than book 1, and a romance about staying together instead of getting together. One that’s told from the POV of a sunshine character who is not feeling so sunny, because he’s dealing with complex familial dynamics and depression. Tyson grabbed hold of my heart, hard. I felt so deeply for him, connected with him. (Rep: Fat bisexual white man MC with depression and trauma. Older white gay man MC. Non-binary white queer author.)

Holiday Romance

Photo cover depicting a chubby black woman with box braids and glasses wearing a black shirt, sitting on the floor with her knees up; her legs are bare, and she is laughing. The title is over her legs in yellow: HIS ONLY VALENTINE. The authors name at the bottom in white: KATRINA JACKSON
A photo cover depicts a winter scene with snow on the ground and blurry Christmas lights. The title is across the top in red: GROUNDED FOR CHRISTMAS. The authors name at the bottom in white: SAVANNAH J FRIERSON
Photo cover depicting a fat black woman wearing a rainbow striped sweater, with long braids, multiple earrings and a septum piercing, looking down and away from the camera, on a black background with red lights. The title is above her head in red script: HOLIDAY HONEY. The authors name at the bottom in white: CHENCIA C HIGGINS
  • His Only Valentine by Katrina Jackson (contemporary m/f erotic romsusp novella) I loved getting to spend time with Kenny and Maya again. I adore Maya to pieces and they are so sweet together and it was just lovely to see them celebrate Valentine’s Day, even though a few wrenches got thrown in, as they do when you are a spy. This would be better if you read Private Eye but I think it can stand alone okay. The fat representation in this book is breathtaking; I love how much Kenny is gone over her, and how it carries both heat and sweetness in the descriptions of her from his POV. (Fat Black bisexual woman sex worker MC. Asian American man MC. Black queer woman author.)
  • Grounded for Christmas by Savannah J Frierson (2019 contemporary m/f romance novella) This brothers best friend forced proximity second chance romance was funny and sweet and sexy and I really enjoyed it. I especially appreciated the fat representation and how very into her the hero was. (Rep: Fat Black woman MC. White man MC. Black woman author.)
  • Holiday Honey by Chencia C Higgins (2019 contemporary m/f romance novella) This was a lovely balance of humor and heat and generally really delightful. I loved the way the characters navigated the different aspects of their dynamic together and really enjoyed seeing their connection unfold in at the very different holiday gatherings they went to throughout the day. (Rep: Black man MC. Chubby Black woman MC. Black woman author.)

Meet Cute Romance

Photo cover depicting a black woman against a blue sky with her curls in an updo wearing a white top with blue flowers and a wide V neck, looking slightly away from the camera to the left through her sunglasses, a cocktail held to her lips. The title is above her head in fuschia: GRAND THEFT N.Y.E. The authors name at the bottom right of the cover: KATRINA JACKSON.
  • Xeni: A Marriage of Inconvenience by Rebekah Weatherspoon (2019 contemporary m/f romance novel) This romance has all of the strengths I generally find in books by Rebekah Weatherspoon: smoking hot sex scenes, heroines I want to be friends with, Black women supporting each other, awesome friendship groups, queerness, engaging writing, wonderful humor, and awesome fat representation. This is definitely a comfort read along the lines of Rafe, it has similar qualities, is low conflict and the angst doesn’t come from the romantic relationship. Instead we have family secrets and drama around them, and a central grief arc for the heroine, and a hero who has family issues of his own. (Rep: Black bisexual woman witch MC. Fat bisexual white immigrant man MC. Black queer woman author.)
  • Grand Theft NYE by Katrina Jackson (2019 contemporary m/f romance novella) A sexy romantic comedy heist story! The sexual chemistry between the MCs was through the roof. He is completely gone for her in the best way, and I fell just as hard for her myself, and zoomed through reading this book because she was so damn compelling, and the plot just drove me along. I stayed up way too late reading this and I do not regret it; it was unputdownable and I loved every moment. The fat rep in this book was stellar, which is not a surprise, as Jackson is consistently writing wonderful fat rep that makes me so happy as a fat reader. (Rep: Fat Black heroine. Asian American hero. Black queer woman author.)

Neighbors to Lovers

Photo cover depicts a Desi man in a blue shirt with drawings of roses around the edges of the cover and a white house in the background. The title THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROSES is in red across the center of the cover. The author’s name R COOPER is across the bottom of the cover in white.
An illustrated cover with a small illustration of a fat Black woman in a short blue skirt, red tank top, and glasses, with a gray cat standing next to her. She has her arm around a thin white man in jeans, a white t shirt and leather jacket. The title takes up most of the cover, in red: GET A LIFE, CHLOE BROWN. with the author’s name in blue across the bottom: TALIA HIBBERT. Blue curly arrows are around the title.
  • The Other Side of the Roses by R. Cooper (contemporary m/m romance novella) I generally adore the author’s writing style, and this book has a lot to offer in terms of the swooniness possible with a long time crush from childhood. I fell really hard for Sami, the chubby Iranian American gay MC who has been yearning for his childhood neighbor and meets him again in adulthood. I have mixed feelings about the autism rep (the autistic MC experiences quite a lot of ableism, including when he is first introduced, and is rescued by the allistic MC), but there is something lovely about a romance where the MC is unabashedly swooning over an autistic love interest & doesn’t bring ableism into the way he sees his love interest. (Rep: Chubby Iranian American Muslim gay man MC. Autistic white gay man love interest. White woman author.)
  • Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert (2019 contemporary m/f romance novel) This is in my top three favorite 2019 romance novels. I adore everything about it, from the slow evolution of the romance arc to the characters to the wonderful fat rep, spoonie rep, and chronic pain rep. It’s full of humor, heat, and heart and is gorgeously written, perfectly paced, and extremely satisfying. In fact, this isn’t just a 2019 fave, it is an all time top ten favorite romance for me. (Rep: Fat Black heroine with fibromyalgia. White hero with PTSD. Black Anglo-Romani autistic queer disabled woman author.)

Paranormal Romance

A photo cover depicts a thin white blonde femme vampire with blood dripping from his lip with his shoulders bare and torso covered in black silk, looking at the camera. Across his torso is the title FROSTBITE, with the first part of the word FROST in white cursive and the other half printed in white. At the bottom of the cover is a snowflake motif and the author’s name: J EMERY.
A photo cover depicts a wolf and a barechested white man with stubble in a leather jacket, looking past the camera to the right. The sun is setting behind him in the mountains. Across his abs is the title A WEREWOLF’S VALENTINE. At the bottom of the cover is a heart motif in pink and the author’s name: ZOE CHANT.
  • Frostbite by J Emery (2019 paranormal m/m romance novella) I really enjoyed this vampire/monster hunter snowed in New Years m/m romance! It’s full of tropetastic goodness, lovely chemistry, and hits the enemies to lovers aspect just right. Really delivers on the snowed in aspect, from the trapped and someone’s coming after you part that is a staple when snowed in meets romantic suspense, to the nearly frozen MC gets cared for by other MC until he regains his health, to the sense of being the only two people in the universe. (Rep: Fat white queer man MC. Fem white queer man MC. Queer white non-binary author.)
  • A Werewolf’s Valentine by Zoe Chant (paranormal m/f romance novella) I loved this shifter romance with a great meet-cute, a heroine I adored, and a found family theme. It was full of heat and heart, and gave me so many feelings. (Rep: Trauma survivor white hero. Chubby white heroine. White woman author.)

Polyamorous Romance

Photo cover depicts a thin white woman in a long sleeved white button down shirt with a red rose at the collar in place of a tie, and the middle buttons open to reveal the curves of her bare breasts and what looks like a thorned stem at the center connecting to the rose. Her body faces the camera but her face is turned away, we see her neck and the fall of her straight brown hair. At the opening of the shirt is the title: A LESSON IN THORNS. At the bottom is the author’s name: SIERRA SIMONE.
Photo cover depicts a fat Black woman in a long sleeved tight blue henley and nothing else, her thighs are bare and centered. Right above her thighs is the title: NEIGHBORLY. At the bottom is the author’s name: KATRINA JACKSON.
  • A Lesson in Thorns by Sierra Simone, read by Sara Ormenyi  (2019 contemporary polyamorous romance mystery) This is part mystery, part polyamorous romance, centering six childhood friends returning to the house where they spent time together as kids, and is centered around the complex, fraught, intense relationships they have and build as adults. It is a gorgeously written, deliciously kinky story culminating in an intense sex magick ritual for Imbolc, and it ends on a cliffhanger for both the mystery and the romantic relationships, though there is some resolution for each. I highly recommend the audio. I especially appreciated the way the fat woman character was framed as intensely attractive and sexy while not being fetishized. (Rep: Bisexual white men MCs. Queer white woman MC. Queer fat white woman MC. Queer Black woman MC. White woman author.)
  • Neighborly by Katrina Jackson (2019 contemporary m/f/f/m erotic romance novella) A completely delightful, extremely hot, and deeply loving polyamorous erotic romance. Such a good read, and a high heat low angst low conflict polyamorous story that feels tender, soft and rather cozy along w/being romantic and sexy. I really appreciated reading such a comforting, lovely high heat polyamorous story where all the characters are careful and caring toward each other and you can just relax and enjoy witnessing them coming together. (Rep: Chubby Black queer woman MC. Black queer woman MC. Black men MCs. Queer Black woman author.)

Romantic Suspense

Photo cover depicts a white man in a suit sitting with his head bowed as the room behind him burns. Above him, enveloped in red flames, is the bottom half of the face of a Black woman, her curls covering part of her face. Across the man is the title: ALL THINGS BURN in white. At the bottom the author’s name in white: JODIE SLAUGHTER
Photo cover depicts a fat Black woman looking over her bare shoulder at the camera, on a brown background. To the left of her face the title: PRIVATE EYE is in orange. Across her shoulder the series title in white: THE SPIES WHO LOVED HER and at the bottom the author’s name in black: KATRINA JACKSON
  • All Things Burn by Jodie Slaughter (2019 m/f romantic suspense novel) This romance centers a woman whose abusive ex finds her and threatens her and the hitman she hires to kill him so she can be safe. It’s intense and riveting and I could not put it down. (Rep: Chubby Black woman survivor MC. White man love interest. Black woman author.)
  • Private Eye by Katrina Jackson (contemporary m/f romance novel) This is the sex worker/client romance of my dreams. I adore Maya, & love the way so many of the characters also adore her. Kenny deeply respects her and her work in a way that was a pleasure to read. Both MCs had my heart. This spy m/f romance was delightful all the way through. I loved the sex worker & fat representation, particularly. (Fat Black bisexual woman sex worker MC. Asian American man MC. Black queer woman author.)

Vacation Romance

A photo cover depicts a white man and a chubby Black woman in formal wear. She’s wearing a gorgeous red gown that bares most of her back, with her hair up, and is caressing his face. The classic Harlequin Desire red stripe is at the top of the cover. The center has the title: HIS UNTIL MIDNIGHT with the subtitle TEXAS CATTLEMAN’S CLUB underneath on a yellow background with steer horns decorating the subtitle. The author’s name at the bottom: REESE RYAN.
A photo cover depicting a bare chested white man facing away from the camera, on a bachground of white daisies. We mostly see his muscular back and the fact that he is bearded. The title WORK FOR IT is in yellow across his back. The authors name TALIA HIBBERT is across the bottom.
  • His Until Midnight by Reese Ryan (contemporary m/f romance novel) I liked this! It’s a mix of ugly duckling trope (tomboy dresses up variety), brother’s best friend, and friends to lovers tropes. I wasn’t sure they worked hard enough for the HEA, but I think readers are likely to vary on that. This was exactly what I needed on a hard day; Ryan consistently delivers the kind of category romance that works for me. (Rep: Chubby Black heroine. White hero. Black woman author.)
  • Work for It by Talia Hibbert (2019 contemporary m/m romance novel) I loved this angsty romance so so much. I fell really hard for both of the MCs and their arcs gave me so many feels. (Rep: Black man MC with depression. Autistic fat white man MC. Black Anglo-Romani autistic queer disabled woman author.)

Workplace Romance

A photo cover depicting a Black woman with short wavy hair in a turquoise shirt with her eyes closed, surrounded by trees. The title is across her chest in white: A TASTE OF HER OWN MEDICINE. The author’s name is at the bottom of the cover: TASHA L HARRISON.
Illustrated cartoon style cover depicting a fat white woman in a black dress who looks irritated, and a white man in a sweater and tie who is smiling, on a blue background. The title TEACH ME in pink type seems to be connecting the characters, almost arm in arm with them. The authors name OLIVIA DADE is across the top in white.
A photo cover depicts a thin Black man in a suit on a purple background. The bottom half of the cover is the title, under his chest: THE BLUNDERING BILLIONAIRE. Under that is the author’s name: CHACE VERITY.
  • A Taste of Her Own Medicine by Tasha L Harrison (2019 contemporary m/f erotic romance novella) I read this age gap small town teacher/student romance during a week when I really struggled to read anything at all.  I fell hard for Soni, and especially appreciated the family relationships in this wonderful romance centering a single mom who is rebuilding her life after divorce and falls for the younger teacher of her business class. Wow did it bring the heat in the best way. (Rep: Black woman MC who’s a witch. Chubby Black man love interest. Black woman author.)
  • Teach Me by Olivia Dade (2019 contemporary m/f romance novel) I adored this so much and highly recommend it! It’s so full of heart, has lovely complex characters who I fell hard for, & unfolds in this beautiful way that was such a joy to read. This is one of my favorite romances I’ve read so far this year; the characterization is beautiful, it’s unputdownable, the fat rep is lovely, and I loved the way the hero really saw and respected the heroine’s emotional armor. It has an extremely satisfying resolution and it resonated so much with my own experiences as a teacher. The relationships with secondary characters are just wonderful, and I really appreciated the way it approached the trauma histories of the MCs. (Rep: Older fat white woman MC with trauma. Older white man with trauma. Fat white woman author.)
  • The Blundering Billionaire by Chace Verity (2019 contemporary m/f romance novella with a trans woman heroine)*** I really liked this one! I fell hard for both the characters, especially the heroine, and it was really lovely to get to spend time with them. This romance focuses on activism around the student loan debt crisis. It’s set inside the fashion world and I especially appreciated the descriptions of Jay’s outfits, which were wonderfully genderiffic and sounded amazing. I read it as part of an anthology but it was recently released as a stand-alone. (Rep: Black gender non-conforming hero. White chubby trans woman heroine. Non-binary white queer author.)

Fat Rep I Published in 2019:

An illustrated cover featuring a fat white Jewish brunette cane-using woman in a cupcake-printed dress holding hands with a fat white Jewish redheaded trans man in jeans and an open plaid shirt in front of a bakery display case full of cupcakes. The title THEIR TROUBLESOME CRUSH is in purple letters on the top of the cover with the author’s name Xan West in yellow letters on the bottom.
Illustrated cover with a lavender background shows 2 fat white Jewish women illuminated by the light from a menorah. Leah is kneeling on a pillow in chaps, jeans and a tank top, wearing cuffs and a collar Jordan is sitting in a chair in a vest & dress shirt, holding a leash attached to the collar. Title at top reads: EIGHT KINKY NIGHTS: An f/f Chanukah romance. Author name Xan West in tan letters at the bottom.
A photo cover with a black background depicts two queer women with black light paint on their skin embracing. Title at the top reads: BEST LESBIAN EROTICA OF THE YEAR VOLUME 4. Editor listed at the bottom: SINCLAIR SEXSMITH
  • Their Troublesome Crush by Xan West (me! CWs here) (contemporary m/f romance novella with a trans man hero)** This cute foodie kinky polyamorous metamours to lovers romance centers a demiromantic autistic fat Jewish trans man named Ernest. Ernest is bouncy, caring, careful, and, well…earnest. Out of all my autistic characters so far, he masks the least. Ernest loves cooking, showtunes and service based submission and he’s writing a musical with his autistic BFF Judith. He spends much of the book trying to figure out if he has a crush on Nora and isn’t quite sure what that would mean, as he’s never been into a cis person before. The fat rep is mostly incidental, but you get glimpses of the way the characters fatness impacts their lives and perspectives woven through the book. (Rep: Fat autistic demiromantic pansexual queer Jewish white trans man MC with PTSD. Older queer fat disabled femme Jewish white cis woman love interest with PTSD and diabetes. Jewish white fat autistic disabled queer stone butch genderqueer author with arthritis and PTSD.)
  • Eight Kinky Nights by Xan West (me! CWs here) (2019 contemporary polyamorous Chanukah f/f erotic romance novel) Angsty foodie best friends/roommates to lovers romance with kink lessons and a sex pact around keeping things casual. The fat representation is integrated into the story, and part of one of the MCs arcs is around setting boundaries in and recovering from her relationship with her fatphobic mother. (Rep: Jewish white autistic older gray ace queer fat femme woman MC with depression and PTSD. Jewish white autistic older pansexual fat stone butch woman MC with arthritis and PTSD. Jewish white autistic disabled fat queer stone butch genderqueer author with arthritis and PTSD.)
  • “Crave” by Xan West (me! CWs here) (2019 contemporary f/f erotica short story) This short erotica story centers an older fat butch/butch couple in a D/s relationship, where the submissive character is tall and supersize, and the dominant MC is midsize and shorter. It depicts SM as an act of service, and mostly centers rough body play and trampling, and does not include sex. The fat representation is mostly incidental, but there is some discussion of the joy the dominant character takes in dominating someone taller and fatter and more physically strong. (Rep: Older fat stone butch autistic white woman MC. Older fat disabled butch white woman love interest. Jewish white fat autistic disabled queer stone butch genderqueer author with arthritis and PTSD.)
  • “A Good Beating” by Xan West (me! free online, CWs listed at beginning) (2019 contemporary m/m erotica short story) This short story centers an older aroace gay cis man dominant and a fat gray ace demiromantic queer trans man submissive POV MC doing cathartic rough body play and pain play; it does not include sex. The fat representation is incidental. (Rep: Fat gray ace demiromantic queer white trans man MC. Older aroace gay white cis man MC. Jewish white fat autistic disabled queer stone butch genderqueer author with arthritis and PTSD.)

On my TBR for 2020

Young Adult & Middle Grade

Notable covers with fat rep:

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Children’s Lit

Romance

Notable covers with fat rep:

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Erotica

Speculative Fiction

Poetry

Non-fiction

Comics

More Fat Rep

A few other rec lists for folks looking for fat representation:

For a more in-depth discussion of fat rep in m/f romance, this essay of mine may be of interest. And you may want to check out the lists of fave fat rep for 2017and 2018. This video by Olivia Dade on writing fat rep in romance may also be of interest.

3 thoughts on “Fave Fat Rep I Read in 2019”

  1. Pingback: Review: Eight Kinky Nights: an f/f Chanukah romance by Xan West (2019) – The Smut Report
  3. Pingback: Fave Disability Rep I Read in 2018-2019 – Corey's Book Corner

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